“Eh?” Mr. Myers cupped a hand over his ear. “Sorry, sonny boy, I forgot my hearing aid.”
“Hall,” Wyatt said to Emily. “Now.”
“As lovely an offer as that is,” she said. “No, thank you.”
Wyatt held up a finger to Mr. Myers, signaling that they needed a moment. Wrapping his fingers around Emily’s arm, turning her to face him, he pulled her into the far corner.
“Back off.” She held up a syringe. “I’m about to express Buddy’s anal glands.”
Buddy let out a sigh and dropped his head to his paws.
“According to his file,” Emily said, “he needs sedation first.” The syringe got a little closer to Wyatt’s face. “Get your hand off me or I’ll treat you instead.”
He paused and resisted the urge to smile. “Did you just threaten to sedate me and then express my anal glands?” He leaned in a little closer so that their noses were nearly touching. “Because I’ve gotta tell you, sweetness, I’m all for getting adventurous, but payback’s a bitch.”
She gasped and reared back, her gaze flying to Mr. Myers.
Mr. Myers smiled at her.
She gave him a shaky smile, blew out a breath, sent Wyatt a nasty look before heading back to the table. “We’re done discussing this,” she said. “All of it.”
“All of what exactly? Spell it out for me.”
“Everything, starting with that night in Reno. It’s done, over, and finished. We’re clearly not suited. In any way.”
“Funny,” he said. “That’s not what you said last time you had your tongue in my mouth.”
“Shh!” Her gaze whipped to Mr. Myers, who was studying the ceiling. “And that’s exactly what I mean,” she whispered furiously. “Listen, I realize this is my own fault, not yours. I’ve put out mixed signals. I’m not going to do that anymore. It’s not good for either of us. We’re done, Wyatt. We’ve got to be done.”
“Maybe you’d better put that in writing,” he said, feeling his own temper rise, hating how easily she said that. “And keep a copy on you, since you tend to forget every single time you jump me.”
“Fine,” she said through her teeth. “Now if you’ll be so kind as to vacate my patient’s room. I think I can handle this procedure by myself.”
“Squeezing a guy’s balls? Yeah, you got that one down.”
Mike poked his head in the room. “Emily? Call on line two.”
“Take it,” Wyatt said. “I’ve got this.”
She shook her head and left.
“Holy cow, you’re bad at that, sonny boy,” Mr. Myers said into the silence.
Wyatt turned to Mr. Myers. “Excuse me?”
“I was kinda hoping you were going to teach me something,” Mr. Myers said. “But I’ve got more game than you. Hell, Buddy has more game than you.”
Buddy licked Wyatt’s face as Wyatt stared at Mr. Myers. “You’re wearing your hearing aid.”
“Nope, I got perfectly good hearing. I just pretend I don’t cuz no one ever tells me anything.”
Twenty-three
Sara had dinner going when Emily came in the door. She paused from stirring the pot on the stove as Emily removed Woodrow’s leash.
“Thought you weren’t keeping him,” Sara said.
Emily hugged the dog into her and he licked her ear.
She hid her face in his fur. It had been a really bad day. She was pretty sure that whatever she and Wyatt had been playing at was over.
It hurt, so much more than she could have imagined.
“Right,” Sara said. “Dad.”
Emily lifted her head. “What the hell does that mean?”
“I don’t know, let’s see,” Sara said. “You’ve got a turtle, a cat, and now a puppy. Our house is starting to resemble another vet’s house—a vet we both know and love, one whose genes we share. I’m just hoping that the next thing you bring home is Dr. Sexy.”
“We’re done doing whatever it was that we were doing,” Emily said, and rubbed a hand over the ache in her chest.
Sara shook her head. “You’ll forgive me if I doubt that.”
“It’s true,” Emily said. “And Woodrow’s only staying until I find his family.” Emily stared into twin pools of warm brown puppy eyes. “Right?”
He licked her chin again, and Emily felt a sharp stab of pain in her chest. “Great. And now I’m going to have a heart attack in Idaho.”
Sara shook her head. “You’re not having a heart attack. Your heart hurts cuz you’re falling for a damn rescue. Like you’re falling for Sunshine, and the people in it.”
“Bite your tongue.”
“Can’t. My new tongue piercing is still sore. Stop being stubborn, Emily, and get your head out of your ass. Plans change. Change yours and move on.”
She’d purposely not thought about her lifelong plan. So much that it’d taken Wyatt to point out to her that she’d forgotten to even look at it, much less update it. The fact was, she didn’t know how to make changes to it and still do the right thing. What did one do when the right thing wasn’t necessarily the right thing for her?
The next morning Emily got online to look at the bidding on the charity auction. Cassandra was now the high bidder. Crap. She had no business even caring who won Wyatt. None. She told herself to walk away. Instead, she bid again and drove to work. She sat in the car for a moment, engine off. Next to her in the passenger’s seat, Woodrow lifted his sleepy head and blinked at her. He wasn’t a morning dog. And since she wasn’t a morning person, they were perfect soul mates.
However temporary.
With a sigh, she got out of the car and turned back for her patient. He was doing much better today, but was still moving slowly. She started to help him down, but he hopped out on his own.
“You okay?” she asked.
He sat at her feet and pawed the air at her. She was pretty sure he did this because he knew exactly how cute he was when he did. “Yeah,” she said, heart squeezing. “You’re okay.” She kneeled in front of him. “I’m working hard at finding your owner, but I need you to be good for me. Can you do that?”
He licked her chin, and she hugged him. “Oh, Woodrow. What am I going to do with you?”
He panted happily in her ear.
“Okay,” she said, pulling away to look into his eyes. “I like your attitude. But since I’m sure whoever lost you is dying to have you back, there’s no use in us getting attached, okay? I get it’s going to be hard, because I have the same problem. I’m temporary here, too. And inside this building there’s this incredibly smart, incredibly funny, incredibly sexy guy. Only I can’t fall for him, and neither can you. I know, he’s got a great smile and amazing hands, and he always seems to know the right stuff to do to make me—I mean you—melt, but no melting, okay? We’re going to be strong. We have to be, because I talked to him and we’re not a thing. Not anymore.”
Woodrow barked his agreement.
That, or he was telling her that she was a complete idiot. It was a toss-up.
“Don’t make this harder than it is,” she said. “It’s best this way. You’re not staying. I’m not staying. So remember, no falling for the hot guy.” They shook on that, and then she rose to her feet. Turning, she plowed right into said hot guy. She thought of the things she’d said to him yesterday and had to lock her fingers together rather than reach for him.
Unlike her, Wyatt seemed to wake up in the mornings completely alert and ready to roll. His gaze was sharp on her, accessing but also somehow warm and affectionate. Either he hadn’t let yesterday sink in, or he wasn’t bothered in the slightest that they were no longer a thing. He was in low-slung cargoes, battered boots, and an untucked button-down, open over a T-shirt that read: I like big mutts.