Page 11 of Risking it All
Curiosity poked at me and I raised a brow. “How come? I didn’t think your job kept you that busy.”
He worked in the local mechanic’s shop and while it saw a steady stream of customers, it had plenty of employees to cover.
He stiffened, shifting between his feet as he cleared his throat. “The job isn’t what keeps me away from home. I don’t usually sleep there. This past week is probably the longest I’ve actually stayed home after work.”
It took me a few seconds longer than it should have taken to figure out what he meant, but when the meaning dawned, I fought the urge to wrinkle my nose.
Ah, he spent so many nights at other people’s houses that he wasn’t home often. I didn’t need to ask why that was.
“Why was the last week different?” I asked, not wanting to think about him being in bed with someone else.
He shrugged, “Haven’t particularly felt up too much after getting off work.” Then he grimaced, “Can we quit with the inquisition now? I didn’t bring him here to adopt him, I just wanted to make sure he was alright.”
I bit my tongue against the flash of irritation his tone caused. It shouldn’t surprise me in the slightest that he would abandon the animal after saving it.
He couldn’t very well take responsibility for something other than himself, he’d actually have to put his lifestyle on hold. God forbid that.
Stroking between the dog’s ears, I melted a little when he leaned into me with a sigh.
“I’ll just have to take him home then,” I said, watching as William jerked in surprise.
“Wait, why? Isn’t the usual protocol to take them to the animal shelter?”
Locking eyes with him, I answered bluntly. “Usually, yes, but this guy is going to need a lot of care to get back to 100%. Feeding multiple times a day to get back to a healthy weight, medicated baths at least once a week, and maybe even daily medication. I still need to run a blood panel to see if there’s anything internal going on. Plus a heartworm test since he’s been on the street so long. He’ll need extra individual attention, and the animal shelter can’t give that. They don’t have the resources to take on a really sick dog when there are so many others to take care of. Besides, they can’t even put him up for adoption until he’s healthy, and I don’t want him sitting in a cage by himself for months on end. So I’ll just take him.”
The house was a little lonely whenever Devin wasn’t home. When he’s moving around better, I can just bring him to work with me, too.
William crossed his arms, eyeing the calendar that held my appointments. “You have time for that?”
I didn’t like his tone, the hints of censure there as if he had any right whatsoever to lecture me. Straightening my shoulders, I glared him down with my iciest smile.
“I’ll make time for him. Someone has to. I’m good at balancing multiple responsibilities, I’ve been doing it my entire life.”
I kept my voice carefully controlled even through the anger boiling low in me. “You’re free to go. I’ll take care of the cost, too, since you don’t have time to care for him.”
He stared at me for a second, then huffed and walked out of the exam room.
I took some blood and started the antigen test to check for heartworms. I got the dog as comfortable as possible in a back kennel. Then I went to the front of the office to input the dog's information into a chart, but William was still lingering around the door, shifting as if he had something to say. When he didn’t spit it out after a minute, I frowned.
“What? You obviously want to get something off your chest, so do it.”
He grimaced but finally straightened, losing the nerves oozing off him. “I wanted to talk about the housewarming party.”
Well, that was out of nowhere. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, though. I’d considered the topic closed after he said he didn’t want anything real, but apparently, he didn’t.
I waved him on, settling in behind the front desk as he fumbled through what he wanted to say.
“It isn’t anything against you. You’re a great girl, but I’m not a good match for you.”
I raised a brow, even more confused now. “I didn’t think for even a second that I was the problem here. There isn’t even really a ‘problem’ in this situation. You don’t want anything real, and that’s fine. I understood that the first time you said it, so why are we rehashing this?”
So far everything he’d said was the same as it was a few days ago.
He blinked, clearly taken by surprise, before powering on. “Because I want to make sure everything is actually okay between us. I don’t want things to be awkward since we see each other all the time and-.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed.
Shaking my head at him, I stopped long enough to say. “You do realize the only person here who’s making things awkward is you? I’m treating you the exact same as I did before the entire mess at the housewarming party happened. You, however, have been acting nervous enough around me–all but running the other way when I walk in–to the point that Alice even noticed. I tried to tell her it was probably nothing, but you know how she is.”