Page 13 of Lee

Along with dependable, she also longed for a man to be gentle and caring. It was rare that she recognized those qualities in her crushes, simply because she didn’t get close enough to them to see for certain.

Over the years, some of the guys she’d had a crush on had asked her out, but she’d discovered that too often, they didn’t live up to the hype in her mind. Hype that had more to do with her own desires for what she wanted in a man, rather than anything they’d done to reveal those qualities to her.

Because of that, she’d decided it was safer to just stick with crushes. To live with the anticipation of what could be, rather than the reality of what wasn’t. She didn’t want to fall in love, then discover that the man wasn’t all she hoped he’d be. Or worse yet, discover that she wasn’t what he hoped she’d be.

So Lee was safe from her.

She’d enjoy the little flutters of attraction in her stomach, all the while knowing they would lead to nothing further.

CHAPTER FOUR

Lee left the room where he’d just had to tell an owner that their dog didn’t have long to live. It was the very worst part of his job. Well, second worst. The worst was when the day came that he’d have to watch them say goodbye to their beloved pet.

In the hallway outside the exam room, he paused, pressing a hand to his stomach. He said a brief prayer, asking God to comfort the owner and her family as they faced the last days with their elderly dog.

He took a deep breath and exhaled, then headed to the reception area at the front of the clinic. They’d had a dog surrendered to the shelter earlier that morning, so he needed to check it out.

“Hi, Lee,” Cheryl said as he approached the desk.

“Hey.”

“Today is Rori’s first day,” she told him, motioning to the woman seated beside her at the desk.

Lee gave Rori a warm smile, happy that something had worked out for Cheryl after her initial plans for a replacement had fallen through. She’d been so stressed the day she’d found out that the woman she’d hired couldn’t take the job, so it was good to see her relaxed once again.

Hopefully this woman would work out so that Cheryl could relax and enjoy the last weeks of her pregnancy. It seemed a long shot that the woman who’d brought her cat in because it wasn’t purring would fit in at a vet clinic. But only time would tell.

If she’d been a receptionist before, it was possible it would be okay. Rori would be a permanent replacement since Cheryl planned to stay home with the baby, so Lee hoped she fit in well.

“How are you finding things here so far?”

“I’m enjoying it.” Rori tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear as she looked up at him with her clear blue eyes. “I loved meeting the kittens in the shelter.”

Working at the front desk didn’t require Rori to have a vet’s knowledge, but loving—or at the very least, liking—animals was a necessity.

“Are you in the market for a cat?” Lee asked.

Rori shook her head. “Not yet. I’d like to be a little more settled before I consider getting a pet.”

“Lee’s got the cutest dog,” Cheryl said. “You should show Rori a picture of her.”

Lee pulled out his phone and opened his photo roll. He had a lot of pictures of Elsa, including a bunch that Layla and Amelia had taken. They frequently asked for his phone to do photoshoots with Elsa.

He settled on one that had Elsa sitting next to her food bowl, waiting for permission to eat with an expression of anticipation on her sweet furry face. When he held the phone out, Rori hesitated a moment before taking it from him.

She bent her head over the screen, then looked up with a smile. “She’s so cute! What’s her name?”

“Elsa.”

Her brows lifted, widening her eyes. “From Frozen?”

Lee shrugged. “Sort of. I was having trouble coming up with a name, so my former co-workers suggested we put her on the floor and see what name made her come to me. And then they gave me a bunch of names to try. Someone who had seen Frozen offered Elsa. I hadn’t seen the movie, but I still liked the name, and so did Elsa.”

“Do you ever bring her into the office?” Rorie asked.

“Rarely.”

“You should bring her in again,” Cheryl said.

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