| |
Bonnie couldn’t stop crying while we sat in the waiting room. I had rushed Fred to the vet’s without waiting for Bennett to arrest Robin. I’d thought I’d lost Fred, but when he raised his head and looked at me with the saddest eyes I’d ever seen, I grabbed him and broke all speeding laws to get him to the vet.
He’d been in surgery for over an hour when the front door opened and Kelly walked in. She came straight over to me and hugged me. “Chris told me what happened. Is Fred going to be okay?” Her eyes were red with tears.
I should have asked if she was a free woman now that Robin had been arrested, but I couldn’t talk because I was afraid I’d start to cry. Grown men don’t cry, my father had always said. Luckily the vet chose that moment to bring us up to date on Fred’s condition.
“He’s one lucky dog, Mr. Martin. The bullet nicked an artery and missed his spleen by an inch. He should be good as new in a few days.”
Bonnie started bawling, and I could see it wouldn’t take much before Kelly did, too.
“Thank you, doctor. I really don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s all I have.”
Kelly hugged me again. “Not if I have anything to say about it, Jake. I’ve waited all my life for someone like you, and I’m not going to let you get away that easily.”
I waited for her to release me from her hug, then took her head in my hands and kissed her.
