Page 7 of Mr. Valentine's Christmas

I looked at him and said, “Shit, I need to get Maggie from the vet’s.”

“She sick again?” Briggs sighed. “She’s been visiting Doctor Marshall quite a bit of late.”

I nodded. “Yes, mom told me.”

“How are Claire and Joe doing?”

“They’re fine. Can’t convince them to move out of that house, though.”

Mayor Briggs nodded. “Well, people can be stubborn.”

It was getting late, almost closing time at the clinic. “I really should go.”

Briggs bolted out of his chair. “Wait, Lucas. Hear me out before you go, please. It doesn’t seem like you’re buying my one shot idea, but I’m asking you personally for help. Haven’t you ever wanted something really bad? Haven’t you ever put yourself way out there and taken a risk?” he asked.

Of course I had. Obviously, V-Sparks was one example. Leaving Covington Falls was another. I took risks every day. All the time, in fact. I glanced down the street again and Mayor Briggs’ words replayed in my head. Soon, questions like whether I’d wanted something really bad or had I put myself way out there found answers.

Sure, I’d taken all sorts of risks in business, but maybe now I needed to take a risk on people, specifically people like Mayor Briggs. Or people like Doctor Marshall.

Zoey

Afteraboutanhourof waiting for Lucas Valentine to pick up Maggie, I locked the entrance to the clinic and left the lights on in the front. I went to the back room, took Maggie out of her crate. She followed me to my office.

Carrying a box stuffed with seven years’ worth of old patient files, I settled onto the sofa. Maggie curled beside me, and I shifted through the papers. Making a pile for the animals that were still my clients, another for the ones that were gone, and a third, smaller one for all of Dr. Anderson’s clients that I couldn’t make out because his handwriting was illegible.

From organizing the contents of this one box, I estimated that emptying and sorting out the four other boxes in the corner of my office would only take a few hours over the Christmas break. I’d been ignoring this task for months, prioritizing seeing my patients over it. But I promised myself I wouldn’t allow the boxes to be there come New Year’s Eve.

Sighing, I mumbled, “This would’ve been a lot easier if I could still afford the upgrades to the records system.” Maggie whined—sympathetically to my plight, I think. I rubbed her tummy and said, “Aww, thanks, girl.”

Normally on days where something out of the ordinary occurred, I would take Maggie home with me instead of leaving her overnight at the clinic. Sometimes her treatments would run late, or her recovery time went a little longer than expected. On those days, I’d offer to drive Maggie to the Valentine’s house in the morning. It made a lot of sense. They were an older couple. They liked to travel together, and it was difficult for them to drive into town after a certain hour.

There were benefits for me too. I’d make patient stops on the way and I loved spending time with Maggie. It was nice to have company in my rental, especially when I first moved to Covington Falls. Coming from L.A., it took a while to get used to the dark woods surrounding my place, the endless quiet of night when all you could hear were animal noises and the occasional car pulling into a neighbor’s driveway.

My phone rang as the notion of taking Maggie home with me creeped into my head. “Hey, Lydia.”

“Where are you? Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Oh, sorry. After I closed up, I stayed back to do some work. I lost track of time and I’m still here with Maggie.” I heard a firm knock at the door coming from the front of the clinic. I hopped off the sofa. “Hang on, Lydia. I think someone’s at the door.”

I poked my head out of my office. It was useless. All I could see was shadow.

“Lydia, let me call you back.”

“Okay, but this risotto is almost perfect.”

“Risotto sounds so delicious. I’ll be there. Don’t you dare eat it all,” I warned before ending the call. Lydia was a great cook. Her homemade pastas were better than some of the L.A. restaurants I’d spend a fortune on just to get takeout. Even more fortunate, Lydia lived in the apartment above the clinic.

Moving down the hall with Maggie following behind me, the closer I got to the front, the better view I had of Lucas Valentine’s imposing frame hovering outside. When he spotted me, he waved. There was only an amber street lamp illuminating the sidewalk, but as I stepped into the waiting area, I saw his breathtaking face smiling at me.

My feet stopped. The backs of my knees wobbled. “Damn,” I whispered.

Maggie barked. Although she was slow to get ahead of me, she galloped towards Lucas, her tail wagging frantically from side to side. My instinct to reunite a happy dog with its owner kicked in and I was able to move again.

“Hang on, girl. Let me open the door.”

A gust of cold air swept into the room as Lucas stepped inside. He was barely over the threshold when Maggie hoisted herself off the floor. Her front paws landed on Lucas’ chest and he gave her a hug.

“Hey, Mags, did you miss me?”

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