Helen Myers - Groomed for Love

“Poor little thing. How badly is she cut?”

“Bad enough that neither he nor Ramon could get the piece out. The dog snaps at them when they try to get a good look.”

Rylie wasn’t surprised about her reaction to at least one of the men. “That’s a surprise about her snapping at Ramon.” The caretaker, who was closer to her uncle’s age than Noah’s, appeared to get as much of a kick out of the little dog as his employer did.

“If you ask me, Bubbles is just partial to women,” Roy said. He nodded to MG. “Like someone else I know.”

Nudging him affectionately due to his lingering fretting over why MG wasn’t warming to him as much as he expected, Rylie said, “Either way, I know Mrs. Prescott is stressed. You go on, Uncle Roy. I’ll manage this.”

Although he looked tempted, he hung back. “You haven’t even started your certification as a technician yet. What happens if the dog needs stitches or something else that requires she be put under sedation?”

“Then I’ll notify Doc and I’ll keep Bubbles as calm as possible until he’s back from his emergency call. Go enjoy your game with the guys, and if something changes that I can’t handle, I’ll holler.” The VFW was only a half mile down the service road.

Roy seemed tempted, but the pull on his conscience was clearly stronger. “You don’t have a key to lock up in case Gage isn’t needed.”

“So lock that side door and leave the back one open. I’ll keep an eye on things until you can make it back here to close up.”

Roy rubbed at his whiskered jaw. Like Rylie’s father, he took after the Black Irish side of the family, while Rylie favored her red-haired mother, whose ancestors were from England as much as Ireland. “I would give you my key and you could give it back in the morning,” he ventured.

Rylie loved him for the gesture but shook her head adamantly. “Hey, I will get a key when Doc is ready to give me one.”

“Which will be soon,” Roy assured her. He gave her a quick hug. “Have I told you lately what a great job you’re doing? I’m really proud of you.”

Afraid that he was going to ask questions again about why she’d quit veterinary school when she’d been in her last year, she assured him, “That means more to me than I can tell you. Now, go. Enjoy! And I’d like to hear that you actually talked to a woman while you were over there.” She didn’t understand why he was still single after all these years. He didn’t even have someone special he was seeing. On first glance he did appear severe with his stark coloring and serious manner, but he was attractive and fairly fit, although probably a bit too shy with the opposite sex for his own good.

Relenting, Roy dug his keys out of his jeans pocket. “I’ll see you right after the game is over—unless it’s a total blowout from the beginning. Then I’ll head over here sooner. We can play a couple hands of poker over a beer. It’s time we find out if you can finally keep up with your old uncle.”

“Be careful for what you wish for,” Rylie countered with a cheeky grin.

Waving goodbye, she rounded the building to wait on Noah. She knew if she didn’t, he would be confused, then annoyed that things weren’t the way Roy had said he would find them. Also, knowing Bubbles would be stressed, she wanted to make things go as quickly and easily as possible for her, too.

She couldn’t deny that she was feeling an odd mixture of apprehension and excitement at the idea of seeing Noah again. Maybe she was being a glutton for punishment, but she wanted to make him see what others had no problem noticing—that she was good at what she did and fun to be around.

She didn’t have to wait long for him. Noah must have really kept his foot on the accelerator to arrive only a minute or two later.

“What’s going on?” he asked her, upon parking in back and emerging from the black BMW.

He looked much more approachable dressed in a pale blue denim shirt and designer jeans, but his lack of a tan and his Italian loafers made it obvious that he was no outdoorsman, let alone a cowboy. Nevertheless, Rylie’s heartbeat kicked up a notch and she almost forgave him for his curtness earlier.

“Doc had an emergency and Roy had a previous commitment. He’ll be back later. We agreed that he would just keep this door unlocked instead.”

“They don’t trust you with a key?” he asked, rounding to the passenger side of the vehicle.

So much for wishing that he’d come with a better attitude, Rylie thought. “I’ve only been here for a short while. Uncle Roy didn’t get a key when he first started, either.” She couldn’t, however, resist adding, “Have you always acted so condescending and superior with people, or is this a side that only I bring out in you?”

Noah looked taken aback. “Me? Condescending? Serious maybe. Mine is that kind of profession. The price for putting criminals where they belong means having to fixate on the unpleasant, often brutal side of life. Not everyone has the luxury of seeing the world as glass half-full every waking moment as you do.”

Oddly enough, Rylie was almost consoled by his answer. If that’s how he saw her, she thought, opening the door herself, then she was a better actress than she’d hoped. “Well, all of that fixating is doing bad things for whatever charm you inherited from your wonderful mother. Maybe you should consider a job change before it starts to affect your health.” Before Noah could reply, she reached for Bubbles and cooed, “Poor darling. Easy does it. We’re going to get you feeling better. I promise.”

The pink towel the young dog was lying in was significantly stained, warning Rylie to lift her with extra care. Once the dog was in her arms, she turned for the back door.

“Can you get that for me?” she asked Noah.

Without comment, he slammed the car door shut and pressed the remote lock on the key. Then he jogged the few steps to open the steel-and-glass clinic door.

Inside, Rylie led the way to the nearest stainless-steel operating table. The fluorescent lights remained on, and it made the room as bright as midday. Whispering soothingly to the little dog that was trying to burrow her head into Rylie’s armpit, she eased Bubbles onto the table.

“Poor friend. What happened here, huh? Gonna let me see so I can make it better?”

“You’re authorized to do this?” Noah asked, coming up beside her.

Without taking her eyes off the wound, Rylie said, “I’m at least capable of seeing how badly she’s hurt. Did you manage that much?”

Noah admitted, “No, and neither did Ramon.”

“Were you present when the accident happened?”

“I was pretty much the cause of it.” At Rylie’s startled glance, he continued. “Mother was annoyed with me. I was supposed to be working later than she expected. After changing, I came downstairs and caught her trying to have more wine than is safe for her. With her nurse upstairs preparing her bath, and our housekeeper outside in the garden, she thought she was alone.”

“You startled her.”

“I did,” he said, regret deepening his voice. “She doesn’t have the strength she thinks she has despite the therapy she gets, and the bottle and glass slipped from her grasp. A moment later, upset at the commotion that followed, Bubbles got into the mess, and the rest you can see.”

It was apparent by the way Noah looked everywhere but at her that he was either embarrassed, or ashamed, or both. Rylie had heard enough to understand that it didn’t matter how much money you had, a condition like Mrs. Prescott’s was difficult for more than the patient.

“I’m very sorry,” she said with the utmost sincerity. “I promise that won’t go any further, and I hope she wasn’t cut, too?”