“About five years.”
I was anxious to know more about Naomi’s beautiful niece. “So you’re used to working with a team and all that entails. Do you have any leadership experience?”
“I was fairly low on the totem pole, but I was instrumental in starting two new programs to bridge the relationship between the kids and their social workers. Starting with a mentorship program for the teens and acknowledging every kid s birthday in our car called Every birth. Where through donations and the like every kid received a birthday gift from us on their birthday.
I took out a pen and took some notes. “What would you say is your biggest fear?”
She bit her lip. “Hospitals.”
“I hope that doesn’t include animal hospitals.”
“I wouldn’t know I’ve never been in a vet hospital beyond the front desk and that was fine. Plus its a different atmosphere.”
She had a point. “There is a higher chance that when you leave my office you’ll actually leave with your pet versus—”
“It also doesn’t smell like one. Even though its just as clean,” Ruthie said, her eyes landing on my desk that was an exception to the rule in its messiness. “The looks different too when you walk in. The sterile unfeeling white walls aren’t there.”
“When I was a kid I used to think all that white meant, that the sick people there were preparing to go to heaven.” He smiled and looked down at his notepad and wrote hospital. “My mother also has a fear of hospitals. I don’t know if I’d call it a fear, but more as a strong dislike. Hospitals are the kind of fear that you can move past eventually.”
Ruthie looked down at her feet. “I don’t think so.”
I studied her face. “Why not?”
She held my gaze. “You make it sound easy like its no more important than picking out what to wear to work. For others, it’s not even close.”
I was well aware of how difficult it could be. After my wife had died, my fears of driving had threatened to render me comatose. I couldn’t very well walk everywhere and my business suffered for it. If it hadn’t been for my faith, and the gentle pushing from my mother, I never would have survived the first year. “I didn’t say that moving past it would be easy. All you need is God and supportive people in your life.”
She nodded, but there was a sadness behind her eyes that indicated that she didn’t fully believe it.
“Fear is a heck of a thing and is as real as the common cold.”
I nodded. “I’ll try to remember that. So no walking the dogs past a hospital. On another note, why don’t you, and Naomi have dinner with my mother and me tonight? She’s been wondering when she would get a chance to see her.”
She touched her finger to her chin. “Sure, that would be a great idea. But isn’t this supposed to be an interview,” she laughed.
My mouth gaped open as I looked down. “It is, and I find that you have more than experience to file paperwork and keep the employees in line. Will deal with the rest as it comes.”
She stood up and shook my hand. “You’re the boss.”
As we walked back towards the front, having heard the door jingle to see Jerry settling into the front desk. I gave him a few instructions, before showing Ruthie to my car. My breath quickened, at the feel of her energy beside me. Why was the thought of this dinner tonight making me so nervous? It wasn’t like this was a first date or anything. I was at least 10 years her junior. An ideal first date wouldn’t include my mother either. I sent Felicity a text to email my mother and let her know that we would be having guests. An old friend.
* * *
Inside my car, we fastened our seatbelts. “So Bark Village Veterinary Hospital is in Bexley which is only 15 minutes away by car. That’s around four miles so its not a bad commute at all.” I yanked down the visor the sun was blinding. When I saw that she appeared to be struggling with her seat belt, I reached over and pulled it up and over for her. My hand accidentally brushing her stomach. She seemed to suck in a harsh breath.
An awkward silence seemed to fill the air, the whole ride there, after my accidental brush. But before I had built up the courage to apologize for offending her we were already pulling up to the hospital, and Felicity had sent me a text on my phone saying, “SOS Mrs. McCarthy.”
I got out. Greeted by the sound of howling, coming from the propped open door. At least it sounded like something was genuinely wrong. “Good morning, Mrs. McCarthy to what seems to be the problem?” Picking up a yellow notepad and scribbling to Felicity to please grab me a cup of coffee. Wanting to make sure that Mrs. McCarthy got my undivided attention. The elderly woman appeared to be dressed in overalls and a plain white t-shirt as if she had been working in her garden or about too.
“I let him out into the back yard and I think she may have stepped on something haphazardly thrown into my yard. She does like to snoop around the garbage and the most unsanitary places.”
Her frantic voice could really be grating, especially when it appeared to be her standard setting. “Okay, let me take her and see what I can do. Ruthie, you can follow me.”
I brought her into the first exam room and handed her over to Ruthie. “Now, you don’t have to do anything special other than keep her calm.” I noticed right away that she seemed to be holding up her left paw on her hind legs. Making my way over to the sink, I got some soapy water on a rag to clean the dirt and grime from the area. “Now, I’m going to sterilize my tweezers before I pull out what looks to be a splinter. You just keep doing what you’re doing and singing to her.”
I looked up into her eyes and she looked back at the dog bashfully. The song didn’t immediately ring a bell, but I knew that I would be thinking about it all day. I grabbed Pugsley’s foot and did my best to hold it steady. The splinter was small and came out after two tugs. “Lets set her on the table, and see if she will stand on her paw.”
We waited, and she placed her leg down on the table.
“She put her full weight on it and there was no howl of death. I’m ready to call this fixed, and she may not even need her paw wrapped and a cone.” I went back over to the soapy rag and wiped and dried her paw once more. Wearing a smirk, I threw a glance in Ruthie’s direction when I noticed she hadn’t stopped singing. “You know you can stop singing at any time.”
She stuck her tongue out at me. “What are you trying to say that my voice sounds terrible,” she teased.
“Actually no it doesn’t. It’s soft yet strong.” I looked up as a knock came at the exam room door. “Come in.”
“Your coffee, Boaz,” Felicity said handing the Styrofoam cup over to me carefully.
“Oh, thank you. I was running on empty. Please let Mrs. McCarthy know will be out soon, and it was just a splinter extraction so you can give her the invoice as well.”
She nodded and closed the door back.
I took a sip enjoying the freshly made cup. Somehow Felicity was the only one who knew how to make it perfectly. “You can pick her up,” I commanded Ruthie before heading back into the lobby. Mrs. McCarthy signing a receipt before handing the pen back to Felicity.
“Who’s she?” Mrs. McCarthy barked.
Ruthie handed over Pugsley and stepped back. “I’m Ruthie Mirisch. Naomi is my mother-in-law.”
The older woman nodded her head. “Oh yes, the Mirisch’s who faced so much tragedy in the big city. Well its good to have Naomi back? And you as well. If memory serves me correct its been quite some time and if you’re ready to jump back into the deep end of the dating pool let me know. I have quite a few eligible bachelors in my family.”
“Thank you for that Mrs. McCarthy. I should have introduced you two earlier. She will be filling in for Jerry just on a probationary basis,” I interrupted steering the conversation away from Ruthie’s love life.
She raised an eyebrow at her. “I would recommend the good doc here, but he’s much too old for you,” she whispered as if I couldn’t hear her.
I glanced over at Ruthie. The last thing I wanted was for her
to feel uncomfortable around me or feel somehow pressured. Mrs. McCarthy certainly hurt my feelings though. I wasn’t that old. It was only ten years. “Well, work is not exactly the place for such talk. I’m sure you both will have plenty of time for that later.”
“Yes, I will tell Naomi that I saw you.”
I waited until she left and moved in closer. “I’m sorry about that. She can be very overbearing sometimes.”
“And downright rude,” Felicity said shaking her head.
“Don’t take anything she said to heart.”
“I don’t,” she shrugged.
I moved to say something more, but just as I was about to, the door flung open and my first appointment walked in. Ruthie froze and I had to yell her name twice. “Sit with Felicity. She’ll walk you through what a normal day here is like. If I need an extra set of hands for any reason I’ll call you.”
I approached my first appointment, a bird, and felt more in my element than I ever did in that conversation with Ruthie and Mrs. McCarthy. Taking the birdcage back into the exam room.
12
Ruthie
In a daze, I mopped the floor in the waiting area after closing hours. Boaz was tall and solid muscle and looked better than I remembered him yesterday. Would I ever feel the hardness of another man against my flesh again? I jumped when a hand touched my shoulder, erasing my thoughts, at least for now.
I turned and found myself face to face with Boaz.
A slow smile moved across his lips. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” He moved to sit in one of the waiting chairs. “So I just talked to my mom.” His arms spread across the backs of two chairs. “She still needs to pick up a few things from the grocery store so it will be a late dinner. I hope you don’t mind?”
“You didn’t scare me,” I said putting the mop back into the bucket and using the lever to squeeze it out. The scent of disinfectant wafting up to my nose. “But no I don’t mind at all.” I leaned on the handle. “I don’t see a reason why Naomi would either.”
His focus remained on her. “But that leads me to another little setback. She also needs me to pick up a few things at the grocery store. So I’m going to have to drop you off at home and then go take care of a few things with her.”
His scrutiny made her cheeks burn. “That’s fine too. To make things easier, Naomi and I can just catch a cab to your place.” I smoothed a stray strand of hair from my mouth.
“Are you sure? I feel kind of bad for changing things up like this.” He replied, leveling his gaze at me.
I smiled and twirled the handle from hand to hand. “It’s just really sweet of you and your mother to have us over in the first place.”
“Are you ready to go then? I think I finished up everything I needed to accomplish for the evening.” He got up and disappeared into his office returning with his work bag. Slinging it over his shoulder and walking towards the door. “Why don’t I bring the car around while you put those things up?”
“Sounds like I plan,” I said already wheeling the bucket towards the storage closet in the back.
One of the animals had a little accident in the waiting area as a last gift for everyone before the end of the night. Felicity and I played a little game of rock, paper, scissors to see who would get stuck with the cleanup and I lost. Felicity was probably already at home by now. I wanted to curse the Earth, but truthfully it was just more time for me to spend with Boaz.
I spent the majority of the day watching him take command of every situation that arose. He certainly knew every nook and cranny of this hospital. I was even surprised by how well he knew everyone’s name and the name of there pets.
“Ready?” Boaz called sticking his head into the door. The car idling in front.
“Yeah, sorry,” I said coming out of the back room and shutting off the lights from the switch he pointed too. Jumping into the car even as he stayed behind to lock the door. He ran to the other side and jumped into the driver’s seat, pulling off. “So how was your first day?”
I put my seat belt on and clicked it into place. “Everyone was really lovely.”
He nodded and smiled as he turned the wheel to get on the road. “How about Felicity? Any pros and cons for her teaching style.”
“Not a one. She’s a hoot and half and it really didn’t seem like work at all the way she explained everything. I’m sure that if I just follow her lead that I will have everything down in no time.”
The sounds of the soft purr of the engine filled the room.
“Well, I’m glad. She runs a tight ship and has really stepped up since Jerry moved to the other location. I sometimes wonder about just how much I’ve given her to do, but she’s handling everything with grace. Good to know that you saw the same thing.”
“I did.”
He looked at me sideways before speaking again. “If any of this is overwhelming would you tell me? I know this is your first foray back onto the work scene after your husband’s death. Not to pry, but just out of concern.”
“Everything is fine and going well. There is nothing else to tell,” I said tucking my hair behind my ear and glaring at him.
He seemed to miss the look I shot him. “That’s good to hear. I do like to check in with my employees sometimes. Life effects work.”
“No, I get it. Don’t bring your personal issues to work. Standard policy at most job establishments.” I glanced at him before turning my gaze back to the road. Ignoring the connection I felt when our eyes laid on each other.
“That’s actually not what I meant at all,” Boaz guided the car onto my street. “I take care of my employees and I’d like to know if something is going wrong. Perhaps, I can help if only by lightening the load at work.”
I wondered what he must think of me for jumping to the wrong conclusions. It wasn’t something I normally did. I just smiled at him. “I appreciate the offer, but don’t go making changes on my account. This was a perfect day.” She turned and realized that they had pulled up in front of the bed and breakfast.
“It’s not over yet.”
I nodded and unlocked the door. I wasn’t truly fine. Standing in one of the exam rooms getting soaked by a dog shaking off the excess water from his fur was proof. For a moment it felt like I was living someone else’s life and I was meant to be somewhere else. A brighter world where Kohen was still alive. And Naomi was still going by Naomi and not Mara. Heartache staked out a permanent residence in my chest for the rest of the day. But I pulled through and I will only continue to do so. No one is going to know what my inner struggle looks like. Least of all my new boss.
* * *
As soon as I stepped through the door Jia grabbed my hand and took me over to the couch. I didn’t see Naomi anywhere around and was quite unnerved by the woman’s actions. It wasn’t like we had spent a whole lot of time together since I arrived back in town. But she seemed friendly enough and the smile on her lips was infectious.
“Sit and tell me everything.” Leaning over to grab the tea she must’ve been sipping on, prior too.
The fireplace wasn’t lit and without that glow, it looked like the doorway to hell instead. The small rustic chandelier lit overhead instead. Somehow it wasn’t quite as inviting as the fireplace had been the day before.
“Tell you what?” My pulse raced. “Is this about my mother Naomi, Mara I mean?”
“No not that.” She placed her tea back on the table. “Did you just get out of Boaz’s car? The Boaz that owns Bark Village Vet Hospital and Dog Walking Service.”
Then it dawned on me what Naomi had said about Jia’s penchant for town gossip. It was probably better to just tell her the truth than risk having misinformation floating about. And she seemed nice enough considering how she was treating Naomi.
“Yes, the one and the same. But you know him because your son works there, right?”
“Oh, you’ve met Jerry. Positively sweet boy. Not that he tells me much about what’s going on in his life at work.”
; The smell of something cooking back in the kitchen made my stomach gurgle. “Considering his promotion, whatever he’s doing. He’s great at it.”
She produced some paperwork from behind her back and began to go over it. “True. I like to think he got his work ethic from me and his dad.” She looked up from the documents. “But what were you doing with Boaz? He’s quite the catch around here and his mother has been trying to hook him up with someone since the ice age.”
Picking up on what she was implying I forced a smile. “Its nothing of that sort. I actually recently started working for him and he was dropping me off.”
When her husband appeared from the kitchen area carrying a tray of food up the stairs I saw her face light up like a lighthouse in the middle of a storm.
“Is that for room 201?” Jia asked. Looking over her shoulder at the man until he disappeared with a small nod.
I stared at her. A pang of over protectiveness took hold. Why was I so worried about what Jia had to say about Boaz. Sure he was gorgeous, and he had been nothing but gracious, but protective. Besides, outside of the job aspect, he didn’t fit into any of my plans with Naomi. Still, until Jia revealed just what her fascination was with Boaz she couldn’t breathe.
“Anyway, back to you Ruthie. Even I tried to hook him up with a divorcee in my family. But he didn’t bite. The constant gentleman, but a lonely one just the same.”
My smile faded, it never occurred to me that he might be lonely. “Perhaps, he’s happy with his lot in life. At least he appears to be.”
Jia picked up the tea kettle covered in miniature rose buds and gestured to the extra cup lying face down on the tray. “Would you like some?”
I declined.
“Appearances are not always as they seem, sweetheart. He has been widowed a long time,” she said looking at me over her tea as she took another sip.
I blew out a heavy breath and leaned back on the couch. “He never mentioned that he had been married before or that she had died. That certainly explains a lot. The reason he helped me in the first place.”
Miracle Walk (The Designed Love Series Book 2) Page 8
