“You’re selling yourself short,” June observed. “Horace here seems perfectly comfortable with you.”
Lucy finished the final suture and carefully bandaged Horace’s leg. “There you are, boy. Good as new.” She scratched behind the dog’s ears affectionately before carrying him out to the waiting area.
“Siomon, Oliver,” Lucy addressed the worried man and his young son, who had been pacing the small waiting room. “Horace did beautifully. The stitches will need to stay in for about ten days. Keep the wound clean and dry, and bring him back next week so I can check his progress.”
“Thank you so much, Dr. Tanner,” Mr. Patterson said, relief evident in his voice. “I thought we might have to drive all the way to the emergency clinic in Cedar Key.”
“That’s what we’re here for,” Lucy assured him. “Just watch him around glass doors for a while. Labs can be a bit... enthusiastic about their exits.”
After the Pattersons left with a much happier Horace, Lucy looked at her watch again and tried calling Lacey. The phone went straight to voicemail, and Lucy’s concern deepened.
“Still no answer?” June asked, noticing Lucy’s expression.
“Nothing,” Lucy said, ending the call. “She went out to the Hendrick’s farm to check on their mare that’s been having trouble foaling. That was over two hours ago.”
“Farm calls can take longer than expected,” June reasoned, helping Lucy clean up the examination room. “Especially if there were complications with the delivery. She’s probably just focused on her patient and has her phone on silent.”
Lucy nodded, though she couldn’t shake her worry. “You’re probably right. I just hate not knowing, especially after yesterday’s fire.”
They finished cleaning up the clinic, and Lucy gathered her purse. “I really need to get going. The contractors are waiting, and Tom is waiting for me.”
“Go,” June insisted. “I’ll stay here and keep trying Lacey’s phone. I’ll call you if there’s an emergency before Lacey is back.”
“Thank you. Dr. Reeves is at the clinic, so hopefully Lacey will be back soon for the vet clinic.” She hurried toward the door. “Are you sure you’re okay here on your own?” Lucy asked.
“Absolutely,” June replied firmly. “Besides, you’re already doing double duty running both the human clinic and covering here since the other vet left. Lacey really needs to find another veterinarian soon, or you’re going to work yourself into the ground.”
“Tell me about it,” Lucy sighed. “I love helping with the animals, but this pace isn’t sustainable long-term.”
Lucy was opening the clinic door when Victoria Morrison suddenly appeared in front of her, blocking her path. The woman’s expression was cold and hostile, her perfectly styled blonde hair and designer clothes making her look like she’d stepped off the pages of a magazine.
“Lacey,” Victoria said with obvious disdain. “I have a message for you to give to your pathetic sister.”
Lucy blinked in surprise but didn’t correct the mistaken identity immediately. Behind her, she sensed June stepping closer.
“Do you have to do this right now?” Lucy asked her.
“Yes, actually I do,” Victoria continued, her voice dripping with venom. “Your sister Lucy is a pathetic person. Lucy couldn’t even wait for the ink to dry on my divorce papers before she went sniffing around my leftovers. Tell your sister to at least have the decency to wait until I leave town before throwing herself at my husband.”
June started to say something, but Lucy held up a subtle hand to stop her.
“Why don’t you tell Lucy this yourself?” Lucy asked calmly.
“I tried, but your sister’s not at the clinic,” Victoria replied haughtily, a nasty smile spreading across her face. “She wasalways scared and in awe of me growing up. She probably realized I’d find out about the little dinner date she had with my husband last night and is now hiding.”
Lucy felt June stiffen beside her and gave her friend’s hand a reassuring squeeze.
“I can assure you, Victoria,” Lucy said, maintaining perfect control over her voice, “neither my sister nor I are scared of you or in awe of you. In fact, we don’t feel anything for you and barely ever think about you.” Something inside Lucy that had been building for forty years finally snapped. “You see, Victoria, my sister and I went to college, earned degrees, and we work for a living. We’re not idle housewives who have time to let anyone live rent-free in our heads. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have somewhere to be. Unless you have an animal that needs medical attention, please leave.”
Victoria looked genuinely stunned by Lucy’s calm but cutting response, then quickly became defensive. “Just tell your pathetic sister to stay away from my husband…”
Before she could finish her threat, June stepped forward with the quiet authority that came from years of practicing law.
“I’d be very careful about making threats against my client,” June said coolly. “And for the record, Tom is your ex-husband, so you have no right to tell anyone to stay away from him.”
Victoria’s eyes narrowed as she focused on June for the first time. “I heard you were back in town,” she sneered. “Working in a veterinary office now? Couldn’t find any law firms that wanted you?”
“You need to leave, Victoria,” Lucy warned, stepping protectively closer to June. “And you should know better than to go afteran attorney. June is here, helping us out, because she actually works for a living and doesn’t spend her time terrorizing the local businesses.”
