Page 43 of Wish You Were Mine

I leapt to my feet and opened my arms, ready to hug her tightly—in need of comfort—but then I remembered where we were, and the fact she was wearing her work gear and didn’t want my germs all over her, so I stopped short.

“Seriously, thank you,” I said. “How is she doing?”

She grabbed my forearm and squeezed, as if sensing my need for human contact. “She’s still unconscious, but she’s breathing easily. We’ve cleared as much of the toxin out of her system as we can, and she’s responding well to treatment. We’re giving her fluids, and she’ll need to stay for a while longer.”

She hesitated.

“What is it?” I asked.

She tugged on the sleeve of her lab coat. “I’d like to take some blood samples so we can test to determine which toxin she ingested. It would be good to know what it was so you can make sure she doesn’t have access to it again.”

“That would be great.” I didn’t know why she’d hesitated. “I hate seeing her like that. I’ll do whatever I can to avoid it happening again.”

“Good.” She clasped her hands together and looked down at them. “I’ll have Sarah draw up a form for you to sign, giving us permission to take the samples. Once you sign that, there’s no point in continuing to hang around here.”

“When can I pick her up?” I asked.

“This afternoon should be fine. Perhaps just before closing, so we can make sure she’s in the best possible condition.”

I nodded. “I’ll come back for her then.”

Impulsively, I took her hand. Her gaze jumped to mine, surprise and awareness flaring in their mossy depths. I held onto her for just a beat too long, and she pulled her hand away.

“Before you come back, you should make sure you’ve checked the inside of your house and that you have a way to keep Cookie contained until we know what caused the damage. You’ll want to replace her food too, in case it’s contaminated.”

My stomach sank. It hadn’t even occurred to me that her food could be the problem. “Of course.”

I really hoped she could tell me what had poisoned Cookie. If I didn’t know, then how could I possibly keep her safe?

21

SUMMER

I finished drawing blood from Cookie, discarded the used syringe, and sealed the labeled sample tube. I hoped we could get the answers we needed from them quickly.

“Here.” I passed the three small tubes to Sarah. “These need to be couriered to the lab as soon as possible. Can you make sure they get there?”

“I’ll do that right now.” She took the samples and left the room.

I petted Cookie, ruffling the fur on top of her head. She was beginning to come around but wasn’t fully conscious yet. Fortunately, she was a placid cat, or else I might have had to sedate her for longer to make sure she wouldn’t tear out the IV.

“You’re going to be fine,” I told her, although I couldn’t shake the unsettled feeling I’d had since Asher woke me up this morning. Something was off here, but considering how easily Asher had dismissed my concerns last night, I was reluctant to raise them again.

I left Cookie, stripped off my gloves, cleaned my hands, and returned to the examination room to check who my first patient was. Sarah had already sterilized the examination table, and the scent of antibacterial spray was even more pungent than usual.

I opened a tab on my computer and laughed. Mrs. Hawkins and Dolores. According to the notes Beverley had taken, Dolores was off her food, which probably just meant that she hadn’t eaten one of the dozens of treats Mrs. Hawkins plied her with.

I rolled up my sleeves and opened the door. “Mrs. Hawkins, I’m ready to see Dolores now.”

Two hours later, I managed to take a quick break before my scheduled appointment with Duke for his annual vaccination booster.

Grace arrived right on time, as always, and greeted me with a smile. “Good morning, Summer. We’re here for our jab.”

I crouched in front of Duke, who nuzzled my hand, searching for a treat. I slipped one out of my pocket and offered it to him.

“Half now, and half after.”

He snuffled it up, and I straightened.

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