The Perfect Couple

Now that the atmosphere in the small room was no longer romantic, Kara was easily able to resume her professional bearing. “Give that a few more minutes to set,” she told Susan, gesturing at the puppy, “then put him in one of the empty cages up here. I want him close so I can observe him tonight, just in case he has internal injuries, too.”

Tyler spoke up. “You're going to stay here? All night?”

“She does that all the time,” Susan explained. “That's why I brought the pizza. I figured she'd need something to eat besides the one brownie left over from lunch.”

“I didn't mean for you to have to go to so much extra trouble,” Tyler said, addressing Kara. “I just didn't know what else to do with him. Once I spotted him, I couldn't drive off and let him die. I wouldn't have brought him here if there'd been any other vet hospital close by.”

“Of course you wouldn't,” she said, trying to ignore the implication.

“I didn't mean it like that.”

“Don't apologize,” she said flatly. “And don't worry about me. I have a couch in my office where I sleep whenever I have to stay over. I'll be fine.” She turned her attention to the drowsy pup. “He looks good so far. I'll check on him every hour or so till I'm sure he's going to be all right.”

Susan was glancing around the room. “Where's the paperwork?”

“Well…” Kara's expression was apologetic. “Would you believe we didn't get around to making any?”

“In a heartbeat,” Susan said. She looked to Tyler. “I'll need a name to put on the cage for identification. What do you call him?”

He drew the fingers of one hand down his cheeks to his chin, thinking. “All I've called him so far is 'Road Kill.'”

“Okay,” she said. “Road Kill Corbett, it is.”

Kara interrupted. “You can't give that poor little innocent thing a name like that.”

“Why not?” Tyler was grinning broadly, obviously pleased with his witty selection.

The boastful look on his face did something strange to Kara's usually even disposition, making her decide to say exactly what she was thinking. “Because it isn't fair. What's he ever done to deserve a terrible slur like that?”

“You mean besides get hit by a car and nearly die?” Tyler's brows knit above deep-brown eyes that punctuated the question.

“Oh, that,” she said sweetly, smugly. “I didn't mean the Road Kill part. I meant Corbett.“

“I thought he was never going to close his mouth,” Susan said, smiling at her sister as they got the puppy settled in his cage and went back to straighten up the exam room together. “Did you see the look on the poor man's face?”

“See it? I'll never forget it. It was all I could do to keep from busting up laughing. If he hadn't stormed out of here when he did, I might have exploded!”

“I couldn't believe you had the nerve to say something like that in the first place. What came over you?”

“I don't know. I guess he made me mad when he told us he only came here because he had no other choice. I wasn't very Christian, was I?”

“No. But the whole situation sure was funny.”

“It was, wasn't it?” She grew thoughtful. “When, exactly, did you decide I needed a pizza?”

“On my way home. Why?”

“Oh, no reason.”

“Come on, Kara. We've been sisters for too long. You can't hide stuff from me and you know it. Fess up. Why is the pizza important?”

She busied herself wiping down the stainless steel table as she answered, “I just thought it might have been the answer to a prayer. But the timing's wrong. I didn't even ask for anything until long after you decided to come back.”

“It could still be an answer.”

“I don't see how.”

Susan put her arm around her sister's shoulders. “Because God knows what we need before we even ask Him.” She stopped being serious and added, “Although, I must say, I've never asked Him to get me a pizza before.”

“That wasn't what I prayed for.”

“I figured as much. What was it you wanted? Me?”

“Sort of. I wasn't that specific.”

“Then what?”

“You're not going to drop this subject till I tell you, are you?”

“Nope.”

Kara made a face at her. “Okay. I'd prayed for a little help. That's all.”

“With the puppy?” Puzzled, Susan studied her.

“Something like that.” A blush warmed Kara's cheeks. She turned away, hoping Susan hadn't noticed, but she had.

“What? Tell me. Maybe I can help?”

Kara was sorely tempted to make up a problem rather than have to let Susan in on the truth. Instead, she opted for honesty. “I just wasn't comfortable with the situation, that's all.”

“Because of Tyler Corbett? You weren't afraid of him, were you? Oh, don't be. Mark says he was so goofy in love with his late wife that he won't even look at another woman. The man's branded for life.”

Kara understood completely. All her emotions blended together when she remembered Alex.

I won't ever let myself be hurt like that again, she vowed. Not ever again.

Susan had gone, leaving Kara to her thoughts and sole ownership of the now lukewarm pizza. Taking a piece of it with her, she strolled out to the waiting room to look over her practice and assess it while she ate.

Alex's death had left her with a lot of unpaid bills she hadn't expected. Most of those accounts had been settled but there was still the day-to-day running of the hospital to consider. Overhead like that wasn't cheap.

Susan had taken one look at the books and offered to work for no wages. Kara had insisted she be paid. As soon as they could afford to add another warm body, they planned to get a kennel boy—or girl—to keep the runs and cages clean. Until then, they shared the dirty work, too.

Sighing, she switched off the office light. Darkness had frightened Kara before she'd married Alex. After a few months with him, however, she'd welcomed the dark as a place to hide whenever he got so angry he lost control and began screaming at her. Living with him had been like sharing her life with a time bomb.

She was about to return to check on her latest patient when she saw headlights and the shadow of a truck bearing down on the glassed-in front of the animal hospital.

Startled, she stepped back just in case the driver misjudged the distance and didn't stop in time. Whoever it was, he sure was in a hurry. She wasn't up to tackling another emergency. Yet she knew she wouldn't—couldn't—turn anyone away.