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I’ll drop you at school. You can come by to get him
after
school gets out.”
    “Doc, it’s a teacher workday. No school.” Beau’s eyebrows drew together to form one long, wavy brown line.
    “I forgot about that. Well, then why don’t I go get your friend for you, and you can take him home?”
    “He’s okay?”
    “Definitely. He’s completely healthy. Let him finish what’s in his bowl before you refill it and you’ll see he’s eating.” When he didn’t do more than nod, she asked, “Don’t you want to take him home right now?”
    And there it was, that light in his eyes that made Beau look ages older than ten. “Nah, he likes it here. I’ll work off the time. Besides, isn’t it the same price if he’s here for a few minutes or all day? I’m not finished bringing in the donations. And Jacob said I could help him in the doggie spa.”
    “Beau, that’s very generous of you, but I’ve got to be out of the clinic this afternoon. Plus, you know how crazy Wednesdays are—” she said, but he cut her off.
    “You know, Wednesdays aren’t all bad, Doc. I met you on a Wednesday. That was definitely a good day.”
    “You’re absolutely right.” A lump formed in Shelley’s throat at the sincerity in Beau’s voice. It would be so easy for her to love this little boy, if he were hers. But that could never happen. She wasn’t ever going to be anyone’s mother.
    “Dude!” Jacob called out and Shelley welcomed the interruption. She glanced at her intern who said with badly suppressed laughter, “You’re a total mess. Did Herc do that to you?”
    Shelley turned to see Dev futilely brushing at the grit on his suit with his fingers. He only succeeded in coating his hands in the fine black silt.
    Wow. Would that come out with dry cleaning?
And how would she pay for it? Between paying for health insurance, car insurance, and student loans, she was barely making rent.
    “It’s fine,” Dev said to Jacob. “Doctor . . . ?”
    “Sorry. Where are my manners? Dev, meet Jacob Durand and Beau Connors. Beau is our youngest volunteer, and Jacob is our very capable intern who’s going to be a vet before long.”
    “Wow, thanks, Dr. Morgan.” Jacob stood a little straighter, his chest puffed with pride.
    “You’re welcome, Jacob.” She returned his grin. “Now, I think we’ve made use of the detective as a dogsitter for far too long. Can you please take Hercules to the back?”
    Jacob gave an exaggerated sigh and slumped his shoulders. “And it’s back to being the dog groomer. Ah, well.” Jacob winked at her, then eyed the dog warily, patting his head. “Come on, Herc.
Eww
! Gross! You’re filthy.” Sparing a glance at Dev, he added, “What’d you do, roll in the street with him? I’m gonna have to give him another bath.”
    The white of the dog’s fur had been tinged gray with dirt and grime. Dev hadn’t faired much better. One of Dev’s pant legs was plastered to him. And come to think of it, Shelley’s blouse was sticking to her belly.
    She glanced down. Fabulous! Her top showed off just how much exercise she
didn’t
get. Talk about displaying all the wrong curves. Tugging the wet material away from her now-cold tummy, she added, “Just hurry and do it before Dr. Kessler gets back. We don’t need him to learn his prized baby has been loose. I’d hate to upset him. He’s having such a rough time these days. Although, he still might learn of the escape. I’m not sure if Mrs. Hoffstedder or Mrs. Blaney saw us.”
    “The Elizabeths?” Dev asked. When Shelley nodded, he added, “They didn’t. Your secret’s safe.”
    “Besides, it’s not like Dr. Kessler’ll remember ten minutes after he’s told anyway. If he doesn’t write it down, it’s forgotten,” Jacob said with a grin, but his smile quickly morphed into open-mouthed, bug-eyed horror. “I’m so sorry, Dr. Morgan. You-you won’t tell him I said that, will you?”
    Tempting.
    “No, I won’t say anything, if you