Page 4 of Cooper's Salvation
“Ow. Damn, still have a backhand like Thor, I see.” Kara scratched the pup under her chin, rubbing at her own smarting shoulder.
“Oh, before I forget. The whole reason I came over to talk to you is we’ve had a referral, and I was hoping you’d have a few minutes to introduce him to some of the service dogs. See if he gels with any of them. I have a meeting shortly, and Jasmine has an appointment of her own.”
“Sure, I can do that. Do you have any particular ones in mind, or just all of them?”
“I’ll bring him over shortly to meet you, and you can use your discretion as to which you think might be a good match.”
“No problem. I’ll be here all morning. Anytime you’re ready.”
“Great. Thanks, Kara.” Tori put Tammy down in the basket Kara’d set up for her in the consultation room. “I’m off. I’ll bring Cooper around in a little bit.”
“Later.”
Shuffling through the files she’d left on the countertop the night before, Kara started a to-do list, noting which animals required what that morning. They’d had a number of injured dogs and a surrendered horse come in over the past week that she needed to check on.
She whistled for Tammy, snagged her medical bag, and headed for the kennels. Rounding the corner of the clinic, she caught sight of a man standing a little distance from the office building. He surveyed the lay of the land, much as she’d done earlier over her morning coffee. Kara had seen her fair share of good-looking men, but there was something more about this man that struck a chord.
The tense body language and brooding expression on his face had her wondering why he was here. Was he a vet suffering PTSD, or much like her, in need of a therapy or companion dog to deal with life or illness? Whatever it was clearly weighed heavily on him, making her lean toward the PTSD theory.
As she studied him, he turned, and Kara caught her breath. It had been a while since she’d seen Cooper McDowell. In fact, that last time she’d seen him was the day he and Tom had shipped out together. She hadn’t even known he’d been released from the hospital. A feeling of hurt washed through her that he hadn’t reached out to let her know.
Out of nowhere, a need to soothe the pain she saw stamped on his gorgeous face overwhelmed her. And right on its heels came a rush of panic. The last thing she needed was to complicate her life just when she was finally beginning to feel human again. It was time for her to get back to living instead of merely existing.
1
Present day ...
The waiting room was buzzing as Kara made her way back to the reception desk to call her next patient. Penny had done an incredible job of not just maintaining but growing the practice in the time she’d been gone. Kara’d found a wonderful locum to stand in for her while she’d been at Healing Heroes. and between them, they’d been a powerhouse.
“Darby, who’s next?”
The ever-cheerful receptionist picked up a manilla folder. “That sexy gentleman over in the corner with the gorgeous German Shepherd,” she murmured just loud enough so only Kara could hear, fanning herself with the folder before handing it to Kara with a smile and waggling eyebrows.
Biting back a laugh, Kara read the name on the file she held in her hand. Seeing the owner’s name, recognition slammed into her, and she quickly glanced over to the corner Darby had indicated. Her knees went weak at the sight.
It took her a long moment before she felt capable of uttering a word. Clearing her throat, Kara called out. “Mr. MacDowell, would you like to bring Daisy through?”
Cooper looked up at her with the piercing gray eyes she knew so well. The ones that seemed to see all the way into her soul. Last time she’d seen him had been at Tori’s Healing Heroes before he’d disappeared again.
Tearing her eyes away, she turned her gaze to the dog sitting quietly at his side. Kara went to her haunches and called softly, “Daisy, hi sweet girl. How are you?” Looking at the man she and Tom had called friend, she then asked, “It is okay to call her over?”
The dog’s tailed thumped, and she looked up at her master as if asking permission to go to the other human. The man stroked a tender hand over the German Shepherd’s head. “Go on and say hi then,” he said, his deep voice sending shivers down Kara’s spine just as it had since the first time she’d met him.
The dog dashed over, her tail wagging furiously. When she reached Kara, she plopped her butt down and offered her paw.
“Hi, precious. I’ve missed you, my sweet girl. I never thought I’d see your beautiful face again. I can’t believe you’re here.” Kara scratched behind Daisy’s ears, and the dog groaned in ecstasy. “I’ve got your baby at the office today. I bet she’ll be as excited to see you as I am.”
As if understanding every word Kara’d spoken, Daisy licked her anywhere she could reach. Her big body wriggled with happiness, her tail thumped against the floor, and she whined softly. Finally rising to her feet, Kara looked over at the man again. “Let’s head on back to my office.”
She watched as he rose gracefully before turning and preceding him down the hall. Hopefully, she’d think of something to say to him by the time they reached the room.
Closing the door behind the man and his dog, Kara hesitated before turning around. There were so many things she wanted to say, none of them a good opener to a conversation. Her brain scrambled for a neutral opener.
Before she could come up with one, Cooper spoke first.
“How’ve you been, K?”
All Kara’s good intentions of a neutral topic of conversation flew out of her head.
