by Taylor Rylan
I followed him out to the reception area where I handed the chart that I’d quickly filled out to Ezra, who was giving Oreo another treat. She was certainly a favorite around here. Why did she have to have an attractive owner that checked nearly all of my boxes?
“All right, Deputy Jones. Was there anything else you had any questions about?” Ezra asked as I turned and walked back toward the exam rooms. It was Saturday and I was booked solid, like always. Tomorrow I’d spend the day at Second Chance helping Mom, and then on Monday I’d be back here.
I glanced at my watch and saw that I had enough time to squeeze Mom and Snowball in, so I quickly went back to the front and motioned toward her. She jumped up from her seat and came on back with me. When I glanced at Ezra, he was smiling at Oreo, who was being loved on by her owner. Nope, that man was definitely not for me. I couldn’t get involved with a client. No matter how attractive I thought they were. Ezra handed me Snowball’s chart as I turned my attention to my mom, who was staring at me with a knowing smile.
“Mom, you need to make an appointment. Understood?” I said as we turned and walked into the exam room.
“Yes. I didn’t mean to just show up like this. I didn’t know that Dr. May was going to up and quit.”
“Did he say why?” I asked as I gave Snowball a once-over.
“No. You’ll cover for him though, right?”
I knew it was coming. It shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did, but Mom had held out hope I’d take over the shelter full time, and it just wasn’t what I wanted.
“I can’t, Mom. Rick is on vacation until the second of January. That means it’s just me here, and no, I can’t close my clinic and work at the shelter full time. I have bills to pay, and I make my income here, not there.”
“That’s over two weeks from now. What am I supposed to do?”
“I’m not sure. I’d imagine you’ll have to call around and find a new vet to hire. I warned you when you opened Second Chance. I have responsibilities here and to my clients. I can’t just drop everything,” I told her as she glared at me. I absolutely couldn’t either. Rick, my only vet tech, had saved up his entire two weeks of days off and was currently in the Bahamas, loving life. I didn’t blame him one bit.
“I can’t believe you won’t help,” Mom huffed.
“Mother, watch it. I help and you know it. Don’t try to guilt me into helping you more. I have my own business. I have my own responsibilities. If you don’t want to deal with Second Chance anymore, I suggest you sell it. Especially now that you’re remarried. Spend time with John. Enjoy life.”
I loved my mother. I honestly did. But more often than was necessary, she and I clashed on what was best for the animal shelter. It wasn’t an issue at first, but now that she was remarried, she and John were often gone and I was at the shelter more than she was.
Mom gasped at me and clutched Snowball to her chest. Something that Snowball didn’t necessarily care for because, before I could warn her, Mom’s chin met Snowball’s extended claws.
“Ouch, dammit.”
“Mom, you know she doesn’t—”
“I know. How could you say that though?”
“How? Mother, you’ve been married for a year now.” I held up my hand and shook my head when she tried to cut me off again. “You’re still only at the shelter one day a week. I can almost guarantee that’s the reason why Dr. May left. That or the paperwork is a mess again. You can’t run an animal shelter if you’re never there.”
“I’m there. I go in on Mondays.”
“Yep. You sure do. And who’s there the other six days of the week? Mom, animals need to be cared for every day. Not just on Mondays because you have a new husband. Now, my professional opinion is that you should sell the shelter. It has a lot of great potential, but you’re not there enough to run things.” I picked up the chart that Ezra had handed to me and walked out the door. I wasn’t in the mood to get into this with her right now, and I certainly wasn’t going to get behind on seeing my other patients because Mom showed up unannounced.
“Mom, as always, it was great to see you, but please make an appointment next time,” I told her as I gave her a hug at the front desk. She squeezed me back and I had to smile a bit. “Ezra, Snowball is fine but needs her teeth cleaned. Would you schedule that, please?”
“Yes, Doctor. You have patients in both exam room one and two,” Ezra said, sounding incredibly professional. He looked at Mom, and then I remembered. Ezra had come from Second Chance, and he was happier here at the clinic.
“Thanks, Ezra. I’d be lost without you here,” I told the young man. He visibly relaxed and I needed to remember that I’d all but stolen him from Mom and Second Chance. Yes, he was trying at times, but he knew how to run an office, and that’s what was important to me. The paperwork had never been so organized, and my clinic hadn’t run this smoothly since, well, ever.
“Thanks, Doc,” Ezra said before offering me a smile. I still had over two hours left before everyone was gone and I’d get a moment of peace. Thankfully, the morning went fast, as Saturdays usually did. Two and a half hours later, I was finally able to relax in my office. Everyone was gone for the day, and we had only one boarder, an orange tabby cat named Lucy. Her owners were in Colorado for the next two weeks. Poor thing. But that meant I would only need to come in once tomorrow morning to check on her. That was the upside of having a cat as a boarder.
After making sure the reception area was locked and the lights were turned off, I checked on Lucy once more and packed my bag. I’d certainly be needed at the shelter tomorrow if Dr. May had left. I was going to have to put my foot down once and for all. Mom didn’t have a choice in the matter—she had to find another vet. There was just no way I could do both full time.
Resigned to a less than joyful evening, I walked out the back door of the clinic, setting the alarm and then locking the door behind me. This was why I didn’t have a life. Why I didn’t have my own dog, even though I’d love nothing more than to have a little sweetheart like Oreo. She was loveable and small enough she could come with me during the day. But I was often called out for twelve or more hours at a time during calving season. That, topped with running my own practice as well as helping out at Second Chances, meant I just couldn’t bring myself to getting a dog of my own.
This was also why I didn’t have a love life. I was simply too damn busy. The last serious boyfriend I had was back in college. That was, shit, a long time ago. I was going to be forty-two next month and nope—not even a steady hookup in sight.
I climbed into my truck, and tossing my bag in the passenger seat, I thought about what I wanted to eat. I was hungry and wasn’t in the mood to cook, so getting something before I went home was the better option.
After deciding on pizza, I pulled out my phone and called in an order for two large pies from Frankie’s. I could have pizza for the next couple of days, and that suited me just fine as I most likely wouldn’t feel like cooking, not that I ever did. Sure, I probably shouldn’t be eating as much takeout as I did, and I should definitely be hitting the gym more often, but it couldn’t be helped. I was usually too tired to do much of anything else.
After I started the truck and put it in gear, I headed farther into Jackson. The pizza would be lukewarm by the time I got home to Sulfur Springs, but I didn’t care. I was simply too tired.
Bishop —3
“What…how…wh…” Adrian sat there and shook his head at me. I didn’t blame him. Not even a little. We were sitting in his living room, having our chat. He needed to know what was going on, and I was a little apprehensive about it. I probably should have let him know before now, but what was done was done.
“Look, I understand your confusion and frustration. But you have to agree, you weren’t exactly happy to have me as a partner when we first met,” I said to Adrian. He gave me a look and nodded.
“Yeah, sorry. I just… When Jamie and I were partnered, he was a newbie, and then you came along and I’
m too damn old for this shit. Really. So you’re telling me that all of those times you were distracted with your phone, that had to do with your dad?”
“Yeah. There’s a lot that’s been going on with him for a while now.”
“And all those weekends you disappeared. You weren’t hooking up with some random guy, were you?”
I laughed a little at that. “Yeah, I wish that were the case, but no. I’ve spent a lot of time flying back and forth between here and Austin.”
“Dammit, Bishop, you should have said something. I would have been there for you. Hell, I could have gone to the funeral with you. Offered support. Hell, I don’t know. Something though.” Adrian pulled on his hair a little and I felt bad. He’s right—I should have said something.
I shrugged and looked down at the floor. “It’s all good. It wasn’t really much of a funeral—just me. Everything was already planned. Dad took care of that a long time ago. Way before he got sick even.”
“But still. I would have been there for you if you needed me to.” Adrian looked at me with his determined yet pissed-off look. I definitely earned that look.
“It’s okay. Really. I just need some time to figure things out. I lost him a while ago, but things are still sinking in.”
“So when you rush off in the evenings…”
“That’s because I have to get to the clinic to pick up Oreo. She’s both a blessing and not,” I chuckled as I looked over to the other side of the room. Cody was sitting on the floor, playing with Oreo. She was eating it up, and he was loving every second of it. “Yeah, sorry. Looks like Cody might be asking for a dog soon.”
Adrian looked over to his boyfriend and smiled. I envied them. The way they looked at each other now. It was beautiful. There as no other way to describe it. I hoped to find that someday, but I wasn’t holding my breath.
“If he wants a dog, we’ll get a dog, but I hope he’ll wait a year or so. I want to travel with him; take him places he’s always wanted to go. I feel bad about you having to put her in doggie daycare every day. Maybe we can figure something else out.”
“Trust me, I’ve tried. She does okay at my place, but I feel bad about her being home all day by herself. She’s never been alone like that. And the vet thinks I’m the world’s worst pet parent. I swear, if looks could kill, I’d be a goner.”
“We’ll figure something out. You’ll probably have to take her to daycare next week, but maybe Cody can take her to work with him or something. Hell, I know Emme would love to have her in her office with her,” Adrian said, smiling and shaking his head. I looked back at Cody, who was cooing to Oreo. Oreo just happened to be on her back, all four feet in the air, and groaning while Cody gave her belly rubs. Nope, she wasn’t spoiled at all.
“I don’t mind her in daycare. That’s what it’s for, right?”
“I guess? I wouldn’t know, really.”
Just then, Oreo came running over to us, and when I reached down for her, she stopped and gave an adorable little growl. She wanted to play, huh? I looked up to see where Cody was and found he was still on the floor on the other side of the room.
“Cody, will you toss me her little rope bone?”
Fast reflexes are probably what kept me from being pegged in the face by the flying toy, but Oreo barked and danced when she saw what I had. I wiggled it in front of her, allowing her to get ahold of one end before I playfully tugged. She growled and pulled with all of her twelve pounds, and in the end, she was just too much and victory was hers. She pranced around with her prize before she thrashed her head back and forth, effectively killing her prize. Cody and I chuckled while Adrian shook his head.
“I can’t believe you have a dog. A tiny little dog.”
“Her breed came highly recommended to my dad, and I know she got him through a lot of tough times while I was deployed. Several of the nurses at the care facility that Dad was in wanted her, but I couldn’t. She was his and I just couldn’t.”
“Dude, I didn’t know you were ever deployed. How old are you?” Cody asked as he walked over to us. He plopped down in Adrian’s lap, something that I still found funny since Cody wasn’t much shorter than Adrian. Oreo had given up and sprawled out in front of the fireplace. That was the great thing about her I guess. She was full of spunk but quickly tired out.
“I’ll be thirty-two next year. How old did you think I was?” I asked as I watched Cody’s eyes get huge.
“No fuckin’ way. We all thought you were like, twenty-five or something.”
Adrian laughed because he knew exactly how old I was. Obviously my age hadn’t ever come up, which wasn’t really expected.
“Nope. Thirty-one, almost thirty-two. I did three tours with the Marines before I decided I’d had enough. I didn’t love it enough to stay. That and I knew my dad wasn’t doing so well with my deployments.”
“Yep, you learn something about someone every day. You staying for supper?” Cody asked as he got up from Adrian’s lap.
“No. I have some things to do and should be going,” I told them.
“Don’t feel you have to run off.”
“I don’t. I honestly do have some things to do. I need to take Oreo home so I can go grocery shopping. And I really need to throw some laundry in the washer because I didn’t get a chance to last weekend. I appreciate the offer though.” I got up from my spot on the couch, and when I did, Oreo jumped up from hers in front of the fireplace. Yeah, she hadn’t really been asleep. Damn dog.
“Come on, Oreo. You wanna go bye-bye?” I asked as I bent down to pick up the rope bone I’d brought with us. At the word bye-bye, she started yipping and dancing around, just as I knew she would. She loved to go for car rides, and that was probably a good thing since I had to drop her off at daycare every day.
“You sure you can’t stay?” Adrian asked.
“Some other time, perhaps?” I suggested as I stuffed Oreo’s toy in my coat pocket. I pulled on my coat and picked up my little furball, then walked to the front door.
“Monday morning, then?” Adrian asked.
“Yep. See you at eight,” I told him as I walked out the door and into the breath-stealing cold. We were in the middle of a cold snap, and I was certainly ready for it to end. It didn’t get this cold in Austin, but it got cold in Afghanistan, so it wasn’t like I’d never been anywhere cold before.
I opened the passenger door, and after I grabbed Oreo’s leash, I clipped it onto her collar and set her down in the driveway. It was the only spot clear enough that she wasn’t buried in snow. She sniffed but almost immediately pawed my leg, wanting to be picked up again, so I bent down and picked her up. She obviously didn’t need to go pee so after she was clipped into the seat belt, I walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in myself.
I wasn’t at Adrian and Cody’s for long, but it was hovering right around zero outside and the SUV had cooled off in a hurry. It took a few minutes, but the seats started to warm up thanks to the seat warmers. That was one of the first things I’d done when I experienced my first Wyoming winter. I traded my older pickup for a new SUV with heated seats and steering wheel. That was a must here in the winter. I glanced at Oreo as I backed out of the driveway, but she’d already curled up on her blanket on the seat. Yeah, I really did spoil her. I simply couldn’t help myself.
I drove from Sulfur Springs to my townhouse in Jackson. Once I parked in my garage, I unclipped Oreo and carried her inside.
“Okay, girl, let’s see if you need to do your business now, because I have to run errands and I can’t take you.” I slid the patio open and set Oreo down. She took off into the tiny yard, one that I’d kept shoveled so she’d have somewhere to do her business. She did both jobs, and I praised her as we went back inside. After I checked to make sure her food and water bowls were filled, I went back out to the garage and climbed back into my SUV.
Damn, I’d only been inside ten minutes, but it didn’t matter. The SUV was cooled off already. I cranked the seat heater as well as the de
frost and headed to the supermarket. I needed any and everything, it seemed, so now was the time to do it.
The trip was uneventful, as was the stop at the drive-through for dinner. But after a successful trip, I parked back in the garage and closed the door. I needed to lug my groceries and household items in and then put them away. Sometimes adulting was boring as fuck, but it was necessary.
After groceries were put away, laundry was started, and Oreo had been played with, I thought about playing Fortnite but decided against it. I turned on the TV, but that didn’t interest me either. Oreo jumped up onto the couch and curled up on my stomach, letting me know she was ready to cuddle.
“Girl, we need a life. Seriously. It’s Saturday night and I’m home with you,” I told her as I absently rubbed the top of her head. If I really wanted to, I could go through Dad’s things that were in the plastic totes, but did I want to? Was I ready for that? No, I wasn’t. But if I didn’t do it now, when would I?
I lay there with Oreo for a little longer before I rolled off the couch and went upstairs to my spare bedroom where I’d stored the totes. There were six of them, several more than I’d carried over to the care facility for Dad.
I braced myself, sighed, and thought better of it. Nope. If I was going to do this, I needed a beer or two first, so I turned around and went back downstairs to the kitchen. I thought about it, and did I really need a beer? No. But damn, it was going to be difficult enough to do this. The longer I put it off, the harder it would be, right?
Instead of beer, I brewed a pot of coffee. Tomorrow was Sunday and if I ended up staying up all night, it wouldn’t matter. I stood in the kitchen, waiting for the coffee to brew, and when it was ready, I put a few ice cubes in the bottom of my mug and filled it with steaming coffee before I headed back upstairs.
I took a few sips of java before I set the mug down on the computer desk and faced the task at hand. I walked over to the totes and opened the top one, not sure what to expect once I got a peek. I found out it was full of Dad’s clothes. I set it aside as well as the other one that was the same. The third one, though, was a different story. It was full of old pictures. I sat on the floor and thumbed through them, looking at me as a baby, toddler, and preschooler with Mom. I’d forgotten how beautiful she was. She’d been gone so long. I ran my finger down one of the pictures and smiled. When the picture became blurry, I realized I was crying, so I put them aside.