I went back upstairs and finished getting ready for the day, pulling my hair into a more professional-looking version of myearlier bun. I stared at myself in the bathroom mirror for a second, taking in the dark circles under my eyes. Working in Goose Run was supposed to be a break, a chance to step away from the stress of a big practice and recharge my batteries, but so far it hadn’t worked out that way. The stress had simply packed its bags and followed me to my new address.
I took a deep breath, smoothed down the tendrils of hair around my ears, and headed downstairs.
Kayla met me at the foot of the stairs. “Why is one of the guys from last night cleaning the consult room? You planning on replacing me?”
“That’s Cash,” I said. “We have an arrangement. He’s gonna help out in the mornings, getting the clinic ready and doing laundry, that kind of thing. And I wouldneverreplace you. You keep the place running.” I wasn’t kidding, not even a little bit.
“Damn right I do,” she said with a nod. We walked out to the reception area and passed the exam room where Cash was mopping in firm, even strokes, his back to us. “So what’s the deal with our friend then?”
“Turns out the dog’s not even his, but he still wants to pay the bill. So long story short, we worked out a deal where he cleans for an hour every morning. Also, he doesn’t talk. Don’t take it personally.” I didn’t mention that I was housing the dog for now, hoping Kayla would miss that part.
I should have known better. “And why is the dog still here if it’s a stray? You’re dropping it at the shelter later, right?”
I hesitated, but Kayla had been working for my uncle a long time, so I figured she’d understand. “There isn’t a no-kill shelter, and it would have broken Cash’s heart, okay?” I said. “So he and his friends are going to find the dog a new home. But the dog’s not staying.”
“Uh-huh,” Kayla said, smirking.
“I’m serious,” I said.
“Uh-huh,” she said again.
I wanted to argue with her, but then the phone started ringing. We didn’t open for another half hour or so, but that didn’t stop people calling. Kayla rolled her eyes but took the call rather than letting it go to the answering machine.
I wandered out to the back of the clinic to see how Cash was doing and found him outside emptying the mop bucket.
“Cash?” I said. He ignored me, and I remembered that he had his earbuds in. I tapped him on the shoulder and he whirled around, eyes wide with terror, and pulled his hands up to shield his face.
Shit.
“Sorry!” I said, raising my hands in the air and taking a step back.
Cash slowly lowered his hands, and his shoulders curled in like a pill bug as his cheeks flushed pink. He stared at the ground.
“That’s on me,” I said. “I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. I just wanted to check in and see if you had any questions.”
Cash shook his head, his gaze darting between me and the back door. It took me a minute, but then I got it and stepped to one side, leaving the path free, and some of the tension left his frame. It reminded me of the dogs we saw sometimes that cowered in the corner and whined if they heard a door slam, and I wanted to reach out and reassure him.
But it felt like maybe he’d prefer it if I pretended nothing had happened, so I said, “I’m glad you’re the one mopping. Last time I did it, I slipped and fell on my ass. Kayla laughed at me for five solid minutes.”
His lips twitched, and he huffed out a quiet laugh. It was like watching a spring inside him uncoil as the tense hold he had on the mop handle loosened. He ducked past me, still grinning, and disappeared inside.
When it was time for him to leave, I checked on the exam rooms to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. They were pristine. “Wow,” I said, genuinely impressed, and immediately felt bad for assuming he wouldn’t do a good job. “This looks great, Cash.”
His mouth curved up into a pleased smile and when he spoke, it was so quiet I almost missed it. “Thanks.”
“Same time tomorrow?”
He nodded and walked out the door with a smile still on his face, and I found myself smiling too. Maybe this was going to work out after all.
CHAPTER 4
CASH
Iliked my job at Sunny Fields. When I first started there, I didn’t, because I couldn’t even mop a floor without one of the residents cornering me to talk. But I figured out pretty quickly that most of them didn’t expect me to respond, they just wanted me to listen. Mrs. Huberman was doing that now, keeping pace with me with her walker as I ran the floor polisher over the linoleum outside the rec room.
“Well, and then she says it’ll cost six hundred dollars for the table decorations she wants.” The walker squeaked as she pushed it. “Six hundred dollars! Do you know what table decorations my George and I had when we got married?”
I shook my head.
