“It is,” Evie answered. “I’m lucky to work there.” She turned her attention to Doc and, in a voice coated with ten times more warmth, said, “I had some free time on my hands and decided to drop in and see how things are going at The Sanctuary, but now I’m convinced fate brought me here.” She smiled a genuine smile and kissed the dog’s head. “As I just informed Odessa, I’m taking this little one home with me.”
“She already named him,” Odessa said, coming back into the lobby. “Waffles. I think Sam is a better name, but what do I know?”
“This one has been a bit skittish,” Doc said as he gave the dog a head scratch. “But I think he’ll warm up to you in no time.”
“He already has,” Evie said.
Bryson stood there with his hands in his pockets, feeling awkward as hell as Evie and Doc chatted about her new dog. Should he remind Doc that he’d followed him back to The Sanctuary after their lunch for a reason, or should he slowly back away and follow up with his mentor later?
He could smash through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man and he doubted anyone would notice.
“I’ve been meaning to ask, where are the students?” Eviesaid. “There hasn’t been a single volunteer since I arrived hours ago.”
“Uh, we can get into that later,” Doc said. “Besides, I only had a few vaccinations to administer. I didn’t really need any volunteers today.”
“It was more than just a few vaccinations,” Evie said. “That’s what I’ve been doing all afternoon. I’ll finish them up before I leave.”
Doc waved her off. “Don’t worry about those. I’ll get to them later. I have two of my best volunteers here. This is a time for visiting, not vaccinating.” He clamped a hand on Bryson’s shoulder and his other on Evie’s. “Now that I think about it, we can do both. Since I’ve got you two here, I might as well put you to work. It’ll be like old times.”
Bryson noticed the way Evie stiffened, her shoulders going rigid in a clear sign that she’d rather do anything but revisit old times.
“Uh, Doc, I have to—” Bryson started.
“You can spare a half hour to help out,” Doc said. It wasn’t posed as a question. “Come on, you two. Let’s bring this little reunion to the treatment room.”
Doc started for the rear of the building, not looking back to see if either of them had followed. There was no reason to doubt they would. As happy-go-lucky as he appeared, Bryson was willing to bet that not one of Doc’s former students would dare defy him.
He motioned to Evie to go ahead of him. “After you.”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice lacking any of the warmth it held when she spoke to Doc or Odessa.
Was he surprised by her chilly reception? No.
Did it hurt? Fuck yes.
Would he give anything—the shirt off his back, his favorite coffee mug, his signed copy of S. A. Cosby’sRazorblade Tears—to have Evie greet him with even an ounce of the excitement he’d felt upon first seeing her?
Again, fuck yes.
But it wasn’t meant to be. Not that he could blame her.Hewas the one who’d messed up eight years ago. She didn’t owe him so much as a smile.
It doesn’t look as if you’ll get one either.
The stomach knot tightened.
Bryson followed her into the treatment room where they used to perform routine spays and neuters back when they volunteered here. He wasn’t sure what he expected after nearly a decade, but it wasn’t for this room to look exactly the way it had all those years ago.
Same faded posters of the canine muscular and skeletal systems. Same corkboard with various business cards and takeout menus tacked to it.
He squinted. Those couldn’t possibly be the same menus that had been there eight years ago, could they? The room was like a time capsule.
What were the odds that the first time he returned to this place that had one of the biggest impacts on his life, he would find himself here with Evie, the woman who’d had one of the biggest impacts on his life? The universe had jokes.
Bryson knew when he’d made the decision to return home that he would eventually run into her. New Orleans was a big city compared to the little dot on the map where he’d grown up, but it was still small. And the veterinary community was even smaller. It was inevitable their paths would cross.
But after only three days home? Couldn’t he get a full week to settle in before having to face the one person from his past who could send his emotions into a tailspin?
Was it kismet? Fate? There had to be something more than coincidence at play. Visiting The Sanctuary hadn’t even been part of today’s plans. He’d only followed Doc back here after their lunch because his mentor had insisted on giving Bryson a lapel pin to wear at his speaking engagement on Saturday. What were the chances that Evie would be at The Sanctuary when it was apparent that she hadn’t visited in a while either?
