Pick and Chews

by Linda O. Johnston

  Speaking of feeling thrilled, I was delighted, at around noon, when Reed appeared outside the window. Vicky knew enough to allow him to come in immediately, although the crowd was thinning a bit so the lineup outside was getting smaller. When I’d first mentioned the event, Reed had told me that he was working at the clinic this Saturday but would head over to the Barkery for his lunch break.

  Dressed in casual clothes rather than his veterinary jacket, he edged his way toward me around the groups of people kneeling and meeting the pets. “How’s it going?” he asked. “Although with this crowd I think I can guess.”

  “I think you can, too,” I said with a small laugh. “Four dogs and two cats so far, and there are still a lot of interested people here—as well as needy pets.”

  “Are you bribing any of them with Barkery or Icing treats?”

  “What do you think?” Reed’s grin told me he’d guessed the answer—an unqualified yes.

  “Okay if I go say hi?” He nodded toward Billi, who stood at the checkout counter filling out paperwork for the latest adoption.

  “Of course.”

  I gathered that there was now another cat going home and watched the adoption with excitement as Reed and Billi chatted for a moment. Reed and the other vets at my clinic provided exams and any needed treatment to the rescue animals at Billi’s shelter for a reduced rate, and I wondered how many of the animals at our event Reed recognized. Perhaps the cat currently in the spotlight?

  Even if he didn’t know the cat, Reed made a point of caressing the kitty as it moved its head to look into his eyes. “He’s a good guy,” Reed said to the woman who’d been filling out the paperwork. “I’ve seen him at Knobcone Veterinary Clinic for a checkup, I believe, but when you’re adopting it never hurts to get the animal looked at fairly soon to make sure all’s well, and to get the vet’s records updated.”

  “Got it, Dr. Storme,” the lady said.

  “Got it, Dr. Storme,” said another female voice from behind me, but this time the tone wasn’t respectful and appreciative but scornful. “If this wonderful veterinarian has checked out that cat before, don’t be surprised if it has a lot of issues.” The word “wonderful” was said disdainfully, which didn’t surprise me.

  Even before I turned toward the source of the nasty comments, I recognized who was talking—and wondered why she was here.

  Dr. Raela Fellner.

  I tried to keep my expression neutral as I looked at her. Too bad she still appeared attractive on the outside, with her blond hair pulled back with a clip to further reveal the loveliness of her smooth face. Inside, she clearly remained an unfettered bitch—and I didn’t mean a normal female dog.

  “Are you here to adopt a pet or buy some dog or people treats?” I asked her calmly.

  “No way. I just wanted to make sure that anyone here who dared to take on a pet vetted by that awful veterinary clinic was warned to have their new animal checked somewhere else. Someplace where all the doctors are competent, not just some of them.”

  “Then you admit that at least some of the vets at the Knobcone Vet Clinic are good ones?” I couldn’t help asking, though I wanted to simply kick her out since she’d admitted she wasn’t there to do anything appropriate. I knew who she was intending to hurt by her gibes, and he happened to be right there in my Barkery. It was probably because he hadn’t stayed in her life to be insulted and hounded by her on an ongoing basis … and that was partly because he had no romantic interest in her. Which I could only applaud.

  Raela maneuvered past the people in front of her to draw closer to me—and I quashed my internal shudders. I wasn’t about to allow her to insult anyone I cared about without making sure she experienced some kind of consequences. But we were being observed by most, if not all, of the people at the adoption event—and I now noticed that the two media folks I’d contacted were present. They must have come in while I’d been talking to a couple of the dogs with Billi. Great. This nonsense would now be made public.

  “Oh, that’s right,” Raela said. “You work there too, as a mere vet tech, and probably not a very good one, either. I asked around and got the impression that your boss, Dr. Kline, is adequate, but probably no one else who works there is.”

  Of course she’d say something somewhat nicer about Arvie, since she might still harbor a hope that he would hire her. But I couldn’t exactly call what she’d said a compliment.

  “I think we’ve all heard more than enough from you.” That was Reed, now standing at my side. “Although I would imagine that anyone hearing you and your unfounded criticisms would recognize the source as less than credible.”

  Yay, Reed, I thought.

  “Oh, I’m damned credible,” Raela shot back. “I’m a veterinarian too, one who’s just about to open a competing animal hospital here. A good one. One where all these people can bring their pets and know they’ll be treated a hundred percent better than what they have to put up with at the Knobcone Vet Clinic.”

  I noticed then that Shea was in a corner of the room, apparently talking with someone about the mixed-breed dog he’d come in with—a dog who hadn’t yet been adopted. Should I invite him over here to listen—or even participate in the conversation?

  Maybe my veterinary hospital should bring on an attorney like Shea, perhaps to sue this horribly nasty person. Had he and Raela ever met about his representing her? From her attitude at the shelter, I didn’t get the impression she’d deign to follow up with him, so maybe Shea was still available to represent my Knobcone clinic.

  But had Raela even said or done anything that would warrant some kind of legal action?

  I saw Shea glance in our direction and gestured slightly toward him. He must have seen me, since he stood up and joined us.

  As much as I wanted to ask his legal opinion, I had no authority from our clinic to do anything that official, even if he could represent us. But maybe just bringing up something law-related, in front of Raela, would quiet her down.

  So all I said was, “How are things going from a legal perspective here, Shea? I know the pets are well cared for, and the adoptions seem to be going well. And—”

  “And like I said,” Raela said, raising her voice, “you’d all better be careful about adopting any animal that’s only had a checkup at that scam of a veterinary hospital. Now, if you’d like an exam by a damned good vet, be sure to contact me. And I can tell you which vets are the worst at that farce of a clinic.”

  Clearly, my law-related question hadn’t fazed Raela at all. She glared into Reed’s face, smiled snidely, and then strutted out of the Barkery, people moving themselves and dogs out of her way.

  The place was silent for a minute. But then the roar of conversations filled the air.

  Six

  Fortunately, things at the adoption event had returned to normal nearly immediately. Sort of, at least.

  I overheard people talking about that lady who’d burst in and then left. Was she really a veterinarian? Was she really going to open a veterinary practice here in Knobcone Heights?

  And every once in a while, I heard muted voices ask if that woman had actually been right that the Knobcone Veterinary Clinic wasn’t a safe place to bring pets, either those adopted at the Barkery that day or those already at home.

  I kept my mouth shut, and so did Reed. Better that than having people think we were protesting too much, and therefore implying that what had been said might be correct. Instead, everyone working at the event tried to direct those conversations in different directions—mainly, back to the reason people were here in the first place.

  Billi, Mimi, Shea, and the other volunteers, as well as my assistants, seemed quite adept at doing this, pointing out cute actions the pups and kitties were engaging in and encouraging people to determine what kind of pet they were most interested in, what size and age. Basically, discussing everything other than what had just occurred.

  It seemed to work. Most people at the event edged up to the dogs and cats still available,
kneeling on the tile floor to meet them, asking the volunteers questions, describing their own home situations—and sometimes preparing to adopt a new family member right there on the spot. They would get vetted, of course, to try to ensure that their new homes were appropriate and safe and that the new human family members were kind and caring and knew about what was needed to take care of the pet they were adopting.

  Watching, ensuring we had plenty of treats—Barkery ones for the dogs and Icing ones for the people—and talking to people, including saying goodbye to Reed when he had to return to the clinic … well, all that kept me too busy to dwell on Raela’s earlier intrusion. At least, not much.

  Eventually it was two o’clock, when the adoption event was scheduled to end. A young couple who’d come with two kids, and an older couple who’d recently lost their dog to an illness, pleaded with us to stay open a little longer, since they were narrowing down their choices and really, really hoped to adopt that day.

  “Okay,” Billi called to the dwindling crowd. “We’re going to start packing up the remaining pets to return to Mountaintop Rescue. You’re all welcome to come there during regular hours to visit the pets, help socialize them, and, most of all, adopt them, even if today wasn’t the right day.” She looked toward the two last families, who stood looking at her hopefully near the Barkery checkout counter. “Of course, since you folks seem close to adoption, I’ll hang around a little longer, but we can’t interrupt business at the shop much longer.”

  Billi didn’t look at me, but she knew I welcomed the adoption event and didn’t mind however long it took to find new homes for as many pets as possible. I felt delighted that the majority of the animals who’d started their day here had been adopted.

  I watched as most of the people left, although some headed for the counter to buy treats at the Barkery, or went through the door into Icing.

  “Good job,” said Shea as I stood beside Biscuit’s enclosure, petting and reassuring her as I’d done often during the event. No one was going to take her home but me.

  “I agree.” I smiled at the good-looking lawyer-with-a-heart. I wondered what he would look like in a suit instead of the kinds of casual outfits I’d seen him in at the clinic, the shelter, and here. I also wondered if he, too, was thinking about possibly representing my clinic in some legal action against Raela for her continued insults against it. If so, despite my inability to get officially involved, I would be happy to testify against her.

  I wondered what Reed would think about that … despite our discussion at dinner the other night, when he’d seemed to make it clear that he wanted nothing to do with Raela and hadn’t ever wanted to get closer to her.

  “How often do you hold this kind of adoption event here?” Shea asked.

  Our last one had been a few weeks earlier. I figured that Shea had begun practicing law in Knobcone Heights around six to eight months ago, so there’d probably been three or four adoption events since his arrival. I didn’t know him well, but it was early last fall when I’d first seen him at Mountaintop Rescue. Yet he hadn’t ever come to one of the adoption events before.

  “We host these events as often as Billi wants to,” I told him. “At least every couple of months now, usually.”

  There’d been a time, last fall, when I’d wondered if Billi would even be able to hold an adoption event, or run Mountaintop Rescue or her spa, or continue on the city council. She’d been a potential murder suspect then, poor thing.

  Of course I could identify with that, since I too had once been a person of interest in a local killing.

  But no need to mention any of that to Shea, even though he was a lawyer. It all was past history, fortunately.

  “That’s great. I’ve enjoyed coming to the Barkery with my dogs since I arrived here, as well as volunteering at the shelter. Now I know I can sometimes do both at the same time.”

  I laughed. “Well, thank you for both. It’s really great that a lawyer like you can find the time to do either.” I didn’t really know much about his practice but figured all lawyers had packed schedules.

  “I agree, especially since my new firm here keeps me darned busy. But drafting pleadings and all can sometimes be done in off hours, so I can manage.”

  “Good job,” I said, repeating what he’d said to me when our conversation started.

  He high-fived me with a smile, then said, “Not that you needed to remind me, but even though it’s Saturday I’d better head to the office for a while to work on some of those pleadings. I’ve just started on a new case—and before you ask, it’s still confidential so I can’t tell you about it. But I’ll do a good job with it, even though it doesn’t involve animals.”

  “It’s probably not as interesting as those that do,” I said.

  “You’re right,” he replied as he left.

  When Shea was gone, I checked with my assistants and confirmed that we’d sold a fair amount of our baked goods that day. Then I edged my way toward Billi, who remained at the front of the Barkery talking to the elderly couple now in the process of adopting a Scottish terrier mix.

  “How’s it going?” I asked during a lull in their conversation.

  “Really well.” A huge grin bisected the woman’s face. Then the smile disappeared and she turned back toward Billi. “Right?”

  “Right,” Billi responded. “Just a little more paperwork, a few more questions, and a commitment from you that I or a member of my staff can visit your home in the next few days, and you’re ready to take Dougal home with you.”

  “Yay!” the husband cheered as the woman clapped, and I exchanged a happy look with Billi.

  There was additional cleanup to do in both shops that afternoon, but with all my assistants there it didn’t take much time. We remained open as long as always, till six o’clock. I was exhausted by then and was glad that Reed and I hadn’t scheduled a date. We did talk on the phone, though, when I was home that night, and I appreciated his celebration of the successful adoption event with me.

  “When’s the next one?” he asked, reminding me of my conversation with Shea that afternoon.

  “Not sure yet, but soon, I hope.”

  “Me too.” We wished each other good night, and that was when Neal returned home. Although it was Saturday, he hadn’t led any of his beloved hikes; rather, he’d been working at the reception desk at the Knobcone Heights Resort, his usual day job, which was why he hadn’t been able to attend that day’s adoption event. He didn’t need my description of how things had gone, though, since Janelle had already informed him about the event’s success.

  We chatted a bit about the adoptions as Neal accompanied Biscuit and me outside for her last outing that day. Because he was my brother, I did tell him about the interruption that happened thanks to that female veterinarian Reed had known before.

  “You sound pretty upset about that,” my perceptive brother said. “Were Reed and she close before?”

  “He said they never were, and that getting away from her was one of his reasons for leaving his old job.”

  Neal was silent beneath the glow of the nearby streetlight, pulling his jacket closed in the cool night air.

  “I believe him,” I added in a stubborn tone of voice, wondering if I was trying more to convince Neal or myself.

  “Reed’s a good guy,” Neal said. “If that’s what he told you, it’s got to be true.”

  I hoped my brother was right. But even if he wasn’t, I’d seen how Reed disliked Raela now. Our own relationship hadn’t proceeded to the commitment stage, anyway, and I wasn’t sure it ever would.

  But in any event, I didn’t see Dr. Raela as likely to come between us.

  On Sunday, my hours at the shops were the same as always, starting at five a.m. with the day’s baking.

  Neal had told me he wouldn’t be at the resort that day but had rustled up some of his most loyal hikers and was going to take a short outing that afternoon. Leading hikes was my brother’s favorite activity, his paid avocation, and he di
d it often—sometimes only with locals he knew, but often with tourists from the resort who he’d recruited to join in. He charged the resort visitors more, but since that venue was rather elite and definitely expensive, he figured they could pay more … and they did.

  Neal’s hike was probably the most exciting thing that happened that day, although I could only assume this since I didn’t get to go along on this one.

  But with Biscuit, as usual, in the Barkery, I put in a normal day’s work at my shops, with only a couple of my assistants present: Janelle and Vicky. I didn’t have a shift at the clinic that day, so compared with the wonderful events of the day before, Sunday was okay but kind of dull. I didn’t even have a date planned that night with Reed, since Arvie had scheduled a dinner meeting for the clinic’s vets, plus the two Reed had recommended—apparently to help him decide which one to extend an offer to. Arvie wasn’t usually that indecisive, which indicated to me that both Oliver and Jon had made a good impression on him. Would he try to hire them both? I doubted it. Maybe the dinner would just be a fun outing for professional animal doctors.

  Which meant I looked forward to an evening home alone with Biscuit. But Reed and I did schedule something for Monday night, so I had something to look forward to.

  Plus, I had a shift at the clinic in the early afternoon, so Monday was more eventful and more enjoyable than Sunday. I admitted to myself that I was rather concerned about being at the clinic, since I didn’t know if Raela was still in town—although from what she’d said at the adoption event, I assumed she was. I hoped she wouldn’t stop by again to spit out her spiteful rant full of fury and threats. Sure, if it would help soothe and heal ailing animals, I’d confront her in a second and keep any pet far from her. But if she showed up again to challenge Reed, or either of her San Diego clinic coworkers—in other words, humans who could rant right back at her—then I wanted to stay out of her presence.