Page 12 of Summer Redemption

Even if those thoughts did things to my body in a way I’ve never experienced before. And that was just me thinking about the man. I can’t imagine what would happen if he were to actually touch me.

It’s not like it would happen anyway.

“So, you feel comfortable going out on calls when needed?” Wilber’s question is tentative as he studies my face.

“Of course,” I chirp, perhaps a little too brightly. “I’m especially looking forward to when the foals start being born at Limitless. Who doesn’t love a baby horse?”

It feels a little like I’m throwing him a bone, but I need him to stop looking at me like he knows I’m hiding something. I spent far too much time and energy hiding what was going on back in school for it to all come out now. Wasn’t it bad enough that Huxley brought it up, as if it hasn’t been eight years and I should be over it all?

I’m not, but no one else needs to know.

Well, maybe that’s not entirely true. I’m mostly over it. His words, the ones that stung and whipped against my skin leaving scars only I can feel, echo in my head on occasion. It has gotten easier to push them away and remind myself they aren’t real and don’t matter.

The memory of Huxley apologizing to me, and the way his face was so earnest with an expression of hope and regret on his face, swims through my mind. I try and shake it away, but it’s not easy.

We aren’t even friends; I don’t know why that moment is sticking with me so much. I appreciate the effort, but does it change anything?

“Good,” Wilber knocks on the door frame, clearly relieved by my answer. “Your first appointment will be in soon.”

I’m giddy and don’t even try to hide it when I bounce on my toes and clap before doing a little dance. Wilber starts laughing before Nora pushes him out of the way to see what’s going on. The smile on her face when she catches my excitement has me giggling.

“I see you mentioned that her first appointment will be in soon,” Nora surmises.

I nod like a bobblehead doll, not at all tempted to tamp down my feelings on the matter. Up to this point, I’ve been getting reacquainted with the practice and shadowing Wilber before I went out to the farms and ranches.

Maybe it should have bothered me, that he wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing, but it didn’t. This clinic is his life, and he wants to make sure the animals under his care are taken care of. That means making sure that I’m capable of doing the job. Since it’s been eight years since I’ve worked next to him, Iwas more than willing to take a step back and ease myself into this whole veterinarian thing.

It’s new to me too and it’s given me a little space and time to get in the groove of things.

The last thing I want to do is disappoint Wilber. Not when he gave me a job and a chance at my dreams when I needed it the most.

“Roscoe is a good dog,” Nora muses. “You’ll like him.”

When the bell above the door chimes, I barely stop myself from letting out a very unadult and unladylike squeal. But I do clap my hands and do a fist pump. Nora’s laughter follows her as she heads out of the exam room and toward the front desk.

“I’m proud of you, Sunshine,” Wilber’s words have me stopping in the middle of my victory dance.

I look at the man who always felt like another dad with wide eyes and sniffle. “Don’t go and get all sentimental on me now, Wilber,” I almost whine. “Then I’ll start crying which will make you cry. What a pair we’d be then, huh?”

Wilber’s laughter is boisterous and full of warmth before he winks at me and leaves me to my feelings. While I’m a little nervous, I’m more excited than anything else. I’m ready for this.

But it’s still a strange, and huge, moment. Some people never get the chance to make their dreams come true, whether they’re big or little. This, being a vet, has always felt like a huge dream. I knew it was going to take a lot of time and effort, but I was willing to put in the work.

And now I’m here.

Right where I wanted to be. I’m about to see my first patient all by myself.

I pull up Roscoe’s file on the computer and give it a quick scan even though I’ve already looked it over a few times. Okay, maybe more than a few.

When Nora comes into the room, her smile is so wide that her cheeks must be hurting. She wiggles her eyebrows at me as she leads a gorgeous Alaskan Malamute into the room. It takes everything in me to be professional and not drop to my knees to give the big fluffy guy a hug and a generous pet.

But I stop myself.

Barely.

“I have Roscoe for you,” Nora exclaims brightly. “I already got his weight on the way in.”

That’s when I notice the woman who has walked in behind Nora. “Morgan?” The question slips out before I can stop it.

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