I cross my arms and fix him with a glare. He had better not be mocking my dog’s name. “I am and I did. I assume you’re the new vet? Or do you just like to tease people about their pet’s names?”
He closes his eyes briefly, and when he opens them again, I’m disappointed to see a cool veneer of professional distance obscure his face. “Apologies. I meant no disrespect Miss Monroe. I’m Doctor Holt.” He puts out his hand and I move to shake it. His grip is firm, his hand warm, and strong. But he breaks contact after only a few seconds to drop down into a squat on the floor and greet my dog. Before I can warn him that Milo likes to sit on people, my giant dog has knocked him off his feet and climbed right on. And then, a freaking miracle happens. Bran muffin man laughs.
“Well, hello big boy,” he says, ruffling Milo’s fur with a smile. He starts to run his hands over Milo’s body, and my dog is soaking it all up. Doctor Holt looks up at me with a far more professional expression than he’s showing my dog. “Doctor Morton told me you found him on the side of the road, and you’ve decided to keep him?”
“That’s right.” I sink down onto the chair, and Milo gets up and comes over to me. His loyalty makes me smile. Doctor Holt stands up and brushes off his pants.
“Have you had a dog before, Miss Monroe?”
His question is curious, not judgmental, and I detect the smallest of smiles as he watches Milo leaning into me.
“I have. We grew up with dogs and other animals. And you can call me Mila.”
His eyes flash up to mine, and there’s a look of, dare I say, interest there. But it’s gone in an instant.
“Alright, Mila. I’m glad to hear you have some experience with dogs. Owning one is a lot of work; I would hate to have Milo with someone who didn’t appreciate that. Now, Doctor Morton mentioned he had started Milo on some anti-inflammatories for his leg injury. It’s a bit soon to see much of a result but have you noticed any difference?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. The day I picked him up is the day we saw Doctor Morton, so I don’t really know any different from how he is now.”
He nods, his gaze thoughtful and focused on Milo. “Understandable. Let’s see how he walks.”
I stand up and Milo dutifully walks with me up and down the length of the room. I try to see if I think his limp is any better, but really, I can’t tell. After, Doctor Holt does some more assessments, moving Milo’s joints gently, murmuring softly to him the whole time. His warm demeanour toward my dog is so at odds with the cool, formal vibe he’s given me so far. It’s weird, but I want to crack that shell and find out who this guy really is.
“What’s your first name?” I blurt out.
He looks up at me in surprise. “Oh. Ah, it’s Jackson.” His brow furrows slightly. “Sorry, I’m not used to being on a first name basis with patients.”
I wave his apology off. “No big deal. We’re just friendly like that around here. And since you know my name, and you eat my muffins, it felt weird calling you Doctor Holt.” As soon as the words leave my mouth I blush, realizing how awkward they sound.
But once again his lips quirk up in a slight smile, relieving me of my embarrassment. “Right. Well, you can call me Jackson. And your muffins are…delicious.” And then, he winks. Winks! The action is so at odds with the cool demeanour he’s shown me so far that I can’t help but laugh. Milo gives out a bark and nudges me with his nose, and soon Jackson is chuckling with me and the whole energy of the room changes. Gone is the formal, standoffish approach, and in front of me is a man who is relaxed and friendly.
I lean back in my chair as Milo goes back over to stand by Jackson. His hand drops down automatically to scratch the dog’s head.
“Now that we’re on a first name basis, I have to ask. Why the bran muffin every morning?”
His cheeks darken and for a minute I worry I’ve become a little too friendly. Damn. What if he has like, digestive issues and needs the fiber. Oh my God, I do not need him to start talking about his bowels.
“Forget I asked, it’s not my business. I’m just nosy.”
“It’s just habit. Back in college, I would work out in the morning, then grab a muffin and a coffee before class. The only place on campus that was open early enough had disgusting muffins. All except their bran muffin. I’ve had one every weekday morning ever since.”
“Well, that’s disappointing,” I comment, and he barks out a laugh.
“Why?”
“I was hoping there was some good story. Not just, habit. Then again, at least you didn’t start talking about your fiber intake.” I shudder comically and am rewarded with another chuckle from Jackson. “But if it’s only a habit, it should be easy to change. Next time you’re in, I get to choose what you order.”
He watches me, and for a minute I think he’s going to refuse. But then his shoulders lift, and he smiles. “Deal. But I’m keeping the black coffee.”
A few minutes later, Jackson walks Milo and I out to the front. There’s two women there, the receptionist who checked us in, and Veronica Garrett. Ugh. We went to high school together, and to say we didn’t get along is an understatement. We were constantly trying to one-up each other in class and out of class. She may have been head cheerleader, but I came away with valedictorian. I forgot she worked at the vet clinic. Great, hopefully I don’t have to deal with her too much.
What’s really interesting is the way she reacts to seeing Jackson. I see her eyes light up, and not in a good way, and swear to God, she tugs her scrub top down to show off more cleavage. But when she reaches up to touch his arm, he pulls his arm away by reaching into the jar of dog treats and coming around the front of the counter to give one to Milo.
“It was great to meet you both,” he says, giving me a warm smile as he pets my dog. Behind him, I see Veronica narrow her eyes at me, and I barely hold back my grin of triumph. That’s right, bitch, he’s friendly to me.
“Yeah, thanks for checking him over for me.”
“Of course. If I think of anything else that might help, I’ll let you know, but for now we’ll just wait and see if the medication helps.” Jackson gives Milo one more pat to the head, then turns to go to the next patient, successfully dodging Veronica by going around the other side of the desk. I give her a wave of my fingers as I leave, but once I’m outside, I free the snort I’ve been holding in. Honestly, I feel kind of bad for Jackson if she’s got her sights set on him. She’s relentless, and something tells me he will need to figure out a way to shut her down, and fast.
