“Did you ever break another’s bone?”
“No, but that’s not to say we didn’t have our share of broken bones and casts.” He lifted his cup but stopped short of taking a drink. “Wait, did that happen to you?”
She cringed as heat tinged her cheeks, and she wished she hadn’t opened the door to the embarrassing story. “I may have been the cause of my sister’s fractured tibia.”
“How’d you manage that?” He pressed his forearms against the table and leaned forward.
“My aunt gave Tracey, my sister, a set of costume butterfly wings for her fourth birthday, and Ted, my brother, and I told her she’d be able to fly with them on.”
Aaron chuckled. “I can see where this is heading.”
“In our defense, we didn’t think she’d try, but she did a practice jump off the top bunk. We heard her crying and ran in to see her leg twisted.” She shuddered. “I’ll never erase that image.”
“You were young, and I bet you learned a lesson.”
“You would think.” She started to sip her drink but thought better of it when she started to laugh. “We made sure to tell her harmless fibs from then on, like the classic, if you eat a watermelon seed, you’ll grow a watermelon in your stomach.”
“That’s terrible, but I can’t say too much. My brothers and I once told our younger cousin that she wouldn’t go to Heaven because her name wasn’t in the Bible.”
“You didn’t.” Her eyes widened. In all the made-up stories she’d told Tracey, none of them compared with that.
He cringed. “I did, but in my defense, I was only six, and the Sunday school lesson that week was on the Lamb’s book of life. I didn’t know better and thought that meant the Bible.”
She waved her hand in a teeter-totter motion and shrugged. “Fair enough.”
Her phone buzzed, sending vibrations through the table. She saw the number and rubbed her middle finger. “It’s the vet.”
The laughter in his eyes sobered. He quietly answered the call and handed her phone to her.
“Hello.” Her tentative greeting echoed hollowly in her own ears.
“Hi Rachel, It’s Hannah from the vet’s office. I wanted to let you know Roxie is out of surgery and did great.”
The tension unwound into relief. “Thank God.”
“Dr. Scott would like to speak to you. Can you hold for him?”
In an instant, her muscles coiled again. “Okay.”
Soothing—in theory—music came over the line. Rachel looked up and saw Aaron watching her with narrowed eyes. For an instant, she’d forgotten he was there. “The biopsy went well, but Dr. Scott wants to speak with me.”
“That’s not necessarily bad. He’s very hands on with his patients.”
“I know.” When the music stopped, she pinched her lips together.
“Miss Rachel?” Dr Scott’s drawl held no sign of distress, which put her only slightly at ease.
“Yes.”
“Our Roxie girl is doing great, but I wanted to speak with you before you came in. The biopsy was more complicated than we expected, and we couldn’t suture her wound completely because of the size.” Dr. Scott delivered the news with a professional tone while still conveying his compassion. “While I don’t anticipate problems, I’d like to keep her overnight for observation.”
Absently, she rubbed her shoulder. “I trust your judgement.”
“You’re more than welcome to pop in and visit with her this afternoon.”
“I’d like that.”
“I’ll let the girls upfront know to expect you. If you have any questions in the meantime, you know you can call at any time.”
