I took the apple Danish he handed me and ate it in four bites. Cash reached out and ran his fingers gently over my chin, grinning as he held them up and showed me the powdered sugar there.
I shrugged. “That’s what the beard’s for.”
He huffed out a laugh and ate his own Danish.
We sat there for a while, soaking up the fresh air and sunshine and watching the ducks with Cash leaning againstmy shoulder, and a sense of peace stole over me. I tried to remember the last time I’d spent any time unwinding like this, and I couldn’t. Maybe those people who talked about touching grass were onto something. Eventually, though, Dog got up and tugged on his leash, letting out a whine, and I knew I needed to go and face the real world. But when Cash slipped his hand into mine as we walked back to the clinic, I reflected that maybe the real world wasn’t so bad.
When we got back, I found the Post-it note Kayla had left me with Alan Springer’s number on it sitting on top of the phone at the reception desk. My earlier anxiety ramped up to a thousand and my stomach churned, but I ignored it and pretended my hands weren’t shaking when I called.
Alan answered, and my heart was in my throat when I said, “I wanted you to know that I had a callout to Trent Lee’s last night. I lost the calf, and now he’s threatening to sue.”
Despite what Kayla had said, I braced myself for Alan to tell me I was a failure who had no business practicing, so it was a welcome surprise when he let out a groan and said, “Shit. I’m sorry, I forgot to warn you about him. What happened?”
I ran him through last night’s events, and he hummed a few times.
“He’s an asshole,” he said.
“I figured that out about the time he started telling me I was useless,” I said drily. “But he might have a case. I mean, the calf was alive when I got there.”
“How long had the cow been laboring before he called you?” Alan asked.
“He said six hours.”
“Then I can guarantee it was at least twelve,” Alan said. “He thinks he knows better than us, so he only calls as a last resort.”
That made me feel slightly better about losing the calf, but the threat of legal action was still dangling. “So will he actually sue?”
“He never has so far. He’s all piss and vinegar. I figure if he won’t spend money on vets, he’s not gonna spend it on lawyers.”
“So I don’t need to worry?” I asked. The stressed, overworked part of me was unable to believe I’d been panicking over an idle threat, but at the same time, the tightness in my chest eased and cautious optimism took its place.
“Trust me. He’ll call in a day or two when he thinks you’ve had enough time to get properly stressed out and offer to let the whole thing go if you waive the fees. And then he’ll tell you how lucky you are that he’s giving you another chance. Like I said, he’s an asshole.”
“You don’t know how glad I am to hear that. Not the asshole part, obviously. The other part, where he doesn’t sue me and Uncle Jim’s practice into the ground.” I tried to laugh, but it came out wrong.
“I think I have some idea,” he said. “Last time Trent tried to pull this bullshit, I told him to find a new vet. I honestly didn’t expect to hear from him again, or I would have told you to ignore his calls. It’s not worth the stress.”
I tried to imagine what would have happened at the practice in Cincinnati if I’d suggested turning down a paying client. Unemployment, probably.
“Anyway,” Alan said, breaking into my thoughts, “I know you’re relatively new at this, but one thing I learned early on is that if you want to last in this game, you can’t take it personally when clients blame you for things that aren’t your fault. You do your best, and you move on.”
“Thanks,” I said, my voice catching. “I’ll try and remember that.”
“Call me if you want to bitch about any other clients,” Alan said.
I laughed again, and this time it was genuine.
When I spun around in Kayla’s chair, Cash was watching me from the doorway. He raised his eyebrows in a silent query.
I let out a breath. “Alan says the guy’s all threats and not to worry about it.”
“Would be nice if that’s how worries worked,” Cash said softly.
I snorted. “Right? But I guess all I can do is take his word for it and hope I don’t get served.” I dragged a hand through my hair. “It was good to tell him about it. The veterinary side, I mean. Made me a bit more certain that I hadn’t screwed up.”
“Good.” Cash closed the space between us and held his hand out for me. I took it, and he pulled me to my feet and put his arms around me. “I knew you hadn’t, but that’s good.”
My eyes stung suddenly, and I blinked them closed as he rubbed his hands up and down my spine. “Thanks for being here for all of this. And for believing in me.”
