Page 66 of Sit, Stay, Love
Sera sighed. It seemed she was always in a rush these days. ‘I’ll be here,’ she said.
‘Toby’s here,’ Jackie called from the reception area at nine on the dot. Jackie was twenty-two with a neat blonde bob. She was good friends with Tia and helped out at Rose’s when not busy with her animal attendant studies.
‘Why can’t that man ever be late,’ Sera muttered, tugging on her sneakers. She walked out, still doing up her jeans. ‘Shit. I forgot to brush my hair.’ She looked around as if a comb was going to magically materialise in front of her.
‘Here.’ Jackie tossed her a scrunchy.
‘Are you ready?’ Toby asked, leaning on the doorframe. ‘Hey, Jackie,’ he said with a smile.
‘Hi, Dr McManus,’ the young woman answered and promptly blushed.
Sera frowned. Toby was wearing a grey merle t-shirt that his biceps seemed to be trying to escape, and jeans that were hugging his thighs as if they were clinging on for dear life.
She stared at him. Had he beefed up, or had he always been that buff?
‘What are you doing?’ he asked. ‘Are you coming? We’re on a deadline.’
She slowly nodded, vaguely irritated by the butterflies fluttering in her stomach. ‘Why are you always on time?’ she asked with a huff.
‘Why are you always late?’
‘I’ll be back in a bit,’ she said to Jackie. ‘At least I think I will. This idiot won’t tell me where we’re going.’
‘I’ll tell you in the car.’
She shimmied past him and breathed in his scent – soap and something new that almost made her go, ‘Mm.’
He opened the passenger-side door of his truck and stepped back. On the front seat was a tiny animal crate.
She peered inside, then swung around, a huge smile spreading across her face and her hand pressed to her heart.
‘No way,’ she said.
He nodded.
‘For Mrs Barker?’
He nodded again.
‘Where did you get it?’ she asked, pulling the tiny pug puppy into her arms. It licked her face.
‘One of my clients had pups. Well, her pug did.’
‘And you bought one? For Mrs Barker? Really?’
He shrugged a broad shoulder and smiled.
‘Herriot. You’re the sweetest man.’
He scratched the puppy’s head. ‘I was worried it was too soon, but I spoke to Mrs B’s daughter and she thinks it might help her mum with the grieving.’
Sera whacked him on the arm.
He laughed. ‘Why are you hitting me?’
‘Because you’re amazing,’ she said and slid onto the seat, the puppy snuggled tight to her chest.
Sera didn’t think she’d ever forget the look on Mrs Barker’s face when Toby handed her the pug pup, and she knew she’d never forget how Toby looked. So large in front of the tiny woman. Crouched on one knee, hiscurls hanging messily in his eyes, kindness radiating off him, as if he was lit from within.
