Page 22 of The Last Lavender Sister

“Oh. Hey there. Me again.” Aster’s voice had gone soft and quiet as she spoke to the puppy. Adorable. Brynn watched as she fed the pup, exercising such gentle care with him. “Am I doing this right?” Aster asked.

Brynn nodded. “You’re doing great. Just be patient with him and go extra slow. He’s weak and will tire out easily.”

Aster nodded and exhaled. “Be honest. Do you think he’s going to make it?”

It was a difficult question, because he was in danger. He was young, malnourished, and rejecting his mother. It wasn’t a promising combination for a young puppy. “Tonight will be telling. If he can make it through, he’ll have a much better shot.”

Aster’s gaze picked up intensity. “Then we have to get him through tonight. I’ll do whatever you tell me.”

“Well, he’ll need pretty frequent feedings, every two to three hours, and lots of cheerleading. I can call Freddy.”

“No. I’ll do it.” Aster met her gaze evenly. “I mean, would it be all right if I stayed with him?”

It was the sweetest sentiment. “Oh, Aster, you’ve already done your part and brought them in. I can call in Freddy. He overnights with the sick pets, or if it makes you feel better, I can stay with him myself.”

Aster didn’t waver. In fact, her brown eyes carried even more conviction. “I really want to be here. Can I stay?”

“Of course.” She paused, making a call. “I’ll stay with you.”

“Yeah?” Aster brightened with relief. “That would be amazing. I worry I wouldn’t know if something was wrong. But I won’t sleep tonight not knowing how he is.”

“Well, with both of us clocking in, we’re going to make sure he has the best care possible. We got this. I’ll grab some snacks, and we’ll settle in.”

Luckily, Eve kept a really handy pantry, fully stocked for such an occasion. Brynn was able to scoop up some chips, Oreos, candy bars, apples, and salt and vinegar almonds. All the essentials, really, to help with the hours ahead. Because she was no fool, she also put on a pot of coffee. Brynn had pulled plenty of all-nighters in vet school and knew that caffeine was key. The mission actually woke her sense of purpose the hell up and had her determination in overdrive. It was satisfying to have boots on the ground and not just hand off supportive care to a vet tech the way she would have at her last practice.

When she returned to Aster and the boarding runs, she’d found the pup had taken half the food he’d been offered. It didn’t look like a lot, but it was a true win. Yet Aster looked worried, and Brynn rushed to reassure her. “It’s not bad. It’s not unusual for them to start small, especially when they’ve gone without for a while. He’ll need to work up to taking more.” She placed the puppy in the swirled pile made upof his siblings and took her seat next to Aster on the floor. “So we have a couple of hours to kill. What’s new?”

* * *

“What you’re saying is that you’ve never had a dog. Not even a family dog as a kid?” Brynn asked. She seemed truly shocked. It was the middle of the night, and after hours of talking, not talking, feeding the puppy, talking some more, they’d come out of their shells, learning more about each other. Aster learned that Brynn had grown up in North Carolina and sometimes imagined moving back there, but she wasn’t quite sure for what. Most of her family had moved away. She was five feet five inches and used to love eating snow as a child. She was great at math but struggled with philosophy in college, often getting into imaginary debates with her professor in her head. Aster could stay up another whole night listening to this kind of trivia about Brynn. Her favorite was hearing that Brynn would hoard library books until the library would threaten to revoke her card if she didn’t return what she’d borrowed. A fellow feisty reader!

Aster shook her head, her cheek resting against the cinder block wall behind her, facing Brynn. “Dogs? Not a one. My oldest sister was allergic. I’ve always wanted a pet, though. Sage adopted Buster as soon as he was old enough for his own place, so I got to be a dog aunt. My turn. What do you do for fun?”

Brynn smiled. “Easy. I love exploring old movies. When you find a little gem of a film that’s brilliant or insightful or romantic or suspenseful, and it’s been there all this time—as inyears—just waiting for you to one day discover it?” She shrugged, bringing her shoulders to her ears. “It gets me energetic. My turn. Favorite social media outlet?”

“I don’t do social media. It has the wordsocialand that stresses me out before I even open the app. I gave it all up. You?”

“I dabble, but since my breakup, I stay off.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Brynn said. “It’s always best to know the truth. I’m taking another turn.”

“That’s downright cheating, but okay.”

“Did you have a high school sweetheart?” Brynn asked.

“No. My turn. Did you?” Snoogie began to snore.

“Yes, Austin Johns.” Brynn gave her head a shake. “He was self-centered and obsessed with his hair. We broke up in the eleventh grade. My turn. Last person you dated.” She watched Aster with interest.

“Uh,datedis a strong word. I talked to a woman online named Lacey who seemed really great. Funny, too. But I think she met someone in Dallas and it ended there.”

There was a long pause. Brynn’s voice went soft. “You date women.”

Aster swallowed. Brynn didn’t seem to be the judgmental type, but the temperature in the room had sure shifted. “Yeah. I’m gay, so…there’s that.”

Brynn nodded. “That’s great, Aster. I didn’t realize.”

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