Her heart rolled around helplessly as she watched the two of them, hearing him admit to a change she could see in both of them.
Feeling the need to join in, Evie slipped off the chair and got down on her belly with them. Instantly, Declan reached for her hand, tugging her into his private space with Judah, pulling her close so the three of them were in a little circle.
“Here’s your doctor,” he said to the dog. “Dolittle. She gets you like no one else.” He inched forward and let his nose touch Judah’s. “Me, too, by the way.”
Evie turned her head to look at him. “You think?”
“I know.” He angled his head so his forehead touched hers. And Judah joined right in, sticking his snout between them.
“What a sweet little family.” They all moved back at the woman’s voice, turning to see Christine in the doorway.
“Oh, hi,” Evie said, pushing up. “We’re just…” What were they doing? Acting like a sweet little family. “Hanging out with Judah,” she finished.
“Who is doing so well. I’m Christine, the physical therapist,” she said to Declan as he pushed up to a stand.
“Declan Mahoney.” He shook her hand.
“And after you get a little PT, Judah?” Christine leaned over to greet the dog. “You’ll be running circles around these two parents of yours.”
Declan and Evie shared a quick look, his expression matching the thrill that shot through her. Parents.
Every minute, the possibility felt more real and right.
“Okay, then, let me walk you through his program.” Christine brought them over to a ramp. “This is where we’ll do some puppy push-ups.”
As she described the process, Evie tried to listen, but Declan’s very presence distracted her. She stood next to him, asking questions and listening and feeling so very much like…parents.
And he was right. It felt so good and natural.
“Ideally,” Christine said, walking them toward an incline ramp, “we’d get Judah on an underwater treadmill every day.”
“For dogs?” Declan asked. “I’ve seen them in some firefighting training gyms.”
“Absolutely,” Christine said. “By submerging his lower body, the buoyancy of the water decreases gravity and really improves and hastens the training, but we can’t do that. So I recommend—”
“Why not?” Declan asked.
“We don’t have one,” she said. “We used to, but it went kaput. There’s an equipment request on file, but the budget won’t be approved until next semester.”
Evie certainly understood that. Budgeting and purchasing at a college were done on the semester schedule, so if it hadn’t been approved for fall, it wouldn’t be here until spring. Which sucked because she knew that was one piece of equipment that could really help fix Judah’s gait.
“Where’s the closest facility that has one?” she asked.
“That doesn’t have a monthlong waiting list? Hours away, I’m afraid.”
Declan threw a look at Evie, clearly not happy with that. “But if it’s ideal, how does not having one affect his recovery?”
“It’ll be slower, but he should be fine in six weeks,” Christine told him.
“And with the underwater treadmill?” Declan asked.
“More like four weeks,” Christine said. “But we can get him healed without it. And if you want to leave him overnight, he could get shorter, more frequent sessions which will also speed things up.”
“I don’t want him alone overnight,” Evie said quickly. “Even with vet techs to check on him. He’s completely alert now, and the pain is diminished, but he has deep attachment issues, and I don’t want him to suffer with loneliness on top of his recovery.”
“I get that,” Christine said. “We’ll work out a good schedule for him. Do you want to go do his post-op exam now, Dr. Hewitt? I’ll go make sure room four is ready.”
Evie nodded, and as the woman left, Declan put an arm around her as if he sensed she wasn’t thrilled with the solution. “You okay?”
“Yeah, and so is Judah, which is the thing that’s bothering me.”
He frowned. “I don’t follow.”
“He’s made such progress in such a short amount of time,” Evie said, stroking Judah’s head. “I know with advanced PT, he’d be living a normal life in far less than six weeks. I’m thinking about all the equipment we have at NCS. There must be six underwater treadmills on an entire floor dedicated to canine rehab.”
“This isn’t NC State,” he whispered so that the cat therapist working a few feet away wouldn’t hear.
“I know, and I’m disappointed.”
“Don’t be.” He gave her a squeeze. “We’ll take care of him.”
Not as well as she could at a bigger, better facility, but she nodded. “I better go do the exam to get him released. We’ll be back in a bit. Come on, Judah.”
By the time she finished the exam, Evie had a strong sense of satisfaction—she’d nailed the operation—and still battled the disappointment that she couldn’t do more for him and faster.
But she couldn’t change that.
When she signed all the paperwork, she took Judah to the waiting room to find Declan talking on his phone. She guessed it was one of his brothers or a cousin, based on his casual tone.
He disconnected and gave her a quick smile. “Can we take our boy home now?” he asked.
There was that feeling again…like they were parents. And it only intensified on the way back to Gloriana House.
Evie sat in the back seat of Declan’s truck, her arm over Judah resting on her lap. Declan was quieter than usual, driving slowly and carefully during the short distance to the house, easing into every stop like his precious cargo couldn’t take even the slightest jolt.
He drove like he would…if they were bringing a baby home from the hospital.
As the thought hit her, she looked up and caught his gaze in the rearview mirror.
“What
