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“Okay, breathe. It’s here somewhere,” I assured myself, fanning out the folders like a deck of cards. But no sign of it. A niggling unease crept into my chest, disrupting the symphony of excitement that had been playing there since dawn.
“Let’s not panic over a missing file,” I said, forcing a laugh.
“Probably just slipped under a desk or something,” Paula said.
I made a mental note to double-check everything later and grabbed the one file I did have. Fifi’s. Heading back to the exam room, I braced myself for the first ever appointment. I stuck the chart in the file holder outside the door as the bell chimed in the front. The patients were here.
This was all going to work out.
nine
HANNAH
The chimeabove the door sang its now-familiar cheery note as I flipped the sign to “closed.” My hand trembled slightly, betraying my cool facade. The day had been a success, but I’d spent so much of my energy overcoming—and covering up—the anxiety that sat deep in my core.
Still, I was proud of my work today. I’d met over a dozen townsfolk and their furry friends. Paula and I seemed to make a great team. And as scary as it was to put myself out there as the one in charge, I freakingdid the thing.I guess I should be proud, but I was honestly too tired for that.
I breathed a sigh of relief, settling into the chair at the reception desk, ready to make a call to the lab before heading home. The old rotary phone felt reassuringly solid in my hand, a quirky touch I thought my clients would appreciate. Dr. Bruske had said it was the same phone that was here when he bought the building in the early eighties. With history like that, I figured it’d be bad luck to get rid of it now.
But as I held the receiver to my ear, I noticed a distinct lack of dial tone.
“What?” I pressed down on the switch hook, tapping it down twice. Still, there was dead silence. No dial tone, no static—nothing. I jiggled the cord, unplugged it, and plugged it back in, but nothing changed.
I sighed, my frustration echoing off the walls of the empty room. “The damn thing worked for forty years and decided to break on my first day?” Seemed fitting.
The chime rang out above the door, startling me. “Hey, doc.” Sawyer strode in with a casual stride. “How’d the first day go?”
“Overall, pretty well. Aside from the mishaps.”
“Mishaps?”
I shook my head, not wanting to focus on the negative. “Nothing. The day was pretty great. Alex and Sara stopped by with a basket of baked goods to celebrate.” I gestured to the now mostly-empty basket sitting on the reception counter.
He smirked. “I see they were a hit.”
“I think I ate my weight in scones.”
“Good, so baked goods were a win. What else?” He leaned one elbow against the counter as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Something I envied about him.
“The animals were wonderful.” I felt my face break out into a wide grin, remembering all my interactions today. “It’s been about a month since I’ve done any actual clinical work. It was great to be back in it again.”
Animals really did make my soul happy, which was why I became a vet to begin with. The work of opening my own clinic would be worth it in the end. But it wasn’t until I was surrounded by animals again that I realized how much other stuff went into it.
I looked up to find Sawyer staring at me, his face alight with a smile.
“What?”
“Nothing. You’re just cute when you’re passionate about something.”
My cheeks immediately caught fire, or at least that’s what it felt like. I needed to deflect, but was too tired to be clever. Instead, I just sat there, twirling the coiled phone cord in my hand.
“Anyway, I came to offer my congratulations on the opening. And buy you dinner to celebrate. You want to grab takeout? You have to try the new Thai place. It’s the most exotic restaurant Moon Harbor has ever had. I can’t pretend it’s completely authentic, but itisgood.”
I laughed. “That’d be great, Sawyer, thank you.” His thoughtfulness delighted me, though I was careful to keep it firmly in the ‘kind neighbor’ box in my mind. I couldn’t afford to let this little crush of mine get out of hand.
“Great,” he said, nodding to the phone right by my hand. “Why don’t you call and order whatever you want. The menu is online.”
“Ah, gotta grab my cell from the office. This phone apparently decided to retire.” I laughed, but it was without much humor.
