She pulled out yellow daisies wrapped in cellophane first. Next were several magazines, a COVID test, saltine crackers,and chicken noodle soup from the deli of the grocery store a few blocks away.
She grabbed her phone and texted Ashanti.
I truly love you.
A moment later, she received a reply.
Love you too. Feel better.Three ellipses pulsed on the screen before another text followed.I know you love the spicy lentil soup, but I thought chicken noodle was better given the circumstances.
Evie replied with several thumbs-up and heart emojis. She felt even worse for lying to Ashanti, but maybe she wasn’t lying after all. Shehadfelt sick since the moment she walked in on Cameron and that nurse. And just the thought of cuddling up on the sofa with a bowl of that soup and this month’s edition ofEssencemagazine made her feel better.
Maybe the magazine could help with ignoring the other thing that had been bothering her for much of the day: the massive guilt over abandoning her patients at the practice.
When Gwyneth, the front office manager who had been at the clinic since Cameron’s dad opened it forty years ago, had called to ask why she hadn’t shown up for the scheduled tooth extraction on the Ruffins’ Boston terrier, Evie hadn’t even thought to come up with the excuse of being sick. She’d told Gwyn straight up that she was leaving the practice, without providing any further explanation.
It had been an awful thing to do, but who could blame her?
Still, her patients shouldn’t have to suffer because of her shitty mood and her ex-fiancé’s even shittier behavior.
“They won’t suffer,” she reassured herself.
Gwyn was superb at her job. Evie had no doubt she’d rescheduled the two procedures she’d had slated for today. Cameron would make sure the dogs were okay, if only for the sake of the clinic’s reputation.
None of that lessened the guilt she felt. Those were her patients, and she’d let them down.
This isn’t your fault. It’s Cameron’s!
She would remind herself of that fact every hour until it finally sunk in.
Evie transferred some soup into a bowl and ate at the kitchen island while flipping through the magazine. The meal was exactly what her soul needed. By the time she placed the empty bowl into the dishwasher, she was ready to do something more than just wallow on her couch watching rom-com breakup scenes. She needed to find something that would lift her out of this funk.
She clamped her hands on her hips and stared at the emptiness surrounding her. One thing was clear: She wasn’t getting out of this funk if she didn’t leave this house.
But where could she go? The one thing that brought her the most joy—being surrounded by animals—was out of her reach. She couldnotgo to the clinic. She would scratch Cameron’s eyes out the moment she saw him. She couldn’t go to either of Barkingham Palace’s locations because she’d told Ashanti she was sick. Where was a girl to go to get some puppy love in her life?
Not even a second later, the answer popped into her mind. “Duh, Evie! Of course!”
The Sanctuary.
It was the perfect compromise. Not only was sheguaranteed some quality doggy time, but also helping at the animal rescue would soothe a bit of the sting from her guilt.
Decision made, she put the container of leftover soup in the refrigerator and went into her bedroom to change.
She’d first volunteered at the animal nonprofit when she was in veterinary school and had continued volunteering several years after graduation. But when Ashanti asked her to become the in-house veterinarian at Barkingham Palace, Evie had had to cut back on her volunteer hours. They were now nonexistent. With a start, she realized she hadn’t been to The Sanctuary in over a year.
Evie peeled off the leggings and baggy T-shirt she’d been wearing since yesterday and hopped in the shower. After changing into jeans and a lightweight sweater, she headed for the animal rescue.
The Sanctuary was located near the Audubon Zoo, less than four miles from her house in the city’s Broadmoor neighborhood. Yet, because of afternoon traffic, it still took nearly twenty minutes to get there.
Evie smiled the moment she entered the nondescript building and spotted The Sanctuary’s office manager, Odessa Carter, sitting behind the reception desk.
“Hey there, stranger,” Evie greeted.
Odessa’s head popped up. “Evie!” She pushed back from the desk and rounded it, her arms open wide.
Evie hesitated a second before remembering that she actually was not sick and therefore did not have to worry about infecting Odessa with her make-believe illness.
“It’s so good to see you, honey,” the office manager said. “It’s been a while.”
