Like Cats and Dogs by Kate McMurray (scary books to read TXT) 📗

“Lauren.”

“Yes. Lovely woman. Loves cats almost as much as I do.” The woman laughed.

After that appointment, Caleb retreated to Olivia’s office for a few minutes to gather his thoughts before his next patient. He sat on the sofa. Hank trotted in after him and rested his chin on Caleb’s thigh. Caleb petted his head and took a deep breath. This was all a reminder how much better off he was now. He hadn’t heard from Kara since she’d left town, aside from one call from her lawyer because she was looking for her grandmother’s china, which he didn’t have. The china was, in fact, in a storage unit that was still in Kara’s name, a quick investigation turned up. And Caleb had decided if the woman he once loved with his whole heart was going to communicate with him only via her lawyer, well, it was well and truly over.

And maybe there’d been a lot he hadn’t seen, warning signs he hadn’t paid attention to, things he hadn’t wanted to know about Kara. He hadn’t noticed her unhappiness, just like he didn’t notice the faces of the people who walked their dogs by him in the morning. And maybe she hadn’t been the person he’d thought she was, because that person never would have just left him.

And really, it wasn’t that he didn’t trust commitment. He didn’t trust himself and his own judgment. He’d chosen poorly with Kara. How could he be sure he wasn’t choosing poorly again with Lauren?

Caleb took Hank back to the lobby, where he immediately made friends with a huge mastiff who let out a heavy “woof” before he and Hank sat beside each other, their tails wagging wildly. Caleb walked to the back room to check on the animals being housed there. Olivia had tacked up a list on the kennel where Lauren’s kittens frolicked, each cat next to a person interested in adopting them. Caleb recognized most of the names as patients at the clinic, and of course, there was Diane listed next to Giant. In another week or so, these adoptive pet parents could come pick up their kittens, all of whom would likely grow into happy cats. Giant walked over to the edge of the pen and stuck his paw through the slats, as if he were trying to swipe at Caleb.

Caleb probably deserved it. He knew he’d hurt Lauren. He hadn’t wanted to. He’d liked things being loose and easy. Why had she needed to qualify it?

He walked over to a dog who’d had to have surgery to remove a benign tumor from his leg; currently he was snoozing in a kennel off to the side. He checked the wound, which was healing well. Poor guy had a cone of shame around his neck, though, since as soon as anyone took it off, the first thing he did was chew on his stitches. There was also a young cat who had just been spayed who was sleeping off the rest of her anesthesia before the owners came to pick her up.

As Caleb updated the animals’ charts to show he’d checked on them, Rachel knocked on the doorframe. “Your four o’clock is here.”

“Remind me what it is again?”

“Elderly cat who has been vomiting a lot.”

“Lovely.” He sighed. “Feels like a metaphor for my whole day.”

“At least you didn’t have to hear about it from the panicked pet owner in excruciating detail this morning.”

Caleb laughed. “I love my job.”

Rachel smiled. “I know. Good luck!”

***

The morning rush wasn’t enough of a distraction for Lauren not to notice Caleb pause outside the front window on his way to work. He didn’t stop in, though.

Because they were no longer seeing each other.

The rest of the morning played out the way many did. Lauren helped out at the counter by bagging pastries while Monique and Trevor, one of the new baristas, made espresso drinks and handled the cash register. The crowd petered out a little after ten, at which point Lauren went to check on the cats. A few customers drifted in through lunchtime. A few of the freelancers from the neighborhood had taken to working out of the café a few days a week, and a woman who lived up the block took over one of the sofas to read with a cat in her lap. Boudicca, the brave warrior cat, escaped the cat room, and Paige had to chase her past the counter but caught her just before she got to the other door.

In other words, it was a typical day, but it felt atypical, because she had nothing to look forward to after work.

And that was something that had somehow happened over the last few weeks. She either caught Caleb and invited him over, or she walked home with him after work, or they texted each other during the day and made plans to meet later, and she’d grown to really look forward to the time they spent together. Not just the sexy parts, although those were very good, but also the time they just spent talking over takeout.

Caleb protested too much when he’d pointed out that they didn’t get along well outside of bed. They did, actually, or had been lately. They got along just fine. They sometimes got into arguments about things they were both passionate about, but she’d thought they both understood the arguments were playful at times, a kind of foreplay. They’d had the argument the day before about Caleb being rude, but that was part of the bigger issue, wasn’t it? She’d been upset because, had they been a normal couple, he would have come in, they would have greeted each other fondly, maybe exchanged hugs or quick kisses, and he would have done more than essentially dumping some food in the storage room before brushing her off to go back to work. The whole interaction had rubbed her the wrong way. That was why she’d been upset.

But it wasn’t that she didn’t