She caught herself wrapping the towel around her hand in nervousness and stopped. “Then why are you here?”
Pushing off the frame, he towered over her five-six height to what had to be six feet. “I came to apologize. May I come in?”
“Um, sure.” She held the door open wider and glanced at Hailey. If he got upset again or had a naturally loud voice, it could upset her. “Sweetie, why don't you do that in your bedroom for a few minutes? I'll be in soon.”
Hailey grabbed her device and headed down the hall.
“She doesn't talk much, does she? For a girl, I mean. Thought they were all chatter boxes.” He laughed uncomfortably and rubbed his neck.
The guy had adorable charm in spades.
His nervousness calmed her a bit. “She's a nonverbal autistic. Pretty high functioning in other areas, though.”
He stilled and pinned her with round eyes. “I'm fu…mucking this up.”
She smiled, more at ease with this version of him. Pretty sweet how he'd caught himself upright before cursing. “You didn't know. It's okay.”
Gazing heavenward, he crossed his arms. His leather jacket strained against his muscles and movement. “Look, about last night, I'm sorry. I was rude. I thought you were a negligent owner. I'd had a bad day and took it out on you.”
At the risk of sounding like a parrot, she said the only thing that came to mind. “It's okay. You didn't know.”
The flutter in her belly hadn't happened in so long, she was unnerved. Plus, people didn't often apologize to her, and she'd spent so long in the shadow of her ex-husband that she didn't know what to do with Cade's intense stare.
One corner of his mouth quirked. Too cute to be sexy, but head-tripping just the same. “You never corrected me. You could've put me in my rightful place in the exam room. Why didn't you?”
She glanced at the hallway and back to him. He was still staring as if trying to figure her out. “Hailey gets nervous around raised voices. I figured we'd sort it out later.”
He nodded slowly, a wrinkle forming between his brows. “Did I upset her?” He took a step forward and paused as if wanting to reach for her and thinking better of it. He seemed genuinely concerned about Hailey, the look in his eyes sincere.
“I don't believe so. She was worried about the dog, but I think she filtered everything else out.” They stood awkwardly for a beat. Now what? “Can I get you something to drink?”
“No. I have to get back to the clinic, but thanks. I wanted to catch you before you came in so I could eat crow.” One shoulder lifted.
God. The female species must flock to him. He didn't have a wedding band.
She tried for upbeat to put them on even footing. “Without witnesses? It's like the apology never happened.”
His face grew a little impish, which made her laugh. Been awhile since she did that, too. “You haven't met my brothers yet. Or my aunt. She runs the front desk. For now. I'd never live it down if they got to see me removing my foot from my mouth.”
It was a nice mouth, too. Full lips, firm. She shook herself just before a tremble could tear through her body.
He turned for the door. “I'll see you when you come visit Seraph. He really is doing great. Nipped my stethoscope this morning trying to play.”
Relief settled deep. “Okay. I'll be in soon. I had…stuff come up this morning.” Like the moving van not following her directions and getting lost on the wrong side of the Klamath. They claimed it would be a few days before they arrived.
They reached for the doorknob at the same time. Their fingers brushed, and it seemed so intimate, she froze. He had big hands. Warm. Then she caught a whiff of something…gastric emanating from him.
She must've wrinkled her nose or something because he laughed nervously. “Hazard of the job. That's Ode de Anal Gland you smell.”
She pressed her lips together to hide a grin.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I just keep sticking my foot…” He sighed. “I'll see you soon.”
She waited until his car was gone before turning toward the hall. The muscles of her cheeks ached and she realized she was smiling. When was the last time that happened?
After getting Hailey ready, they drove to the clinic. Hailey was a bundle of excited energy bouncing in her seat. Avery had never thought about getting a pet. Her ex, Richard, wouldn't have allowed one in the pristine house anyway, but Hailey had really seemed to connect with Seraph. They'd have to stop by a store to pick up supplies on the way back. What did a puppy need?
She opened the door to Animal Instincts and found…utter chaos. Unlike the night before, people filled the waiting room with varying breeds of dogs and cats. And…a snake? Yes, a big, big…
She chanced a peek at Hailey to see if the loud ruckus bothered her. It was hard sometimes to find her triggers. Car horns and loud music upset her the most. Shouting or raised voices, too. She seemed unfazed by the barking now.
The clinic was more spacious than it looked from the outside. To the left, the waiting room walls were painted in one giant mural of animals doing human things like cooking or reading. Two large windows flanked both sides to allow light inside. Slate tile was laid throughout, creating a natural feel to the place. She remembered from the night before that the hallway leading to the patient rooms had another mural of dogs walking their owners or cats petting their humans in a cute role reversal.
“Can I help you?”
Avery turned to the front desk. The middle-aged receptionist had unusually red hair and her penciled-in eyebrows pinged to her hairline. Her short, round frame leaned over to better see them.
“Um… We're here to visit our dog. We brought him in last night.”
The receptionist's demeanor changed from irritated inquisitiveness to cajoling so fast Avery got whiplash. “I'm Rosa. I'm the O'Grady boys' aunt. You must be Avery. Your mom and I are good friends. It's so nice to finally meet you.” She came around the desk. “And you must be Hailey.” She squatted in front of her, but Hailey's attention was elsewhere.
Avery didn't like walking around telling people why her daughter was seemingly so rude. In fact, she hated putting a label on her at all, but the only way for others to understand was to explain. Before she could open her mouth, Rosa stood.
“The rec center has a few other autistic kids, too. Miles and Anya run the place. You'll have to check it out.” Glancing at Hailey, she spoke to her again. “You'll like it there, hon. Plenty to do. Make new friends.”
Sadly, Hailey didn't have any old friends. After her diagnosis at age two, their lives had been a steady stream of therapists.
Rosa waved her hand and assessed Avery as if plotting. Eyes narrowed, she nodded her head in approval. “I'll get Cade to take you back to see Seraph.”
Avery eyed the waiting room. “You guys are busy. Can we maybe just visit on our own or we can come back…?”
“Nah. We're pretty slow today.”
Slow? Patients were packed like sardines. She hated to see what busy looked like. A cat hissed behind them and batted its paw at a poodle wearing a red bow and an incredulous expression. Two dogs were vying for butt-sniffing rights while two others cowered under chairs. The snake had slowly wound itself around its owner's arm and was climbing the wall near a framed picture of dogs playing poker.
She shuddered and turned back, but Rosa was already behind the desk and Cade was walking toward