“Dr. McArthur should be doing paperwork,” she says. “Go through the blue door and then take a left. I have to take this, but good luck!”
She turns her attention to the phone, and I take my first step around the counter. Part of me wants to duck and run. Pretend that none of this happened. Just go back to Billings and forget about it all. I know that can't happen, though. I'd never forgive myself, although I know Katie was serious when she said she didn't need me. Just because she doesn'tneedme doesn't mean that raising a kid alone is easy. I don't want her to have to struggle with that.
I push the blue door open with one hand and step into the back of the clinic. It smells like antiseptic and dog fur, and I feel a little bit like I'm going to pass out.
I take a deep breath and force my legs to keep moving. It's too late to back out now.
The office has a glass door, and I can see the back of Katie’s head through it. Her curls are messy, thrown into a haphazardbun that barely manages to keep it all in place. Voices start to filter in through the pounding of my pulse as I step closer.
“I just… I understand, but there has to be some other way,” Katie says, her voice cracking around the plea.
“Katie, you know I don't want to do this,” another woman says, sounding sorrowful. “It's just until David gets over this whole thing. You're a great vet, and I don't want to see this tarnish your reputation, but I have to think about the clinic, too.”
I stop before either of them notices me, feeling like an idiot as I stand there with a bouquet of flowers in my hand. What's all of this about?
I was supposed to whisk Katie away to watch the sunset and win her over. I'm not supposed to be walking into this mess.
“So I'm fired?” Her voice carries nothing but defeat. No anger, no bargaining, just the acceptance of a loss. “That's it?”
“I don't want to use that word,” the other woman says. I can damn near hear the cringe in her voice as awkward silence stretches out. “Let's just say you're being put on leave. I'll tell David I fired you, and this will all blow over. We'll figure it out from there.”
The quiet that hangs heavy in the air, and it remains unbroken by even the hum of the air conditioner for what feels like hours. All I can do is stand here, unsure of my footing and with no idea of what to do next. In the end my choice is made for me.
Katie’s chair scrapes back over the linoleum, but I don't have time to compose myself before she walks out of the office.
Her eyes meet mine, and a flash of scorn crosses them. It's drowned out instantly by a flood of tears, and I find myself with her sobbing body wrapped within my arms in the next second.
“I don't want to see you right now,” she whispers mournfully into the collar of my shirt.
I have no clue what to do, so I just go with my gut instinct. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her even closer, letting her tears soak into my shirt. She sobs near silently into my shoulder as her hands fist into the fabric of my shirt. She shakes so hard I wouldn't be surprised if she collapses.
“I know.” It's not really a surprise that she's less than thrilled to see me, especially right now. “Let's get you out of here. Where's your bag?”
She pulls herself together for long enough to get her bag and her coat, and keeps her head held high as she follows me out to the SUV. As soon as the door closes behind her, though, she dissolves into tears again.
I settle the flowers into the gap between her seat and the center console before pulling out of the parking lot, but I keep my mouth shut. If I've learned one thing from my sister, it's to stay quiet when a girl is breaking down like this.
The drive to the ranch should be plenty of time for her to run out of tears and be in a better headspace.
Well, I hope it will, at least.
We make most of the trip in complete silence, no sound but the rumble of the road and Katie’s occasional sniffles to fill the air. It's not until the road turns from pavement to gravel that she looks up.
“What?” she asks blankly, looking around as I pull ever closer to the gates of the ranch. “Why are we here? Wayne, I—Look, I really don't want to do whatever this is. I just want to go home.”
“I wanted a chance to apologize. Properly.” I ignore the frustrated sigh she sends my way and maneuver the SUV through the parking spaces in front of the barn and down past several of the old sheds near the back pastures. “Give me half an hour. If you don't want to hear any more after that, I'll take you back to the clinic and make sure you and your car get home safely. Deal?”
I don’t know what I’ll do if she negotiates this deal or vetoes it, but I think I’m safe. I have a feeling she's too tired to fight me on it.
“I… okay, sure. Whatever.”
I keep my victorious grin to myself as I pull up to the little storage shed that I picked for today’s activities. It's old and looks rickety, but it's always been the sturdiest of the buildings out this way.
Aaron really went all out on making it look like something out of a fairytale, though.
It's surrounded by a thicket of trees and flower bushes, a path of white rose petals leading to the base of a ladder that leans against the side of the shed. If I was patient enough to wait for nighttime, I'd have asked him to deck the whole place out in string lights, but my impatience is actually working for me today.
Katie’s jaw drops open in surprise when I park the car, and she glances between me and the shed. I round the front of the car to pull her door open for her, and she narrows her eyes in hesitant confusion before stepping out.
