Page 38 of The Wedding Ranch
He stood there, kind of stuck while Ruby went over Barkley’s follow-up instructions and settled their bill.
Barkley and his mom left, and Ruby spun around in her chair. “Ryder Bolt. What are you doing here behind my desk? Are you trying to steal my job?”
“Not in a hundred years,” he said.
“Good,” Ruby said. “So, then what are you doing back here?”
He fumbled for an excuse. “Thought I’d take Diane out to lunch. You weren’t here so I came around to leave her a note, but then she came out and the cat lady came in and you showed up. It turned into a party.”
“I see. Well, from what I hear you could use a good party now and then.”
“Excuse me?” Since when was his business anybody’s business? “I’m fine, thank you very much.”
“If you say so.”
Ginny walked back out to the front empty-handed. “I guess I’ll be picking up Tux in the morning.”
“Don’t you worry,” Ruby chimed in. “I’ll call you as soon as he comes out of sedation. He’ll be a little loopy, but they bounce back super fast. By the time you pick him up he’ll be his old self.”
The woman held her hand to her heart. “I feel kind of bad about it.”
“Oh, don’t. It’s the responsible thing to do. We’ll take great care of him.”
“I know that. Y’all always do.” Ginny twisted the handle on the door and walked out with her head low.
“Poor thing,” Ruby said. “Sometimes those procedures are harder on the owners than they are on the animals.”
“Guilt’s a crippling thing.” He knew that better than anyone.
“So, do you want to wait here, or should I send Diane over to meet you for lunch when she’s done?”
“Oh, yeah. I guess she could just meet me across the street.”
“Sure thing.”
“Okay.” He slowly turned, taking only one step before he stopped. “Did a lady with a mastiff come in here? Lives in the new neighborhood up near my place?”
Ruby cocked her head. “A lady?”
“Anyone, really. A big mastiff. Like a hundred and eighty pounds.”
She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her generous chest. “Oh yeah. You must be talking about Mister.”
“Yes!”
“Mh-hmm. Ryder Bolt, were you back here looking through my files?”
He glanced back to the operating room. “Stop that. I’m just asking a question.”
“Oh, I know what you were doing.” Her lips curled up like she was in the know. Ruby was enjoying this way too much.
“I’m not up to anything. I met her at the fair. I was supposed to give her a number for something, but I lost hers.”
“Really?”
“Why are you giving me such a hard time about this, Ruby?”
“Because I know you. We all worry about you. You’re acting all goofy as heck, but own it, man. This is a good sign.”
