“We’re taking Penny to the lab to run a full blood panel. Exotic animals often hide their symptoms well, so I’m unsure just how sick she is. I’m concerned she might be suffering from an undetected parasitic infection. The blood panel will help us determine the exact issue and the best course of treatment to get her better.”
He nods nervously. “You think she’s going to be alright?”
“We’ll do everything we can to get to the bottom of what’s causing her to be sick and then work on a protocol together to get her well.”
He nods again. “Okay, thanks, Doc.”
I head towards the back of the facility, checking in with Benson to ensure the lab order is correct, then walk to the office I share with the two other doctors currently working at theHouston Exotic Animal Veterinary Clinic.
“That python was gnarly,” my coworker Anna says as soon as I enter the room. She tosses me a sandwich that one of the vendors dropped off this morning as I slump into my chair to type up my notes. Companies are constantly dropping by with free goodies in exchange for allowing them to promote their products at our clinic and though I rarely have a say in what brands we use on the pets, the owners of the facility never say no to a free hand out, and I never say no to free food.
“I wish I’d gotten the python. I just saw a blue-tongued skink,” Chadwick, one of the other doctors on shift today, says, closing the door behind him and swiping one of the sandwiches from the tray, joining Anna and me.
“Hey, skinks are cool,” I shoot back.
“Not really, at least, not like a python,” Anna says with a chuckle, dabbing her lips with a napkin and then standing up to stretch. “Okay, I guess one of us has to work around here. I’m heading back out. Catch you two later!” She opens the office door, heading back out into the clinic while Chadwick takes her empty seat. His smile is easy as he pulls himself closer to me and I can tell whatever he’s going to say, I’m not going to like.
“So... are you busy tonight?”
I conceal the sigh that I want to unload at his question. Ever since Chadwick and I hooked up four weeks ago, sort of accidentally, it was the same question he asked me every time our shifts crossed.
“Not going to happen again, Chadwick.”
He rolls his eyes in response. “It wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“It was terrible,” I laugh.
Two weeks ago, one of the vendors we partner with for wound care supplies had taken the seven veterinarians who rotate through the clinic for drinks. A few too many gins and tonics later, Chadwick and I had stumbled back to my apartment and had very sloppy, short and disappointing sex. He claimed it was 'whiskey dick' but the guy lasted less than thirty seconds before busting and I was left without any sort of satisfaction and a very drunk, asleep coworker in my bed. It was mortifying and uncomfortable. Frankly, I was better off going home with my vibrator alone than ever making the mistake of hooking up with him or any other coworker ever again.
Thankfully, before I can respond with another explanation on why we should have never slept together in the first place, my phone rings on the cluttered desk. My sister’s name flashes across the screen as I swipe up to answer. “Hey sis, what’s up?”
“Teagan, you won’t believe it...I’m pregnant!” she squeals so loudly that I have to hold the phone away from my ear. “I never thought it’d happen, but it did! We’re having a baby!”
It’s been five years since my sister married Ryder Davenport back on our family’s farm in Pennsylvania. Five years of marriage, and just as many years of trying to have a baby. Shawna has dreamed of being a stay-at-home mom for as long as I can remember. She was the kid who’d line up our Barbies to play house, complete with a plastic kitchen and a make-believe husband. Meanwhile, my Barbies were always off galloping around on colorful ponies or rushing to save lives in their tiny doctor scrubs.
Thankfully, it seems Ryder had stayed true to his promises he’d made—faithful to Shawna and steady as a husband—which means this news is exactly what their little family needs to complete it.
“I’m happy for you, sis. That’s amazing news. I can’t wait to be an aunt.”
“So, when are you moving to Lonestar Junction?” she demands in the next breath without hesitation.
“Um...never?”
“I need you,” she whines. “I want this baby to know their Aunt Teagan. Imagine if you lived next door. Wouldn’t that be cool?”
I snort because that idea feels out of reach. “They will know me. I’ll come to visit. It’s only a three-hour drive from here.”
“That’s not good enough.” I can tell she's pouting on the other end of the phone despite not being able to see her face.
I laugh. “I have a whole life here in Houston. What would I even do in Lonestar Junction?”Except wonder about how life’s treated Wilder Cameron and if I’m going to run into him…
“Just think about it. Would it be the worst thing to live here and watch your niece or nephew grow up? They won’t be the only ones, you know. I want to have at least five kids, and Ryder keeps saying he wants twins.”
“You know, you can’t really plan that.”
“There’s tricks you can try online.”
“Please don’t tell me.”
