Man's Best Friend by Roxanne St. Claire

Author:Roxanne St. Claire
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: South Street Publishing
Published: 2020-09-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

Declan was only a little surprised at the number of family members who wandered into the Vestal Valley College Animal Hospital that morning. Yes, his immediate and extended family frequently showed up for any event that required “support,” but this operation wasn’t at Kilcannon Veterinary Hospital or Waterford Farm, and Judah wasn’t exactly a family pet.

Still, a stream of women he knew and loved began to pour into the surgery waiting room shortly after eight. Gramma Finnie and Yiayia were first, followed by his sister-in-law Cassie and her mother, Uncle Daniel’s wife, Katie. After they greeted him and found coffee and chairs, Pru came in with her father, Trace, walking Danny into the room.

“Let the games begin,” Pru called out on a laugh. “Dan the Man has arrived.” She slid into the chair right next to Declan. “Mom’s so excited to be in on this surgery. She said watching Dr. Hewitt work is like taking a master class.”

He smiled, proud of Evie, as always. “It’s good to know Judah’s in such talented hands.”

Trace made his way over, his muscular, tattoo-covered arms stretched down to let Danny grip his index fingers and toddle along, half on his own power, half by using his dad for balance. His dark eyes darted around the room with intelligence and curiosity, his mop of nearly black hair already a tousled mess, as if to announce this kid played hard.

“What happens if you let him go?” Declan asked, getting a wide grin from Trace in response.

“Well, looks like he’s got his eye on you, so…” Trace straightened and slid his fingers out of Danny’s hands, and the little guy’s eyes instantly popped with the taste of freedom. In a flash, he started off on his own, waddling a little on fat, short legs, but headed right toward Declan at full speed.

He shrieked and slapped his hands on Declan’s legs, fell down in a heap, and threw his head back with an infectious laugh, making the whole waiting room chuckle.

“Whoa, there, little fella.” Declan reached down and scooped him up, setting him on his lap.

He giggled, then turned to Trace, arms out.

“You stay with Uncle Dec while I get coffee,” Trace said. “Show him how you can stand on your head.”

“He can?”

“New trick,” Trace said.

Immediately, Danny slid down to the ground, folding in half, his diapered butt in the air. He turned to Declan with an upside-down, toothless grin, obviously waiting for praise.

“Good job, crazypants.”

Pru clapped. “Way to go, Danny!”

Yiayia leaned in. “This is all very good if he wants to work at SeaWorld as a trained seal.”

Laughing, Declan patted his lap. “Sit with me, young man, and I’ll tell you how to be a firefighter. When we say stand on your head, we don’t mean fold in half. We mean a headstand.”

He climbed up on Declan’s lap, suddenly fascinated.

“I’ll take him, Uncle Declan,” Pru offered.

“No, he’s fine.” With all the many hands in his family, it was rare that he got to hold any of the babies, and he kind of wanted to really pay attention to how it felt.

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