Cherish My Heart: Chapter Four

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Holland

Two hours later…

“Jen, can you grab another towel for me.” I opened the bottom cage and squatted before the sleeping German Shepard, Brantley. “Hey, Buddy.” I lightly ran my hand over his side and then rested my hand just behind his ear. “It’s time to wake up. Can you hear me, Brantley?”

“How was the surgery?” Jenison, who runs Snuggle Inn Doggy Daycare right next door, knelt beside me and carefully lifted the dog’s backside to place the towel under him. 

“Thanks.” I carefully pulled up each eyelid to see if he was starting to come out of the anesthesia. “He did awesome. The procedure ended up being pretty simple. He only had three small masses to remove.”

“Did you send a sample in already to see if they’re benign?”

“They went out an hour ago. We’ll have to wait a few days for the results.”

“I hate waiting. Mr. And Mrs. Robinson love this dog so damn much.”

“With all the spa treatment Brantley gets, I’m not surprised.” 

“Right?” Jenison burst out laughing and then covered her mouth. “Sorry.” Her laugh echoed around the room and finally caused the sleepy dog to stir.

“Well, we do need him to start waking up.” I held my laugh and continued running my hand up and down his side. “Where’s Mack? I thought she was going to assist with the surgery today.”

“At the Davis Farm.”

“She’s there. Isn’t that usually my stop?”

“Remember the call she got about the two animals who needed a new home?”

“Yeah. J&J Farm in Pleasanton.”

“Right, that one. Well—“ Jen hopped up and walked over to the hand sink—she decided to pay Milo and Jake a personal visit.”

“Oh, she is working it, eh?”

“You know, Mack.”

“Yes, I do.” I laughed. Right then, the back door opened, and the person we were talking about walked in. “How’s that for timing?”

“What?” She stopped by the cage. “Did I miss som–“ she glanced down and saw Brantley slowly waking up– “shit, I forgot to help you.”

“You did, but for a good cause, from what I hear.” I helped Brantley as he lifted his head and flopped it back down. “How did it go at the farm?”

“It was interesting; Milo made me talk to Jake.” Mack hopped up on the x-ray table.

“Jake.” Whenever I heard his name, it felt like a stake was being pushed further through my heart. “Why?”

“You’re confused by that, too. Same.” She lifted her legs onto the table and crossed them. “Jake is apparently in charge of Bessy.”

“Really?” I brushed my hand over Brantley’s muzzle and then stood up. He was finally fully awake but would be very tired for a while. “So, share all the details.”

“There are not that many to tell.” Mack shrugged. “Bessy does love that guy, though. It’s like the cow understands every word he says.”

I wanted to say, you and me both, Bessy. It was better to keep that thought to myself. My sisters still didn’t understand what happened between Jake and me. They were more confused by my decisions once I left for college.

“Didn’t you say he took the death of Ben, the male cow, really hard?”

“Yup. I’ve never seen anyone so emotionally connected to cows before.”

“You’ve gotta admit, though, it’s damn sexy.” Jenison walked back into the room and sat down beside Mack.

“Shit yeah.” Mack nudged her sister’s side. 

“So,” I said, trying to move past the sexy talk. “Did he finally agree to take in the animals?”

“He did.” Mack hopped off the table. “I need to go share the good news with Billy. He’s going to be so excited.”

“Wait, if it’s two animals, what is the second one?” 

“You’re going to love this.” Mack stopped in the doorway of the office. “He has a male cow who is bonded with a chicken.

“A chicken? Seriously, I love this job.” Jenison stood up from the X-ray table and walked over to Brantley’s cage. “Meeting men who love animals just as much as I do excites me.”

“Um, Jen, Billy is like 74 years old.” I opened a file sitting on the counter by the computer. “Or am I learning something new about you today?”

“Who said I was talking about Billy?” I noticed how she glanced over her shoulder at Mack and winked.

“You better not be talking about anyone else.” The words just slipped out before I could approve them for public consumption.

“Ohhhh, is that a warning?” Jen made this shitty sound when she said, “Ohhh,” and then she laughed at my words. 

“Didn’t you break up with him years ago?” Mack interjected, and her words pissed me off.

“Really, is this the conversation we’re going to have today?” I struggled to keep my temper down.

“It is long overdue,” Jen said, standing to walk into the office with Mack.

Fuck them. 

I sat down on the rolling stool by the computer and closed my eyes. Then, I took a few deep, cleansing breaths and let them out slowly. Then I realized saying, fuck them was wrong. I sighed and shook my head. Fuck me. Fuck my stupid decisions. Yeah, that was more accurate.

My sisters had every right to look and even talk about dating Jake. Hell, they were all still single. It felt weird saying the words, but I lost the right to care years ago. I dropped my head onto my arms and closed my eyes. 

“Holly.” Jen and Mack surprised me by wrapping their arms around my body and holding me tightly. 

“I was kidding,” Jen said into my right ear.

“Me, too,” Mack said into my left ear.

“I’m sorry I’m such a moron,” I mumbled into my arms.

“We love you, our little moron.” They both said in unison.

You’d think it would get easier after all these years, but it was so much harder. Especially the last few years…

AUTHOR NOTE:

Do you think the way Jen and Mack are teasing Holly is okay? I feel like if they are really close, they would never tease in that way.