Page 36 of Vetted for Vengeance
“It's personal, which is fine. Everyone here is happy for you. But mixing your personal and professional interests so completely, so soon, I just don't want it to fall apart.”
It won’t. Noah won’t leave. I can give him more than he could ever find anywhere else. “I know what I'm getting into.”
Danielle studies my face as if she’s trying to diagnose something.
“You said that about the show,” she whispers.
“That was different.”
“You said it would just be a bit of publicity. A few cameras, a few rescues, then back to normal.”
I glance toward the practice building where Noah disappeared only minutes ago.
“There was never going to be a ‘normal’ after the show.”
She follows my gaze.
“We all want you to be happy. To find a special… someone. Just be careful,” she says finally. “That boy has been through something. You can see it in the way he moves. The way he waits for permission before doing anything.”
“I know.”
Danielle sighs softly. “You rarely get involved like this.”
“No,” I agree.
My eyes drop back to the red brick in the center of the barn.
“But Noah isn’t usual.”
And that might be the problem.
Chapter twenty
Noah
There's no film crew today, but I still ask Snowy, I mean Chloe, if she'd like to help me with the oldest pups we have in the hospital wing.
The more active puppies are hidden away in some stables across a small paddock. A place I’ve been deliberately kept away from. They say it’s not to ease my workload, but because they’re somewhere the cameras can’t follow me.
I’m busy enough here not to miss the extra work.
But I would like to see if they’re happy.
I know they are. They appear in the main hospital daily for weigh-ins and enough TV time to attract potential owners.
Still, I want to see their homes.
For now, I’m weighing Pumpkin’s family.
She needs a larger space than this kennel, but I’m too scared to mention it. She needs to be somewhere I can properly monitor the puppies’ movement. This is when delays start to show.
Physical disabilities that stop them from walking.
Neurological issues that stop them from exploring properly.
All the things that made them unsellable before. I have a feeling any issues now would just double their adoption lists.
It seems the nation loves an underdog.
