just make sure everything else is normal.”
Slowly, she opened the door, murmuring to Bella as she entered the small space. If the dog felt threatened and attacked, there wasn’t a lot of space to escape. Risa wasn’t worried, though. She’d dealt with traumatized animals, rehabbed them, and trained service dogs. She felt more comfortable with four-legged creatures than she did with the two-legged variety.
“Hey Bella. How are you doing tonight, girl?”
Bella lifted her head and whined, her tail wagging. It was a good sign. Risa held out her hand and let the dog sniff. When Bella licked her, she knew it was okay to come in all the way. Risa scratched her ears and took her time moving her hand down Bella’s body. The dog flopped on her back for a tummy rub.
Risa looked at Jax, smirking.
“I swear, this isn’t how she was when I got here.”
Risa snorted and continued her examination. Dogs were a lot like kids. They could be as sick as, well, dogs, but the minute you brought them to the doctor, they acted like nothing was wrong. “Okay, Bella girl. Let’s see how that appetite’s doing.”
She nudged the bowl of food toward the dog. Bella sniffed at it, but didn’t eat. Risa dug a few nuggets out of the bowl and held out her hand. After a careful sniff, Bella lapped them off of Risa’s palm, then dug into her dish for more.
“Have you had to hand feed-her before?” she asked Jax, who looked gobsmacked.
“Never.”
“What about the others, like the guys on night duty?”
“I’m the one who feeds her breakfast before I go into work, and then I feed her dinner every night. The only time I haven’t been with her since the accident is during the day while I’m working, and then I usually come over during lunch.”
Risa sat back on her haunches, totally gobsmacked herself. “What about at night? Has the night watch had any problems with her before today?”
“I am the night watch.”
“You’ve been here every night, all night long, for the past ten days taking care of Bella?”
“Yep.” He looked down at the dog and back to Risa with a glimmer in his eyes. “She might belong to the Navy, but she’s my girl, my best friend. She’s saved my life a couple of times. There’s no way I’d leave her alone when she’s hurting. If she doesn’t pull out of this funk soon, they’re going to send her back to Texas for evaluation and retraining.”
Risa could see the heartbreak in his eyes, and her own heart broke with his.
“I might be able to help.”
“Tell me what to do.”
What she was about to suggest would break the rules. Something she bet a guy like Jackson Faraday didn’t take lightly.
“Bring her to my place.” He opened his mouth to object, and she laid a hand on his arm. “Let’s see how she does in a different environment, around dogs that still have a job to do, but a different sort of job.”
He scratched his chin and studied her. “What are you thinking, Doc?”
“She’s burned out on action and service.” Risa watched as Bella snuggled closer to Jax. “Plus, throw in separation anxiety. She’s gotten attached to you, and when you’re not around, she misses you.”
“Can you fix her?”
Good question. One she didn’t know the answer to. “Maybe. Let me evaluate her and then we can go from there.”
“Thanks. It’s stupid. I know I’m going to say good-bye to her someday—”
She reached out, squeezed his hand, and didn’t let go. “It’s not. It’s a sign of the kind of person you are: compassionate, caring, and kind of sexy.”
“Are you hitting on me, Doc?” His eyes sparked with interest or surprise. She wasn’t sure which.
“Of course not.” She sat back. “That would be unprofessional of me.”
“Would it compromise your morals, Doc, dating a patient?”
She laughed. “Probably, since all of my patients are four-legged and furry.”
“Then I’m guessing it’s that ‘no dating military’ rule of yours.” He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Kind of a shame.”
Oh boy. His touch sent the butterflies in her stomach into flight mode. All she wanted to do was lean into his touch instead of pulling back.
“It’s not personal.”
“It never is, Doc.”
His words said one thing, but the shrug, the casual way he leaned away from her, and the easy tone said another. Somewhere in Jax’s past, he’d been hurt, and she’d bet it had something to do with his military service. It was a hard life to lead, not just for those serving, but also for the women and men who loved them. Going months without seeing each other, facing life’s trials alone, and the ultimate—not knowing if they’d come home—was more than most could take.
“Do you mind if I hang around for a while? To monitor Bella’s mood,” she quickly clarified at his questioning look. The last thing she wanted him to know was that she was rethinking her own rule.
* * * *
Jax couldn’t think of a better way to spend an evening than with a beautiful woman, even if it was in a dog kennel. “Make yourself at home.”
She settled in across from him, leaning back against the concrete wall. The room was about six feet wide and her long, jean-clad legs ate up most of the space. She didn’t seem to mind sitting on the floor as she crossed her ankles and lazily ran her hand back and forth over Bella’s hindquarters.
“So why veterinary?” he asked.
Her smile was sweet and dreamy and made his heart skip. “Thought that was obvious with all my animals. How else would I afford their medical bills?”
The answer was flippant and not the whole truth, so he waited her out.
She shrugged and shifted her gaze. “My mum says I was destined from birth to be a vet. I don’t remember, but apparently my first animal rescue was an injured bird when I could barely walk.”
“And you’ve been saving animals ever since?”
“Pretty much. I moved on to cats, dogs, squirrels, and a baby skunk once. Mum wasn’t too happy about that one, although she didn’t complain about Petunia nearly as much as she did Tulip the Attack Parakeet. He was messy and noisy and bit a lot.” Her face lit up when she talked, and he was enthralled. “Plus, I pretty much prefer animals over people. So it seemed like the right career path.”
He couldn’t imagine this vibrant, outgoing, caring woman not liking someone or, for that matter, someone not liking her. But someone did. He’d be willing to bet his future job that
