"Caleb," I said. "What brings you in?"
"Think he's got an ear infection." He gestured down at Scout. "Keeps shaking his head. Scratching at it."
"Let me take a look."
I led them to exam room two. Daisy, who'd been sleeping under my desk, heard us pass and trotted out to investigate. The moment she saw Scout, her tail started wagging so hard her whole back end moved.
Scout's tail wagged once, then twice, and then the two of them were tangled together in the hallway, gentle wrestling, paws everywhere, pure joy.
"They're a handful," Caleb said.
I felt my mouth twitch. "Yours started it."
"Scout's well-behaved. That's all Daisy."
"Daisy's friendly. There's a difference."
He exhaled through his nose. I was pretty sure that was his version of laughing.
I got both dogs into the exam room and convinced them to settle, Daisy under the bench, Scout on the table. Caleb stood against the wall, arms crossed, watching.
I checked Scout's ear with the otoscope. Red and slightly inflamed, but nothing serious.
"He'll be fine," I said, pulling back. "Bacterial infection, probably from water getting in there. I'll give you drops. Twice a day for a week."
"Appreciate it."
I grabbed the ear cleaner from the cabinet and a bottle of antibiotic drops, wrote quick instructions on the label. When I turned back, Scout was already off the table, nosing at Daisy. The two of them were play-bowing, tails wagging.
I handed Caleb the bottles. "Twice a day. Call if it gets worse."
"Thanks." He took them, his fingers brushing mine briefly. Then he hesitated. Didn't move toward the door.
I looked at him.
There was sawdust on his shoulder, probably from whatever job site he'd come from. His forearms were tan below his rolled-up sleeves, the muscles there defined in a way that came from work, not a gym. He had a small scar on his jaw I'd never noticed before, and I found myself wondering how he'd gotten it.
"Appreciate you squeezing me in," he said.
"It's fine. It's what I do."
He nodded but didn't move toward the door. The puppies were circling each other now, Daisy trying to get Scout to chase her.
When I looked back up, Caleb wasn't watching them. He was watching me.
"You know," I said slowly, "you don't have to come in here this often."
His eyebrows pulled together slightly. "The dog needed?—"
"I know." I felt my lips move on their own, a tentative smile taking over them. "But this is the third time in two weeks. And the last time it was because he sneezed twice."
He was quiet for a moment. "He sneezed three times."
"Caleb."
"What?"
"You can just ask me for coffee."
