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3
Ivy
Itied off the last stitch on Mr. Dever’s cat and glanced at the Garfield clock on the wall. Benji hadn’t said a word as he’d assisted me with Mr. Dever’s cat. The surgery to fix the intestinal obstruction wasn’t on my schedule, but after I’d cleaned the last room, the old man had barged into the clinic, his cat wrapped in a blanket.
Fur babies always came first, even if it jeopardized my plan.
The vomiting and pain when I touched the underside of the cat pointed to a blockage. Mr. Dever refused to leave. He sat in the waiting room and told me to let him know when he could see his cat.
“You want to tell Mr. Dever’s this guy is going to be good? He can come visit him before we leave.”
Emma, a twenty-three-year-old college student, watched the animals overnight. She would be at the clinic soon.
Benji huffed as he walked out of the operating room. I double-checked the cat’s vitals before I moved him to a recovery cage. I’d barely put him down when the door opened and Mr. Dever rushed to his cat’s side. The elderly man had tears in his eyes as he whispered to the cat. This was why I loved my job. Being able to save a fur baby.
“You can come get him in the morning,” I said. “I’ll have his antibiotics ready with detailed instructions. I’m going to need you to bring him back in a few days so I can check his progress.”
Mr. Dever threw his arms around me and pulled me in for a hug. “You’re the best, Doc.”
He kissed his cat before he turned and left.
I’d just finished the chart when Benji strode over to me.
“Can you finish cleaning up and I’ll take care of the register?” I asked.
He didn’t move. “Mom, we need to discuss what happened today.” He clenched his jaw, the same tic his father had when he was angry. Except Benji had a heart of gold. I was thankful none of my boys had their father’s temper.
“You know I don’t want you to have to worry. I have a plan on how to handle it—if we can get out of here soon.”
“Stop covering for Dad! You shouldn’t have to deal with Dad’s mistakes. Call Justin and explain how those men are harassing you.”
I couldn’t tell Benji his brothers rarely answered my calls. “He’s busy with his own job in Dallas and doesn’t need to fix my problems.”
Benji shook his head. “Except he has connections at work. Justin could end the bullshit with Vinnie and go after Dad. You can’t keep paying for his mistakes. You’ve dealt with his shit long enough.”
“Language.” I closed the chart.
“Mom, don’t yell at me about language when you were beat up by thugs today.”
Des and Justin already thought I had failed as a parent. I didn’t need to add the bookies I couldn’t handle to the list of failings. Brad had spent years turning my two oldest against me. When I first opened the clinic, we were tight on money, but I’d saved to buy the boys a Christmas present. When I went to grab the money, I found Brad had taken it and gambled every cent away. Then he told the boys they didn’t get presents because I couldn’t run the clinic properly.
I busted my ass for years to give my boys a roof over their heads and food on the table. All of which was more than I had growing up.
Benji would argue with me all night. I’d thought he would make a good lawyer, but he wanted to follow in my footsteps.
“How about if I can’t handle the issue this week, I’ll call Justin for help?” I closed my eyes and hoped my head would stop throbbing. I wanted to go home, run a bubble bath, and soak in the tub, but that wasn’t an option. “What we need to discuss is the gun you had.”
Benji’s cheeks turned bright red, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Mom, I’m worried those men will kill you.”
I pulled him into a hug. He wasn’t my little boy anymore. I only came up to his shoulders now. “I want you to concentrate on your senior year and enjoying your last few months.”
“But who’s going to watch your back?”
My eyes filled with tears, and I wiped my sleeve across my face. I needed to shove my emotions back down.
“I’ve taken care of myself for years. I can watch my own back.” I waved toward the main area. “Now, let's run to the house to get your things. We’re staying at Martha’s place for a few days.”
A loud thud sounded in the lobby. I grabbed the stapler from the counter and exited out the back room. The door was flung open, and Justin strode through the entrance to the clinic.
