Page 100 of Always You (A Lilac Bay Novel)

“I had chicken the other night,” I cried. “I must have dropped a bone!”

“It’s okay. He’s fine. Hey.” His expression shifted from comforting to concerned. “Don’t cry, Riley.”

“I left him to eat alone! I never leave him to eat alone!”

“He wasn’t alone. You were in the house.”

“But I wasn’t with him!”

He pulled me against his bare chest. “He’s okay.”

I couldn’t get the sight of his panicked eyes out of my mind. He looked just like Rebecca, that day she’d choked while I was babysitting.

“When—Beccs choked—” I tried, but I was crying too hard to make the words come.

“It’s okay,” Andrew said, rubbing my back. “What about Beccs?”

“When she choked that time she had the worst sore throat for days. What if he—what if he scratched something, or—”

He pulled back and looked down at me. “You want to take him to the vet?”

I felt weak with relief. “You don’t mind?”

“’Course not. We wouldn’t want Gordie to have a sore throat.”

I let out a weak laugh. “Thanks, Andrew.”

After congratulating Andrew on his quick thinking, Dr. Miller assured me that Gordie seemed to be no worse for the wear. “We could get a quick X-ray,” he said, when I didn’t seem very convinced. “Just to check there’s nothing lodged further down. But I don’t really think it’s necessary—”

“Oh, yes, please, let’s do that,” I interrupted.

“I think we’d feel better,” Andrew said.

“Sure,” the vet said, reaching for Gordie—who promptly darted to the far side of the examining table. “Riley, why don’t you carry him,” he suggested. “He’s had a traumatic day.”

“Will you do it?” I asked Andrew. “He’ll be more calm with you.”

“Iamhis favorite person in the world,” Andrew agreed, winking at me. “Let’s see if that still holds up now that I’ve stuck my fingers down his throat.”

To my relief, Gordie went with Andrew without complaint.

“Why don’t you go outside for a minute,” he said as he passed. “You’re white as a ghost.”

“I’ll wait.”

He shook his head. “Go get some air, Ri. I won’t leave him.”

Stepping into the hallway, I ran smack into Jill. She was dressed in a dark purple velour sweat suit, her hair up in a ponytail, holding a fluffy white Pomeranian in her purse. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of Andrew cradling my cat to his chest. “Oh, how sweet!”

“Morning, Jill,” he said, shooting me a worried glance. “Uh, I should get him back—”

“Go ahead,” I told him.

“Riley, is that your cat? What’s wrong?”

“He had a little choking accident this morning,” I told her. “We’re just getting him checked out.”

“And Andrew is helping you.” Her expression turned dreamy. “The way he was cradling that poor animal in those arms of his—”