Asshole.

  “I’m not trying to be nosy,” Kendall said.

  “But you were curious and I’m new to the island. It’s fine. Ask me anything. I’m sure you both did some internet research on me.”

  Melody looked embarrassed, Kendall not so much. It was the way of the world. “We know you’re from Danbury and worked there. This is the first practice you owned.”

  “You didn’t see where I had a child or was married and wondered. It’s nothing illegal,” she said, grinning.

  “It’s not like we thought you kidnapped Josie,” Kendall said.

  She started to laugh. The younger woman was refreshing. “Hardly. And since Laine interviewed you, I’m sure she told you we went to college together. She’s on the town board and knew they were looking for a vet to come to the island. She reached out to me knowing the situation I was in. It was good timing. Things fell into place much faster than I thought they would.”

  “Faster than the island thought too,” Melody said. “As I’ve said, I’ve lived here for years and there is always talk. Anything that has to do with the Bonds more so.”

  She’d heard that from Laine. “I suppose it’s hard not to have it be that way.”

  She’d met with the school last Thursday and got that squared away. Then she’d met with Alana Nadir who worked for Kelsey Raymond whose firm would also be taking care of her finances for the business.

  Thankfully it was a point of purchase business and she didn’t have to worry too much about generating bills and waiting on payment.

  Melody already picked up fast with the software, printing invoices and collecting payments to apply right to them. She knew how to print those reports to go with the money collected. At the end of the month, she’d bring it all to Alana and go from there. Melody was also going to be paying bills and she was going to sit in on a web training to figure all those things out in the software.

  Things were coming together not only faster but better.

  “You’ll get used to it,” Melody said. “You’ve got ten appointments today.”

  “I can’t believe I’ve got that many and wasn’t even supposed to be taking patients fully until next week.”

  “It’s all good,” Melody said. “People are thrilled to know you are here. I’ve had all the patients fill out information prior to coming in if I could and have entered them as new patients into the system.”

  “That’s wonderful,” she said. “Anything to make it easier for you and more efficient. Speaking of that, there are some appliances being delivered for the breakroom. A bigger fridge, microwave and toaster oven. Do you guys want a Keurig here or a coffee pot?”

  “That would be great,” Kendall said. “I like my coffee and this stops me from drinking it so fast in the morning.”

  “Then I’ll pick one up this week,” she said. Josie liked hot chocolate from it too so another easy thing to have here.

  At the end of another successful day at her new job, Josie and she were sitting outside on the little deck with Betty playing at her new home.

  Her phone rang and she picked it up to see her mother calling her.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  “Avery. How is the new puppy doing?”

  She’d texted or talked to her mother daily since she’d been here. Her mother knew everything going on in her life.

  “She’s doing well. I’ll send you a little video later that I took with Josie and Betty playing in the living room before dinner.”

  “How is the weather on the island? Josie loving it?”

  “She is. We both are. It’s warm but with a nice breeze. Right now we are on the deck. Betty is playing with a toy and Josie is drawing her one hundredth picture of her new puppy.”

  “It’s only ten,” Josie said, giggling.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, just ten.”

  “Tell Josie I’d love to have one of them,” her mother said.

  “Josie, my mother would love a picture of Betty sent to her. Can you draw one for her?”

  “Yes, Dee,” Josie yelled.

  “I’m sure you heard that,” she said. “The neighbors probably did too.”

  “It wasn’t that loud,” her mother said. “How is island life treating you?”

  “It’s great. Kind of a slow pace but not too slow. I opened early and am slammed. I mean I’ve got room for more appointments this week but didn’t expect what I got. Considering I’m still setting the business up I’m running like nuts.”

  “I’m so happy it’s working out as well as it is. And Laine? Have you had a chance to spend some time with her?”

  “I’m lucky I can spend some time with myself,” she said, laughing. “But Laine did stop over to visit the Saturday we moved here. I’m bringing Josie to some private art lessons on Thursday night.”

  “I’m so excited, Dee,” Josie yelled again.

  “You’re doing such a good job, Avery,” her mother said. “If I haven’t said it before I’ll say it now, I’m so proud of you.”

  “You’ve said it a lot in my life,” she said.

  “Colleen would be thrilled. And happy. You know that.”

  “I do,” she said. “I want to do her proud.”

  “You are.”

  “How is Grandma doing?”

  “The same,” her mother said.

  “Are you getting a break or any rest?” she asked.

  Her mother cared for her grandmother nonstop.

  “I do have an aide come in twice a week now. It’s getting harder for me to bathe Grandma and it’s a nice break for me to run errands.”

  “I’m glad.”

  Her grandmother couldn’t be left alone so it did give her mother some time and space.

  “Me too. I’d love to come visit, but we know that isn’t possible right now.”

  “No,” she said. “I understand. Maybe one of the aides can stay overnight?”

  “No,” her mother said. “It’s someone new all the time from the county. I’m grateful for it. But I’m thinking of finding someone else who can do it more on the side. A friend of mine knows a young nurse’s aide trying to earn some money. She can do nights and weekends right now as she works in a doctor’s office during the day.”

  “That sounds like a good option,” she said.

  “I’ll let you know how it works out. I don’t want Grandma to think I don’t want to care for her. It’s not that. But I know she’s frustrated and upset over the way things are.”

  Her grandmother communicated as best as she could, often typing or trying to write things down. She couldn’t be understood when she talked after her last stroke.

  “Grandma understands and doesn’t like to be a burden,” she said. Her grandmother had told her that more than once when Avery was helping out so her mother could get out of the house.

  “I know,” her mother said. “But life is full of burdens. Full of joy too. It’s getting a good mix. I’m not ready to let her go into a home.”

  “There are day homes, Mom,” she said. “You know that.”

  “I do. Not ready for that option either. She’s comfortable here and that is the most important thing. I know she doesn’t have a lot of years left. It’s my place to make sure she is happy for those she has.”

  “I’m proud you’re my mother,” Avery said.

  A few minutes later she hung up with her mother and looked at Josie already drawing another picture. She’d bet that was for her mother.

  Her mother was right. Life was full of burdens and joys and she was looking at the joyful part of it now while the puppy slept and Josie was lost in her world of sketching.

  9

  The Best There Is

  “Oh my God,” Roseann said. “Look at how big Doc has gotten.”

  Carter looked down at his shy of five-month-old puppy. “I know,” he said. “Hard to believe she’s still a baby.”

  He remembered when he brought Doc home three months ago at eight weeks old...weighing over thirty pounds.

  “A baby that weighs more than most elementary school girls,” Roseann said. “I can’t wait to see what the weight is.”

  “Hopefully she stays on the scale,” he said. Doc wasn’t the most disciplined when she was nervous, and almost immediately, his puppy remembered this was where she got her shots.

  “Kendall has a way with the dogs. She’ll be right out,” Roseann said. “Thanks for filling out the paperwork and emailing it back to Melody. You’re already in the software and you’ll be seeing Dr. Keegan today.”

  “Oh,” he said. He was thrilled but didn’t know what was going on.

  “Yes,” Roseann said. “Dr. Mullins doesn’t know how to use the software and doesn’t want to learn. So those that are set up will see Dr. Keegan. She’s in with another patient if you don’t mind waiting.”

  “No problem,” he said. He took whatever appointments he could for his dogs and left to deal with it while other people held down the fort at work.

  He went to take a seat.

  “Is that Doc?”

  He turned his head to see Josie standing there with her iPad in her hand. “Yes,” he said.

  “She’s huge,” Josie said. “I thought she’d be a tiny thing like Betty.”

  Carter grinned. He hadn’t heard anything about that but was thrilled to know it worked out. “Doc is a much bigger dog than Betty will be.”

  “Can I take some pictures of Doc?” Josie asked politely.

  “You can,” he said.

  Josie got close and started to take pictures on her iPad and Doc decided to stand up and move closer to Josie. The little girl held her ground and put her hand out to pet Doc.

  Doc’s tongue came out and licked her and she giggled.

  What surprised him next was Josie grabbing his hand. “Do you want to see Betty? She’s in her crate in Avery’s office. That is where I stay during the day and I draw.”

  “Ahhh, sure,” he said. He looked at Roseann who smiled and nodded her head. They might wonder what was going on, but they did see him come in last week and maybe Avery told them all how Betty came about.

  He let Josie tug him to the office that he’d painted for Avery a few weeks ago and saw the little ball of fur in the crate sleeping.

  “She’s tiny and tires easily. Doc might think she’s a live toy.”

  “She probably would,” he said. “But Doc would be good with Betty.”

  “Would Dopey be good with Betty?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Do you think they can play sometime?” Josie asked. “And why didn’t you bring Dopey with you today?”

  “Because Doc is the one that has to get a shot,” he said quietly. “I can’t say it too loud or she knows what is going to happen.”

  He heard laughing from behind him and saw the young woman from last week.

  “I’ll take Doc now and get her weighed if you don’t mind.”

  “That’s Kendall,” Josie said.

  “We met the other day,” Kendall said. “The man that made it possible for me to have my dream job.”

  Carter felt his face flush over that statement. He’d done what he had for selfish reasons and didn’t need anyone to say otherwise.

  Kendall took Doc and walked away with his dog. “Do you want to hold Betty?” Josie asked.

  “You might want to let her sleep,” he said. He knew he wouldn’t be standing here long and didn’t feel right being in an office with Josie. He was actually standing in the doorway as it was.

  Kendall came back with Doc and he turned.

  “She weighs seventy-two pounds. That is crazy,” Kendall said.

  “I figured,” he said. “I tried to weigh her at home, but she’s too big to get on the scale and gets in the way so that when I hold her I can’t look down at the scale either with her in my arms.”

  “You need someone else to look at the scale for you,” Josie said.

  He nodded. “It’s just me and the dogs. Dopey mumbles when he talks so I don’t understand the numbers he says.”

  Kendall laughed and Josie said, “Dopey talks?”

  Her jaw was open and there was more laughter behind him this time. “I believe Carter is teasing you,” Avery said.

  “Really?” Josie asked.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Dopey doesn’t do much more than eat, sleep, and bark.”

  “Let’s not forget go to the bathroom,” Avery said, grinning.

  “Avery. Carter said Doc and Dopey would play nice with Betty. Can they play together?”

  He mouthed, “Sorry” to her.

  “Maybe someday,” she said. “But I’ve got to see Doc now and check her over.”

  He grabbed his dog’s leash and followed Avery to the exam room and shut the door. “Josie wanted me to see Betty. I’m glad it worked out.”

  “It’s not a problem you were there. You know this building better than me,” she said. “I know you were scheduled to see Dr. Mullins today.”

  “I heard that you are seeing anyone in the software,” he said.

  She got down on one knee to look Doc over, then glanced up and grinned at him, quietly saying, “Yeah. He doesn’t like computers.”

  Dr. Mullins was over retirement age but still liked to practice. He lived in Boston and came over once a week more as a favor than anything else, Carter was sure. He was probably thrilled he’d be done with this soon.

  “Not everyone does,” he said.

  “Kendall could have given Doc her shot, but I want to see all patients myself if I can. I had the time for this. Plus I wanted to thank you for letting me know about Betty. As you can see, Josie is in love with her puppy.”

  “I’m glad it worked out,” he said.

  Avery was in black scrubs that hid the body he’d noticed the first time they saw each other. She’d had scrubs on last Wednesday too and he was disappointed, but he supposed it was no different than him with his coveralls.

  Her chestnut hair was pulled back from her face in a ponytail, hints of red in it when the sun landed just right.

  “It’s getting there,” she said. “Josie wants Betty in bed with her but no way are we even close. Not until Betty can hold her bladder through the night. For now she’s in a crate in the living room where I can go out and check on her and let her out.”

  “I was thrilled when Doc could hold it through the night,” he said. “It helps that Dopey is almost training her and teaching her things.”

  “Hopefully Dopey is a good dog and not teaching bad habits,” Avery said.

  “Dopey is the best there is,” he said.

  He meant it. He’d had a lot of dogs in his life, but there was something about Dopey that fit his personality and the two of them had an instant bond.

  Doc needed a little bit more loving and he was fine with that. Though his couch was starting to suffer from the weight of him and two dogs on it. He should figure that out or get bigger beds on the floor for them.

  “It’s like a member of the family,” she said. “This one looks and sounds wonderful. No issues?”

  Avery stood up now next to him after doing her exam. He supposed that was easier than having his dog lifted on the table. He wasn’t sure if she could lift the dog and would have done it for her if need be.

  “She’s doing well. No problems.”

  “Then we should get this over with. Does she need to be distracted? I can call Kendall in to help.”

  “I’ll hold her,” he said. “Sometimes it’s probably better.”

  “That’s fine,” she said.

  He stood next to Doc and put his arms around her body as if to give her a hug like he did at home. He wasn’t going to feel embarrassed over that.

  Avery got the shot ready, picked the spot and pulled on Doc’s skin. Then she injected the needle while talking softly to his puppy telling her what a pretty girl she was.

  “That was better than the other times,” he said. He was shocked that Doc didn’t seem to flinch at all.

  “Sometimes they need a few whispered words of praise in their ears,” she said. “And a treat.”

  She turned and was fishing one of the bigger ones out of the jar.

  Doc was quick to grab it out of Avery’s hand and gobble it up.

  “She lacks manners though,” he said.

  “It’s fine,” she said. “And thank you for being so patient with Josie.”

  “Not a problem,” he said. “She’s taken with my dogs.”

  “More than the dogs,” Avery said, smiling.

  He wasn’t sure what that meant and always seemed to be so awkward around women that it was best to not ask.

  When Avery opened the door, he knew the visit was done. She was busy anyway, just like he was and had to get back to the garage.

  He walked out to pay. When he was standing there while he was being rung up, he heard, “Carter.” Josie ran toward him and said, “I did this for you last week.”

  He reached out and took the piece of paper out of Josie’s hand. He knew she drew the dogs and expected a childlike drawing, not one that most adults couldn’t pull off that had been doing it for years.

  “Damn,” he said. Shit, he shouldn’t swear in front of the little girl. “This is great. It looks just like Dopey.”

  “I’m going to do one for Doc next. Maybe I can do one of them together sometime,” Josie said, then ran back to Avery’s office.

  “She has a great talent,” Melody said. He could see Roseann had moved to the other part of the office and was doing something.

  “She really does,” he said.

  “It’s going to be fifty-five for today,” Melody said.

  “That’s it?” he asked. He expected it to be more with the exam.

  “Just for the shot,” Melody said. “You weren’t scheduled for an exam so Dr. Keegan won’t charge it. She wants to meet everyone she can.”

  He pulled his credit card out and handed it over, got his receipt and left.

  Doc jumped into the back of the SUV and they returned to the garage after stopping for a burger and fries.

  His dog wasn’t thrilled that she couldn’t join him where the food was. He’d give her a fry for being a good girl. He’d have to since he’d give a few to Dopey too.

  It was only fair in his eyes.

  “How did she do?” his mother asked when he passed her office, walking Doc back to his office.