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- Herausgeber: Valley Publishing Ltd.
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
Landon, after a tough couple years helping his navy buddy live out his last years, needs a break. Tracking a War Dog named Chica to ensure it is okay sounds perfect. Especially taking his three Chihuahuas with him. But finding War Dog Chica will be a challenge, particularly since Chica has a lame leg and half a paw. The War Dog had been part of a large shipment, heading to a rescue across the Canadian border. However, Chico went missing on the last stop before the border.
Sabrina had spent years volunteering at a local vet clinic because all animals have a soft spot in her heart. Learning that Landon is tracking down a missing War Dog, well, how could she not volunteer to help him? Still, when her world flips upside down, she’s more than happy to have Landon close by.
Now if only they find the dog and figure out who and what is responsible for endangering Sabrina’s life …
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022
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LANDON
The K9 Files, Book 18
Dale Mayer
Books in This Series:
Ethan, Book 1
Pierce, Book 2
Zane, Book 3
Blaze, Book 4
Lucas, Book 5
Parker, Book 6
Carter, Book 7
Weston, Book 8
Greyson, Book 9
Rowan, Book 10
Caleb, Book 11
Kurt, Book 12
Tucker, Book 13
Harley, Book 14
Kyron, Book 15
Jenner, Book 16
Rhys, Book 17
Landon, Book 18
Harper, Book 19
Kascius, Book 20
Declan, Book 21
The K9 Files, Books 1–2
The K9 Files, Books 3–4
The K9 Files, Books 5–6
The K9 Files, Books 7–8
The K9 Files, Books 9–10
The K9 Files, Books 11–12
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
About This Book
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Epilogue
About Harper
Author’s Note
Complimentary Download
About the Author
Copyright Page
About This Book
Welcome to the all new K9 Files series reconnecting readers with the unforgettable men from SEALs of Steel in a new series of action packed, page turning romantic suspense that fans have come to expect from USA TODAY Bestselling author Dale Mayer. Pssst… you’ll meet other favorite characters from SEALs of Honor and Heroes for Hire too!
Landon, after a tough couple years helping his navy buddy live out his last years, needs a break. Tracking a War Dog named Chica to ensure it is okay sounds perfect. Especially taking his three Chihuahuas with him. But finding War Dog Chica will be a challenge, particularly since Chica has a lame leg and half a paw. The War Dog had been part of a large shipment, heading to a rescue across the Canadian border. However, Chico went missing on the last stop before the border.
Sabrina had spent years volunteering at a local vet clinic because all animals have a soft spot in her heart. Learning that Landon is tracking down a missing War Dog, well, how could she not volunteer to help him? Still, when her world flips upside down, she’s more than happy to have Landon close by.
Now if only they find the dog and figure out who and what is responsible for endangering Sabrina’s life …
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Prologue
Kat brought a cup of coffee for Badger and placed it in front of him, then she sat down herself. “So another good ending,” she said, with satisfaction.
“I think more than either of us expected in this case,” Badger murmured.
“At this point in time”—she chuckled—“I’m expecting the best on every case.”
“Maybe, … it was definitely not a sure thing there.”
“And do we have any update on Taylor’s military assault case?”
“Yes, the army is doing a full investigation and looking into why she wasn’t dealt with fairly in the first place.” Badger smiled. “That should shake things up pretty well.”
“It needs to happen,” Kat stated.
Badger nodded. “It’s a sad world where men are allowed to prey on women, no matter what the industry,” he noted. He picked up a file sitting in front of him and dropped it in front of her. “Since you were so helpful on the last one …”
“You mean, on the last couple,” she stated, flashing him a big grin.
He added, “I’m only letting you get away with that because I love you.”
“I know you are.” Chuckling, she opened up the file and asked, “And who is this War Dog?”
“Her name’s Chica.”
Kat studied the picture of the beautiful shepherd Malinois–looking cross. “And what’s her story?”
“She was sent down to Mexico and somehow ended up in one of those large shipments, where the dogs go from Mexico up to Canada.”
She raised her gaze to him and frowned. “What? How did Chica end up in Mexico?”
“We don’t know that, but it looks like our War Dog was adopted by a man out of Texas, who became an ex-pat when he moved to Mexico, where he took the dog with him.”
“And then …?” Kat waited.
“We don’t know. He’s deceased now, and the dog was shipped to Canada. And we’re not sure where Chica is.”
“They tend to keep really good records on transports like that.”
“Sure,” he agreed, “but, when the shipment got there, apparently Chica didn’t arrive in Canada.”
“Crap. Did the shipment touch down anywhere in-between?”
“Some came by plane. Some came by train. Ones with health conditions were transported via a combo of trucking, then flying. A planeload was sent over our northern border with about seventy-five dogs on that flight.”
“And Chica wasn’t on the plane.”
He shook his head. “No.”
“So she’s got health conditions.”
“That’s what our assumption is.”
“And what about the rest of them in that truckload?”
“Everyone arrived except for three.”
She winced. “And of course Chica is one of the three.”
He nodded. “The truck driver says that the cages went missing from the truck on the last leg. No idea how that happened. The other problem is that Chica is not completely whole. She’s missing half a paw, and she’s had a leg broken in multiple places.”
“Which is why, of course, she ended up in the not-so-healthy group.”
“That’s partly it, but there could be a lot of other things wrong with her now.”
“So where did they cross the border?”
“New York.”
She stared at him. “That’s not exactly a city for a dog.”
“Nope, doesn’t mean that the dog is even in New York.”
“No, of course not. … Niagara Falls, I presume?”
He laughed. “And how did you guess?”
“The biggest border crossing,” she said, with a sigh.
“There’s a lot of paperwork that has to be done, and there was a problem at the border. Some of the paperwork wasn’t quite up to snuff. So they pulled the truck and the dogs off to the side, and apparently they went missing then—somewhere in that time frame, while the handler was taking down the cages, opening them up, letting the dogs out, taking them for walks, putting them back in again.”
“And yet he says three of the cages went missing.”
Badger nodded. “He didn’t know what to do, so he headed on to the next destination with the rest of the dogs and reported it.”
Kat sighed. “And Chica could be anywhere.”
“That’s the problem right now—that’s Chica’s issue. We still must find somebody who can go track down Chica. That’s our issue.”
She looked over at her husband. “You got anybody in mind?”
“Nope, I sure don’t. I’ve pretty well tapped out everybody we’ve got locally. You?”
She thought about it and frowned. “I do have one guy, I’ve been dealing with back and forth. He’s from that area.”
“Maybe contact him?”
She frowned, pulled out her phone, flicked through her contacts, and when she finally got to the one in question, she said, “I just don’t know what he’s up for.”
“Why is he contacting you?”
“He lost one leg and one hand,” she stated.
“How?”
“Bomb squad.”
“Military?”
She nodded. “Yes. So chances are he’s had some experience with the military animals.”
“I’m not even sure that he has. It depends more so on whether he has a soft heart and whether he has any compassion and whether he has any ability to get around right now.”
She quickly phoned him, and, when she got him at the other end, there was surprise in his voice.
“Hey, Kat. What’s up?”
She quickly explained the problem.
He sighed. “I’m due to have surgery.”
“Oh, crap, I forgot. Hey, that’s, … that’s okay. We’ll keep looking.”
“Hey, … I’ve got an idea,” he said, “but that depends if my brother would be okay with it.”
“And what’s your brother doing right now?”
“He was looking after a buddy of his, who just passed away. They were both in the same unit in Iran, and they both got shot up pretty badly. When his buddy started to go downhill, my brother basically stopped his move forward in life to help him out. But now his buddy is gone.”
“Oh, good Lord,” she said. “That’s gotta be hard.”
“Pretty devastating for him, yes. And he does have his buddy’s dogs now, so I’m not sure whether he’d be free or not.”
“What kind of dogs?”
He laughed at that. “You’d think that, you know, somebody like my brother would have shepherds or Newfoundlanders or something huge,” he explained. “Instead he’s got these tiny, tiny-ass Chihuahuas.”
She snickered.
He said, “Right? Anyway let me contact him, and, if he’s interested, I’ll get him to call you.”
“Sounds good.” She disconnected the call, looked over at Badger, and shrugged. “All we can do is try.”
He agreed. “And we’ll keep looking at our end.”
At that, they sipped their coffee and went through a bunch of other paperwork they had to deal with.
When her phone rang, she looked at it and said, “I don’t know the number.” She answered it and found it was the brother on the other end.
“My name is Landon,” he stated. “My brother just contacted me, told me about how you’re looking for a missing War Dog.”
“Yes.” She hesitated, then continued. “We just need a little bit more clarity about your experience in this area and would this be of interest to you.”
“I’m at loose ends,” he shared, his voice roughening slightly. “I could use a distraction.”
“Good enough,” she replied. “Do you have anybody to keep you from fulfilling this job?”
“No, but I presume I won’t die on the job.”
“No, I wouldn’t think so,” she stated, “but I would be remiss in not telling you that some of the previous War Dog scenarios have been pretty rough.”
“Yeah, that’s life right now,” he said. “So tell me more about it.”
By the time she put the call on Speakerphone, and she and Badger explained everything, Landon replied, “You know what? I think I heard about these dogs and the job you’re doing. A friend of mine, Blaze, told me.”
“Do you know Blaze?” Badger asked.
“Yeah,” Landon confirmed. “I worked with him overseas a couple times.”
“Yes, Blaze is definitely somebody who has helped us out.”
“In that case,” Landon said, “I guess I can do my part for the War Dog too.” He hesitated and then asked, “When would you need me?”
“As soon as possible,” Badger said. “The dog’s been lost for a while, and now we must find out what’s happening with her.”
“And what if I can’t find her?”
“Then it’s a case of you tried,” Badger noted simply. “So far we haven’t not located any of our assigned War Dogs, but it could happen. We keep expecting it to happen, but, so far, we’ve been blessed to find them.”
“That puts the pressure on,” Landon said, with a wry note.
“And yet we’re not doing it for that reason,” she jumped in to say.
“No, I got it,” Landon confirmed.
Kat leaned forward. “Your brother said you were injured.”
“Yeah, I am. Lost a foot just about three inches above the ankle. I’ve got a prosthetic.” Then he stopped and asked, “Does that change anything?”
“No, not in my world.”
“Or mine,” Badger agreed. “Kat, my wife here, is working with your brother on his prosthetics.”
“Oh my,” he said, “that Kat.” He laughed. “Hey, do I get a prosthetic out of this deal?”
“Do you need one?” she asked curiously.
“The one I’ve got sucks,” he stated.
“You have no idea how often I hear that,” she murmured. “I’ll tell you what. I can’t promise anything, but, if we can get this job done, I’ll take a good look at it.”
“Hey, that’d be perfect,” he said, “and I gather there’s no money involved in finding the War Dogs.”
“No.”
“Good. Jobs like this shouldn’t require a paycheck to get them done—although I won’t be adverse to getting some expenses reimbursed.”
“That we can do,” Badger declared. “I’ll email all this information to you. Let me know what your itinerary is, as soon as you sort it out. And check-ins, please, on a regular basis.”
“You got it,” Landon said and hung up.
Badger looked over at Kat and grinned. “Not bad,” he said. “Not exactly the way we thought it would work, but, hey, we’ll take it.” And he held up a hand to high-five her.
She smiled and added, “Now if only we get another happy relationship outta this one too.”
He rolled his eyes. “Let’s get a happy dog first,” he said, “and a relationship’s secondary.”
“It is, until it isn’t,” she declared, with a smile. “All these guys deserve to be happy, and it sounds like this guy needs it even more than most.”
Badger raised an eyebrow at that.
She shrugged. “Not many guys would take time out of their lives to help their buddy on the last of his days.”
Badger nodded slowly at that. “You got that right. Guys like that are few and far between.”
With that, she closed the file and slid it back to him. “Let’s hope he finds somebody who recognizes just how special he is.”
Chapter 1
Landon Snowden sat in his rental vehicle, looking at Chica’s file. Good thing he had flown up earlier this month from New Mexico to visit his brother, Harper, before he went into surgery. This trip put Landon so much closer to Chica here in Upstate New York. He had already read the file umpteen times last night, while he was packing up. And then later in bed once again. It was the first thing he looked at when he got up this morning as well, and now, here he was, packed and ready to go. But where was he going? He had texted all his questions to Kat yesterday.
Kat had finally got back home and sent a flurry of her own messages, requesting information. It hadn’t taken long before the answers had started to pile in, which she forwarded to Landon.
The first call Landon had made had been to the rescue center behind the logistics of moving all the dogs up to Canada. From that point, the manager had given him the name of the truck driver, who had been at the forefront of losing Chica. But every attempt to contact Charlie had met with no answer. Landon had a home address, but he was looking for another phone number for him. Both he and Kat were on that search, and it might take a while, but, hey, it was faster than going to what may not even be his current home address, located in southern New York State. If the man would answer a phone call, it would help a lot, as, so far, Landon had little to go on.
He’d also asked Badger for more information on the original adoptive family, which he expected soon. As Landon closed the file on Chica and dropped it on the seat beside him, he glanced at his three dogs, all tucked into their bed, then put on his sunglasses.
“What do you think about a road trip, guys?” The three of them started to bark. He chuckled, and then his phone buzzed. He looked down to see Badger had sent Charlie’s mother’s name and phone number.
“Oh, that’s interesting.” He quickly dialed it. When an older trembling voice answered the phone, Landon identified himself and noted that he was trying to contact her son, Charlie.
“He’s in the hospital,” she replied, and tears filled her voice.
“Oh my.” Landon’s heart sank. “I’m sorry to hear that. Do you know which hospital?”
She told him where Charlie was, even giving the address—not far from here either—and added, “There is some talk they might move him, if he doesn’t improve.”
“Do you have any idea what happened?”
“No. Nobody does really. He was hit by a car, while he was crossing the road.”
Landon frowned at that and asked, “Is he conscious? Any chance I could talk to him?”
“If the doctors let you,” she suggested. “I’m too far away and too sick to make the journey, and every time I’ve tried to call, they wouldn’t let me talk to him.”
She gave him the phone number to Charlie’s room too, and asked Landon to give her an update, if he got in to see Charlie.
Landon phoned the hospital afterward, thinking he’d much rather do as much as he could with phone calls, instead of making road trips for nothing. However, the hospital nurse he spoke with sounded more encouraging than his mother had. Apparently they were in the process of bringing Charlie out of his medically induced coma, and they were expecting him to have visitors soon. While they couldn’t make any promises, according to the doctors, things were, indeed, improving.
On that note, Landon called Charlie’s mother and gave her the good news. She was happy to hear that and to be updated. He promised her that he would share any further information he had on Charlie. As Landon thought more about it, he wondered if Charlie would accept a phone call from a stranger. Maybe it would be better to show up at the hospital. He searched his phone for a map to the hospital, finding it near the same area where the dog had gone missing, so, since he needed to visit both places, it seemed prudent to just get on the road.
With that information and his chihuahuas tucked up in their bed on the passenger seat beside him, he hit the road. He was smiling and rocking to the music as he drove. Anything that would take his mind off what had just happened in his life was bound to help. Joe had been a great friend, in the military and out, and to watch him go through the last days of his life was sad and yet heartwarming at the same time. He’d faced death with the same aplomb he’d faced everything in his life.
As for Landon, he knew he wouldn’t have done half as well in the same circumstances.
Something was just so vital about Joe that it had been almost impossible to stay at his side as his body slowly failed him over a span of two years. Landon spent all his time glued to his buddy’s side, helping to get him through each day. That had all ended just four weeks ago. A lot of people had asked him why he’d bothered to stay until the end, since it was obvious what would happen. Many didn’t understand why Landon hadn’t bailed a long time ago.
He wouldn’t explain himself because it wasn’t his way. When he’d been badly injured some eight years ago, Joe had stayed at his side from the moment of the attack and had helped him to safety. They were behind enemy lines, and it was all Landon could do to make it as far as he had. Without Joe, Landon wouldn’t be alive today. He knew that, and it was one unselfish heroic deed he was more than prepared to repay. He hadn’t expected it to be this type of a repayment, but he’d never once entertained the idea of bailing, even when Joe himself tried to send Landon away.
Landon had just laughed at his friend and stated, “Like hell.”
They’d been best friends forever, and, even now, Landon knew that aching void would take a long time to ease. Sometimes he thought he could almost hear Joe’s voice in the back of his head, telling him that he was an idiot and to get back to the world of living, but for Landon? … He was doing the only living he could do right now.
As for this mission, the War Dog needed to be found and assured it was okay. He had a soft spot for all animals, but especially dogs. He would never treat a dog badly, nor would he treat his friend badly, so, to Landon, they were kind of linked. He knew it was foolish, but, hey, somebody had asked him to pitch in and to help, so he would do it, whether anybody else agreed with him or not.
His brother had shaken his head at him and told him, “I know I put your name forward, but you don’t have to go.”
“Of course I don’t,” Landon agreed. “But you and I both know I need something else to think about right now.”
At that, his brother had nodded once and shut up. “I guess that’s why I thought about you in the first place,” he noted. “I knew you needed to get out of this rut you’re in.”
“You’re right,” Landon replied. “But that rut is also something that’ll require some time to heal.”
“Of course it will,” Harper noted in a rough tone. “Joe was a special guy. I often wondered if there wasn’t something, you know, closer with the two of you.”
He had stared at his brother for a moment, then figured out what he said without saying it. “Well, that’s a no. We were always best friends. Then, after he saved my life, no way I wouldn’t be there for him.”
“I get that,” Harper added, with a shrug. “I just wondered, when it went on for two years.”
“Death didn’t give me a timetable. I didn’t care if it was two days or twenty years. I wouldn’t bail on him in his final days, unless I died first or went into a coma or something. So who else but me would take care of him in the meantime?” Landon asked.
“You know his parents are gone. His brother was gone. Joe was alone. Now, could I have put him in a VA center somewhere? Sure, I could have. Could I have put him in a hospice facility? Absolutely. Or I could do what I did, … which was stay by his side, making sure he was getting the best care he could get. This is a man who did everything he could to save my life. I wouldn’t do any less than everything I could for him.”
His brother nodded. “I’m sorry it worked out the way it did.”
“Me too,” Landon replied in a rough tone. “This may be just a simple road trip, but it’s something else to occupy my mind. I’ll figure out what happened to the War Dog if I can, and if I can’t? Well, … I can’t. The dog could be dead for all we know.”
“I know, but I sure hope not,” his brother murmured.
“You and me both,” Landon noted. “We both have the same love for animals.”
“Maybe we should get together and do something with that?” Harper suggested.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe we could do a rescue or set up some kind of a training center or something?”
Landon looked at his brother, with interest. “We’re both walking right now,” Landon stated, “not very well and not easily, but it’s something we can talk about. I’ve often wondered about doing something with animals, and I guess, between us, we do have some family money we could put toward a new venture.”
His brother nodded enthusiastically. “I wouldn’t be against it, you know that,” he replied. “Hell, I’d be doing this rescue Chica job myself, if it weren’t for my surgery coming up.”
At that, Landon frowned. “Maybe I should stay here and help you out.”
“No, you don’t,” he disagreed immediately. “First off, I don’t know that I’ll need any help, and, second, I am not Joe. Even if I do end up falling down a rabbit hole over the surgery, it’s not on you to look after me.”
He didn’t really like his brother’s answer at the time or even later, but it was one that Landon had accepted. And now, here he was, … driving toward a hospital to talk to somebody involved with a War Dog that had gone missing. He shook his head at that. When his phone rang, he turned down the radio and swiped the Call button. “Landon here. What’s up?”
“It’s Badger,” he stated. “I just patched through some more information.”
“Good enough. Don’t suppose there was a sighting or something like that in any of it?”
“Nope, not yet,” he replied, “but we’ve got a call out to the public, and it’s being advertised on the local media in case anybody has seen Chica.”
“That might stir up some interest,” Landon said.
“Often, if we need to do something like this, just the fact that it’s a War Dog now stateside and trying to retire for a few good years is what brings out the sympathetic nature in people.”
“Of course,” Landon agreed, “and this one is also injured, right?”
“That back leg will never stand her in good stead and of course she’s missing a half a paw adding to her mobility issues. She’ll always be lame, and we don’t know what other problems she might have had more recently, when she was being driven up to the Canadian border.”
“Right,” Landon noted. “I’ve been doing some research and reading up on that project, since I agreed to do this job. I’m quite surprised at the number of dogs that go through the country, heading to Canada.”
“Hundreds and hundreds a year,” Badger stated.
“I’ll do my best to find out what happened to her. I’m heading toward the hospital, where Charlie is now.”
“Charlie’s in the hospital?” he asked, his voice sharp.
“Yes,” Landon confirmed. “I found out when I phoned his mother. He got hit by a car a few days ago. I was able to call the hospital, and they are pulling him out of the coma they had him in, as he’s doing much better, but it’ll still be a while yet.”
“So …”
“So, I decided that, since I had to go in that direction anyway to get an eye on the location where the dog went missing and to see if the locals might have seen Chica, I figured I’d run past the hospital as well.”
“Ah, so you’re on your way to the hospital, and then you’ll head out to where the War Dog was last seen?”
“Yes. I mean, there’s really no other helpful information so far, is there?”
“No, nothing yet,” Badger admitted. “We can hope that something comes from our media program, but it’s hard to say.”
“It also depends on how well the media handles it, since it’s a freebie, I assume.”
“Exactly, which means we’re at their mercy in terms of being given the right coverage. But again, most of the time, when it comes to something like this, people tend to be very generous.”
“That’s a good thing. Otherwise, from my online search, I don’t see a whole lot of places for Chica to have disappeared to in that general location.”
“No, that’s not quite true. There are lots of copses, parklands, and the river, so quite a bit of space where she might have initially run off to. What would have happened after that, I don’t know. It’s a heavily populated area, and she might have been picked up, or somebody might have even shot her. We just don’t know any of the details yet.”
“Yeah, you’re not giving me a whole lot to go on.”
“Nope, we’re not. Sorry about that,” Badger admitted cheerfully, “but that seems to be how it goes sometimes. When you get to the hospital, give us a buzz, and let us know if you get a chance to talk to Charlie.”
“So, am I checking in just so you can keep an eye on me?” he asked. “Is it a trust thing, or am I checking in because you want to know how it’s going?”
“You’re military. We know your brother. Plus, we already checked you out with your former commanding officer.”
Landon laughed. “I would expect no less.”
Badger continued. “You’re golden. You’re checking in because we want to know how it’s going,” Badger confirmed, unoffended. “We’re not into looking over your shoulder, but we also need to make sure you’re capable of safely doing what we’ve requested.”
“Got it.” Then Landon sighed. “For the record, I’m physically capable, and I’m just starting the road trip now.”
“Have you got your dogs with you?” Badger asked, with a note of humor.
“Absolutely,” he said, “they go everywhere with me, if they can. And, on a road trip like this, it’s not a bad idea. They keep me company.”
“Not to mention the fact that the War Dog in question might get on better, or be easier to approach, if you have other dogs with you.”
“That thought did occur to me too,” Landon shared cheerfully. “Got to find her first though.”
“Right,” Badger agreed. “On that note, I’ll leave you to it.”
Sabrina Wells walked in and smiled at Angela. “Hey, I was wondering if you had time for lunch today?”
Angela shook her head. “Man, we’re really swamped. I’ll be lucky if I get lunch at all.”
“How about I go pick up something then?” Sabrina asked. “Then you can put me to work when I get back.”
She rolled her eyes at that. “You really don’t want to say that too loud.”
“Hey, I don’t mind. I’m done with my shift and tired, but I’m not quite ready to go home and crash yet.”
“Says you.” Angela laughed. “You’ll get home, and you won’t even have two minutes to yourself, before you’ll be out.”
“I’ll walk over to the deli right now and get a couple sandwiches, one for you and one for me.”
A man in the background asked, “Hey, would you mind picking up a third?” She realized it was Dave, the veterinarian.
“Will do,” Sabrina replied; then she headed to the deli. It was busy, being lunchtime, and normally she would prefer to sit inside and to just enjoy the ambience of happy people enjoying a nice break. But, for the moment, that wasn’t meant to be. Things at the clinic were chaotic. So many animals were brought in on a regular basis that they had trouble keeping up. Some of the animals just needed veterinary care, but too many others were being dropped off and abandoned. The problem of unwanted animals was frustrating for everyone.
Sabrina had gotten hooked into visiting, when her friend Angela started working here out of the blue a few years back. Now it was almost standard to come by for a visit to check and see how she was doing. More often than not, Sabrina would spend an hour and take the animals out for a walk, help socialize some of them, whatever needed to be done.
As a nurse, she had a lot of skills, but they were directed towards human patients, not animals. She worked at the local hospital, in the geriatric section, focused on meeting the special needs of that age group. It could be quite stressful sometimes. She came to the animal clinic to unwind and to visit the animals and to take the edge off. She had been best buddies with Angela since second grade, and it was pretty special that they were still close. Since they both worked well over full-time schedules, they both squeezed in time to spend together whenever they got a chance.
Angela had a partner now, whereas Sabrina was still single, something she didn’t really mind. Whenever she did finally end up finding somebody, it would have to be someone pretty special who absolutely loved animals because that was pretty important to her. Angela had found another veterinarian as her partner, and that was huge. They were hoping that maybe the two vets—her boss and her partner—would find a solution to current problems at the clinic by consolidating resources.
At the moment they were wrangling over the costs involved of any merger. Sabrina understood that they had a lot to sort through, but surely it would help both vets—the one currently without a job and the one struggling to run the clinic on his own. If they could come to an agreement, they would both get where they needed to be and also help more animals and even remain solvent. It was in the hands of the lawyers at the moment, and Sabrina was no help in that department.
She just hoped it would all go smoothly. But that wasn’t her problem. As she stepped up in line at the deli, she noted the guy standing ahead of her, trying to decide on what to order from the chalkboard menu on the wall.
As he asked the woman behind the counter what she would recommend, Sabrina leaned forward and told him, “Everything is good.”
He looked back, flashed her a grin, and nodded. “Thanks for that. I’ve never been here before, but I’ll take your word for it.”
“Oh, in that case,” she added, “you’ve got to get Marco’s specialty.”
At that, his eyebrow raised, and he looked at the posted menu, trying to see where Marco’s specialty was listed.
Sabrina shrugged and noted, “It’s not on the board. It’s just something us locals know.”
Immediately he nodded and turned to the counter again. “In that case, I guess I need a Marco’s specialty.” Then he frowned and added, “Make that two.”
“That’s a good decision,” Sabrina said on a laugh. “Sometimes you just can’t get enough of a good thing.”
After paying, he nodded and stepped out of the way. “Thanks again.”
“Hey, no problem,” she murmured. She quickly ordered the three sandwiches she needed, as the waitress smiled at her. “Hey, I figured you’d be heading for bed now?”
“No can do. Things are crazy over at the vet clinic,” she replied. “I must get back over there and help out.”
“You’re supposed to be off duty right now,” Marco called out from the back. “You think I don’t know you work nights at the hospital, and then you go and help at the vet clinic all the time?” He shook his head.
“If I can’t have my own rescue,” she explained, “I might as well go where I’m needed.”
“Yeah, when you could also get some sleep,” Marco yelled out.
She winced at that because he was always very loud when he spoke from the back, but she was used to it by now. As Marco walked toward the front counter, she murmured, “You know that I can’t walk past an animal in need.”
“I get it,” he replied, “but you must do more for yourself too, you know? If you always help out for free, they’ll never need to look for somebody else.”
“I get that too,” she said, with a laugh. “We’re all doing fine though.”
“Says you,” he muttered, as he handed over a package to the stranger beside her, and then gave her the three sandwiches in her order. “I made them all to-go,” he added, “but I put extra protein in yours, so make sure you get the right one.”
She gave him a fat grin. “Hey, I can’t mistake mine. You always add double onions and pickles too.”
“Damn right,” he stated, “it’s the only way to have it.”
With that, she headed toward the door, almost running into the same man who she’d talked to earlier. She quickly excused herself and stepped around him.
“Hey, it’s just me, and apparently my big feet were in the way.” He stepped outside with his to-go bag, then sniffed it. “Wow, that smells really good.”
“I know. It’s all good there,” she said, with a smile. “I’ve got lunch for two other people at the vet clinic, and one of these is for me too.”
He smirked. “And, so I hear, you’re a nurse?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I work at the hospital, but I’m in the elder care section.”
“Ah, that can’t be easy.”
“No, it isn’t, but I used to do hospice. This is definitely a little easier.” Those words struck home, and he grimaced, as if he understood.
“I can’t even imagine,” he shared. “I ended up nursing a friend of mine for the last couple years, right through until his passing a few weeks back, and nothing was easy about it.”
“No, especially when it’s a friend,” she noted. “Most people don’t have any experience with death, until it’s right there in front of them, and, without any kind of practical experience to rely on, it can be quite a challenge.”
“It was,” he agreed, “but I made it through. I know I’m a better person for it, but it wasn’t an easy go-around.” He lifted a hand and headed over to his truck.
She looked at all the shiny chrome on his vehicle and grinned. “That is such a guy truck.”
Startled, he turned and said, “Sorry?”
She laughed. “I was just looking at all that chrome.”
“Hey, a truck is supposed to have lots of chrome,” he protested, but he was smiling.
“Maybe, but I always thought trucks were for heavy use, not to look fancy.”
“This is a rental, while I visit with my brother. However, I have this exact same truck back home in New Mexico, which is covered in dirt.” He chuckled.
“Says you,” she teased. Then she lifted a hand and waved. “It was nice meeting you. Have a good day.” She turned and headed back toward the vet clinic. She wasn’t usually quite so friendly, except just something about him appealed to her.
