Leashed

  #

  The knock he was expecting on the door came late the next morning. Callie had been true to her word, and her friend Dr. Poe Madigan stood outside his door. She wasn’t dressed as he expected a vet would be. She wore a black t-shirt with a skull on it, a short, plaid schoolgirl skirt, and black, thick-soled boots with buckles up the sides. She had very intelligent eyes that were both sensitive and warm, even though the blue-streaked hair threw him a bit.

  “Hello,” she said, but she was naturally dog-savvy and didn’t even make eye contact with Jill.

  Owen extended his hand and they shook. Jill sat down next to Owen and raised her paw. Poe laughed. “Looks like you’ve at least taught her that.”

  “Actually,” he said, feeling a bit surprised, “my aunt must have taught her. I’ve never seen her do it.”

  “Well, dogs are pretty smart. I prefer them to humans.”

  He smiled and nodded, liking her blunt personality. “She likes to outsmart me.”

  Poe laughed again, and it was infectious. He smiled.

  “So, this is quite a predicament.”

  Owen nodded. “Yes, I’m just thankful Callie is being so…gracious.” Thoughts of the girl next door should have been tame, but Owen had to shut down the track his mind was on. That one track would inevitably lead him to a complicated place, and he didn’t want to go there.

  Poe started a thorough and methodical examination of his dog, and he already felt better. Those twisting butterflies in his stomach over Jill’s condition subsided some. Maybe he was developing a soft spot for her, which was something else that surprised him.

  When Poe finished, she said, “She looks good. You take good care of her.”

  “Anything you can recommend?”

  “Several things. Make sure she has a spacious whelping box. Get that together early, because she’ll want to fuss with it. Her nesting instinct will be strong. Show her the area and let her explore it. Now, may I see what you’re feeding her?”

  He led her to the kitchen and pulled out Jill’s dog food. “Oh, good stuff. I think that you can go ahead and keep feeding her this. It’s packed with nutrients. I’m not an advocate of feeding her vitamins when the food she’s receiving is top-notch. As the pregnancy progresses, you’ll notice she’ll be off her food now and again. If she goes two days without eating, make an appointment. Would you prefer I recommend someone from St. Mark’s?”

  “Aren’t you a doctor?”

  “Yes.”

  “A full-fledged one?”

  “Yes. I’m doing my residency because I’m specializing in surgery, but I have my DVM from Cornell.”

  “Then I’d rather have you do Jill’s check-ups.

  Poe smiled. “Okay. Here’s my card.”

  Owen took it and tacked it to his fridge with a magnet.

  “Toward the end of her pregnancy, you’ll probably need to feed her more. I took the liberty of bringing our brochure with me that details the changes you can expect in your bitch. That should help.”

  “Thank you.”

  She nodded. “Well, I’ll be off now.”

  “Hey, take this voucher for a night at my club. Bring your friends.”

  “Oh, that’s not necessary,” she said, eying the voucher, but making no move to take it.

  “It’s the least I can do for your kindness.”

  Poe waved a hand at him. “It’s okay. Callie is a very good friend of mine. I’d do just about anything for her, but thank you for the voucher.”