Montana Vet. Ann Roth

Emily hoped they would become friends. She didn’t know about Cat, but Taylor could use one.

      * * *

      WHEN SETH PARKED in front of The Wagging Tail after orientation, Taylor was outside, waiting for him. He didn’t see Emily or any of the other kids.

      “Hey,” he said, sliding out to greet her.

      Wearing her trademark earbuds, her head moving to the beat of whatever song she was listening to, she barely glanced up from her phone to acknowledge him. She moved toward the truck.

      “Where’s everyone else?” he asked.

      She didn’t seem to hear him, so he pulled the buds out of her ears.

      “I’m trying to listen to a song,” she said, shooting him a dirty look.

      “How about listening to me instead. Where are the other kids?” he repeated.

      “Already gone.”

      “What about Emily?”

      “She’s inside, I guess.”

      “I need her to let me into quarantine to check on that new dog,” he said. “You want to come with?”

      “I already saw her. She’s skinny and gross looking.” Taylor bit her lip. “How long before her fur grows back?”

      “First we have to get rid of the mange. Once she’s healthy, she should have all her hair back in about two months. By then, she’ll have put on a lot of weight, too.”

      “Emily can’t keep her that long. She might need the space for another dog.”

      “Then let’s hope she finds a good home for this one and the others.”

      Taylor nodded. “I’ll wait in the truck.”

      “If that’s what you want. There’s a granola bar and a can of the pop you like on the passenger seat for you.”

      A look of pure scorn darkened her face. “I’m not a little kid, Seth.”

      No, but sometimes she sure acted like one. “You’re welcome,” he said. “Everybody gets hungry after school.”

      She didn’t reply. The earbuds were back in place, and she was texting away.

      “Be right back,” he said, not expecting a reply.

      A heavyset, gray-haired man who looked to be in his seventies sat at Mrs. Oakes’s desk. Seth nodded. “I’m Seth Pettit, the shelter’s vet this semester.”

      The older man’s face lit up. “Nice to meet you. I’m Edgar Bell. I volunteer here on Mondays.” They shook hands. “Too bad you’re here for such a short time—we could use a long-term vet. We appreciate your service, though.”

      “Thanks. Is Emily around?”

      “Check her office.”

      Although her door was open, Seth knocked before entering.

      Emily was sorting through papers, and looked pleasantly surprised to see him. “Hi,” she said.

      Every time he saw that smile, he liked it more. She sure was pretty, especially in the silky blouse that fluttered when she moved. “I like that blue top.”

      The flush he’d come to anticipate colored her cheeks. “I dressed up a little today for orientation. Where’s Taylor?”

      “Waiting in the pickup. How’d she do this afternoon?”

      “Pretty well. This year, I have eight kids, five from Taylor’s school. I asked them to pair up and choose which day of the week to come. Taylor picked Thursdays. She’ll be working with Cat, a girl from Jupiter High.”

      Not one of the Trenton kids. That was disappointing—she could use a friend at her school. Still, she’d found someone to work with, which was good news. He grinned. “So she finally she made a friend.”

      “I wouldn’t exactly call them friends just yet, but they definitely could be.”

      Seth hoped. “Since I’m here, I may as well check on the quarantined dog.”

      “Of course. Would you mind going alone? I need to return phone calls from a couple of prospective adopters. The door to the quarantine hut is unlocked.”

      Seth left. The female mutt appeared perkier than she had a few days earlier, and her eyes were brighter. “Lookin’ good,” Seth told her before he returned to the pickup.

      When he climbed in, he noted that the snack he’d brought Taylor were gone and the can of soda was empty. He wisely refrained from mentioning it. “How was orientation?” he asked as the pickup rolled down the driveway.

      “Fine.” She gave him a pained look. “I know Emily needs a veterinarian to volunteer at The Wagging Tail, but why does it have to be you?”

      “We’ve already discussed this,” he said. “What’s going on?”

      “Everyone knows that I live at your house.”

      Her unhappy expression made no secret of how she felt about that. “It’s your house, too,” he reminded her.

      No comment. Seth shook his head. “If my volunteering here bothers you that much, I could tell Emily I changed my mind and quit,” he said. “But I’d rather not leave her in the lurch.”

      Taylor mumbled something that sounded like, “You’ll probably just leave, anyway,” but Seth wasn’t sure. He wondered what that was about.

      She made a face. “Just don’t show up when I’m there.”

      * * *

      JUST BEFORE ELEVEN O’CLOCK that night, Emily called Seth.

      “Hello?” He sounded groggy.

      She hated that she’d awakened him, hated bothering him in the evening, period. “It’s Emily,” she said, stepping outside to escape the awful barking in the kennel. “There’s a German shepherd mix who’s been here for almost a week, and I think he just had a seizure.” She shivered in the brisk night air. “Now he’s acting weird, and the other dogs are freaking out. Dr. Addison, the veterinarian before you, didn’t uncover anything wrong with him, but obviously, something is very wrong.”

      She hoped that whatever it was could be fixed. Otherwise, no one would ever want to adopt him. “I need to get him out of the kennel and take him to the animal hospital, where they have a twenty-four-hour emergency clinic, only I...” Admitting this next part was unnerving. “I’m a little scared of him. I don’t think I can get him into the car without help.”

      There were other volunteers she could call, but she wanted Seth’s calm manner to soothe both the dog and herself. Because right now, she was a nervous wreck.

      “From your place, that’s a twenty-minute–plus drive,” Seth said. “Let me scribble a note for Taylor and throw on some clothes, and I’ll be there.”

      Thank goodness. Emily let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “I’ll be in the kennel,” she said.

      As wide-awake as she was, and right now she was crazy and wide-eyed, she was also weary. Having put in a long day that continued for hours after orientation, and had included setting up appointments with prospective dog adopters as well as several hours of work on the websites she maintained, she longed to climb into bed and sleep. Tonight that didn’t seem likely.

      But she was used to that. Over the last four years, she often spent a night or two a month dealing with some animal crisis or another.

      Now that Seth was coming over, she thought about dashing upstairs to her apartment, trading the ratty sweats she’d changed into hours ago for jeans and a top, and pulling a comb through her hair. But she refused to leave the German shepherd for that long.

      Seth would just have to take