Page 59 of Sit, Stay, Love
‘Hi,’ Ethan said, lighting up like pure sunshine.
Toby shifted closer to Sera, his arm brushing against hers. ‘James,’ he said.
‘Doc,’ Ethan replied. ‘I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been wanting to thank you for hooking me up with Kevin. He’s what made me think I can conquer this thing.’
‘Good,’ Toby said gruffly. ‘That’s what I was hoping for.’
Ethan chuffed. ‘Yeah. That’s what I thought.’
They eyeballed each other, their shoulders pushed back and their chests practically puffed.
Sera smushed her lips together, frowning as her gaze flicked between the two men. ‘Right,’ she said. ‘We should get to work. Herriot, there are two dogs you haven’t checked out yet. Francine here, a surrender, and Guy Smiley, who we saved from the pound. If you could take a look at them, then you can head off.’
Toby scooped up the Maltese and tucked her under his arm. ‘I thought I’d vaccinate the kittens too. And I told you, I’m staying to help.’ He turned to Ethan. ‘Ser said she was short-handed today and needed me here.’
She glowered at him and he shrugged, the beginnings of a smirk twitching at the corner of his mouth.
Ethan shrugged too. ‘The more, the merrier, doc. I’m sure Sera and I will appreciate the extra hand.’
Sera crossed her arms over her chest with an impatient huff. ‘You know what? This is great, actually. Seeing as you’re both so keen to help, I’ll let you two do the kennels. I’ve got some paperwork to get on top of.’ She walked behind the reception desk, casually poured herself a coffee and sat down. ‘Off you go.’ She waved her hands at them.
‘I’ll get the dogs checked,’ Toby said with a scowl.
‘Take Ethan with you and show him the kennels and where we keep the cleaning gear. After you’ve finished doing your thing, you can give him a hand. I’ll join you in a bit.’
The two men glanced at each other.
‘Well, go on,’ she said.
After about thirty minutes of rare silence and another strong coffee, Sera was starting to get curious. Grabbing a couple of bottles of water from the reception fridge, she went to see how the two men were doing.
She saw Toby down in the paddock, checking over the sheep.
‘Hey,’ she called. ‘Where’s Ethan?’
‘No idea,’ he called back as he walked up the rise. ‘I left him up near the kennels.’ He took a bottle of water from her and gulped down a mouthful,wiping his mouth along his arm. ‘Both dogs are fine, and everyone’s had their shots.’
‘Did you at least show him what to do?’
‘I showed him where everything was like you told me to. How hard is it to hose out a kennel?’
She shoved him. ‘Herriot!’
He stumbled backwards. ‘What? I wanted to make sure the sheep and horse were doing okay. They are, by the way.’
‘I know they are.’ She stormed towards the kennels.
‘Surely he’s not that helpless?’ Toby asked as he jogged up beside her. ‘I assume he has half a working brain, considering how into him you are.’
‘I’m not stuck on him, and you obviously have less than half a working brain, and somehow, I’m still friends with you.’
‘Yeah. The whole vet thing shows how dumb I am.’
She spun around. ‘Why did you come here today? Was it just to be an arsehole? What happened to…’ She dropped into a deep voice. ‘?“Whatever makes you happy, Ser”?’
He glowered at her impression.
‘You’re giving me whiplash,’ she said. ‘If you came here to be mean, just go.’
