Page 67 of Hold Me Instead
Zachary’s fingers pulled back from her shoulder, pinching her fabric lightly before taking slow steps back. The materialpoofedagainst her clavicle, and she shivered, the chill heightened by the warmth his hand had left behind.
“Thanks again for covering me. I really appreciate it.” He scratched Maple’s head. “I’ll come back for you later, sweet girl.”
“Hope everything goes alright,” Charlie said.
“I like your scrubs today.” He winked, signaled Maple to stay, and left the office.
Charlie stared at the door as her heart raced after him—she felt the pulse in her throat. She looked at Maple just as the old girl turned her gaze from the door to Charlie.
“He sure keeps me on my toes,” she whispered. The dog slowly lowered her head onto the bed with a sigh. “Yeah, I know. He can do no wrong in your eyes.”
She gathered up her stuff and straightened her scrubs, which were printed with line drawings of cats and dogs in baking caps, cupcakes, and, of course, cookies.
***
“I was really hoping I’d get Dr. Lee today.”
Charlie glared at her cousin. “I actually had someone tell me that earlier and mean it.”
She continued her inspection of the scruffy gray dog Amber had brought in. The small stray had to be around one year old, but its mange suggested it’d been on the streets for a while.
“I definitely mean it.” Amber leaned on the exam table across from Charlie and grinned. Her thick, plaid coat draped over her frame. “When can I meet him?”
“The cookout. Unfortunately.”
“Hmm.” Amber straightened and pulled her long hair up into a messy knot, tugging the longer bangs into place.
“I can’t believe you scheduled this, knowing I wasn’t supposed to be here,” Charlie muttered. She made little sounds of encouragement to the pup as she continued her exam.
“Don’t blame me, this sweet guy needed looking after.” Amber shook her head. “This actually works out, though, since you haven’t returned any of my texts. Good thing I found a stray dog so I could talk to you.”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “You’re so dramatic. I just saw you.”
“Ooo, maybe I should go into acting.”
“And sarcastic.”
“You’re only listing reasons supporting that career choice.”
The dog settled onto his belly, brown eyes drifting closed as Charlie inspected his ears.
“Oh my God, this little guy is so freakin adorable. Did he just fall asleep?” Amber leaned closer, drooping her lips in a little pout. “Ishe okay?” she whispered, gently nuzzling the top of his head with a maroon-painted finger.
“He needs food and a bath. Looks pretty malnourished. We’ll run some panels on him, though. What did Cory say when you called him?”
“He’s hooking me up with a groomer since this pupperuni is in rough shape. They’ll hopefully have someone to foster him by the end of the week, though. Going through the vetting process.”
“Who’s going to watch this little guy until then?”
There was no reply. When Charlie looked at Amber, she found her cousin gazing at him, her eyes practically bursting with hearts.
“I’ll sneak him into my place.” She looked up at Charlie and held out her hands. “It’ll be fine! Only for a few days, and look—he’s so tiny and chill, no one will know.”
“Whatever you say.” Charlie went to the computer in the room and added notes to his chart. “I’ll have Sheila grab him for tests.” She hesitated. “If it doesn’t work out, call me, okay?”
Amber rolled her eyes. “It’ll be fine.We’llbe fine.”
“Last time—”
