Page 87 of Between Us

My face scrunches in confusion as Blake’s expression almost crumples. “I know that. Iknowwhy he means so much to her after her miscarriage. I also know that Erika and Kevin can’t afford any extra expenses, considering they’ve never once paid me since she was laid off from the bank a couple years ago.”

My eyebrows jerk up at the proclamation. I’ve never asked Blake how much she makes, nor expected her to pay me for choosing to hang out with the four of them. At least one night a week is spent babysitting the three tornadoes, so it’s initially surprising that she’s never been paid. And it makes me wonder if that’s why they’ve lost so many other babysitters according to her.

“So don’t sit here,” she goes on, angrier now, “and tell me that I don’t know, or care about any of that. And don’t pretend I don’t know that Archie isn’t one of the last things Mr. Gibson hasn’t lost recently.”

“Blake,” he starts, and I can see how painful this argument is for him.

“I—I’m done talking.” Quickly standing and grabbing her small crossbody purse, she walks out the office door. I hear the front door of the lobby bang shut before I’ve even processed the last few seconds.

Turning back to Tim, he’s looking at the door with a shocked expression. Most of the anger has dissolved from his expression. When he looks back at me, he admits, “She’s never walked out on me or her mom before.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” I admit.

“I hope Blake has told you a bit about… her past. I’d like for her to open up to anyone other than her therapist, truthfully.”

Nodding, I run my hands down my thighs. “She has.”

“Good. I’m glad. Then it probably isn’t surprising that Blake has always avoided making waves—and that’s what clues me into how important this is to her.”

“You… aren’t mad?”

He leans back, blowing out a breath. “That’s a loaded question. I didn’t mean to get as worked up as I did while talking to her. Regardless, that’s neither here nor there right now… I’m more concerned than I am angry.”

The old ‘I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed speech.’ It’s the same one my dad uses, and it’s always been worse than yelling ever could be.

“I know it seems like an extreme case, Adrian, but you need to be careful with the decisions you make right now. A program—especially one as prestigious as UCAH’s—will drop you if there’s a scandal attached to your name. Even if they don’t, it’ll be nearly impossible to get a job worth anything in this field. I hope you understand that under those hypothetical circumstances, I wouldn’t be able to write you a recommendation letter either.”

“Yes, sir, I understand.” My hands fidget in my lap, and as badly as I want to look away, I don’t.

He leans forward, his elbows on the desk, and looks down at his clasped hands. “You’re a long way out from graduation, I know that. I also think you’re going to make a damn good veterinarian. If things stay on the right path here”—he points between us then into the air, indicating the clinic itself—“I hope you can find a happy career working here. I just need you to notfuck upbefore then.”

Nodding, my throat suddenly thick with emotions, I tell him, “I’d be honored to work here as a veterinarian after I graduate. I understand that I can’t change your feelings on the matter, but I hope you don’t blame Blake too much. Ultimately, I knew that what I was doing was tip-toeing the line of unethical.”

“Why’d you do it then?” He’s genuinely curious, even so it still feels like it’s a test in a way.

“I didn’t know that Blake’s been babysitting for the Paulson family completely for free until a few minutes ago, but I had an idea that they weren’t in the most financially secure spot either. I wanted to help.” I shrug, thinking about all the times I was warned about getting too involved with a client or patient.

“Has Blake ever told you about my past? With the clinic and the town?”

Scrunching my eyebrows, I shake my head. “She’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to put you in a position to make a hard call—like turning someone away if they can’t afford the medical care.”

He nods slowly and doesn’t say anything for a long moment. “A few years ago—probably more like eight now—I found myself in a similar position. Except the dog was hurt much worse than any you’ve faced, and I was in a position to do something about it.

“I figured, ‘what the hell? Just once can’t hurt.’ It was a family friend we had been close with for years. So, I gave them a very discounted rate when their young puppy broke his leg. In a small community like Amada Beach, there aren’t a lot of secrets. So, word spread. Expectations were placed on me, and I couldn’t deliver.”

“She’s never mentioned this, but it makes sense…” I’m talking more to myself.

“Blake was young, and it was right around the time she was starting at SPA. She has a memory like an elephant, so I’m sure that time affected her more than we’ve realized. I struggled a lot for months after that, but it wasn’t the first time that I’ve dealt with depression due to the profession. Learning how to maintain boundaries is an important ethical requirement of the job. That being said, it’s as much for your own mental health as anything else.”

I can hear the sincerity in his voice, along with a layer of lingering pain as well.

“I hear you, sir.” Stumbling over my words for a moment, I tell him, “Blake’s made me realize how important therapy can be regardless of what you’re going through at the moment. And I’ve thought about it for a couple of weeks, but I know it’s something I need to do right away.”

“Is that so?” His brows lift, looking interested in what I have to say.

“Yes, I do mean that. I’ve felt conflicted about what happened with Zippy for over two months now. It’s hard to feel good about helping them when I know we went about it in the wrong way.”

“I’m proud of you for realizing that.” He sits back and crosses his arms. “As for Blake, my feelings on the matter are more complex, and I’ll let her decide how much of our inevitable conversation she wants to tell you. However, even though we’ve never really fought, I didn’t expect we’d go our entire lives without it either. And it’s good to see Blake feel so passionately about something… andsomeone.”

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