Page 31 of Pugs & Kisses

“You can set up right here,” Mrs. Breaux said, pointing to a table in front of a whiteboard. “The bell should ring in another five minutes. Most of the students in this class are coming from the gymnasium, so they will trickle in a little late and blame it on the long walk.”

“Still a great excuse to be late for class,” Bryson said. “I used it a time or two thousand myself.”

Mrs. Breaux laughed, and Evie was once again amazed at how quickly he could turn on that charm. She hadn’t stood a chance against falling for him eight years ago, and she certainly didn’t stand one now. Why was she fooling herself by staving off the inevitable?

A calming wave of relief washed over her, flooding her veins. It was as if her body had been waiting for her brain to accept what her heart already knew. She was ready to give herself a second chance with the only other person who had captured her heart.

An easy smile lifted the corners of her mouth as she followed Bryson to the front of the classroom.

“I had no idea I would get to see this other side of Bryson Mitchell when I agreed to join you,” Evie said.

“What side is that?”

“The Cajun side,” Evie said.

“I didn’t know I had a Cajun side,” he said.

“Oh, you absolutely do. The moment Mrs. Breaux greeted you in that thick accent, you took on that same sound.”

“You’re making fun of me.”

“I’m not. I adore the accent. I adore this part of the state. Such unique and colorful culture.”

He rolled his eyes. “You really do sound like city folk.”

He placed the bag he’d brought with him on the table and unzipped it.

“Whoa. What is this?” Evie asked, pointing at the model dog. “This is way too realistic.”

“I know, right?” Bryson said. “It’s synthetic. At first I wasn’t sure about replacing cadavers—even though I get where the animal rights activists are coming from—but after working with this thing for a few months, I’m sold.”

She ran her hand along the canine model’s synthetic muscles. The fibers felt like real tendons. It was remarkable.

“What’s his name?” Evie asked. When he didn’t respond, she looked up to find Bryson staring at her with a confused frown. “You named it, didn’t you?”

“I… did not.”

Evie pinched her lips together and nodded. “Okay. Got it. You’ve only spent countless hours gaining knowledge at the expense of the poor synthetic animal. One would think that at least warrants a name, but I guess not.”

“Really, Ev?”

“I’m just saying,” Evie said. The effort to hold in her laugh was overwhelming.

Bryson tipped his head to the side. “Why does it feel as if we’ve had this conversation before?”

She couldn’t hold it any longer. “The green parakeet,” she said with a laugh.

“That’s it.” Bryson snapped his fingers.

“What did we settle on for a name?” Evie asked. “Was it Skippy?”

“Wait a minute. All the shit you gave me over that bird and you can’t even remember the name?”

“It was a long time ago!” She could barely get the words out past her hiccupping laugh.

Bryson shook his head. “There were times when you were annoying as hell back then.”

“And yet you still called me in to assist whenever you needed help.”

“Even when I didn’t need help,” he said. He winked. “I just wanted to see you.”

She met his grin with one of her own. His warm gaze felt like a caress against her skin.

The bell to change classes rang, and, contrary to what Mrs. Breaux had predicted, within moments students began filing into the classroom.

They dropped their bags at their desks and ran to the front of the class, congregating around the table.

It was soon evident that far more eighth graders thought synthetic cadaver dogs were cool instead of gross.

As she watched him with the students, Evie understood why Bryson commanded such an impressive speaker fee. He was brilliant at it. He spoke with authority, but also with humility, admitting when he wasn’t knowledgeable about something instead of giving the students a bullshit answer.

“What made you want to become a veterinarian?” a young Black boy with blond locs asked.

“That’s an easy one,” Bryson said. He settled his hip against the table and clasped his hands in front of him.

“I had this amazing dog when I was eight years old, a little mutt named Pepper. One day, he got into the trash and ate a chicken bone and got really sick—side note, never feed your pets chicken bones. Anyway, we brought Pepper to the vet and the vet saved him. I still remember how I felt when he walked into the waiting room and told us that Pepper would be okay.” He shrugged.

“I knew then and there that I wanted to make other families feel that kind of joy.”

A soft smile drew across Evie’s lips. It shocked her that she had never asked him that question.

“That’s not only why I chose to become a vet, but also why I specifically chose to be a veterinary surgeon, but there are different kinds of vets out there.

” Bryson turned to her and said, “This is Dr. Evie Williams. She’s also a veterinarian, and I’m sure she has a lot she could add to this discussion. ”

Evie froze. No he didn’t…

“I’m here for emotional support, not for questions,” she whispered to Bryson through a clenched smile as she walked up to the table.

“You’re the role model they need. Knock ’em dead.” He winked.

At first, Evie received more questions about what products she used on her natural curls than about her work, but then one intrepid student with cat-eye glasses asked if it was difficult being a woman veterinarian and the floodgates opened.

Evie relished the engagement, watching in real time as the students’ faces shifted from indifference to keen interest.

This! This is why the mentorship program at The Sanctuary was so important.

Another student raised her hand.

“Do you have an Insta?” she asked.

“Um, yes, I do,” Evie said.

“Can I DM you when it’s science project time?”

“I…” She looked to the teacher. “I will give Mrs. Breaux my contact information.” Because there was no way it was appropriate to have eighth graders sliding into her DMs, even if it was just to ask questions.

Mrs. Breaux walked over from where she’d been waiting near the shelf of model planets.

“Let’s give Drs. Mitchell and Williams a huge round of applause,” she said. “I’m pretty certain I will see more projects on veterinary medicine at this year’s science fair than I ever have before.”

“That means we did our jobs,” Bryson said.

“Does this mean we can call on both of you to be judges?” Mrs. Breaux asked.

The bell rang just in time, saving them from having to answer.

She and Bryson were ushered to the chemistry class. It took the tenth graders a bit longer to warm up to them, but by the end of the class period, they were working together to answer questions as if they’d practiced it.

Once they were done, Ms. Douglass, who introduced herself as a friend of Bryson’s mother, and Cheryl Anne, the Career Day coordinator, thanked them profusely for participating.

“I think we should take this act on the road,” Evie said as they made their way to the Jeep. She gestured to the duffel he carried. “Chi Chi, of course, will be the star.”

“Chi Chi? There has to be a better name,” Bryson said.

“If you wanted a better name, you should have named him.”

“Still annoying,” he said as he put the duffel in the back of the Jeep.

Evie chuckled as she went around to the passenger side of the car. Bryson started the car the moment she secured her seat belt, but instead of backing out of the parking spot, he let it idle. He draped his wrist over the top of the steering wheel and stared straight ahead.

“Everything okay?” Evie asked.

He looked over at her. After a breath, he asked, “Would you like to come home with me?”

Evie did a double blink.

“Not my home,” Bryson said quickly. “I mean, not my current home in New Orleans. My childhood home. Here.”

She wouldn’t deny that she was a little disappointed that his invitation wasn’t to join him at his home in New Orleans.

Now that she’d decided falling back in love with him was inevitable, she wanted to skip straight to the good part.

Although, with Bryson, nearly every part had been the good part.

This time they would have the chance to make up for the one aspect they’d gotten wrong.

He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her answer.

“I would never pass up the chance to see where you grew up,” Evie said. “Let’s go.”