“Okay.” He squeezed the back of his neck where tension had taken up residence.
Rachel sat down in the chair beside him and leaned forward. “I believe in love, Carl. I’m not saying never, but not now. When the time is right, I think you’re exactly the type of man to give her a happily ever after.”
“How will I know when the time is right?”
A soft smile graced her face. “You’ll know. Trust me, you’ll know.”
He stood and stretched his arms. “I’d best get back to work.”
He trudged to the cafeteria to pick up lunch. Chicken nuggets and fries weren’t high on his list of favorites, but he barely tasted them anyway. After he ate, he checked on Hope. He’d have to talk to Luna about making new arrangements.
Once the dog had started walking, she didn’t want to stop. Her strolls typically consisted of venturing in circles, but each day the loop grew. It wasn’t fair to keep her constrained in his office all day even with her constantly being checked on, but she still required high supervision.
Hope slept on her bed. Though her ribs and tailbone still protruded in an unhealthy manner, she’d begun to fill out. Most of her sores from a staph infection had cleared, and she’d become more responsive.
His phone rang and vibrated against his desk. So, that’s where he’d left it. He strode across the room, picked up the phone, and answered the call.
“Hi, this is Meghan calling from Eastern Veterinary Hospital to confirm Hope’s appointment for four forty-five this afternoon.”
“We’ll be there.”
“Thanks. We’ll see you then.”
Sliding his phone into his pocket, he shook his head. His brain lacked full function lately. He had forgotten about Hope’s appointment, just like he’d forgotten it was against the rules for an employee to date a resident. In his defense on the latter, he’d never anticipated falling for one of the ladies who lived at Hope House, so he’d not paid much attention to the clause.
He blew out a long breath. Luna would want to be at the appointment. Maybe that was God’s way of telling him he didn’t have to extricate himself completely from Luna’s life. For better or worse, they shared a dog, and that counted for something.
Hope woke up and looked at him. Her head tilted to one side. She watched him for half a minute then went back to sleep, which is how she spent the majority of her time.
Carl pulled his phone from his pocket and called the hotel Luna worked at. If he’d forgotten about the appointment, it was possible she had as well.
“Thank you for calling Lodgeport Inn of Mansboro. Luna speaking.”
Even in professional mode, her voice shot to his heart, and he took a second to center himself. “It’s Carl. The vet’s office called with a reminder of Hope’s appointment this afternoon. Were you planning to come with?”
“Yes. My shift ends at four. It’s at four forty-five, right?”
“Yes.”
“Should I meet you at the shelter or vet?” Her attempt to disguise hesitation almost worked.
Had he not heard the uncertainty in her voice, he could have easily told her to meet him at the vet. Knowing she wasn’t certain, hearing her insecurity, made him second-guess his plan for her to meet him there. The less one on one time, the better chance they had of keeping their friendship strictly platonic.
He bit down on his lip to keep his impulsive answer in. “Can you meet me there? I have a small group meeting afterward.”
“Sure.”
It wasn’t a full lie. He did have a meeting that night, but the vet’s appointment would be over in plenty of time to drop Luna off at the shelter. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”
“Thanks for the reminder.”
The rest of the day dragged by. For once he was glad Luna was at work. Usually he missed seeing her, but he had too many thoughts to sort through. Their paths hadn’t crossed since Thanksgiving night, and they hadn’t discussed what happened. After the conversation with Rachel, perhaps it was best left that way.
Despite his attraction to Luna, he’d never meant for them to come to this. He’d made a career out of compartmentalizing. Work remained work no matter what his thoughts or feelings were on a situation. Any draw to Luna should have been set aside for the sake of them both.
Rachel was right, though he hated to admit it. Luna needed time to recover from her first marriage. It had only been five months since Manny had attacked her at the shelter, two months since he’d passed. Regardless that their marriage had gone sour long before that, a lot had happened since that Luna needed to process.
They’d entered murky territory. Pursuing a relationship wouldn’t be prudent, but did that mean their friendship had to end? He was a grown man, perfectly capable of controlling himself. Now that he’d been made aware of the situation, he’d enact safeguards to keep them from launching into a situation neither was prepared for.
