Of course, Saturdays tended to be quite busy and he’d only bump an animal with an appointment if there was an unavoidable emergency. The idea of asking her ex-boyfriend for a favor was about as pleasant as acid indigestion. Still, she did owe Adam for helping out her and Patch yesterday. She liked to keep her karmic balance sheet even. “Let me get off the phone, and I’ll call Dr. Higgs. I think I can get him to squeeze you in after hours. Lydia or Josh will give you directions. It’s Dr. Kevin Higgs.”
“Thank you.” Simple words, but there was a wealth of relief in his voice. He had obviously been worried about disappointing his children.
Considering that she didn’t know him well, it was disconcertingly easy to imagine his expression, the gratitude in those dark eyes, the smile on his face.
“I’ll see you there,” Brenna said, wishing she wasn’t so eagerly looking forward to it.
IN THE BACK SEAT-where all three children had opted to sit-debate raged about what to call the cat. Morgan’s top choices seemed to be Hannah and Strawberry. Geoff, who had the cat in his lap, had scoffed that, as cats were distant cousins of lions and tigers, the dark gray bundle of fur needed a “tougher” name.
“Why don’t we hold off on a name?” Adam suggested not for the first time. “Dr. Higgs needs to check her out, make sure she’s not sick. And even if she’s perfectly healthy, the vet might know who she belongs to. What if she has owners who are worried about her?”
The cat was so thin, Adam doubted she had recently enjoyed a home, but she was undeniably comfortable with people. Lydia had found them a cardboard box; they’d set the cat inside, loosely swaddled in a beach towel to hamper any escape attempts. But she only stretched up out of her snug confines when someone stopped petting her. Adam could hear the purring in the front seat.
“We haven’t named her,” Eliza said. “We’re just discussing possibilities.” She sounded hopeful rather than hostile. Any lingering anger she felt over the pool incident had dissipated when she’d seen the young cat in Adam’s hands.
“That must be the place!” Geoff said, pointing. “I see Ms. Pierce.”
To their left, three storefronts-a crafts shop, a ballet studio and Dr. Higgs’s office-shared a parking lot. Brenna sat on the front bumper of a white sedan; the only other vehicle outside the vet’s office was a blue truck. Adam parked next to Brenna.
“Nobody open any doors!” he cautioned. “Just because the cat’s been calm up until now doesn’t mean she won’t try to make a break for it. The last thing we want is for her to be running onto the street. Geoff, wait for me to come around and help you with the box.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sir? The kids must really,
Adam had to admit, the idea was growing on him. It would give the kids an extra reason to visit, give him a conversation starter when he didn’t know what to say to them, which happened more frequently than he cared to admit. While Morgan was the most vocal about wanting to keep the cat, her big sister clearly felt the same way. What would it be like if the next time Eliza came over she actually
Before opening the car door to the potential chaos of cat and kids, he took the quiet moment as an opportunity to thank Brenna. “I really appreciate your meeting us.”
“Don’t mention it. Always willing to go the extra mile for a new client.” She said it casually, but he found himself mentally replaying the statement, trying to put his finger on something-the way he might hum a song when he was trying to remember its title.
“So did Dr. Higgs agree to see us?” he asked.
Brenna straightened away from the bumper, standing. “I was lucky enough to catch his receptionist before she left. Winnie’s got the softest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. She not only harangued him into staying late, I think she actually got you a discount on his services. She probably deserves your thanks more than I do. I’ve barely done anything.”
It clicked then, that vibe he’d been trying to pinpoint. Something in Brenna’s manner reminded him of a cardiac resident he’d once worked with-a gifted surgeon who, while professional and superficially amiable, had maintained an intangible emotional barrier between herself and her patients. It was a necessary part of the profession. Something in the way Brenna had immediately classified him as a “client,” the way she’d tried to give Winnie the credit for helping him, as if to distance herself personally.
Or maybe he was too quick to make the analogy, too used to being surrounded by doctors and nurses who were virtually required to keep others at a friendly arm’s length.
“I’d better get the kids and the cat.” He opened the back door, wedging himself in the space as much as possible in case the cat startled them all by bolting. Cats were quick, and this one was small enough to disappear into tight spaces. Adam didn’t relish the thought of diving for her as she tore across the asphalt.
He needn’t have worried. Though she stopped purring and eyed him warily, she remained immobile inside the box. He backed away so that the children could file out of the car.
“Hey, guys.” Brenna smiled at the kids, then leaned closer to peer over Adam’s shoulder at the cat. “Hi, there.” Her voice was a low, soothing murmur. “Aren’t you a sweetie?”
The cat began purring again, blinking up at Brenna with admiration, and Adam found himself grinning. He knew how the cat felt.
As they all walked toward the building, Morgan asked questions about what the vet would do. When Brenna explained that their cat would probably receive vaccinations for rabies, distemper and feline leukemia, Morgan winced in sympathy.
“Shots hurt,” she complained. Her voice quavered. “After my birthday, when we get back to Tennessee, I have to have shots, too.”
“I’ll bet you’ll be really brave,” Brenna said, holding the door open for them.
“Prob’ly not,” Morgan said. “I cried last time, but my mom got me ice cream. Daddy, do you think you can take me to the doctor’s this time?”
Adam paused, glancing over his shoulder. “I don’t know, pumpkin.” He would need to check his schedule-her five-year checkup was undoubtedly right after their return, and he was already missing an unprecedented amount of work.
Her face fell.
“Maybe I can,” he said. “I
“It’s okay, Daddy.”
Eliza put her arm around Morgan’s shoulders and pulled her little sister closer. It made his heart hurt, the idea that his kids had to comfort one another because he let them down. Getting them a cat only made up for so much.
Inside the empty reception area, Brenna called, “Hello?”
A door opened at the other end of a hallway covered in posters of dogs and cats. “Back here, just finishing some paperwork,” a male voice answered. Seconds later, a tall man wearing a lab coat over a polo shirt and jeans appeared. Well over six feet, he had short, black hair worn with sideburns and extremely light eyes. “Hello, Brenna. And these must be the Varners?”
“I’m Morgan!”
The man bent down closer to her level. “I’m Dr. Higgs. How ’bout we go back to one of the exam rooms and make sure this kitty cat of yours is healthy?”
“Okay! My daddy’s a doctor, too. But he only takes care of
Adam felt rather than heard Brenna’s muffled laugh. He turned in her direction with a sternly raised eyebrow, but the truth was, he enjoyed the mischievous sparkle in her expression. Lord, she was pretty.
“The rooms are kind of small,” Brenna said. “Rather than all of us trying to squeeze in, I’ll just wait out here.”
The vet studied her for a long moment.
“Can I stay with Ms. Pierce?” Geoff asked.
“It’s okay with me if it is with her,” Adam said.
At her nod, he followed his two daughters and the vet into a room where he set the box atop a metal table. Despite having been reasonably compliant until now, the cat flattened her ears and half growled her disapproval.
