Page 23 of Saved By A Small Town Country Boy

Remedi

A month later

I ’ve been busy as hell. After Khali’s birthday party, I ended up going by the clinic to see what they had going on.

Those poor people have been backed up for I don’t even know how long.

It took me forever to get them caught up on patients.

It’s as if once we got toward the finish line, more patients began to come in.

Dr. Moore had passed a week ago, and Mayor Calloway asked if I could take on his position permanently.

I wasn’t even sure how long I planned on staying here.

My clinic has been running smoothly back at home.

I’d call and check in on them to make sure they were maintaining.

I told Mayor Calloway that as long as I was here, I’d be their veterinarian.

If I planned on getting the hell out of here, they were going to have to find someone to replace Dr. Moore.

Two months was what I gave him to decide on what I wanted to do.

Since I’ve been so busy with the clinic, I haven’t been spending much time with Khalif or Khali.

I kind of missed going over there. Khali calls every other day to check in on me.

She wanted to make sure that I was still here in town.

I promised her that if I decided I was going to leave, I’d stop by there and see her before I hit the road.

Honestly, Khali was one of the reasons why I was still hanging around here.

Prada jumped up on the side of the bed and barked.

Her tail wagged as she waited for me to get up and let her out the door.

It’s five thirty in the morning. Around the time I’d been getting up most days so that I can get my yoga in and some breakfast before heading to the clinic.

My days don’t end ’til five in the evening, and I’m swamped.

I’m not going to lie though, there’s still nothing else in this world that I’d rather be doing.

Working at the clinic was so different for me. I get to see all sorts of animals. Since we were in a country town, I had to go out and see most of my patients. The fun part is visiting farms and different houses.

“I’m coming,” I told Prada and tossed the covers back off me. Slinging my legs over the bed, I got up and strolled over to the bedroom door and opened it. She ran full speed down the hallway toward the side door.

I opened the door, and she went outside and used the bathroom. Soon as she came back in the door, I fixed her food and made me some coffee. Getting through the day without coffee just isn’t possible. With me not being an energy drinker, I needed the caffeine.

“Good morning,” Reese said when she dragged her feet into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” I replied and grabbed another mug out of the cabinet.

She’s been working on a high-profile case, which has caused her to have to get up early for the last couple of weeks.

We normally left the house around the same time, and by the time I got back home, she was still out in the streets.

I know she can’t wait to be done with this.

“I really have to fall on me some dick to help me think straight.” She took a sip from her coffee and opened the refrigerator.

“Better find someone in that phone and call them. I know you got at least one person that can break you off some dick.”

“Believe it or not, but I done cut everybody off. It’s time for something new.”

“What about Khalif’s friend Creed?”

Reese sprayed her coffee all over the counter. “Have you lost your mind? Creed?… That’s ridiculous.”

“It’s not impossible, Reese. I see how he be looking at you. I honestly thought that y’all had a thing when I first got here.”

“Girl, please.” She waved me off.

“It was just a suggestion.”

Prada finished up her food, and I let her back out the door.

When she went to the bathroom, I went to my bedroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.

Once I was done, I let Prada back into the house, and she found her way into Reese’s room.

Somehow, those two have become good friends.

I ain’t complaining though because Prada doesn’t normally like other people.

Entering my bedroom, I grabbed my clothes that I had placed out the night before. It was a pair of khaki slacks and a blue blouse. I got dressed, brushed my hair up into a ponytail, and was good to go.

Reese and I stepped out into the hallway at the exact same time and headed toward the side door. “Lunch?” she asked as she grabbed her keys off the counter and I pushed the door open.

“Sounds like a plan.”

She locked up, then we climbed into our cars and went our separate ways.

Today was exhausting as hell. It’s going on three in the afternoon.

I have a couple more hours before I can head home.

When I met Reese for lunch, I got myself a margarita, thinking that was going to help me get through the day smoothly.

That was a lie. All I wanted to do at this point was head home and climb into my bed.

“That’ll do it,” I told Mrs. Anderson after giving her poodle a shot.

“Thank you so much.”

She grabbed her dog off the table and left the exam room. I followed her out of the door. “You have another patient that was just placed into room five,” Jennifer said soon as I stepped into the hallway.

“Okay.” Looking down at my iPad, I switched to the new patient.

There wasn’t any information on the animal I was supposed to be seeing, which I thought was strange.

When I looked up, Jennifer was no longer standing there.

Room five wasn’t too far from where I was, so I headed in that direction to see what was going on.

Knocking once, I pushed the door in and saw this guy sitting in the chair, but there wasn’t an animal in sight. “Can I help you?” I asked him, hoping he wasn’t here to be seen himself. I was an animal doctor, not a human one.

“Close the door.”

“Excuse me?” Red flags sprouted in my brain as if I was at Six Flags or something.

“You heard me. I said shut the fucking door.”

“I—” He lifted his shirt, showing me the gun resting in his waistline. My heart thudded. Ringing took over my ears.

Maybe if I take off running, he won’t have time to shoot me.

“I’m not gon’ tell you again, Remedi.”

Swallowing hard, I stepped further into the room and shut the door behind me. “Can you tell me what this is about? Are you looking for money?” I tightly gripped the iPad against my chest, not knowing what’s about to happen next.

“I’m here because of Mike. You remember him, don’t you?” His lips curled slowly, too controlled, too deliberate, until a thin grin cut across his face. An eerie feeling plummeted in my stomach.

“What do you want?”

He lifted from his seat and walked over to the window. Bending the blinds, he peeped out before replying, “I want you to do something for me, and then we’ll call it even.”

“I’m not doing anything for you.” He zoomed over to where I stood and gripped me by my ponytail. Yanking my head back, he placed the barrel of his gun at the corner of my chin.

“It wasn’t a fucking request.” My breathing hitched. Am I about to die? “I’ve been watching you for some time now. I know that you’ve been getting cozy with this nigga Khalif.”

No. Please don’t. Anything but that.

“Yeah, that…” he responded as if he read my thoughts. “I want you to get in good with him and help me rob his ass.”

“Rob him for what? Fruit?” The grip on my hair grew tighter, and I winced.

“Don’t play fucking stupid with me. That nigga is rolling in dough. He’s growing drugs on his farm.”

“That’s a lie. I been there plenty of times and I haven’t seen any drugs.”

“Just ’cause you ain’t seen it, doesn’t make it not true. I wanna rob him. I’ll be set for life, and you gon’ help me do it.”

“And what if I say no?”

His jaw muscles tightened. “Does it look like you have much of a fucking choice?” He released me and shoved me into the side of the exam table.

It hit me in the rib. “The drugs are on the opposite side of the stable. You keep riding and you’ll find it.

I just need you to find out where his safe is and get all the money out of it.

” Tucking his gun back in his waistline, he moved toward the door.

“Oh, and if you think about doing anything stupid, I’ll just kill that lil girl.

Bet you get some act right then,” he said and exited the room.