“Lucas, honey, I’ll tell your dad you two are here,” she said, then reached into her pocket. “And here, Chloe, see if he wants one of these.”

“Thanks, Marge,” I said, pocketing the treat and following Lucas down the hall. Inside the exam room, Sammy picked a corner and huddled into it, keeping his bad side toward the wall. Protecting it? Poor guy. He whined just once, then laid down with his head on his paws, watching us carefully.

“Hey there, big guy, no one’s gonna hurt you. We just want to get you feeling better, okay?” I said softly, crouching down on the floor next to him. Once more, reaching out with my fingers curled inward, I let him sniff me and was rewarded with a head bump. I smoothed my hand across the top of his head, delighted he was letting me pet him already. I kept my strokes long, smooth, and gentle as I moved down across his body.

“Hey buddy, think I could take a look at you?” Lucas asked, bending down next to me.

The dog let out a low growl and backed farther into the corner.

“He doesn’t seem to like men too much.” I sighed.

“I can’t blame him for that. He seems to like you, though,” he said, patting me on the shoulder.

“Want me to try to get him on his side?”

“Normally I’d get a tech for that, but he seems comfortable with you. Let’s keep the muzzle on for now, though.”

“You’re in charge,” I replied as I encouraged Sammy to roll over onto his good side, exposing the side he’d been keeping hidden.

“I disagree. You are very much in charge here,” Lucas said.

His face darkened as we took in the extent of the dog’s injuries. It was clear that this dog had seen some action. Old scars ran the length of his flank, some still healing, some old and gnarly, healed over horribly. His fur was patchy here and there, where it no longer even grew.

“Oh,” was all I could manage. Other than that, I kept quiet as Lucas gave him a quick once-over. It certainly would have been easier up on the table, but Lucas seemed content on the floor. His hands were sure and able, with no quick or unnecessary motions.

Sammy thumped his tail every now and again, encouraging me to keep up my constant head-to-tail petting. He was so trusting, when he had every right not to be.

“Okay,” Lucas said, slowly standing up and making some notes on a chart. “I’d like to keep him here overnight, if that’s okay with you. I need to clean out those wounds, and under the circumstances, I think sedation is going to be the best way to go. Then I can give him a thorough examination, make sure everything else is okay. Sound good to you?”

“Sure, whatever we need to do. I want to get this boy running again,” I said, smiling down into those golden eyes. Sammy seemed better already.

Lucas nodded, then extended a hand down to help me. Just as he pulled me up, I noticed Marge’s face peeking through the window on the exam room door. I rolled my eyes at her, and Lucas turned to see who I was rolling them at. She just smiled at us, making no effort to hide the fact that she was peeking.

Lucas turned back to me with a look I was beginning to know well. “I really can’t resist,” he said, backing me against the wall, grinning the entire way.

“What are you up to?” I asked, looking up at him as my back met the wall, just next to the door. I could see Marge trying vainly to peer inside, and as I lost sight of her, I realized she was now out of range. All she could likely see was the navy blue scrubs, the owner of which now caged me in with his arms. “You’re evil, you know that? You’re giving her way to much to think about.”

He laughed, and leaned a bit closer. “She’s bored; she needs things to think about.”

The closer he got, the more Sammy Davis Jr. was not having it. Wriggling across the floor, he deposited himself on my feet, laying across them and chuffing out another warning to Lucas.

“Ha! See, he knows what you’re up to.” I giggled, leaning down to pat Sammy lightly on the head. “Now, fix up my dog so I can take him home.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he answered, then looked at the door’s window. “Coast is clear; want to head back up front? Sammy can stay here.”

“Are there any tiny angels out there packing tiny arrows?” I asked, and he made a show of looking again.

“Not that I can see, but there is a Labrador packing quite a large . . . anyway.”

I patted Sammy one final time and was rewarded with a tiny lick, and then we headed to the ranch.

Since we’d ridden together, Lucas had to drive me home before heading back in to start his shift at the clinic. As he pulled into the driveway, he looked over at me. “I’ll call you later, let you know how he’s doing.”

“Think he can come home tomorrow?”

“I’m sure he can. I just want to make sure he’s good to go,” he assured me. He looked like he was going to say something else, but then didn’t. He started once more, but still said nothing.

“Something on your mind, Lucas?” I asked, wrinkling my brow.

“Yes, actually.” He shut off the ignition and turned toward me.

And just like that, the mood shifted. I was aware of everything. His salty/woodsy scent. The way his eyes were deepening almost to indigo. The way his arm now draped casually across the back of the seats, putting his forearm within licking distance.

Luckily, before any licking could occur, my phone rang. “Hold that thought,” I said, then looked at my phone. Fudge. “It’s my mother.” Shaking my head, I turned back to him. “I gotta take this. Call me later?”

“Deal,” he said, and I jumped out of the car with a wave.

I’d started to answer the phone when he called, “Hey Chloe!”

“Yeah?”

“You did great today.” He grinned, and drove away.

I could hear my mother in the background. “Hello? Hello Chloe, are you there?”

“Hi, Mother,” I said into the phone, grinning as he drove away.

“Who are you smiling at?” she asked.

“You can tell that I’m smiling?” I was astonished.

“The same way I know that you’re slouching.”

“You’re four hundred and fifty miles away. How in the world can you tell I’m slouching?”

“Your voice changes; it always has. Spine straight, please,” my mother said crisply. “Now, who was that young man you were talking to?”

I literally looked all around, expecting her to come out from behind a bush. “How did you—never mind. What’s up, Mother?”