Page 2 of Meddling Under the Mistletoe
“Don’t worry,” Oliver says. “We’ll figure something ou?—”
“I’ll take her,” I blurt without a second thought.
“Are you sure?” Ron winces, his breathing ragged. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
“You’re not,” I promise. “You focus on taking care of yourself. I’ll handle the rest. Call us the second you’re better, and we’ll have June Bug ready to go home with you.”
“I’ll even give her a bath before you pick her up so she’s all snuggly and fresh.” Lucy smiles as June Bug whines and squirms in Kayla’s arms.
“That’s a hell of an offer, don’t you think, Ron?” Oliver touches his shoulder and gives him a warm smile.
“We’ll take good care of her,” I say.
The sound of sirens in the distance grows louder as the ambulance pulls into our parking lot.
Ron gives a reluctant nod. “Let me pay you now, though, for the trouble.”
“It’s no trouble. We want to help,” I say, and Lucy nods in agreement. “I’ll give her a full exam today to make sure she’s healthy, and we’ll get her up-to-date on her shots. You just call us when you get settled, and we’ll go from there, okay?”
Ron looks to where June Bug twirls like an angry tornado in Kayla’s grasp. “I suppose if someone’s going to watch your pup, there’s no one better than the vet.”
The front door chimes as the paramedics wheel in a stretcher.
“Rookie,” one of them says when she sees Oliver. “What are you doing here? I thought you were off today?” She has on a City of Loving Fire Department shirt and her auburn hair is in a tight bun.
“You picked a good day too,” the guy guiding the other end of the gurney says. “Chief tried a new recipe at lunch today. Another one of his Pinterest creations. There was some kind of questionable fish involved. If you’re the only person on duty tomorrow, you’ll know why.”
Oliver wrinkles his nose before helping ease Ron onto the stretcher. “Ron, these are my colleagues, Helen Gibson and Gabe Martinez. They’ll take good care of you.”
“Yes, we will,” Helen says.
I grab a business card from the holder on the front desk and quickly scrawl my cell number on it. “This has the clinic number, and I’ve written mine on here as well. You call us when you can.”
“Thanks, Doc. Thanks for taking care of Junie for me. She can be a bit of a handful.” As Ron places his hand on mine, I become acutely aware of Oliver’s gaze lingering on me as he steps toward the reception desk.
“She’s going to be just fine,” I say, giving Ron’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Besides, animals are kind of my thing.”
He gives me a weak smile as the paramedics begin asking questions about his symptoms and check his vitals. We give them room to do their workup, answering questions when asked. Moments later, I hold the door as they wheel him out.
“I’ll see you soon, June Bug,” he calls out as they roll him away.
“Poor guy.” Lucy frowns as I shut the door behind him. She makes her way over to where Kayla stands with the puppy and leans down to allow June Bug to lick her nose.
“He’s fortunate it happened while he was here, living alone and all,” Oliver says, leaning against the counter.
“I’d say we were pretty lucky you were here too.” I smile, stepping closer to him. “Rookie.”
His gaze drops to the floor as he waves off the compliment, knocking the business cards from their plastic holder in the process, sending them scattering across the floor.
Oliver’s cheeks flame, and I have to bite back a grin.
“Sorry about that.” He rakes his hands down his face as he kneels to pick up the pieces of cardstock.
“It’s okay.” I crouch to help him, but he lifts his head at the wrong moment, bonking me in the chin. “Ow.”
“Oh God. I’m sorry. I swear, I’m usually a little more coordinated. If I wasn’t, it’d be a bit of a job hazard.”
“Really, it’s fine.” I rub my hand over my chin and join him on the floor. My fingers brush his as we reach for the same card, and a spark of electricity zips through me.
