Page 86 of Between Us

Her mouth gapes open. I know she was ready for this question, so this is her stalling. She doesn’t want to answer it. “I’ve worked here long enough to know when something is an emergency,” she argues.

He shakes his head. “That’s not your call to make. Why didn’t you call me, Blake?” he repeats.

“Because… I—I don’t know.” I watch them share a long, meaningful look. Most people would think she has a good poker face, but if you know her, it’s impossible for her to hide her emotions from you. There’s a slight quiver to her bottom lip and her eyebrows raise the faintest bit.

Sighing, he looks at me, seeming to have forgotten I was a part of this conversation. “If you want to be a veterinarian one day, you’re going to have to learn to set these boundaries. It’s not easy, but it’s crucial.” I nod, opening my mouth to speak again, when he asks, “What happened with Mr. Gibson’s dog?”

“That was me to—”

He holds up a finger. “I’m asking Adrian.”

Nodding, I answer honestly. “We took the boys to dinner at The Loop, then for a walk along the beach. We heard a commotion, which was Archie catching his nail on something causing it to bleed.”

“And how did you handle that?” His tone is more clinical than I’ve ever heard. In a way, I appreciate that. It feels like he’s talking to me as my boss right now, not as a guy who’s been spending too much time with his daughter.

I love working for Dr. Miller, but I’m falling in love with his daughter too.

That distinction between employee and Blake’s friend feels important.

Sitting a little straighter, I explain to him how I cleaned it and stopped the bleeding.

“Cornstarch,” he slowly confirms once I’m done.

“Yes, sir. A professor mentioned it once in a course about emergency situations.”

“It’s a common solution to stop bleeding. I’m not saying you were wrong to do it.”

He’s not saying I was right either.

As if sensing that, Blake tries to interject, “What were we supposed to do?”

Looking almost hurt, he turns back to his daughter. “I’m going to ask you for the third time… why didn’t you call me?”

Looking like a fish out of water for a few seconds, her protectiveness of me wins out against her consideration for her dad’s feelings. As honored as I am, it’s not necessary.

“You know why!” she accuses. “I couldn’t put you in that position again. I overheard Mom talking to Bonnie more than once about how she was worried about you. I’m not blind to how your career affects you, Dad.”

“I’m the father here. You’re the kid—mykid. I’m the one who makes the big decisions, especially when it comes to the wellbeing of my family and my business.”

“It’s a lose-lose situation. If I call you, then the family would have to either pay to be told that their animal is fine, or you have to potentially lose the hard-set boundaries you’ve worked so hard for.”

His brows set in a stern line. “That’s my choice to make, Blake.”

There’s a hard look to her, one of pure stubbornness. “I don’t like the choice you’d make. And unlike you, I can’t choose to not help someone in need.”

The words feel like a bomb dropping. The despair on Blake’s face shows she regrets it, but there’s still so much passion in her eyes, a hot flame burning through the storm. She doesn’t try to take it back.

And I fucking hate that her defense of me is causing this much contention between them.

“I know it doesn’t always make sense—it’s a part of the career I still struggle with—however, there are reasons why you can’t run around town playing amateur vet.” His tone is losing some of its patience, but I can also tell that fighting hurts him as much as it does her. “If something worse happened—like an allergic reaction to the medicine you gave Zippy or causing more damage to Archie’s paw—the consequences would’ve been a hell of a lot more expensive than the initial examination.”

“I washelpingthem,” she desperately insists.

“You were, but did Erika even consent to her dog taking Benadryl?”

“She wasn’t mad about it,” Blake argues. I know exactly where Dr. Miller’s thoughts are headed.

“Because her dog was fine. I wouldn’t put it past Erika to take something like that to a court, and I couldn’t blame her if she did. Zippy means a lot to her—he’s more than just a family dog.”

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