A Valentine For The Veterinarian

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Rex’s nails clicked on the industrial linoleum floor as he walked to the door labeled Administration. An older woman with a neat bob of silver hair sat behind a massive oak desk. Spotting him, she stood as he came in. “Deputy Santiago, I’m Eleanor Trask, the assistant principal. I want to thank you for coming. Our preschoolers are really looking forward to this.”

“I’m happy to do it.”

She stepped past him through the door, motioning him to follow. He walked beside her down the wide hall, then down a side passage with doors every few feet. Paper-plate snowmen with children’s names on them lined the walls. He smiled, knowing that most of the artists had never seen a single flake of snow.

“You like children, Deputy?”

“Yes, ma’am, I do. Children are honest, and I don’t see much of that in my line of work.”

She paused and then nodded. “I’ve never thought of it quite that way, but you’re right. They are honest in a way refreshing to most adults. I find that people who don’t like children usually have something to hide.”

He thought of his own childhood and agreed. “I suppose that’s true.”

They stopped in front of a door toward the end of the corridor. “This is it. We decided to bring in the other two preschool classes as well, given the exciting nature of this particular show-and-tell. You should have quite the audience.”

Swallowing, he let her open the door and introduce him. From the doorway, he could see about thirty small children seated in rows on the brightly-colored carpet. After Ms. Trask reminded the students to be on their best behavior, she left, leaving him wondering what he’d been thinking. He’d faced hardened criminals less intimidating.

“Hi, Rex!” The familiar voice carried over the whispers of her classmates. Rex woofed in return, setting all the kids into fits of giggles. Emma was front and center, her red-blond curls in pigtails and her face alight with joy. Smiling back, he felt a heavy tug on his heartstrings. It seemed both the Marshall women knew how to get to him.

* * *

Alex spent the next half-hour telling the students a bit about police dogs before moving on to some demonstrations. Rex did his various obedience moves, then used his nose to find a hidden object in the room. He determined which of two pencils had been held by Alex. Delighted by the dog’s tricks, the children all begged to pet Rex. He let them, one by one, monitoring closely. Rex might like kids, but that many children could overwhelm any dog.

Emma’s excitement was contagious. By the end of his talk, all the kids were in love with Rex, and half wanted to be K-9 handlers when they grew up. Definitely a success. Before leaving, he handed out shiny sheriff’s deputy stickers, hoping they would keep the kids distracted enough for him to make his getaway. He was just slipping out when Emma stopped him.

“Deputy Alex?”

“Yes?”

“Do you have anyone to be your valentine yet?”

Where on earth did that come from? “Um, no, I guess not. Other than Rex here.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “A dog can’t be your valentine. It has to be a people.”

“Oops, sorry. I guess I don’t, then.”

“Would you like one?”

Was he being propositioned by a four-year-old? “Um, sure, I guess. I hadn’t thought about it much yet.”

“Perfect. I’ll tell her you said yes.” Flush with success, she waved goodbye and ran back to her friends.

Had he just agreed to something? And if so, what?

* * *

Cassie managed to snag one of the few open parking spots; maybe that meant her luck was changing. The school secretary had called an hour ago to tell her that Emma had forgotten her lunch again. Stuck in surgery, she hadn’t been able to leave until twenty minutes ago, only to find the abandoned Hello Kitty lunchbox on the backseat of her car, tucked under a sweater. And after baking in the hot car all morning, the contents were less than edible. It might be January, but in typical Florida fashion the temperature had climbed twenty degrees in the past few days. Then, what should have been a quick trip to the corner store for more food had stalled out when the person ahead of her paid with loose change—counting and recounting three times.

But she was here now, and lunch period didn’t start for another ten minutes. Slamming the car door closed, she made for the main entrance, only to have the door open as she reached for it. Off balance, she did a stutter step to keep from falling.

“Whoa, sorry. Are you okay?”

Alex Santiago and his dog were staring at her, concern showing in both their gazes. How could she have forgotten today was the show-and-tell thing? “I’m fine, really. I just have a habit of tripping over my own feet, that’s all.”

“Are you sure?”

His deep voice set off tingles in all the right places. Stomping down on her libido before she said something stupid, she held the lunch box out in front of her like a shield. “I’m good. Just going to drop off Emma’s lunch. She forgot it this morning. How about you—how was show-and-tell?”

He winced. “Loud. Very loud. I’m not quite sure how such small people make so much noise. But other than that, I think it went well. And Rex put on a good show.”

“I’m sure he did.” Awkwardly, she ducked past him into the building. “I’ll see you around, I guess.”

“Oh, you will. Mrs. Rosenberg was helpful enough to sign me up for every committee there is for the Share the Love dance. We’re bound to run into each other.”

“Mrs. Rosenberg is a force to be reckoned with.” Shaking her head at the image of the elderly lady pulling a fast one on the tough cop, she suddenly realized something. “Does that mean you’ll be at the decorating committee meeting tomorrow night?”

“So it seems. And you?”

“Yes, that’s the only committee I signed up for.”

“You’ve got plenty on your plate already with Emma and the clinic, I’m sure.”

“You’re right, I do.” And yet she’d been standing there making small talk when it was almost time for Emma’s lunch. “Speaking of which, I’d better get this to Emma.”

“Of course. See you tomorrow.” He exited via the door she’d just come through, Rex trotting at his side.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she went to the front office to sign in and get a visitor’s pass, then headed for her daughter’s classroom. She should have just enough time to say hello before getting back for afternoon appointments. Her own lunch would have to be a protein shake between patients, but that wasn’t anything new.

Emma was lining up at the front of the room with her friends, but ran for a hug when she saw Cassie walk in. “Thanks, Mom. Sorry I forgot it.”

Cassie guided her back into line and walked with her toward the cafeteria. “You know, one of these days I’m going to just let you starve.” Rolling her eyes, Emma reached for her hand as they walked.

They both knew that wasn’t going to happen, mainly because Cassie was just as forgetful, if not worse. If she didn’t have Mollie to keep her on track at work, she’d be in deep trouble. Sticky notes and alarms on her smartphone were a big help, but it would be a few years before Emma could make use of those. “Just try to be more careful. Okay?”

“I will. I was just so excited about seeing Rex and Deputy Alex that I couldn’t think about anything else.”

Another shared trait—a fondness for handsome men and good-looking dogs.