Page 42 of All I Need

I have no idea why I just said that. It’s not as if Linda has ever come with me when I do house or farm visits. Which is probably why Linda’s eyebrows are kissing her hairline right about now.

“Cows? You do those, too?”

“Uh, yeah. Well, I don’t do them, but I work with them. I’m a large and small animal vet. Farm animals, house pets, whatever I need to.”

“Reptiles?” she asks, her nose adorably scrunched.

I chuckle. “Not many reptile owners around here, can’t say I’m upset about that. Snakes aren’t my thing, though turtles are weirdly cute. A friend of mine bought one for his twin boys several years ago, they’re out of the house now but the turtle is still around.”

Her eyes light up. “I’ve never been up close and personal to a real turtle before.”

“I’ll talk to Andy, see if we can stop over sometime to see it.”

“Really?”

“Why not? Harry is pretty awesome.”

“They named a turtle Harry? Umm, I kind of love him.”

“What’s not to love about Andy?” Linda interjects. “He’s a sexy little number.”

“Linda!” I almost shout.

“What? You think I don’t have eyes in my old age?”

“What would your husband think if he heard you?”

“Oh please. Like he doesn’t know a girl can look. Besides, a person’d have to be blind not to see how attractive Andy is.”

I shake my head because… really, what else is there to do? Instead I turn to Ellie, suddenly very grateful for Andy’s very taken status.

“You’d love him even more if you met his little girl, or his wife that owns a coffee shop.”

Linda giggles, knowing exactly why I included that little tidbit of information. Ellie, bless her, doesn’t even blink. Or give me shit about it. “Wow. I think you’ve been holding out on me. A friend who owns a coffee shop?”

“Dreamin’ Beans. Best coffee around, and she makes incredible pastries. She has desserts at a local restaurant, too.”

“You had me at coffee and dessert,” she teases, placing a hand on her chest.

“Okay, okay, enough, you two. Now, Ellie, let me show you around. You,” Linda points to me, “get to work. I’m not gonna tell you again.”

“Such a slave driver. Whatever will I do when you’re gone?”

“Cry.”

I wink at Ellie as I lean over and kiss Linda on her cheek. “You know it.”

I saunter away, knowing Ellie’s watching me leave. I figure after the show she gave me earlier, payback is necessary. I’m not cocky, but I know what I look like. And I can see the heat in Ellie’s eyes when she looks at me.

I make my way into the room Copper’s recovering in. My vet technician, Angela, is checking on him. The brown and white terrier mix is sleeping what seems to be rather peacefully.

“He doing okay?”

“Sure is.”

“Good, good.” I check his incision. “Let’s get a collar on him for when he wakes up and call his owners to let them know it went well and they can pick him up after 4:00.”

“You got it. I’ll make sure we have his meds and after care instructions ready for when they come.”

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