Defending Hayden: A Second Chances Novel (3 page)

“Good morning,” Andrea greeted me as I walked into our local downtown café.

Belmont was a small city just outside of Charlotte, so the café wasn’t packed, like larger places would be. I liked that. Our downtown was quaint, with lots of different shops. We had an upscale steak house, a high-end salon, the best cupcake bakery in the state, a couple different pubs, and several boutiques. Right in the middle of it all was Stonebrooke Veterinary Hospital. I never had to go outside of my bubble because I had everything I needed around me.

I waved at Andrea and walked up to the counter to wait in line. Andrea May was the owner’s daughter and the manager of Caramel Café.

Once the elderly gentleman in front of me got his coffee and muffin, it was my turn. Andrea smiled and grabbed a large cup. “The usual?”

“You know it.” I laughed. “And I think I’ll take two blueberry scones instead of one. I’m tired of Michael trying to eat mine.” Every morning before going into work, I’d pick up a spiced pumpkin latte. It used to be a drink they’d make only in the fall, but for the past year they’d kept the ingredients on hand, and I was indebted to them.

She shook her head. “He’s such a nut. I haven’t seen him in a while. Where’s he been?”

I shrugged. “Here and there, I guess. He’s planning on moving back to Raleigh soon.”

“Oh no, why?” she asked, her smile fading.

“He got offered a job by one of our friends from college. It’s a larger clinic right in the city. Michael’s always been the type to want bigger and better things, and although he won’t admit to it, I know that’s what he wants. Plus, our families are out there.”

She fixed my latte and passed it to me along with the blueberry scones. “I hate to hear that. He’ll definitely be missed around here.”

“Yes, he will.” I was going to miss him more than anything. We’d been friends for years and even lived together when we were in college. My parents knew they had nothing to worry about in the romance department. He was more than a friend; he was the brother I never had. I’d known Michael was leaving for some time now, and the end result was still the same: I hated it. Other than my job, he was all I had.

After I paid, I walked out of the café and waved at her again through the window, then headed to the animal hospital. Stonebrooke was my home. I loved working with animals; it was a job that I was excited to come to every day. Not many people could say that. When I walked in, Katrina, our gray and white house cat, meowed at me. She lived at the clinic and roamed around freely, greeting everyone who came through the door. Wilford had taken her in about six years ago, when she showed up on the doorstep of his house. She’d adopted
him,
and that was something he didn’t take lightly. I had a cat adopt me one time when I was thirteen, and she was the best cat I’d ever had. I’d never known a cat to be as loving as she was. She came with me everywhere, even to college when I got my apartment with Michael. When she got sick, my heart broke. I cried for days after having to put her down.

Once inside the office, I could hear Margerie and Wilford cracking up in the break room. Margerie was his assistant, and had been for about thirty-five years. When one of my professors at NC State had told me about a job opening in Belmont, I thought she’d lost her mind, since I didn’t want to move away from my hometown. But it was a good opportunity. Wilford was a friend of my professor’s father, and she said he was one of the best people you’d ever meet. She was right. I’d never heard of an assistant staying with the same doctor for as many years as Margerie had. That had sealed the deal. Not to mention he’d had another opening available and had offered to give it to Michael if I’d come. It was the best decision of my life.

Michael walked in shortly after I did, and I held up the bag of scones. “Grab one,” I told him.

Brow furrowed, he looked at the bag and then at me. “What’s in it?”

“A blueberry scone. There’s one for me and one for you.”

He burst out laughing. “Tired of me taking bites of yours?”

“Yes, now get yours and stay away from mine.”

Reaching into the bag, he grabbed his scone and smiled. “Thanks, darling.”

“You’re welcome.” We walked to the break room and sat down at the table with Wilford and Margerie. Wilford was pushing sixty-five, with the whitest hair I’d ever seen; it was almost blinding. Margerie was in her sixties, too, with short gray hair and glasses that looked like she’d worn them since the fifties.

“Good morning, kids,” Wilford greeted us happily.

“What’s got you in a good mood this morning?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Just enjoying life, my dear. Has either of you seen Jeremiah this morning?”

Michael nodded toward the door. “He pulled in just as I was walking in.”

“Great,” he said. “Looks like we’re going to have a busy day.” Then he focused on me. “How are the puppies doing?”

I sipped on my latte and cleared my throat. “Michael and I examined them, and then Amanda took them home. I’m positive they’ll pull through. She should be here with them soon.”

“I’m glad you were able to save them. Have you talked to Kellie about taking them in?”

I shook my head. “Not yet, but I will today.” Kellie Spence was his granddaughter; she owned the animal shelter, Furever Yours, that was connected to the clinic. She was a pro at finding people to adopt and foster animals.

The intercom beeped and Jessica’s voice came through the speakers. She was one of our nurses and worked mainly with Jeremiah. “Dr. Briggs, your eight-thirty appointment is here.”

Michael finished his scone and stood. “Thanks, Jessica. Is Charity here?” The nurses rotated among the doctors, but Charity Kerrigan was Michael’s main assistant. Amanda was my favorite.

“Yes, sir.”

“Do you mind getting her to take them back? I’ll get started early.”

“Will do,” she said. “Oh, and Dr. Bentley, you have a call on line one.”

Wilford started for the door. “I’ll take it in my office. Thanks.”

Margerie followed him out of the break room while I hurried to finish my scone. Jeremiah walked in just as we were both about to head out. “What’s up, guys?” He put his bottles of water in the refrigerator and finished off his coffee.

“Nothing much,” I answered. “Did you have fun on your day off?”

“I did. A couple of my buddies and I went to the Whitewater Center,” he replied, winking slyly. He knew I loved that place. Jeremiah Patton was a good-looking man in his early thirties with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He loved to flirt with me, but I knew better than to get involved with a colleague. Occasionally we had lunch together, but that was it.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I pretended to be peeved. “I am so jealous right now. I might try to get out there this weekend.”

Michael nudged me with his elbow. “And I’ll go with you.” He headed for the door and stopped. “Oh yeah, do you still want to get a new phone during lunch?”

“It’d be nice. It shouldn’t take me long.”

He waved me off. “No worries. I was just going to go to the gym during my lunch hour.”

“Sounds good. We can do lunch tomorrow if you want.”

He winked. “Deal. I’ll catch you later.”

Once he left, Jeremiah and I were left alone in the break room. “What happened to your phone? Didn’t you just get a new one?” he asked.

I chuckled. “I did, but it broke last night.”

“That’s a shame. I was going to ask you if you wanted to grab lunch today. I’m dying for that southwestern wrap at the café.”

I was craving one, too. “I tell you what,” I said, looking at the schedule on the table. “Why don’t I just meet you at the café? It doesn’t look like I’ll be too busy around lunch, so I can always get out of here a little early, get my phone, and then head back. Does that sound good?”

Jeremiah smiled. “I’ll see you then.”

He walked out, and I was about to follow him when a phone started to ring; it was coming from my purse. My heart skipped a beat and I gasped, walking toward it slowly. I hadn’t thought about what I’d do if someone actually called Derek’s phone. I pulled it out and stared at the name that popped up on the screen…Evan Townsend.

“Wow.” It was strange to think that in my hands I held Derek McLaughlin’s phone, one of the best NFL linebackers in the league, and calling him was another famous football star. No one would ever believe it.

It didn’t take long to get my new phone, and I was able to meet Jeremiah on time. Lunch with him went by quickly, and I was glad for that. Though he was always interested in my personal life, there wasn’t much to tell. I worked and I went home. All of my friends were back in Raleigh, but I’d thought I’d be okay with Michael by my side. Now he was leaving, and I’d be by myself.

“Are you thinking about moving back to Raleigh, too?” Jeremiah asked.

We still had ten minutes before we needed to get back to the clinic, so we took our time walking back. “I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “I like it here. It’s going to suck being without Michael, but I know he’s ready to move on to bigger things.”

“And you don’t want to?”

“Not really. I wanted to find a small-town practice to work in. I just wish my family was closer. Three hours isn’t a long way away, but it’s not like I can get off of work and go see them at a moment’s notice.”

He nodded. “I understand. My parents live in Charlotte, so they’re close by.”

“Lucky.” We laughed and he opened the door to the clinic, waiting on me to enter. “Thanks,” I said in passing. He followed me to the break room, where I dropped off my purse.

“If you ever want to go to the Whitewater Center or hiking, you can always call me. I know you like doing that kind of stuff.” His eyes sparkled, and I couldn’t help but smile. If the situation were different, I probably would date him.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” Lunch was one thing, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to extend that to outside hobbies.

“Dr. Hunter, our next patient is here,” Amanda announced, entering the break room breathlessly.

“Running late?” I laughed. Her long ashy brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her face was flushed. She glanced from Jeremiah to me, trying to hide her smile.

“I got detained a little longer than expected.” She cleared her throat and straightened her top.

I lifted a brow, knowing exactly what she did during her break. “I see. Well, let’s get to work, shall we?”

I followed her out of the room and breathed a sigh of relief once we were away from Jeremiah. Amanda glanced over her shoulder; thankfully, he’d gone down to the other end of the hall.

“Mixing business with pleasure?” she whispered.

I rolled my eyes and snorted. “Not going to happen. I’m a firm believer in not dating my coworkers.”

“Yeah, but he’s hot. I’d date him in a heartbeat if he weren’t ten years older than me.”

Chuckling, I shook my head. “You’re too much, you know that? Besides, you have a boyfriend. Have you checked on the puppies?”

“I did before lunch. I’ll check on them when you’re busy with the Markson dog.”

“No, that’s all right. I want to look in on them. While you’re bringing my next patient back, I’ll take one of the puppies over to Kellie to see if she has space for them.”

“Sounds good, Doc,” she said, hurrying up to the front.

Amanda was the youngest nurse in the clinic, but she was one of the best, with the exception of Margerie, who had been doing it as long as Amanda had been alive. I was lucky to have Amanda as my assistant. Now that I had a few minutes, I headed to the indoor kennel, where the puppies were kept in their own space. They looked like dark brown furballs with splotches of white here and there; definitely a mixed breed, but I couldn’t tell what kind yet.

I opened the cage and carefully picked one up, kissing him on the nose. He was the cutest one, with a white patch of fur around his left eye. “I’m going to call you Patch,” I said sweetly to him. The other puppies started moving around, but they were so small they couldn’t get very far. “I’ll be back,” I told them.

I kept Patch close to my chest as I walked next door. Kellie’s shelter was basically a paradise for animals. In the summer, she had a pool designed for dogs so they could swim. When I opened the door, one of Kellie’s helpers, Courtney Tucker, dropped the bag of food she was carrying and rushed over. “Oh my goodness, he’s adorable,” she squealed. “Can I hold him?”

I passed him to her, and she gently took him. “Where’s Kellie?” I inquired.

She nodded toward the door that led to the amazing swimming pool. “She’s outside with the big dogs. It’s their turn in the pool. She’ll be drenched when she comes back in.”

I walked over to the glass door and peered outside, giggling when Courtney started singing to Patch. Kellie sat by the edge of the pool, laughing as the dogs continuously jumped in and out of the water. I opened the door and stepped out but didn’t get near the water. “Looks like the danger zone over there,” I called out.

Her head jerked my way, and she smiled. “You got that right. How are you, Dr. Hunter?”

“Good. I wanted to see if you had any room available for six little pups. They’re the cutest things ever. I’m almost tempted to take one home myself.” If I did, it would definitely be Patch.

Kellie got to her feet, her blond hair drenched. “Of course. I just adopted out a cocker spaniel today, so I have that whole kennel free.”

“Great! As soon as they’re ready, I’ll have them brought over. I want to monitor them for a few more days.”

She waved me off. “Take your time. I’ll be ready when you are.”

“Thank you.” I waved at her and retreated back inside.

Courtney was talking to Patch and groaned when she saw me. “Do you have to take him back?”

She passed him to me, and I snuggled him. “Don’t worry, you’ll have six of them in a few days. Just make sure you find them good homes.”

“We always do,” she promised wholeheartedly.

Back in the clinic, I returned Patch to his kennel and rubbed each and every one of his brothers and sisters before running my hand down his back. “You’ve won my heart, Patch. Soon you’ll be living with me.”