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Then she went to the next room that was set up to be a labor/delivery room and for surgery. “You won’t have families in here, will you?” Maisie asked Robert, Anne peering into the room.

“Wolf-shifter families will only be in here when we have a wolf shifter in delivery. When we have customers’ pet patients in here? No.”

“Then we need really cheerful pictures in here,” Maisie said.

“All your photos are cheerful,” Robert said. “Let’s put Mittens’s playful pictures in here. Maybe you can take some photos of the wolf pups after Colleen and Heather deliver and we can showcase those in here.”

“Sure, that would be fun.”

Maisie started taking pictures of the clinic. It was so nice and new. She hoped all his patients would be happy there. She loved it here.

“Hello,” Colleen called out, walking through the front door of the clinic.

“Hey,” Robert said, and Maisie went with him to see her while Anne finished hanging the pictures in an exam room.

Glancing at the photos hanging on the lobby walls,Colleen smiled. She was dressed in a pretty yellow-and-green sunflower dress that made her look summery and cool. “Aww, the pictures look beautiful in here.”

“Thanks,” Maisie said. “Veronica did a wonderful job framing them. I need to talk to you and Heather about taking your baby pictures. Do you want me to do new birth ones?”

Anne came out to join them and said hello.

Colleen greeted Anne and said to Maisie, “Um, once the pups are born and after I shift back and am settled, you can take pictures. I would like to have some done with Grant, but not while giving birth.”

“Okay. You can call me after you’ve delivered, and I’ll grab my camera equipment and come.”

“That will be perfect. I spoke to Heather, and she said she wants it done that way too. I’m so glad that your parents will be here too. I wanted to come and see how everything looked before everyone got here. It’s beautiful. Everyone will love coming here with their pets. You said you would have the maternity photos and the animal photos ready for me at the open house also, right? I can’t wait to have them framed and hung up.”

“Yes. They are in the office at the house. I can give them to you now, and—”

Colleen’s face suddenly turned ice white, and she quickly grabbed the check-in countertop in the lobby, looking like she was about to faint.

Robert immediately seized her arm. “Colleen, are you okay?”

“I think I was wrong about the false labor pains for thelast few days.” Colleen grimaced, holding her stomach. “Man, that contraction was strong, and it’s not letting up.”

Then Maisie saw water dribbling down Colleen’s legs, and she grabbed her free arm. “Your water broke.”

“Uh, yeah, I think you’re right,” Colleen said. “You do realize we have a full moon out right now, don’t you?”

Smiling, Robert shook his head. “It figures. Let’s get you into the delivery room. I have a special bed for you ladies and other delivery options.” Robert sounded as though he was talking about Anne and Maisie too.

He was so endearing.

“What about a water bath for a delivery?” Colleen asked.

“Aye, if you want. But I thought you wanted a wolf’s delivery.” Robert helped her toward the delivery room. “It’s your choice. That’s why I set it up that way, to give my expectant mothers several options.”

“I do want to shift. I’ve got my bag with a change of clothes and baby items in my car. I’ve been taking it everywhere with me, just in case,” Colleen said.

“I’ll go get it,” Anne said.

The special delivery room was set up for wolf shifters who wanted to have their babies as wolves. But it was also outfitted with a tub and a birthing chair if the mother changed her mind at the last minute and wanted to deliver as a human, which Maisie thought was an excellent idea.

“So you deliver human babies too,” Maisie said, in awe of him.

“Robert didn’t tell you? He was a family physician before he switched to being a veterinarian,” Colleen said. “He wasworking only with humans, but now that he’s with a wolf pack, he can perform either kind of delivery safely. We were going to kidnap him and force him to be part of our pack if he hadn’t decided to do so himself. He just didn’t know it.”

Robert smiled.