“I’m fine. Just Monday.” I slide my arms through my white jacket and shut my locker.
“Are you sure? You can talk to me about anything.”
Brigette knows the situation with Juno, and I could talk to her about it and she’d understand, but I think she might feel bad about it too. And right now, I just want to drown myself in work.
“No, you ready to start the day?” I ask.
She nods, sipping her coffee. I pick up mine and we walk to the receptionist’s area. Our vet assistant, Hillary, is prepping the paperwork.
“Good morning, Hillary. Morning, Lori,” I say to Hillary and our receptionist, Dr. Murphy’s sister, Lori.
“Good morning, you two lovebirds.” Hillary winks.
Brigette slides her arm through mine and rises on her toes to kiss my cheek. “I’m afraid my fiancé has a horrible case of the Mondays.”
They both laugh because Brigette has been brushing up on her American movies. I made a list of my favorites and she pulls one line out each time she watches one.
“Office Space.” We look up to see Rhys standing in the small welcome opening. “I believe you have my stapler.”
We all laugh. Rhys is a tattoo artist down at Smokin’ Guns, which Juno’s brother-in-law, Liam Kelly, owns.
“Hey, Rhys.” I put my hand on Lori’s shoulder. “Sorry, I forgot to tell you that Rhys was coming in this morning. I ran into him this weekend and he adopted a new puppy.”
“Okay, I just need you to fill out this paperwork first.” Lori slides out of her chair to grab a prepared clipboard. “I would’ve had the file prepped if I’d known you were coming, so you wouldn’t have to fill it out while holding your dog.”
Lori’s neurotic behavior shines brightly in front of our newest customer. Although if Dr. Murphy ever retires, I’m sure it’ll be part of the agreement that I have to keep Lori on.
“I’ll watch him.” Brigette sips her coffee tosses the cup in the trash can, nudging me out of the way. I’ve never seen her not finish her entire coffee—except when I took her to Lard Have Mercy once. She lives for the stuff.
“Oh, that would be great.” Rhys eyes her from head to toe now that she’s on the other side of the window.
Brigette is beautiful. She danced for years until she found her true passion was animals. She came to Alaska on vacation and decided this is where she wanted to go to school, if for nothing more than to experience living in Alaska. She’s kind of a bucket-list girl, which scares me because I’m not a bucket list kind of guy. I’m born, bred, and happy to die in Lake Starlight. But she swears she loves it here, so all I can really do is trust her.
“Rhys, this is my fiancée, Brigette,” I introduce them, which causes Rhys’s gaze to snap back up to Brigette’s eyes instead of her breasts.
She does dress in some revealing tops on occasion. Dr. Murphy told me Lori doesn’t approve and would like me to talk to Brigette about it now that we’re engaged, but I’d rather be hit by a Mack truck than tell a woman another woman disapproves of what she’s wearing.
All I hear is Brigette ‘cooing’ and ‘ahhing’ over the new dog, Clyde. I peek over the ledge to get a look at the breed and type. Usually I can predict the type of dog someone will buy. The fact that Austin, Juno’s older brother, got a husky fits. Austin loves the outdoors and would want a dog who loves it too. Juno’s sister, Brooklyn, has Gizmo, who is a cross between husky and corgi. One look at her and her husband, Wyatt, says they’re purse-dog people. Nothing too big to ruin their expensive stuff.
I would have expected Rhys to get a Labrador or a golden retriever. A big dog that needs exercise. Not the bulldog that’s slobbering all over Brigette’s coat at the moment. The name Clyde fits him perfectly, but I’m surprised Rhys would pick such a lazy dog.
Rhys finishes fairly quickly and hands the paperwork to Lori, but instead of letting me take them to go examine the little guy, Lori insists she needs to make up the folder first. So we all wait for her to color code and label it, then type information into the computer. She’s organized, don’t get me wrong, but she’s inflexible.
Finally, she hands the folder to Hillary, her dark eyes on me. “She gets it first.”
I raise my hand. “Hillary, let me know when you’re done.”
I disappear before I say something I’ll regret. Something that would cause Dr. Murphy to have a conversation with me. Something that could jeopardize me getting the practice.
“I’ll be just a moment.” Hillary smiles and opens the door to the waiting room. “Come on in, Clyde.”
“I think he’s in love,” Rhys says.
I glance over my shoulder to see Clyde nestled in Brigette’s arms, his face right between her large breasts. I huff a laugh because I’m pretty sure it’s not only Clyde who likes what Brigette has to offer.
Four
Juno
I’m sitting at my desk, looking through files of the women who came in a few months ago for another bachelor, pulling out the ones I think might be a fit based on the little bit of information I got from my potential new client on the phone.
But I can’t focus. My mind keeps wandering to this morning with Colton. A man I’ve known almost as long as I knew my father. Colton’s my rock, the one person I depend on, and his upcoming wedding will change that. He’s not going to run over with soup when I’m sick, veg out with me when I’m depressed, call me up when he has something he needs to talk about. We won’t go on our road trips on the first real nice day of spring. Or cheer on his alma
