“I’ll clean the area and then numb it so I can pull the splinter out without causing additional pain. I don’t think it will need stitching. Maybe just some medical-grade liquid adhesive to keep it closed. But I’ll know more once it’s clean.”
“You can do that?”
His eyes touched mine, and it was like touching the hottest part of a flame. But then his attention turned back to the dog, and I was suddenly cold.
“If you would like me to,” he said.
“Please. I can’t stand seeing him in pain.”
Toby nodded once and moved around the table to pull the door open.
“Toby?” A voice that hadn’t been out there before floated into the room.
“Hey, Brett.” Toby greeted him. “Yeah, it’s me. I’m filling in for my dad for a few days.”
Brett Schroder? Since when does he work here?
“That’s awesome,” he said enthusiastically.
I inched around the table to peer out into the hallway where, yep, Brett Schroder, the mayor’s son, stood in a pair of green scrubs.
“Oh, hey, Archer,” he said, brow furrowing. “Is everything okay? Is Marlowe sick?”
“Since when do you work here?” I asked.
Between us, Toby made a choked sound. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, “Rude.”
“This is town business. Stay out of it,” I told him.
“Right. How I’ve missed everyone’s business being everyone’s,” he muttered.
Brett laughed. “Guess the rumors are true.”
“What rumors?” Toby and I asked at the same time.
Brett laughed again. “That you two are like oil and water.”
We hadn’t always been.
“Would you mind giving me a hand in here?” Toby asked, quickly rattling off a list of the supplies he needed.
“Anything for you, Doc,” Brett quipped before winking and going off to get the items.
When Toby turned back, his cheeks were pink, and my ears burned. I stared at him hard, but he avoided it to move back into the room and start opening and closing cabinets.
“Don’t you know where anything is?” I asked.
“It’s my first day.”
“No one seemed to be expecting you.”Especially me.
“It was a last-minute trip.”
For a moment, the bitterness between us was replaced with true concern. “Is your dad okay? Gail?” I asked of his mom.
“My parents are fine.” He assured me, looking up from the cabinet. “Mom just wanted Dad to have a break for the holiday, and she convinced me to come here to help with the clinic.”
“But you’re going back to Boston?”
