Page 49 of Lee

“Lots of stars out too.”

Over the years, she hadn’t spent a lot of time admiring the night sky, but now she wondered if she could somehow take shots of it. That might be something to spend some time researching.

The night was beautiful, and, if she allowed herself to think it… romantic. But that wasn’t why they were out together.

A sigh escaped her before she could stop it, and apparently it had been loud enough for Lee to hear.

“Everything okay?”

“Yep. Just appreciating the beauty of the night. It’s definitely sigh-worthy.” And Lee was swoon-worthy, but she was going to have to limit her swooning to her dreams.

As they turned into a driveway that was lit by lampposts on each side, Rori said, “Wow. That’s a big house.”

The two-story house sprawled at the loop end of a circular driveway, and light spilled from every window on the main floor and a few on the second floor.

Lee pulled to a stop in front of the main entrance and turned off the engine. “Well, here we go.”

They got out of the car, and Lee opened the back door and removed a black bag similar to the one Dr. Carl used when he left the office on big animal calls. Together, they walked up a sidewalk formed with elegant pavers.

Before they reached the front door, it swung open to reveal the silhouette of a slender woman. As they reached her, Rori could see that they were close to the same age.

“Are you Dr. Halverson?” she asked, her gaze on Lee.

“I am,” he said.

“Please, come in.”

She stepped back and motioned them into the house.

Lee rested his hand on Rori’s back, gently urging her to precede him inside. The woman shut the door, then turned to face them with a smile. She was exquisitely beautiful, with perfect, lightly tanned skin and long dark lashes framing blue-green eyes. Her dark hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun that had probably taken her ages to fix.

“I’m Carisa Montgomery,” she said, holding out her hand first to Lee, then to Rori.

“This is Rori. She’s new at the clinic, so I’ve brought her along to observe.”

The smile Carisa offered Rori was warm and friendly. “I’m observing too, so we can do that together.”

Rori had assumed that whoever they dealt with would be stuck up, like her mom was. The friendliness of Carisa’s smile was unexpected and refreshing.

“So where’s the mama?” Lee asked.

“She’s in the laundry room.” Carisa gestured for them to follow her.

Rori hoped there would be enough room for all of them because she wanted to stick close to Lee. As they walked along hallways with fancy artwork, Rori was glad that she’d already stayed in a mansion while looking after Queen Charlotte. If she hadn’t, she would have been in awe of everything they passed.

As it turned out, the laundry room could still awe her. It was almost the size of her whole apartment. There would have been room for all of them from the clinic—plus a few—to observe the birth.

“Oh, good,” Lee said as he walked toward a square fenced in area that stood about knee height. “You got a whelping enclosure.”

“I ordered a bunch of supplies to be sent here when I knew for sure this was where she would give birth.”

Lee stopped at the edge of the enclosure and put his bag on the floor. Bending over, he stroked his hand over the dog’s head. “Hey there.” He glanced over his shoulder to where they stood. “What’s her name?”

Carisa joined him at the enclosure. “Penelope.”

“That’s a cute name.”

“I named her after my favorite character on my favorite show.”

---