side of the building. Getting out, she turned and grabbed the X-ray machine. The second she did, she realized her mistake.
“Oh, I can’t believe it!” She stamped her foot in sheer frustration.
“What’s wrong, Jennifer?”
She whirled around to see Brian coming out of the building. Dressed in his usual dark slacks and pristine white lab coat, he leaned heavily on his cane as he walked toward her. Under his arm, he held a small, tan pet carrier.
Jennifer’s shoulders slumped as she admitted her mistake. “I took the films you wanted of Dakota’s leg, but I left one of the cassettes in his stall. Can you send someone else to get it?”
“It’s Saturday. No one is in today except Deborah and I, and of course, Isabella.” He nodded toward the crate under his arm where his pet rabbit rested, her nose pressed against the cage door and quivering with excitement.
The brown French lop was a favorite with everyone who worked at the clinic. She had the run of Brian’s office plus a small enclosed pen outside the building where she happily napped in the shade or nibbled grass. It was well known that she had her owner and half the staff wrapped around her dainty paw.
Jennifer sighed. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that Isabella doesn’t have a driver’s license.”
He grinned. “Not even a learner’s permit.”
“And if an emergency came in they would need you and you need Deborah to answer the phone and check people in, so that leaves me to make the trip back to the fort. Are you sure you need the films today?”
“Very sure. My grant money depends on accurate and up-to-date information on the results of my gene therapy subjects. The bone growth study Dakota is part of is one of my most important projects. I wouldn’t ask you to make another trip to the fort if I didn’t need it today. Do you want me to call and see if they have someone who can bring it over?”
Jennifer checked her watch and blew her breath out through pursed lips. She didn’t want to miss her competition, but she didn’t want Avery doing her work for her. “No, I’ll go back.”
“Before you leave, I wanted to ask if you could rabbit-sit for a few days. Well, actually a week. Lindsey and I are going out of town and I know how much you like Isabella. We’d pay you the same as last time.”
“I’d be happy to watch her.” Every extra dime helped, but Jennifer would have done it for free.
“Great.” He deposited Isabella in her run and took the X-ray case from Jennifer. “I’m sorry you have to make a second trip to the post. This won’t make you miss your show, will it?”
“No, I can still get there.” She smiled but it took more effort than usual.
Getting back into her truck, she made a tight turn and sped out of the parking lot back toward the fort. If she picked up the film and got back in thirty minutes, she could still make her events, but it wouldn’t leave her much time to warm up McCloud. The show jumping would be first with the more intricate dressage class scheduled for the afternoon. If she missed the first event she could still enter the later one, but only the horse and rider with the best overall score in both classes would win the top prize money being offered.
It was money she sorely needed. Both her younger brothers had outgrown last year’s school clothes and she had noticed Lizzie’s backpack was falling apart. Every extra bit of cash came in handy to help her mother support a family of four children and two horses.
Ten minutes later, Jennifer stopped at the gates of the fort to hand over her identification. As she waited for permission to enter, she mentally braced herself to face Avery again. Having to admit he had rattled her enough to make her forget her job was a sobering thought.
After being waved through the checkpoint, she quickly drove to the stables and parked beside them. She got out of her truck just as a black limousine drove up and stopped in front of the CGMCG office building. A chauffeur in a dark blue uniform stepped out and moved to open the door for his passenger. A white-haired man in a beautifully tailored gray pinstriped suit emerged.
Distinguished was the first word that popped into Jennifer’s mind when she saw him. Money was the second word.
She tilted her head as she studied him. There was something familiar about him, but he entered the office building before she could place where she might have seen him before.
It didn’t matter. What mattered was getting her job done and getting to her contest on time. She got out of her vehicle and walked boldly into the stable all the while praying she wouldn’t run into Avery again.
Reaching Dakota’s stall without meeting anyone, she opened the door and stepped inside, speaking softly to the big bay who had his nose buried in his feed bucket. The X-ray film cassette was exactly where she had left it leaning against the wall. Snatching it up, she turned and started toward the door when she heard someone call Avery’s name.
“Coming,” he shouted back. He was just outside.
Without thinking, Jennifer dropped into a crouch behind the half door. He must have been in the tack room on the other side of the walkway. She heard the creak of the door and his boots on the stone floor, but they didn’t pass by. They stopped right outside Dakota’s stall.
Jennifer closed her eyes and let her chin drop onto her chest. Realizing just what a ridiculous position she had placed herself in, she tried to think of a way to exit with her dignity intact but couldn’t come up with anything.
“What are you doing here?” Avery demanded with cool disdain.
Chapter Three
J ennifer looked up expecting to see Avery glaring at her over the stall door, but the space above her was empty. He wasn’t talking to her.
“Can’t I pay my only grandson a visit?”
It was Avery’s grandfather. The man Jennifer had tried and failed to contact. His dragon of a secretary had refused to put Jennifer’s call through the day she’d attempted to call.
“I don’t have anything to say to you. Did she put you up to this?” Avery’s cold tone made Jennifer cringe.
Great! He’s going to blame me, anyway.
“I don’t know who you’re talking about. No one put me up to this. Coming here was my own idea. Can’t we at least try to let bygones be bygones?”
“Why should I?”
“I thought perhaps you would have seen the error of your ways by now.”
“I knew you didn’t come to apologize.”
“I have nothing to apologize for. I was protecting you. You would see that if you opened your eyes.”
Jennifer pressed a hand to her mouth. Her foolish pride had placed her in the awkward position of eavesdropping on a family quarrel. There was no other way out of the stall. She braced herself to stand up and let them know she was there when Avery’s next words stopped her.
“I don’t have to stay and listen to this.”
