Five minutes later, the door opens and Noah walks through. “Hey guys,” he says, pulling out a chair next to Stefan. He looks at the plates. “Wow, that looks good. I’m starving.” He starts helping himself to sandwiches and sushi.
Leon waits for him to settle, then says, “Everything okay?”
“Yep.” Noah takes a bite of a sandwich, then looks at me. “How are you doing?”
“I’m okay,” I say softly. “How’s Beth?”
He sighs and leans back. “She’s okay. Upset, obviously.”
I feel a tug of shame. “Yeah.” I sink my hand into my hair. “I’m sorry guys, I feel as if I’ve screwed everything up.”
Noah smiles then. “Nah, I don’t think so. Beth told me she was planning to tell Jude tonight that their relationship was definitely over. She said it had been going wrong for some time.”
Relief settles over me. At least she’s backed up my story.
“She told us she’s looking for a place to stay,” Noah says, “so Abby and I have offered her the cottage.”
“Oh, Noah, that’s great,” I reply, genuinely pleased.
“Yeah, Abby’s showing her around. I got the feeling she’s not enjoying being at her sister’s right now.”
“I think their marriage is on the rocks,” I say.
“Aw, that explains it. Anyway, she seemed very happy about the cottage. At least it will give her some space to think.” He eats a piece of sushi in one bite, then pours himself a coffee. “Look, obviously this is a difficult situation for everyone. I know Leon’s not keen on employees having relationships at work, but I think it’s inevitable when people spend more time there than at home. I never blame anyone for developing feelings for those they work with. But we do need to think about what’s best for everyone going forward.”
“Did Beth say anything about working at PAWS?” Stefan asks.
Noah nods. “She seems keen. I think she’s worried that you might be uncomfortable having her there now, though.” He looks at me.
“I’m not,” I say softly. “She’s a great veterinary nurse, and I’d love to have her working there. Whether we get together or not, we’re both professional people, and I think we can work it out. Honestly, I think my relationship with Beth—both personal and/or working—is less of an issue than my friendship with Jude.”
“He’ll see her working at PAWS as her choosing you over him,” Noah points out.
“Yeah.”
“Obviously, PAWS is going to have close contact with the Forever Home,” Leon says, “sourcing therapy dogs from time to time, especially when Cullen moves full time to PAWS. Jude would have been the natural coordinator, so we’ll have to see how that goes.”
“I’ll talk to him,” I say. “When things calm down. We’ll make things work.” I sound more confident than I feel. Jude could easily turn bitter and refuse to talk to me, which would make communication between both places extremely difficult for me and unpleasant for everyone else involved.
“What about Dane?” Leon suggests.
“Dane Harper?” My eyebrows rise. Dane is a qualified vet, and he works mainly for the Animal Welfare Team under Hal, so he’s out and about in the animal ambulance a lot of the time. He’s probably the nicest guy I’ve ever met, and one of the funniest, although his light dimmed somewhat after his wife—who was his childhood sweetheart—passed away from breast cancer. “Would he be interested in working with us?”
“Yeah,” Leon says. “I think it’ll be good for him. It’s the anniversary of his wife’s passing soon, and I think he’s feeling unsettled, understandably so. You mentioned the possibility of having a mobile outreach unit, right?”
“Yeah,” I say, “the Healing PAWS bus.” The plan is to take therapy animals to people in places that couldn’t otherwise come to the center—very rural communities, retirement homes, maybe even the local prison.
“He could head that,” Leon suggests. “Take one of your therapists out to places. And you don’t have a lead vet yet, right?”
“No.”
“He’d be good,” Stefan says. “He’s a great vet.”
“So I was thinking maybe he could also coordinate with Jude,” Leon says, “be like a go-between.”
I look into my coffee cup for a moment. It’s tempting to be a coward and walk in the opposite direction whenever I see Jude. But I refuse to think our friendship’s over.
“Dane is a great idea,” I say, “and I’d definitely be interested in him moving to PAWS if you and he are up for it. But I hope I won’t need a go-between. I will talk to Jude and try to patch things up. We’ve known each other a long time, and I hope that once he accepts that he and Beth are over, we’ll be able to move on.”
