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Mine too.
“She’s doing okay. Allergic reaction as suspected. Sorry we had you wait out here. We’ve had a bit of a shortage of exam rooms in the back since we started functioning as an overnight emergency clinic for the county. There’s such a shortage of facilities equipped with skilled techs and vets that it’s been difficult to accommodate everyone.”
“Oh, that must be awful. I was surprised how many cars were here so late on a Friday night.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear and flashed us a tired smile. “It’s been challenging, but we all put animals first. Dr. Thorn especially.”
“Yeah, he’s been awesome with Francie. My dog,” Mav explained as the vet cocked her head curiously.
“Another dog?”
“Daisy is actually my brother’s dog. He’s out of town, and I was supposed to be watching her and Pancake—” When I laid a hand on Mav’s forearm, he blew out a breath and smiled. “Anyway, I appreciate you seeing her so late. She’s really going to be okay?”
“She sure is. But you both can come on back now. Dr. Thorn is familiar with Daisy and has reviewed her file.”
Mav surprised the hell out of me by reaching out to grab my hand. I was so shocked it took me a second to get my feet moving, but I didn’t slide my hand away from his.
Maybe I’d gotten used to the feeling of his fingers tangled with mine in the truck. Or could be, we were just both tired and overwrought after a very long night.
Besides, it wasn’t any big deal. Almost family members held hands. Sure they did.
Mere hours after they’d had truck-rocking sex.
Pretty sure that was aSpringerepisode in the making. Was that show even on anymore?
We trailed after the tech into the room at the end of the hall where Dr. Thorn was sitting with Daisy. Her exam had already been done, and the vet was murmuring to Brady’s dog in a lyrical Irish accent that I imagined had charmed many.
“Nice to meet you, Dr. Thorn. We really appreciate you seeing Daisy so late and on such short notice.” I leaned forward to shake his hand.
He smiled and shook with a firm grip. “Please call me Grant. Late night, Mav? I heard about that business over at the Qwik Pump.”
Mav shook the vet’s hand, as well. “It’s been a comedy of errors tonight, without a whole hell of a lot of actual humor. But all that matters is that our girl is okay.”
He crouched down to give Daisy a big hug. Her tail thumped excitedly, if a bit less enthusiastically than normal, and then she shuffled over to make sure she got a hug from me too.
I buried my face in the thick golden fur on her neck then gave her a smacking kiss. “She’s a tough nut to crack. This won’t slow her down, will it, sweetheart?”
“Nope, not for very long, once these steroids do their job. The Benadryl I gave her already is. She’ll sleep well tonight,” Grant said cheerfully as he rose and grabbed a couple of papers off the desk. “I’m not going to ask how this happened since mistakes can occur very easily. Just I know how particular Brady is with the instructions he leaves—”
“My fault,” I said quickly, shooting Mav a look. He didn’t even argue. The guy had bags under his eyes big enough to swim in. “It was just a chaotic night. Wrong treats were grabbed. I feel terrible. But we’re so glad she’s going to be okay.” I bent to drop a kiss on Daisy’s head and she pressed her cheek against my belly. Right then, I didn’t mind the extra loving. “We can’t thank you enough.”
“No problem. And no charge,” he added as he walked us back into the main office.
I clipped the leash on Daisy and we brought up the rear.
“No way,” Mav argued. “This was an out of office hours visit.”
“And where would we be without you and your brother serving this town?” The vet clapped Mav heartily on the back. “Take me out to lunch sometime, and we’ll be even. Maybe with your brother too, since he’s about to leave the single life behind.”
“He’s not being sent to prison,” I muttered behind the now laughing and joking males.
I wasn’t normally sensitive about such jokes. But then again, I normally hadn’t had a night like this either.
I’d been careful ever since what happened when I was a teen. Tonight I’d played with fire, and I wasn’t even taking the steps I could to ensure I didn’t get burned.
Maybe Mav was just exhausted. He’d had a difficult night. Once he got some sleep, he’d probably see the wisdom of swinging by the drugstore for extra insurance.
And if he didn’t, I still could make that choice.
