“Hey, Cash.” She looked around the kitchen before asking, “Where’s Mason?”
I cleared my throat. “He had a callout. A calving. It, uh.” I swallowed, remembering the coppery smell of blood and Mason’s haunted expression. “It didn’t go well.”
“Fuck.” She dropped into the chair opposite me, worry creasing her brow. “How is he?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer.Having a meltdowndidn’t feel like the kind of thing I should share, but I pressed a couple of Lego together and pulled them apart again while I found my voice. “The calf died, and the guy threatened to sue him. It’s bad. He’s… a mess.”
She tilted her head and looked at me curiously. “So why are you down here playing with Lego and not upstairs with him?”
I wished there was a way I could explain about how scared Mason had made me, and about Mr. Conrad and how he’d helped me, but that was too many words for right now. Kayla must have seen something of my struggle in my face because her expression softened and she said, “Just tell me what you can, honey.”
I focused on the Lego pieces in my hand as I assembled a row of blocks while I built a sentence, connecting the words one at a time.
Kayla waited patiently and eventually I said, “Some of what he was saying, it was scaring me, so I called someone. They’re upstairs talking.” I glanced at the wall clock. “They’ve been talking a while.”
Kalya reached out and patted my hand, and I fought the urge to pull away. “That was a smart move, Cash. I’m glad you were looking out for him.”
Kayla didn’t hand out praise lightly, so hearing that coming from her eased some of the tension that was gathered low in my gut. I gave her a cautious smile.
“Do you need to leave for work?”
I shook my head. It was my day off. Even if it hadn’t been, I would have stayed.
She pushed back her chair and stood. “Well, I’m canceling today’s appointments. Wanna come listen to people get mad because their dogs can’t get their anal glands squeezed?” Her grin was sharp as she said it, and it reminded me of Chase when he was about to start shit.
I followed her out to the reception area and watched as she called everyone who was scheduled to come in and informed them that Dr. Ross was unavailable today. She didn’t enter into discussions about why, and she didn’t take any crap either. One or two people tried to argue, but she shut them down real fast. By the time she called the last client, she must have been out of patience because when they tried to insist on coming in, she heaved a sigh and told them, “Well, I’m sorry, Donna, but if you really can’t wait to have Sasha’s nails trimmed, you’ll have to go to the clinic over in South Hill. Oh wait, you don’t like them either. I guess you’ll need to look elsewhere.” She ended the call without giving them a chance to respond and rolled her eyes. “I swear, that woman would complain if her ass pointed downward.”
I heard a snort and spun around to find Mason and Mr. Conrad standing in the doorway along with Dog. Mason’s eyes were red-rimmed and his face was blotchy, but he was wearing the barest hint of a smile, and it looked like some of the weight he’d been carrying had lifted. I hurried over and threw my arms around him, pulling him into a hug and holding him until the ball of anxiety that had been sitting in my chest unspooled. Mason pressed his forehead to mine and whispered a quiet, “Thank you,” before letting go.
Mr. Conrad hummed and patted Mason’s shoulder. “You have my number if you need it, son. And think about what we discussed.”
“I will,” Mason said. He ran a hand down the side of his face. “Shit. I have a full schedule today.”
“No, you don’t,” Kayla said. “I canceled your appointments. You’re taking the day off.” Mason opened his mouth to protest, but Kayla folded her arms and said, “You’retaking the day,” and he closed it again.
Mr. Conrad chuckled under his breath and said, “Looks like you’re in good hands.”
“Yeah,” Mason said, looking between Kayla and me. “I think I am.”
CHAPTER 17
MASON
Talking to Adrian Conrad was messy and emotional and draining and exactly what I needed, even if I hadn’t known it before now.
He listened patiently as I dumped my concerns over my career and my family and the threat to sue me onto him, and he didn’t try and tell me what to do or fix any of it, but he helped me see things from a different perspective, and just sharing my fears with another person was like opening the valve on a pressure cooker. I cried more than once, and by the time we were done, my voice was hoarse, but I also felt lighter than I had for a long time. I’d known vaguely that I was depressed, but it was only when I started talking that it really hit me how bad things had gotten.
“If you want, I can put you in touch with a colleague of mine in Hopewell who has a therapy practice,” he said, scribbling something on a piece of notepaper that advertised a tick and flea treatment and handing it to me, “but I’m also giving you my number in the meantime.”
I tucked the paper into the pocket of the jeans I’d pulled on before Cash had brought him upstairs. I might be a mess, but Iwasn’t so much of a mess that I was willing to meet a stranger in my sleep pants.
“Thanks. But I’m not here for much longer.” I felt a pang of regret as I said it. The thought of going back to Cincinnati was like a punch in the gut.
“I’m sure there are plenty of therapists in Cincinnati. But you should think about your options,” Adrian said as he stood. “There’s no law saying you have to go back to your old job. And quitting isn’t your only choice either. Just think about what you want before you decide anything.”
“I will,” I said.
I could see why Cash liked Adrian. There was a calmness to him and a quiet confidence that made me feel like maybe, with his guidance, I could get my shit together. He didn’t try to tell me what to do. He just let me talk until I figured out some stuff that should have been obvious, if I hadn’t been so deep in a funk of depression.
