One More Dance by Roxanne Rustand (best ebook reader for pc txt) 📗

“More dirty laundry than you can even imagine.” She took a few steps away and sank onto a bus stop bench. “But the more I think about it, the more I realize that I really don’t want to share the kind of future you’ll have, anyway.”

“Even if I end up as some lowly small-town lawyer, instead of a senatorial hotshot?” He stood in front of her and managed a faint smile that didn’t begin to reach his eyes. “In case you’re at all curious, I’ve never thought about politics. Not even once.”

“I guess I’m just saying that we should stop seeing each other. It’s been nice, but I don’t think it was meant to be.”

“Nice?” He lingered for a long moment, then slowly shook his head. “You surprise me, Kate. I never thought we’d end up like this.”

Guilt made it impossible for her to answer, though the pain in his voice tore at her heart.

“My father is gone, along with his money. The unspoken assumption was that I’d do my duty and marry well to rescue the family fortunes.” Jared gave a short, cynical laugh. “I would have given up anything to be with you. Anything. But I guess we’re all in luck, because love won’t be standing in the way of duty now.”

And then he walked away.

DECEMBER DRAGGED ON into January, snowfall upon snowfall, then the endless rain and mud of a very wet spring...one exam, paper and difficult lab after another.

Kate’s initial worries over her vet school GPA were now replaced by a quieter sense of accomplishment and the thrill of meeting every challenge head-on...until it came to dealing with the parakeets.

“I had a little trouble yesterday,” she admitted to Deanna. “Two of ’em got loose in the room and took forever to catch, and then I had a problem drawing a blood sample. Thanks for coming with me today.”

“I owe you after you helped me review for the bovine dystocia test.” Deanna looked across the exam table and grinned. “You’ve never had birds?”

“I wanted them when I was in grade school. My mom said she was allergic. My dad said they smelled like chickens, and he wouldn’t allow them in the house.” Kate laughed. “Come to think of it, they gave the same excuses for hedgehogs, guinea pigs and gerbils.”

“You poor, deprived baby.”

“I had all sorts of reptiles and rodents in cages out in the barn, and the usual cats and dogs, plus the livestock on my uncle’s farm. Just never had any experience with birds. And,” Kate added with a grin, “I think birds can sense that a mile off.”

“Well, we’re the only ones here, so it’s a good time to practice.” Deanna opened the cage door and deftly corralled a hapless bird within her cupped hands. A wild rustling of feathers ensued, and she flinched. “Pecked me, the little bugger.”

When the bird calmed, they started working from the lab instruction sheet on the table between them, listening to the creature’s rapid heartbeat. Examining it for psittacosis, BPFD and overall health, followed by a blood draw and fecal exam.

“Your turn,” Deanna said after replacing the bird in the cage. “Let’s see... Try for that green-and-yellow one.”

The bird apparently had excellent hearing, because it promptly flapped and clawed its way to the topmost bar of the cage.

Kate nearly had it, when it scrambled away in a flurry of airborne feathers. She finally snared the struggling bird—only to have it shoot out of her grasp like a wet bar of soap.

“These birds haven’t been socialized, so we’ve got a bigger challenge.” Deanna chuckled. “It’s a trick, all right. Hold them too tight and they’ll keel over dead. Too loose, and they’re gone.”

When Kate finally managed to capture the bird, she let it rest for a few minutes within her cupped hands before bringing it out. She started going through each step of the exam under Deanna’s watchful eye.

But after a few minutes, she realized Deanna had fallen silent, her expression distracted. “What’s wrong?”

Deanna bit her lower lip. “Nothing...probably.”

“Nothing.”

“Well, not anything that should matter. You know, when a person breaks up with someone, they don’t mind when they hear some news about them, right?”

“This is confusing.”

Deanna shifted her weight, clearly uneasy. “Though I’d guess these things can hurt, even if you aren’t supposed to care anymore.”

Kate stilled. “Tell me.”

“I figured you should maybe hear it first from me, so it won’t be a surprise at some really awkward time.”

If she hadn’t been holding a bird, Kate might have succumbed to the temptation to grab Deanna’s shoulders and shake her. “What?”

Deanna looked down at the table. “Jared.”

A chill gripped Kate’s heart as she imagined the terrible things that could’ve happened. “Is he... Is he all right?”

“I heard he’s...um...engaged.”

Speechless, Kate stared at her.

“To some really wealthy girl—and they aren’t waiting around for a long engagement, either. What a jerk, right? I mean, it’s been, what—six months? How shallow is that? He never did deserve you, that’s for sure. Not when he could go off like this and...”

Deanna’s voice vibrated with loyalty and indignation, but her tirade faded into the distance as Kate processed the news and felt the empty chasm in her chest grow until it pressed against her ribs.

Engaged.

A day hadn’t gone by without images of Jared crowding into her mind. Regrets. Memories. Wishful thoughts. Daydreams in which he would appear one day like her white knight, insisting that nothing would ever again keep them apart.

Silly thoughts, because she’d been the one to end their relationship. She’d sacrificed her fanciful romantic dreams to make sure he had every option open to him for his future, and that wasn’t something she could undo.

And now, the door was truly closed.

CHAPTER NINE

PRESENT DAY

Even the ICU lighting was muted during the wee hours of the morning; the constant soft beeps, clicks and the low hum of various motors added a surreal, futuristic feel to the otherwise eerie hush belying the life-and-death struggle of the two patients lying