To Catch a Treat Read Free Page B

somewhat reluctant to get closer to Reed. He had almost threatened me about my schedule at one time, and he hadn’t, at first, given me the benefit of the doubt.
    â€œWe’ll see,” I said now, in response to his question. As much as I loved being a vet tech, my new ventures occupied a lot of my time, as they should. Though my choice was not to give up entirely on my former career, I was dead-set against doing anything to jeopardize my new one.
    We were lagging a little, so I picked up my pace to catch up with the last of the hikers on Neal’s outing. There were about fifteen of them, dressed, like the others, similarly to Reed and me—jeans, sweatshirts or hoodies, and athletic shoes. Some also wore knit hats, although the temperature seemed a bit too warm for that. At least I didn’t see anyone wearing gloves.
    There were, additionally, seven dogs besides our two, of different breed backgrounds and sizes, all the way from what appeared to be a Yorkie mix to an energetic pit bull. We all walked along the path at the edge of the beach, not on the empty road that paralleled it.
    â€œAny interesting cases at the clinic that I’m not aware of?” I asked Reed. We were keeping things fairly neutral now, which seemed a shame. And since I thought that way, I realized that, no matter what I’d been telling myself, I liked it when he seemed romantically interested in me.
    â€œNone that I can think of,” he said. “We have a senior cat with respiratory issues hospitalized with us, and a dog whose heart murmur we’re monitoring overnight. Of concern, sure, but not unusual, either of them. And both seem to be responding well to treatment.”
    I smiled, glad to hear that. We soon reached the end of the nearly straight path, which, like the road, turned to circle the far side of the lake. The entire group had gone around the corner ahead of us.
    That’s when I noticed Janelle lagging back. In a minute, she was walking with Reed and me. She was a little taller than me, slim in her jeans and hoodie, and her shoes were bright purple, contrasting with the beigeness of the sand.
    â€œHi,” she said. “Isn’t this great? I’m so glad Neal invited me.”
    â€œMe too,” I said, purposely vague about whether I was glad he’d invited her or invited me.
    â€œWhere do you come from?” Reed asked. I glanced at him. His expression was friendly, but I didn’t think he was flirting—and I gave him a brownie point for that, since Janelle was attractive.
    â€œSanta Monica,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed walking on the beach there, too.”
    â€œNow that’s really a beach,” I said. “I enjoyed it, too, when I worked in LA.” That had been several years ago, after I’d studied to become a vet tech; a short while thereafter, I’d moved here. “But I’m delighted that Knobcone Heights has this one.”
    â€œYes, this is really nice. I haven’t seen everything here, of course, but I like this town a lot.”
    And do you also like my brother ? I thought, but I didn’t ask. That was between them.
    But one thing wasn’t—and I had to ask. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine,” I began, “but if you do, I’d like to hear what happened to your dog.”
    She stopped so quickly that I thought she’d tripped. I reached out my free hand to steady her, but she just stood there for a second, not falling, not moving. Then she spoke hoarsely. “Like I said, I know from what your brother told me about you that you’re a real animal lover, especially dogs.” She looked toward Reed, who had also stopped with us. “If you’re a veterinarian, I guess that’s true of you, too.”
    He nodded. “You’ve got me pegged.” He smiled, clearly trying to be friendly and encouraging. I added another plus to my feelings about