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Ellyn giggled. “Join us tomorrow, and we’ll show you. Of course, it’ll be the last time we use it, since you’ll be our new delivery system.”
“Your new delivery system, huh? In that case, how can I say no?”
“You can’t,” Hadley said. “But so I’m prepared, what do you like?”
“Can you make a mocha?”
“One steaming-hot mocha will be ready for you at seven a.m. tomorrow.”
Maybe a daily coffee date with her neighbors wasn’t exactly in the plan for her new life, but so far, nothing about Molly 2.0 had gone according to the way she’d thought it would.
But who didn’t like coffee?
“I’ll be here.”
Chapter Four
Two hours later, Grant wassitting at his desk filling out the admission paperwork when Molly walked into his office. Her hair was still damp from her impromptu swim and she looked a little windblown, but she’d swapped out her dripping wet T-shirt and life jacket for a dry Turtle Rehab logo T-shirt he recognized from the gift shop. For the first time all day, she looked relaxed, which Grant took as a good sign.
“So what’s the prognosis, doc?”
“Good. The prognosis is very, very good.” Molly dropped into the chair in front of him, letting out a contented sigh. “Her injuries—and we did confirm the turtle’s a she—were mostly cuts and minor soft tissue damage. We cleaned them, I gave her an antibiotic shot, and Claire told me to cover them with…honey?” She arched her eyebrows at the last word, an intrigued look lighting up her face.
“Yeah, it sounds weird, but we use it a lot in the turtle world. It’s a natural antiseptic and poses no risk to the turtle if they happen to ingest it. Win-win.”
“It’s brilliant. I totally learned a new trick today that is about to become one of my go-to treatments.” Molly shifted in her chair. “Anyway, we’re keeping the water low in the tank for now to give her a chance to rest and get her strength up, but she gobbled up the shrimp and squid she was fed, which is a great sign.”
“Good. How about the X-rays?”
“Everything looks normal. I’ll have Dr. Lacey take a second look when I talk to her this week, but I don’t see any reason why this turtle won’t be able to make a full recovery.”
The news brightened the already sunny day. “That’s good to hear.” Grant knew the turtle wasn’t out of the woods yet, but it sounded like this story was on its way to a happy ending.
“I know. This turtle is such a sweetheart. She deserves the best.”
“Agreed. But in the meantime, she needs a name. Usually we let the people who found her name her. The kids from the boat wanted to name her Lucky after their boat,Lucky Day.”
“Cute.”
“It would be, but that name is a little superstitious for those of us in the turtle rehab world. In our experience, turtles named Lucky tend to not live up to their name.”
“We don’t want that. Are you going to call them back and ask for a second choice?”
“Actually, I thought you could have the honor. After all, you played a key part in her rescue.”
“Me?” Molly looked surprised.
“Sure. You’re the hero of the day.”
“Heroes wear capes and, in case you didn’t notice, I was wearing a lifejacket. I’m pretty sure that’s the opposite of a cape.” There was a hint of joking in her voice as she dismissed the compliment.
“I happen to see it a different way. For starters, you sailed the boat that we used to rescue her.” He held up a finger as if ticking off his detailed list.
Molly rolled her eyes. “For about five minutes before we even knew about the rescue.”
“Yes. But you were headed in the right direction, so it still counts.” He held up a second finger. “Two, you physically got into the water to rescue her.”
Molly nodded. “I did do that. Clearly, sea turtles make me do things that defy all logic.”
