Page 8 of Second to None
“You were kind to wrap your friend here in it. I’ll get it back to you.” She turned toward Emily. “Carla has your cell-phone number, so we’ll call as soon as we have news.”
“Can’t we wait?” Diego asked after the doctor walked out the door.
His caring made tears well up in Emily’s eyes. “It will take some time to figure out what to do for the dog, and they need the chairs in the waiting area for people whose pets haven’t been seen yet.”
Diego looked down at the empty examination table. “They won’t do noth ... anything to him without calling first, will they? I mean, like—” His voice hitched, and he swallowed hard.
Emily wanted to wrap her arms around Diego, but instead she said gently but with confidence, “They would only put him to sleep if they thought he was in terrible pain, and you would want them to ease that.”
Diego nodded. “But he only whimpered once.”
“Trust Dr. Quillen to do everything she can for him. She’s a really good vet.”
The boy wiped the back of his hand across his eyes and nodded again.
“Let’s find Mr. Varela and go back to the center. And, Diego, thank you for showing him what a great person you are.”
Diego gave her a level look that was old beyond his years. “I can’t see an animal hurting and not try to help it. At least me being so big is good for that.”
He’d once told her that he wished he wasn’t so tall and broad shouldered, because it meant his father wanted him to scare people. Which had led to Diego’s refusal and exile from his home, such as it was.
“Maybe that’s why you’re so big, so you can be a protector. Like a knight in the old days.” Emily waved toward the door to get him moving.
“Sir Diego.” His lips curved up in a tiny smile as he started walking. “Got a ring to it.”
As they entered the reception area, Emily sent Diego outside while she stopped at the front desk. “Would you send me the bill at home?” she leaned in to ask Carla in a low voice.
Carla gave her a strange, knowing smile. “Consider it taken care of, honey.”
Puzzled by the woman’s response, Emily started to clarify, but the door swung open, letting in a blast of the December chill. “Emily, the car is waiting.” Max’s voice carried across the room, causing all heads to turn.
She tugged her borrowed jacket around her and hurried to the door. “Sorry.”
“No need to be.” He braced the door open with his arm high so she could pass under it. Her shoulder brushed against his chest, and she caught the clean scent of starch and warm male. A shudder of longing ran through her, and her body softened and swayed toward him before she forced herself to move forward onto the grimy sidewalk.
The limo was double-parked, so Max put his hand on the small of her back to guide her between two cars. She could swear she felt the heat of his palm through the thick layers of Powell’s jacket, but that was impossible. Her imagination kept running away with her.
Max held the car door for her as she ducked away from the distraction of his touch.
The sight of Diego’s face dispelled her reaction to Max. The boy was fighting back tears as he said, “It’s my fault that dog got hurt. He was afraid of people until I started to make friends with him. I made him think he could trust people, so he let those kids get near him.”
Emily’s heart twisted so hard she nearly whimpered like the puppy. “You can’t blame yourself for other people’s cruelty. Showing the puppy friendship brought happiness into his life, happiness he might not have known before.”
“Happiness ain’t worth getting killed for,” Diego said, staring out the window.
“It’s worth fighting for.” The rumble of Max’s voice pulled her attention back to him. She found his dark gaze fastened on her. “Don’t you agree?”
