by Carol Ross
“Keep me posted. I’d like to help if I can.”
Mia couldn’t help the surprised expression she knew must be stamped across her face. “That’s so nice of you, and I really appreciate all of your help. But you don’t have to come back. I know it’s not your thing.”
“What? I didn’t do a good enough job?”
“No, it’s not that. You were great actually, especially for someone who isn’t an animal lover.”
Nora frowned. “Of course he’s an animal lover, Mia, what are you talking about? You saw him with Coastie.”
Jay looked at Nora. “It’s not really that I don’t like animals, it’s more that I don’t have much experience with them. Never had any pets growing up.”
Nora flashed him a sympathetic smile. Mia couldn’t help the surge of annoyance that shot through her. She gave her mom a pointed look, then half smiled at Jay. “Me either, believe it or not.”
Nora fiddled with a dish towel on the countertop. She felt Jay’s curious gaze bounce between her and her mom. Mia instantly felt bad about stirring up a touchy subject. George, bless him, broke the awkwardness by heading for the door and letting out a low woof.
“Looks like someone needs to use the facilities.” Mia stepped toward the doorway and traded her slippers for a pair of shoes. She grabbed a jacket off the coatrack and slipped it on. She opened their newly fixed door and let out a low whistle. George trotted outside. “Wow. This is so nice,” she said, keeping a hand on the door. “Thank you again, Jay. For everything.” She gestured after George. “I need to follow this big guy around because he eats weird stuff. So I guess I’ll see you in a couple days when you bring Coastie in for her checkup?”
“You’re welcome. Yeah, I’ll see you soon.” He sounded casual, but his green eyes were pinned intently on hers. “Goodbye, Mia.”
* * *
COASTIE STARED UP at Jay, her pretty brown eyes somehow managing to look both patient and pleading. She sat politely, gently placed a paw on his knee, and let out a soft whine, her signal for “please pick me up.” He did and immediately felt a rush of affection when she nestled her head against his shoulder. She was constantly doing stuff like this, sleeping with her head on his pillow, bringing him toys, greeting him at the door like he was a superhero. Were dogs supposed to act like this?
Mia came over and sat in the chair across from him in the exam room. “Boy, she’s really latched onto you, hasn’t she?” She reached out and placed a hand on Coastie’s head.
He could tell by the slight tremble in the dog’s body that she was nervous to be back at the vet. Balancing on Jay’s lap, she bravely stretched her neck out so she could snuffle Mia’s ear. The sound of Mia’s answering chuckle somehow managed to lighten his heart a tiny bit. This dog certainly lightened his heart. Levi and Laney adored her, too. They wanted to keep her. Ironically, if it weren’t for them he might consider it.
Mia examined the injured area behind her shoulder blades. “Don’t worry. She’s doing great. The wound is healing nicely.”
He smiled, surprised at how relieved he was by the report. He’d been doing everything Mia had instructed with regard to the wound, but hearing the news felt good.
“Stitches aren’t quite ready to come out, maybe another week or so. Then she’ll be good to go. How is she doing otherwise? Any signs of anxiety or behavior problems?”
“Not that I’ve noticed. She’s actually a superstar.”
“Well,” Mia said with a chuckle, “I’m glad it’s working out.”
“Seriously, I’m pretty sure she’s the smartest dog in the world. I don’t have anything to compare her to, but this morning I was a little late with her breakfast, I’m talking like maybe ten minutes, she went and got her food dish and brought it to me.” He lifted a brow, as if daring her to dispute his claim.
She laughed. “Was this before or after she finished the New York Times crossword puzzle?”
“Don’t laugh. That’s next. Like I said before, I never had a dog growing up—or any pets. I wanted a dog...what kid doesn’t? But it wasn’t, uh, feasible. I feel stupid saying this, but I think I missed out.”
“Not stupid at all. Personally, I think all kids should have a pet—all kids that are interested, anyway.”
“You mentioned yesterday that you didn’t have pets when you were growing up, either. That seems kind of strange seeing as how you’re a vet and all. For some reason, I imagine vets growing up surrounded by animals.”
She nodded. “I know. My dad didn’t allow pets because we moved a lot. That was his excuse, anyway. He was very...adamant about it. What’s your sob story? Why couldn’t you have a dog?”
“Um, mostly I suppose it was the expense.”
Head tilted, she studied him carefully.
When she didn’t respond, he added, “Poor family,” hoping that would appease her.
It didn’t.
“What about now? You’re all grown-up and gainfully employed. Have you given any serious thought to keeping Coastie?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t.” He ignored the ball of regret tightening his chest. What was the matter with him? Coastie would be better off with someone else, a family preferably, who could give her all the time and attention she deserved. Someone who had extra love to go around.
“Why? Dogs can enrich your life in ways you can’t even imagine.”
Jay tensed. Because my teenage brother and sister have just moved in with me and I don’t know how I’m going to manage to take care of them, much less a dog. A part of him wished he could just say the words out loud. For some reason, the thought of Mia thinking he was coldhearted bothered him, especially after the way he’d acted that first morning at Lucky Cats. But saying the words meant explaining, and that he did not want to do.
“My life is not exactly dog-friendly.”
Her furrowed brow told him she wasn’t buying that.
He tried again. “I have commitments that prevent me from being able to give this dog everything she deserves.”
Her lips parted like she wanted to comment or maybe argue. Jay appreciated when she didn’t.
“Okay.” She nodded slowly and said, “But since you’re here I want to show you something if you have time?”
“Sure,” he said, anxious for a subject change.
She stood and led him through the exam room toward the back of the building where he knew the animals were kept. Coastie was content to ride along in his arms. She’d already quit shaking, apparently sensing that her time at the vet’s office was coming to a close. Mia stepped into the rectangular room where the cats were housed. Three rows of cages lined the wall on each side.
She pointed to the large enclosure on the bottom where he and Charlotte had placed the rescued kittens a few days ago. “Take a look.”
Jay put Coastie on the floor and knelt to get closer. He immediately recognized the tabby-striped mom and the four bright-eyed kittens studying him curiously, even though they looked drastically better.
“Wow.”
“Yep,” she said. “I can’t believe how well they’re doing. This is the result already, after flea treatments, iron shots, and ear mite meds along with a couple other things. They’ve got a ways to go, but I’m really hopeful.”
Where they’d barely had the energy to let out a sound a few days ago, now the kittens let loose with a concert of loud meows. Jay was surprised by the rush of joy that flowed through him.
“Look at this guy.” The black-and-white kitten he’d first picked up that day was bravely pressing its nose against the wire mesh. He held a finger against the cage for the kitten to sniff. “I can’t believe it. I was afraid he wasn’t going to make it. Can I hold him?”
“Me, too. Sure, the more they get held the better.”
He unlatched the cage and reached inside to get t
he kitten. “Its fur even feels different, less rough, more kitty-fuzzy.”
Mia smiled. “Yep, they all had baths.”
Jay cuddled the tiny ball of fluff. Who knew saving something so tiny could feel this amazing? “This is so—” The rest of his sentence was lost when a figure walked through the door. A bolt of surprise shot through him at the sight of his little brother in Mia’s office wearing a light green lab coat and holding a leash in one hand.
“Levi?” Jay asked. “What are you doing here?” Beside him, Coastie let out an excited yelp and danced closer.
“You two know each other?” Mia’s head swiveled from Jay to Levi and back again.
Levi went with that brows raised, shoulder-shrug teenagers liked to do as if you were crazy for asking such an obvious question. “I work here.” He knelt and rubbed Coastie’s neck. She licked his eyebrow.
“Since when?” he asked Levi, before answering Mia, “Levi is my brother.”
“Since a few days ago. Today is my first day.” Levi grinned proudly. And Jay couldn’t blame him. He’d been in Pacific Cove for all of a week and he’d already landed a job. Why hadn’t he mentioned it?
Jay could see the confusion in Mia’s expression. She asked, “I thought you said your family didn’t live around here?”
“Levi has only been here a week.”
Questions were swimming in her eyes. Jay was trying to decide how to explain without explaining when he saw a little blond head peek around the doorjamb. A grinning face belonging to a girl he’d estimate to be somewhere around seven or eight appeared.
“Kenzie bug, what are you doing?” Mia asked.
“Waiting for Mom to get done talking to Dad.”
She crooked a finger. “Do you want to meet my friends?”
“Sure.”
The girl slowly made her way inside the room, her thin legs encased in braces. Her hands clutched the handles of the canes she used to assist her motion.
“McKenzie, this is Jay. You’ve already met Levi. And this is Coastie.”
McKenzie moved closer. Jay marveled over the fact that the dog seemed to sense that the child needed to be treated with special care. Coastie sat, the slight wiggle of her butt as she scooted closer to the child the only indication of her usual and unbridled enthusiasm at meeting new people.
“Hi, Coastie,” McKenzie said.
Coastie sniffed her hand and gave it a gentle nudge.
Jay felt himself melt as the girl removed her hand from the cane and then handed it over for him to hold. She stroked Coastie’s soft fur before leaning forward and placing a kiss on the top of her head. Coastie returned the favor with a “kiss” to the girl’s chin. McKenzie’s giggle went straight to his heart.
She said to Jay, “I’m going to be a vet like my dad and Mia.”
“That sounds like a perfect idea to me. It’s never too early to start career planning. How old are you?”
“I’m eight years old. I’m in third grade. Well, I would be in third grade if I could go to school. But I have to miss a lot when I’m in the hospital. And sometimes I get sick. My legs won’t move right.”
“I see.”
“My mom says I’m reading at a seventh-grade level, though. She homeschools me, my mom does. But she won’t let me read books written for seventh graders, so it’s kind of hard. I’m stuck with stuff that doesn’t necessarily challenge me, you know what I mean?”
He wanted to laugh, but instead went with, “Yeah, that’s no good. We all need to be challenged.”
“Right?” she answered in a way that reminded him of Laney.
“McKenzie?” A smiling woman with blond hair twisted up on her head appeared in the doorway. “Oh, hey Mia.” Sorry, she mouthed over the girl’s head.
“Hey, Sara.” Mia swiped a hand through the air as if to say it’s fine. “McKenzie is meeting my friends.”
Mia introduced everyone to Sara.
“What happened to Coastie?” McKenzie asked.
“She got cut escaping from a sinking sailboat,” Jay said.
Mia said, “But I stitched her up and soon she’ll be as good as new.”
The girl asked a series of questions, causing Jay to marvel over the fact that she was only eight years old. She reminded him a lot of Levi when he was that age.
A short time later Dr. Anthony, wearing a gray coat covered with black paw prints, stuck his head inside the open door. “Hey, here are my girls. You two better think about hitting the road, huh? You’ve got a long trip ahead of you.”
“Okay. ’Bye, Coastie.” McKenzie took her cane from Jay and explained, “We’re going to Portland. I’m having a treatment but I’ll be back in few days.” She smiled at Levi. “’Bye, Levi.”
“Goodbye, McKenzie. Good luck,” Levi said and then pointed at her. “Don’t forget you owe me a rematch.”
“You got it.” She turned back to Jay and asked, “Are you any good at checkers?”
“Fair,” he replied.
“Well, you should play with your brother. He needs the practice. I handed his butt to him on a platter.”
“McKenzie!” Sara admonished.
“Sorry, Mom.” Sara shook her head while the rest of the crowd laughed. Dr. Anthony kissed his wife and daughter to a chorus of well wishes and goodbyes. He remained standing in the doorway after they’d gone.
An awkward minute stretched on and Mia finally asked, “You’re not going with them today, Dr. Anthony?”
He turned around, looking almost surprised to still be standing there. Raising the fingers of one hand to his temple, he tapped it. “I’m sorry. I was thinking... No, I’m leaving early in the morning. I have a few things I need to take care of tonight.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“No, but thank you, Mia. I will let you get back to it in here.” He patted Levi on the shoulder and headed out the door.
Mia explained, “McKenzie has a rare neuromuscular condition. It’s a progressive and debilitating disease.”
“There’s no cure?”
“No, not yet. They’ve been taking her to Portland for some experimental therapy that seems to help with the symptoms. There’s been a lot of advances in the last few years with promising drugs in development. But I’m afraid it will be a while before McKenzie sees any benefits.”
“That sucks,” Levi said after a long moment.
“Yes, it does,” she said. They were all quiet for another moment. “That’s one of the reasons it’s so important to fix what we can in this world, right? Like Coastie girl here.”
“And all those stray cats,” Levi added. He looked at Jay. “Dr. Frasier said I could volunteer, too. I really want to help with those cats.”
Jay looked down at the kitten now snoozing in his cradled arm. He was surprised by the realization that he did, too.
* * *
“LANEY, THIS LOOKS AMAZING. I was going to make you guys tuna melts.” Jay surveyed the bowls on the dining table. He pointed at one. “What is that?”
“Picadillo. It’s Josie’s version of spicy shredded beef,” she answered, beaming at him. “She’s taught me how to make a lot of stuff. And I like to watch those cooking shows.”
“As long as you don’t make us enchiladas out of anchovies, frozen spinach and a box of wafer cookies or whatever like they do on that one show.”
She giggled. “I promise I’ll stick to regular man food.”
Levi said, “Girl food is okay, too. I like salads.”
“Really?” she asked doubtfully.
He shrugged a shoulder. “Sure. With meat on them,” Levi qualified, spooning spicy meat and onions on top of the refried beans and cheese already piled on the tortilla.
They shared a laugh. Jay said, “You don’t have to cook, Lanes.
But if you do, you fix whatever you want and we’ll eat it.”
Levi agreed and then said, “How weird is this, you already knowing Dr. Frasier? And me getting a job at the vet clinic?”
“Especially since I didn’t even know you’d applied.”
He grinned. “I didn’t think I’d get it. I got lucky.”
“Lucky?”
“Yeah, I mean the dog wasn’t lucky, but I was lucky to be there. There was this black Lab...”
They sat at the table in the kitchen while Levi told the story about the tangled dog and the fishing line.
“Wow. Quick thinking there, buddy.”
“It was weird. I didn’t even really think. I just reacted. And then later, when Dr. Frasier offered me the job, I didn’t want to say anything until she checked my references.” He shoved a huge bite of burrito in his mouth.
“You’d make a great emergency responder or medical professional.”
Levi swallowed. “I’ve, uh... I’ve actually been thinking about the military.”
Jay tilted his head thoughtfully. “Maybe you could do the GI Bill? Go to college?” Jay had wanted to go to college, but there was no way he could have gone to school and supported his siblings. So while he joined the military and earned a paycheck, he’d insisted Josie go to school. “For the both of them,” he liked to say.
“Maybe. I’d like to help out with Laney, Dean and Delilah first. Like you’ve helped us.”
Jay felt acid burn his gut as tension gathered inside him. The idea of his little brother going without, working as hard as he had all those years, was unacceptable. After Gran had died, they’d had to live off their mom’s welfare check and her discretion. She’d spent it mostly on herself, telling him and Josie that she needed the money to find them a new dad. Which meant buying new clothes and shoes for herself and going out with friends.
This was before Jay was old enough to get a real job. Those had been the leanest times, he and Josie feeding Levi and Laney whatever they could buy after scraping money together from the odd jobs they did around the neighborhood. They often went to bed hungry. Jay remembered guiltily stealing a roll of electrical tape from a mechanic neighbor. With strips of cardboard, he’d fashioned new ends for the toes of the tennis shoes he and Josie had outgrown. Years later he’d anonymously sent the guy an entire box of tape.