Renee Andrews - Finally A Bride

“It will be.” He looked pointedly to the doctor. “Right?”

“That’s. My. Goal,” she said, her words clipped.

“Well, you won’t find a better vet than our Haley, that’s for sure,” Mae said. “She and Doc Sheridan have been taking care of Snowflake for five years now.” She pointed a finger at the vet. “And, like I told you, don’t you worry about being on your own now that he’s retired. You’re going to do a great job here.” She smiled at Gavin. “Today’s her first day on her own, you know.”

Not what Gavin wanted to hear. His face must’ve shown it because those green eyes grew sharper, daring him to comment. He held his words.

“Thank you, Mrs. Martin,” Haley said as Aaliyah returned to the front counter.

Gavin knew better than to say anything else to the doctor about his fears, so he turned to Aaliyah. “The puppy—he’s doing okay?”

“He is,” she answered with a smile. “Temperature is coming up. I have him under the warmer while he’s waiting to be seen by Dr. Calhoun.”

“Great.” Gavin nodded once toward her then returned his focus to the veterinarian while Aaliyah spoke to Mrs. Martin. “How long do you expect the treatment to take?”

Again, looking incredulously at him but answering calmly, she explained, “There is no way to know, but the minimum amount of time I’d anticipate to stabilize him is around seventy-two hours. That wouldn’t be when he’s ready to be released, but stable enough to begin eating and hydrating normally.” Glancing toward Eli, she added softly, “He could be here awhile.”

Gavin couldn’t control his frown. Eli wouldn’t be happy about that, but if it was necessary, then that’s what would have to happen. “As long as you keep him alive and get him better, that’s fine.”

One eyebrow lifted slightly. “I’m so glad that’s fine for you.”

Gavin hadn’t been much of a people person over the past couple of years. He had a big heart for children and had always interacted with them well, but the ability to communicate effectively with adults, particularly attractive females, no longer fell into his list of finer attributes. Clearly that was still the case with this vet.

Which was fine. He didn’t want anything beyond a surface acquaintance with any woman. “We’ll stop by tomorrow then, after school, so Eli can see for himself that Buddy is getting better.” Then, without giving her a chance to respond, he turned to the boy clicking the end button on the cell. “Come on, Eli. We’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Okay, Mr. Gavin,” he said, handing him the phone. Then he rushed into the arms of Haley Calhoun. “And please get him well for me, Miss Haley. Okay?”

Gavin waited for her to give the correct response.

“I will do my best.”

The little boy who held Gavin’s heart in his hands turned and gave him the first semblance of a smile since finding the puppy. He truly believed the vet could save Buddy.

Gavin forced a smile and prayed for God to heal the pup, because he didn’t want to be there if Eli’s heart was shattered again. He had a feeling it would take God’s intervention, too, for the animal to pull through.

Mae Martin turned from the counter toward Eli. “Why, Miss Haley will take the absolute best care of your little Buddy.”

The memory Gavin had sensed earlier clicked into place and he recalled exiting the cabin to find Mrs. Martin speaking to Savvy about her concern for a former church member. Haley Calhoun.

What a shame, she’d said, that such a beautiful young lady who’d been so involved in the congregation seems to have given up on God when she gave up on men.

Chapter Two

Even though her office would close in five minutes, Haley still sat at the computer behind the front counter entering notes from her last patient.

She couldn’t focus. Instead of thinking about the details pertaining to Abi Cutter’s accident-prone chocolate Lab, Roscoe, who’d pried the lid off a bin of horse feed and eaten more than his share, she continued dwelling on her earlier interaction with Gavin Thomason.

She hadn’t missed the fact that he’d been talking to Savvy Evans, who ran Willow’s Haven with her husband. That, coupled with Eli’s statement that his parents were in Heaven, told her this little boy would be one of the children she could help with her new program.

Did it also mean she’d be dealing with Mr. Gavin, too?

She cringed at the thought.

“Roscoe seems to be doing better now,” Aaliyah told her, returning from checking on their “overnighters.” Today they had four animals currently in their long-term care: Buddy; two golden retrievers, Honey and Sugar, currently boarded while their owners were on vacation in Tennessee; and Roscoe.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Haley clicked a few keys on the computer. “We probably would’ve been fine letting Roscoe go home with the Cutters, but I’d like to watch him overnight.” She was also glad Aaliyah’s presence helped her to focus on the task at hand—documenting their most frequent customer—instead of dwelling on the man who had gotten under her skin like a burr beneath a saddle blanket.

“Honestly, Roscoe probably sees this place as his home away from home.” Aaliyah smirked. “Isn’t this his third time in the past month?”

Haley scrolled through Roscoe’s file. “Fourth, if you count when I treated him on-site.”

“Oh, yeah, when he got his head stuck in that fence rail. I forgot all about that.” Aaliyah sprayed the counter with disinfectant and began wiping it down. “You should start using the bigger office now that Doc Sheridan is gone.”

“I’m comfortable here.” Haley liked being visible to clients as much as possible. Plus, Aaliyah only worked two days per week so, most of the time, Haley would be the only one to greet customers, maintain files and treat patients. Before, she’d had Doc Sheridan to share in that burden. But she didn’t mind staying busy. Beyond talking to her mother and grandfather on an almost-daily basis, the animals provided her primary semblance of family now.

And she was okay with that. Really.

She completed the notes on Roscoe and closed his file, which brought Buddy’s to the forefront of her computer. “How did Buddy handle that bit of liquids?”

“Kept everything down so far. He’s sleeping again.”

“Poor little thing.” He’d been covered in almost as much dirt as Eli when he’d arrived and was just as cute. She looked forward to seeing the boy again tomorrow when he came to visit the puppy and anticipated Buddy might be a little more responsive after twenty-four hours of hydration.

The alarm went off on Aaliyah’s cell. “Closing time. Ready to call it a day?” She lifted her brow. “Until you come back to check on the animals before bed, that is. Why don’t you come to the ladies’ Bible study tonight at Mandy Brantley’s house? You seemed to enjoy it that one time you came.”

“Did I?” Haley kept her eyes on the computer screen while silently willing her assistant to drop the subject. But after waiting a couple of beats, she glanced up to see Aaliyah’s frown.

“Okay, so you didn’t. But we enjoyed having you there. Have you had a chance to look at the new study we’re doing on forgiveness?” She tapped the thin blue book she’d given Haley last week, still sitting on the desk where Haley had put it that day.

“No, not yet. And I think I’ll pass, but thanks for the invitation.” She saved Buddy’s file and shut down the computer.

Before Aaliyah could plead her case further, like she did each week, the office door burst open. Mae Martin entered, bracelets jangling as she waved off her apologies.

“I’m so sorry, Haley. I know you’re about to close up shop for the day, but I realized after I started getting Snowflake’s dinner ready that I left those supplements here. I’m beginning to believe I’d lose my head if it weren’t attached.” She laughed and crossed the lobby to where Aaliyah had already reached beneath the counter and pulled out the white bottle.