Page 21 of A False Start
Nadia
The scrappy littledog runs in circles around me the second I let him out of his crate. His tail is like a string bean now that we’ve shaved him down and I swear that scrawny tail is wagging his entire body. He is positively vibrating with excitement. All because I brought him out and sat down on the clinic floor.
I smile so hard my cheeks hurt. I can’t help myself. He just had a leg amputated, but all he cares about is that I sat on the floor and talked to him in a baby voice.
“Who’s a good little boy? Huh?” The dog’s head quirks with intelligence. “Who is it?” He presses his ribcage down toward the ground and wiggles his tiny bum up in the air, like we’re playing a really fun game.
My palm slaps the ground in front of him and he pushes up to standing, tail tucked between his legs, and tears around the clinic like he’s the fanciest racehorse on this farm. Oblivious to the fact that he looks a little drunk with the way he’s weaving around.
I laugh. A full laugh that fills my chest. “Do you have the zoomies, Tripod?”
The door behind me pushes open, and Mira’s chuckle joins my own. “Tripod. I approve.”
“It suits him.” We smile at each other before Mira crouches down to scratch him behind the ears.
“How is Billie?” I ask eagerly.
Mira sighs as she sets her things down behind the front desk. “She’s good. The babies are good. The bad news is they’ve recommended full bed rest, and that’s going over about as well as you might think. Vaughn is in major over-protective mode, so I imagine there will be some battles there.”
I snort.Understatement. Billie is a force to be reckoned with. Something tells me Vaughn is going to have his hands full. “Oof. Poor Vaughn.”
My sister-in-law crouches beside me, and Tripod instantly ambles over, still wiggling his entire body. “I’ve contacted other clinics and the local shelter. I even put up posters in town. No one has come to claim him. Poor little fella.”
A pinch squeezes my chest at the thought that no one is coming for this little dog. That no one misses him or wants him. Sadly, I can relate.
I have Stefan now. But he never came back for me. He got the fuck out of dodge the second he could and never really looked back. I understand why. God, at the time, I was more jealous than anything. I was a canary in a cage, and he was the hawk swooping around outside. So, while I can’t blame him for putting as much distance between our childhood home and his well-being,there’s still always this tiny packed-away part of me that’s sad I got left behind.
Angry even.
But I keep that part of me well hidden. It doesn’t serve me, and it certainly doesn’t fit into my plan to create a happy,normallife for myself.
My plan to erase my past and create a shiny new future. A secure career, white picket fence, two point five kids. I want the whole thing.
I realize I’ve zoned out, watching Mira pet the orphan pup. “So, what now?” I ask.
Her lips press together in a grim line. “Shelter, I guess? Maybe a rescue? If I weren’t so busy already, I’d keep him myself.”
I look down into the bulgy, brown orbs of his eyes. I wish I could too. I want so badly to not leave him behind. The bridge of my nose stings as I lay all my trauma out on a perfectly happy little dog. But I’ve got this little voice at the back of my head telling me I’m not ready to settle down yet. That I’ve got a few things to do still.
“How was your riding lesson?” Mira changes the subject entirely, and I’m not sad to let my brain travel in a different direction.
A slow grin spreads across my face. “It was amazing.”
“Yeah?” Her eyes light up, excited for me. “Griff was okay? I know he’s not much of a talker.”
I absently wonder if she knows why. Does Stefan know? Has anyone paid enough attention to him to even figure it out?
“He was great.” I nod. “I rode his horse, Spot. He only let me walk because he’s all high and mighty and shit.” Mira laughs. “But it was still amazing. We’re doing another after work tonight.”
She rubs my back in a sisterly way and beams down at me. “I’m so proud of you, Nadia.” I lean into her touch, thriving on it. I know people think Mira comes off a little prickly, but she’s been nothing but warm and protective of me. Since the very first time we met.
I know she’s my brother’s soulmate. But more than that, I think she was meant to come into my life as well.
“Are you going to apply?”
“For what?” Am I being intentionally oblivious? Yes, yes, I am.
And by the way she rolls her eyes, she knows it too. “Vet school, dumbass.”
