DESPITE NOT GETTING to bed until after one, Mellie was up and checking on Snugums and her puppies by six the following morning. The Yorkie dam had taken longer than expected to shake off the effects of the anesthesia the night before and, once she had, at first showed little interest in her pups. Eventually Snugums started sniffing and licking the puppies, and didn’t object when Mellie got them suckling in a nice little row.
“Don’t get used to the organization,” she muttered to Snugums. “It won’t be long before they’re all over the place, driving you nuts.”
The little dog just looked up at her, before putting her head down, as though exhausted. Thankfully, that had signaled Mellie’s chance to go shower and then go to bed.
Heavy-eyed and yawning, she was happy to see everything was fine—none of the pups bleeding from their tied-off umbilical cords, no sign of infection in the mother. Snugums couldn’t be coaxed to leave the pups to go outside, and Mellie didn’t try to force her. In fact, it was a bit of a relief. With all the other animals around, it was better and more sanitary the Yorkie stay sequestered in the powder room until Karyn came to pick her up.
After letting Sheba, Smudge and Ursa out, Mellie shuffled into the kitchen to make herself a much-needed cup of coffee. Outside she could hear Johnny Luck whistling as he released the other dogs from their kennels and started his day too. Between the two of them, they’d feed and water all the animals, clean the kennels, stable and fowl coop, and administer any medication necessary.
Thank goodness she didn’t need to tackle the pigsty today.
As used to it all as she was, Mellie couldn’t help contemplating the day ahead with dread brought on by exhaustion. She’d also been too tired the night before to stew on the latest drama unfolding in her life, but now that she was awake it all flooded back.
Delano Logan was charming, handsome and smooth, and Mellie didn’t trust him farther than she could throw him. Although strong and fit, she didn’t think she could even pick him up, so while the thought of tossing him like a caber was a pleasant one, it was firmly in the realm of imagination.
Mellie considered herself something of an expert on untrustworthy males. How could she not be, after her experience with Kyle? She’d learned the hard way that charm and winning smiles often went along with selfishness and questionable, or lacking, morals.
No one could have told her anything bad about Kyle back when they were together and make her believe it. He’d been sweet, winning and loving. He hadn’t showered her with gifts, but had done little things to make her feel treasured. She’d been charmed enough to buy into a fantasy of happy-ever-after, which included her moving to Miami with him and providing the downpayment on a fixer-upper house. She hadn’t been able to go on the title, because she didn’t qualify for a mortgage, but Kyle had assured her that once they were married, it would all be legally taken care of.
Kyle had also convinced her to hold off finding a steady job. She’d had some experience working in her stepfather’s construction firm, so she’d spent most of her time doing repairs to the house, getting it close to completion.
Then it had all fallen apart.
He’d gone behind her back and sold the house.
At Christmas, no less.
And that’s when she’d found out it had all been one big scam.
Homeless and broke, she’d learned the hard way never to put her future into anyone else’s hands. And the way things were shaping up with Dr. Milo and Delano, she couldn’t help thinking she was heading right back into a similar situation.
That Delano was a threat to everything she’d worked for.
Last night her first thoughts had been for Dr. Milo, who might be hurt by his son no matter what Delano ended up doing. Now, however, Mellie had to admit to herself that her true feelings weren’t entirely selfless. She was also worried on her own behalf.
Almost three years ago, Dr. Milo had spoken to her about the fate of his practice when he retired.
“Once, I’d hoped Delano would come home and take it over,” he’d said, trying to sound matter-of-fact, but just sounding stilted and a little sad. “But now I realize I have to accept that he’s settled in Trinidad and has no plans to ever live here again.”
“So what’s plan B?” she’d asked, holding her breath, hope swirling in her chest like dog hair in the groomer’s drying room.
“Well,” he’d replied, dragging the word out. “Hopefully I’ll find someone willing to buy me out, and I can retire with a little nest egg.”
She’d let out a long, silent exhale, before saying, “If that’s the case, Doc, I’d like right of first refusal.”
Dr. Milo had smiled then, his eyes starting to twinkle, and he’d replied, “Okay.”
With that one word of agreement, Mellie had seen her future clearer than she’d ever been able to before.
She’d always hoped to have her own clinic one day, but just then—here on the island she’d come to call home—she could actually envision it.
But suddenly, now, when his job seemed to be hanging in the balance and his father might just be about to retire, here comes Delano sniffing around.
And threatening to make all of Mellie’s hard work be for nothing.
Truthfully, she felt horrible even thinking that way. After all, it was a good thing that Delano was here to be with his father during the older man’s illness. But no matter how she looked at it, Mellie could see no upside for herself.
If Delano decided to stay, she had no doubt Dr. Milo would hand the clinic over to him without hesitation, ignoring all that Mellie had put into it. Keeping her to an associate position, rather than an owner.
If Dr. Milo recovered enough to come back to work, and Delano went back to Trinidad, the visit might give Dr. Milo hope that his son could be convinced to eventually take over.
The final analysis, she decided, was she couldn’t trust Delano to do right by his father or, if his decision affected her, do right by her either.
With that depressing and rage-inducing thought in mind, she took a sip of her coffee before going to change the cat litter and fill the feeding bowls.
Once that was done, she took the rest of her now lukewarm drink out into the yard so as to get to work.
By seven thirty she’d just finished feeding the pigs, Jane and Bingley, and was standing by their pen when Dr. Milo called. After a deep breath, she answered.
“Dr. Milo. How’re you feeling today?”
“Good-good, Mellie.” She could hear the joy and good humor in his voice. “I’m ready to go dancing, but Eddie won’t let me.”
Mellie snorted with laughter. “Glad to hear that your sister is keeping you under control. You can’t be trusted to stay quiet, the way the doctors want.”
“Cho, them doctors just beating up their gums.” He chuckled, then continued, “I hear you met Delano last night.”
The change of subject caught her off guard, and Mellie had to take a steadying breath before she replied, “Yes. We surprised each other at the clinic.”
“If I’d known he was coming, or that you’d be at work at that hour of the night, I’d have called to let you know, but he just turned up around dinnertime. Gave me a bit of a shock, can I tell you?”
Ridiculous to surprise a man who’d had a heart attack like that. Another indication in her books that Delano might just be a narcissist. Or a sociopath.
Keeping her dislike out of her voice took some effort, but she thought she did credibly well when she replied, “You must have been happy to see him.”
“I was. And I’m sure you were happy for the help with the C-section on Snugums Williams.”
“I was glad for the extra hands,” she admitted grudgingly. “At least two of those puppies’ heads were bigger than Snugums’s pelvic canal. She’d have never been able to deliver them naturally.”
“Delano said he offered to bring them all here and keep an eye on them for you, but you refused.” Was that a hint of a reprimand in the older doctor’s voice? It seemed as though it was, as he said, “You should have taken him up on the offer. I wouldn’t have minded at all.”
“It was no problem,” she lied, keeping her voice light. “I put them in the powder room, away from all the other animals, and as soon as I get off the phone with you, I’m calling Karyn to come get them and take them home.”
“Well, with everything you’ve been having to do since I’ve been ill, I’d have preferred you taking the opportunity to get some rest, but you know your own mind. What do you have going on today? I know there’s no spay and neuter clinic this week, but are you giving a talk anywhere?”
Since starting her small animal shelter, Mellie had networked like crazy, getting sponsorships so she could offer low-cost and, in some cases, free spay and neuter days. They, along with educational outreach programs, would hopefully go a long way to curb the incidents of unwanted puppies and kittens as well as stray dogs and cats roaming the streets.
“No. I don’t have anything planned today.” Never had she been more relieved to have something of a free day, once all the animals were taken care of. But she didn’t say so, knowing Dr. Milo was already stressing over the amount she was working.
“When is the next spay and neuter clinic?”
Wondering why he was asking, she replied, “In two weeks, in Grand Harbor.”
“Well, I’ve asked Delano to help out while he’s here—at the clinic and anything else I can’t manage—so put him down for a shift. He can run the obedience classes too.”
Biting back the sharp retort that rose to her lips, Mellie took a moment to get herself under control.
“Thanks, but you know I have things well in hand, right? Why don’t you take the opportunity to spend time with your son, instead of farming him out like a workhorse?”
“Yes,” was the decisive answer. “I know I can depend on you, but I don’t want Delano sitting around all day, doing nothing. And if he doesn’t take over the obedience classes, the dogs will forget all they’ve learned.”
It sounded like Dr. Milo was clutching at straws, and although Mellie wanted to argue, she also didn’t want to upset the older man.
So, suppressing a sigh, she said, “If he’s serious about it, tell him to come into the clinic on Monday. I’m sure we can find something for him to do.”
And there was no mistaking the satisfaction in Dr. Milo’s voice as he finished the conversation and hung up.
As she punched the telephone screen to disconnect the call, Mellie muttered a string of curses.
The entire situation was going from bad to worse.
Delano retreated into the house without his father knowing he had even been there, and wandered toward the kitchen with Baldur, his Doberman pinscher, shadowing his steps. Hearing his father say he didn’t want Delano sitting around the house doing nothing all day should be infuriating but, in reality, it just confirmed what Delano already suspected.
His father didn’t want to spend more time with him than he had to.
Who could blame him? Having to see the person responsible for your beloved wife’s death day in and day out must be excruciating. Which is why Delano had stayed away so long.
The guilt and sorrow that always flooded him whenever he’d thought about returning to St. Eustace filled him again now. In the past he’d used it as an excuse not to come home, but when he’d heard about his father’s heart attack, he knew he had put off returning for too long.
Delano loved his dad, irrespective of how his father felt about him, and there was no way he’d shirk his responsibility of love just to avoid his own pain.
If all his father wanted was someone to take over his myriad occupations, and that would help keep him calm and well, then that was what Delano would do.
Although, he couldn’t help wondering how the icy Mellie Roscoe was going to take having to interact with him all the time.
She’d made it absolutely clear that, like his father, she didn’t want him around. But while his father’s attitude made him sad, the thought of tweaking Mellie’s tail was somehow highly amusing. Softening her up, charming her in whatever way he could, would give him a sorely needed distraction.
He was so lost in thought he almost ran into Aunt Eddie as she came out of the kitchen.
“Where you going?” she asked, putting her arms akimbo. “You just finished breakfast. Don’t be going into my kitchen to mooch.”
Delano couldn’t help laughing and teasing his father’s sister. “Cho-man, Aunt Eddie. But I hungry.”
Her face softened into a fond smile. “You know how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say those words to me again? Come. Let me see what’s in the fridge.”
Slinging his arm around her shoulders, Delano confessed, “I’m not really hungry, Auntie. I just said so to annoy you. I could use another cup of coffee, though, but I can get that myself.”
“Let me spoil you a little, at least today,” she said, tiptoeing to kiss his cheek. “Tomorrow you can start looking after yourself.”
Sitting at the kitchen table, Delano watched his aunt smoothly moving around the room, his heart swelling with love for the woman who’d moved in and helped raise him since he was a teen.
“So, you had a baptism by fire, eh? Delivering puppies on your first day back home.”
“It was a surprise,” he replied. “But not as much of one as being accosted by a machete-wielding woman out of the blue.”
Aunt Eddie chuckled, shaking her head as she got the coffee maker going. “That Mellie is something else, isn’t she? A real firecracker. Hard worker too. You know she has an animal shelter at her home, don’t you?”
“I don’t think you mentioned that to me.” Even if his aunt had, it wouldn’t have meant too much to him. Everything about his homeland—with the exception of his father and aunt—had felt way too distant to be of much interest.
“When she came here, her father, Charlie—you remember Charlie Roscoe? He’s a friend of your father—he gave her the old farm cottage he’d inherited from his uncle to live in. It sits on two acres, and once Mellie started taking in strays, everyone was bringing all kinds of beasts. Everything from cats and dogs to pigs and a turkey. She had to figure out a way to keep it going, so she turned it into a nonprofit, and gets donations to help run the place.”
“Ahh...”
“She was saying it’s getting crowded now, and she’s contemplating buying a piece of land she’s seen for sale, a bit farther up Long Hill, but I think she’s waiting to see how things pan out first.”
Aware that his aunt was looking at him out of the corner of her eye, Delano raised his eyebrows, and asked, “Things? What things you mean, Aunt Eddie?”
“Well, like whether you plan to stay here and take over your father’s place at the clinic, or not.”
The shock of her words left him speechless for a long moment. Is that what everyone was thinking, that because of the trouble back in Trinidad, he was looking to come back to St. Eustace and take over the clinic? His physical reaction to the thought made him have to swallow as a sickly sensation tickled the back of his throat.
Then he got himself under control and, well aware of his aunt’s eagle eyes on him, he forced a smile and shook his head.
“If that’s the case, then you should let her know I don’t plan to do any such thing.”
And, although he really wanted to walk away, he stayed where he was, pretending not to notice the frown his aunt sent him from across the room.