Page 37 of Home Hearts Hooves

“Preston, they have a mini cow in the cuddle cover almost as small as the mini goat, can I have it please?”

Preston raises his brows in a way that tells me he wants to say no, but he’s so, so close to saying yes. I can’t let him give in.

“Sorry little darlin, but my mini’s are not for sale. But you can come over and cuddle them whenever you like.”

She shrugs and runs off again.

“Thanks for that,” Preston says, relief spreading across his face.

“No worries, Doc. I’ve got our back.”

Chapter twelve

PRESTON

LESSONS IN LETTING GO

“So,whatareweworking on today?” I ask Poppy as she climbs into the chair behind the counter of the clinic reception and pulls out her homework book.

“Math, but I can’t see why I have to learn it. Everyone has calculators on their phones now.”

“Well, I use math every day.”

“You do?”

“Yep, can’t exactly pull out my phone to check on a dose of ketamine for a three-and-a-half-pound dachshund while it’s wriggling around, can I?”

“You could ask your phone if you set up voice AI on it.”

“I could, but then how would I know if it made a mistake? Maybe it wouldn’t hear me properly, and then I overdose poor puppy and have no idea how much to give him to counteract it.”

“Fine, I guess math is important.”

“Just a little. How about you finish your homework, and I’ll let you play with the bunnies.”

“Wasn’t Mr. Beaker going to take any of the pets from the adoption you didn’t find homes for?”

“Sally-May said she’d cook them up if he brought home rabbits, so these little guys are safer here with us. Only two left to be rehomed. Does your class need a pet?” I ask, and her eyes go wide.

“Yes. The hamster ran away when it was at Peter Lockwood’s house over break. I’ll ask Miss Bell tomorrow. Maybe she’ll let us take both. It would be sad for them to be split up.”

“Well, you let her know to come in and see me if she wants them. Now onto math, your mom won’t let you come here every day if you aren’t getting your homework finished.”

The afternoon is quiet in the clinic, and we finish her homework together, and it’s nice being useful. It’s third-grade math so nothing super complex, but I showed her a trick I remembered from school for multiplying by nine using fingers, holding both hands out, and if it was nine times four, you put down the fourth finger and the number of fingers still up on the left are the tens and the number of fingers still up to the right of the one we put down is the ones, so for that one it was thirty-six. Poppy had a wonderful time showing her mother how it worked when she came to pick her up.

“You know I could drop her home sometimes, too; I usually head over to the Beaker Brother’s Ranch when I’m finished here, anyway.”

Poppy claps beside us.

“Please, Mom, can I go with Preston? I want to see the cows.”

“Maybe another day, tonight we have supper with Grandma Knight, remember?”

“You’re seeing my mom?”

“Yeah, she wanted to set up a regular visit with Poppy, and seeing as I grab her from here in the afternoons now, it seemed easy enough. I’m surprised she didn’t tell you.”

I chuckle. “She mentioned she was going to ask about a regular visit like what we have, I just didn’t know you had set up a supper. Makes sense though. That woman does love to feed people.”

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