She’s quiet for a few heartbeats. “He’ll like whatever you wear.”
“Okay.”
“What’s wrong, Bluebonnet?”
“I want this to go well. Before the wedding, Parker kissed me a few times. But since, he hasn’t, and...” I let the sentence trail off, hoping my worst fear isn’t coming true. “You don’t think he regrets getting married, do you?”
“Have you asked him to kiss you?”
“Of course not.”
“He doesn’t regret it. I promise. Y’all are learning to live with each other. There’s an adjustment period.”
“Maybe you’re right.” Because Parker has done me such a huge favor, I want to be the perfect wife. But thanks to my wonderful mother, I have no idea what that looks like. “I’ll probably wear a dress because my jeans are starting to get tight. I wore overalls to work today. It’s a great look, let me tell ya.”
Paisley laughs. “You doing okay with morning sickness and such?”
“It’s manageable. I had to help birth a cow, but with a little Vicks under my nose and a ginger candy in my mouth, I was fine.”
“I could never do your job.” Paisley speaks to someone in the background. “I need to run. My minions are requesting snacks.”
“Thanks for talking.”
“Any time. Bye.” The call ends.
I head back into the clinic, ready to face the last few hours of my day. I love what I do. But I’m tired. And I don’t anticipate that’ll let up any time soon.
* * *
I’mthe last one at the office. I’m turning off lights and packing up my bag to head home when someone knocks out front. If I go out there, I’ll be here at least another hour. I know how it works. But if I don’t, whoever it is will see me when I walk to my truck. There’s no winning.
After turning the bolt, I pull the door open a crack. “Is it an emergency?”
A middle-aged woman points at the cat carrier beside her. “He’s choking and gagging. I’m not sure what he got into, but I’m worried that whatever he swallowed will make him stop breathing.”
I push the door open enough for her to carry the cat inside. “Follow me.” As I lead her to the exam room, I text Parker.
Me:Had a last-minute emergency. Will probably miss dinner.
Parker:I’ll save you a plate.
I smile at the phone, thankful he’s so sweet and that it’s Friday. But I can’t let this poor little cat gag all weekend.
“Let’s have a look.”
She opens the carrier, and I slide the cat out. It’s skittish but not mean.
To protect myself from claws and hopefully make it feel more secure, I wrap it in a towel. Then I work to get a peek inside its mouth.
With a light positioned just right, I finally spot a dried leaf stuck on the roof of its mouth. “You’ve been eating leaves. Those aren’t treats, silly cat.”
The woman rolls her eyes. “He’s strictly an indoor cat, but he thinks anything from outside is a treat.”
Without a vet tech here, I have to get the owner’s help. This isn’t how we normally do things, but I either get her help or call someone back into the office. I’m debating how to handle it, when she picks up the cat.
“I can hold him if you’ll get it out. I’d do it, but I’m afraid I’d scratch his mouth.” She wiggles her fingers and shows off her long manicured nails.
“That works.” My nails are short and awful, which makes me the perfect person to stick my fingers into this cat’s mouth.
