Page 46 of Run, Run Rudolph
“It’ll wear off.” I took out my stethoscope and listened. “I’m sure he’s fine.”
“He’s not having a reaction or something, is he?”
“No, no. He’s okay.” I leaned back on my heels, disentangling my hand from Rudolph, who’d decided to lick it. “I’ve seen animals get a little loopy, but they weren’t able to giggle. At least not in a way that I understood.”
I caught Tamara’s eye, sharing a look. A smile played at the edges of her mouth. Usually, if we were ever in cahoots, it was over ribbing my brother, which had been fun. This, though? It was way better, and I realized just how much I’d missed it. And her. I found my gaze dropping to her lips, aware that our age gap was no longer a wall to keep propped between us, to stop me from admiring her womanliness.
As Rudolph continued to giggle, I couldn’t help but smile. “He’s pretty cute.”
Her eyes crinkled with joy, and she gave me a sweet, teasing smile. “Are you getting soft on him?”
“I want to keep him,” I confessed, knowing she’d understand.
“But you can’t!” Rudolph giggled again.
The three of us laughed as the spirit of the season wrapped inside me, along with the gratitude that I was the one Tamara had called.
I wasn’t sure if she’d forgiven me for the unwanted attention I received around town as a bachelor, though. Everyone assumed I was sending women the message that I wanted them, then dropped them as soon as they expressed interest.
What was I supposed to do? They were kind, and I was kind, and then suddenly I was a big jerk for listening and caring, but not wanting to date them.
Honestly, until tonight, I’d figured that in an emergency, there was a fifty-fifty chance that Tamara would call my back-up veterinarian directly instead of me on my clinic’s after-hours line.
Turned out I was fifty percent wrong.
Chapter 14
~ Tamara ~
Watching Haden tuck the bags of snow around Rudolph, and then cover him with a blanket while talking to him made me wonder what he’d be like as a dad. Obviously he was caring, and with a go-with-the-flow, unflappable attitude. Did I already mention caring? A man who could be vulnerable enough to show he cared, not worrying if somebody called him less of a man for having a tender, nurturing side. It warmed my heart in a way that I couldn’t explain.
I forced myself to leave, so I didn’t throw myself on the poor man once again.
I stood outside the stall, wondering what I could do next to help Rudolph. I was dying to go back to the house and warm up. But I worried that if I suggested we move locations, Haden might take it as a cue to go home or on to his next emergency. When I’d first called him, I’d wanted him to dart in and out of here as fast as politely possible. Now, however, I was enjoying being around him just like I had all those years ago—before Kade had lied to me.
Still, I needed to remind myself that Haden was here tonight out of duty and responsibility. He still thought of me as family and, for him, family came first. Even in college, when most guys were out partying, he went on family trips. That was how committed he was. And I was sure it would be a long time before he let me fade from his familial sense of duty.
That was all this was. It wasn’t about me as an eligible and charming sweet woman, and I’d be wise to remember that.
Besides, he’d choose a woman who was closer to his age, and not eight years his junior. He’d also smartly choose a woman who didn’t cause him to fist his hands whenever she tried to gently and kindly stand up for herself and failed.
The man, despite his shuttered eyes, should never play poker, because his body language made it clear what he thought of me. He was probably fisting his hands to prevent himself from jumping in and fixing me.
Be more assertive. Be louder. Nobody’s going to know what you want unless you speak up for what you want. I’d heard countless people dole out that advice, and I bet Haden agreed, but was simply too polite to add to it.
I leaned into Rudolph’s stall. “How long do you think they’ll take to get to the North Pole and back?” I pushed up my coat sleeve to check my watch. It was almost ten. The herd had been gone about twenty minutes.
“I don’t understand time,” Rudolph said.
“I know, buddy. Sorry.”
Haden shook his head when I looked at him. He stretched his neck from side to side, letting out an exhausted exhale. He’d probably been working since six in the morning, if not earlier. And here I’d roped him into another animal crisis at the end of a long day.
“You sit for a bit,” I said, gesturing to the bucket-stool outside the stall. “I’ve got to put the roof up on my car.” Earlier, I’d been too busy getting Rudolph back into the barn, and the herd off to the North Pole to take care of it.
“I’ll help,” Haden said, ignoring the offered seat.
“No. Be a good vet, and sit with Rudolph. Make sure he doesn’t get cold.”
