Page 17 of Let It Breathe (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #1)

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Dr. Wally. “Tell me, have you noticed any disorientation or behavioral changes?”

“Well, his normal behavior whenever a man is around is to?—”

Leon chose that moment to display his normal behavior. He lowered his head and nailed Wally squarely in the groin.

“Ooof!” said Wally and doubled over.

“Oh no! I’m so sorry,” Reese said. “Are you okay?”

Wally nodded but didn’t say anything beyond a squeak as he clutched his crotch with one hand. Reese winced and rested a hand on Leon’s back, while Clay did his best to feel sympathetic.

“I can’t believe he just did that,” Reese said. “I should have warned you that’s what he always does, but I thought after he didn’t hit Clay in the—um—the?—”

“Nutsack,” Axl supplied.

“Right,” Reese said. “I thought maybe the marijuana made him not want to do that, but I guess I’m glad he’s being his normal self. I mean, I’m not glad you got hit, but—I mean—can I get you some ice?”

“I’m fine, fine.” Dr. Wally groaned, straightening up and pasting on a strained smile. “Let me just do a quick exam here, if you don’t mind.”

“Absolutely,” Reese said, stepping aside as Dr. Wally opened his medical bag and pulled out a stethoscope.

Clay watched as the vet tucked the earpieces into place and held the flat metal end against Leon’s furry chest, listening intently. The name had left Clay expecting a much older man, but Dr. Wally couldn’t be more than a year or two older than he was.

The vet nodded to himself after a minute, then put the stethoscope away and pulled out a little penlight. He put a hand on the side of Leon’s face and shined it in the animal’s eyes.

Leon curled his lips back and spat.

Clay tried not to laugh. “At least his aim isn’t affected.”

Dr. Wally grimaced and wiped the alpaca slime off his cheek. “No worries. He does seem to be in high spirits, doesn’t he?”

Axl snorted. “ High . You could say that.”

Dr. Wally gave a faint smile and pulled out a thermometer. “Um, would one of you mind holding him steady?”

“Of course,” said Reese, and wrapped her arms around the alpaca’s neck.

Dr. Wally moved around in back and tried to lift Leon’s tail. Leon hooted with alarm and pulled his tail down.

“Come on, buddy,” the vet murmured. “Just cooperate.”

Clay scratched one of Leon’s fuzzy ears, the one with a heart-shaped splotch on it, and tried to think of something comforting to say. “Sorry, man,” he murmured to Leon, trying not to notice the heat coming from Reese’s hand as she stroked the alpaca’s neck. “He didn’t even buy you a beer first.”

At last, the vet released Leon’s tail and returned to pull an alcohol wipe from his medical bag. He nodded at Reese as he began cleaning the thermometer.

“His temperature is normal, heart rate pretty steady,” he informed her. “His pupils are a little dilated, and he’s clearly a bit agitated, but that’s to be expected under the circumstances.”

“So is he going to be okay?” Reese asked. “There are so many plants that are poisonous to alpacas, so I just worried?—”

“He should be fine. The best thing you can do right now is just keep him calm.”

“Anything else?” Reese asked, stroking Leon’s neck.

“Give him plenty of water, and watch for anything unusual—vomiting, malaise, diarrhea, depression.”

They all turned to Leon, looking for signs of depression. Leon hummed.

“Right,” said Dr. Wally. “Here’s my card. Call me if anything changes. Or—you know—if you want to go out sometime?”

Reese stared at him for a second before reaching out to take the card. Clay felt dizzy, and realized he was holding his breath.

It was Axl who broke the silence, smacking Reese on the arm.

“Jesus, girl—the man just asked you on a goddamn date. You’ve gotta give him an answer, unless you want me to kick his ass?”

Reese flushed, then smiled at Dr. Wally. “No, that’s fine. I mean—no ass kicking will be necessary. Thank you, Wally. I’ll hold on to your number. Um, here’s mine,” she said, fishing a business card out of her pocket. “You can mail the bill to the address there.”

He glanced at the card, then smiled up at Reese. “Why don’t we just call it a favor for a friend?”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t?—”

“I insist. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

Reese bit her lip. “Thank you. Really, I appreciate you coming out here on short notice like this.”

Clay cleared his throat and extended his hand. “Thanks again, man. Great to be able to connect with people through AA like this.”

Wally looked at Clay, stole one more glance at Reese, then looked back at Clay. “You can call me anytime, too.”

Somehow, Clay doubted Wally would be as excited to get a midnight call from him as he would from Reese.

“Okay, then,” Clay said. “Have a good night.”

They watched the good doctor climb into his car and fire up the engine. He turned the car around in the wide gravel circle of the driveway and beeped the horn twice as he drove away.

Leon made a wark-wark noise and pawed the ground.

When the car disappeared, Clay looked at Reese. She was studying the card. She looked up and met his eyes.

“He seemed like a nice guy,” Reese said. “Thanks for getting him to come out, Clay.”

“Not a problem.”

“No, really—it’s a big deal. Calling Leon’s regular vet would have been embarrassing, so I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“Really, I’m glad to help.”

“I feel like I owe you something,” she said. “Can I make you dinner?”

“Um—I, uh?—”

The door to the winery burst open. Eric stormed out, his face pale and his eyebrows cinched together. When he spotted Reese, he snarled and kicked the dirt.

“Get in here,” he said. “We have a problem.”