Guarded by Mary Behre

called out, “Dr. Morgan? Shelley, my girl. What are you still doing here?”
    He shifted into park and stepped out. Silver-topped cane in hand. “I’ve been looking for you.”
    “Hello, Dr. Kessler. We were eating lunch at the café.” Shelley’s back straightened, but she greeted her boss politely. “You gave me the afternoon off, remember? Shouldn’t you be at the clinic?”
    “Quite right. I’m headed there.” He rapped his cane on the ground in two staccato taps. “You have put me in a pickle, my girl.”
    “Yes, Dr. Kessler, and I am sorry for that. But I promise you, I’ve done nothing wrong.”
    “Be that as it may, it doesn’t change the fact that several people are very unhappy with you. And when they’re unhappy with my staff, they take business away from me. What am I supposed to do about . . . about? Dagnabit, where did I put that note?” The elderly vet patted his vest pocket with his free hand and pulled a yellow sticky from it. He glanced at it, then wrinkled his brow. “About Reyna Jameson demanding that I fire you?”
    “Fire me?” Her words slipped out on a squeak of alarm. “Oh, sir, you cannot believe—”
    “It’s not what I believe or don’t believe. It’s what’s best for the clinic.” Dr. Kessler slipped his paper back into his pocket and rested both hands on the round silver handle of his stick. “I brought you on to help me run the clinic. You were supposed to become my partner and take it over. Now I cannot even get you into the zoo to help me with the animals.”
    “But that’s not necessarily true. Cristos and Eddy both—”
    Dr. Kessler held up one hand to silence her, and she obeyed. “Now see here, if you cannot help me at the zoo, then you cannot remain a staff member.”
    “You’re
firing
me?” A ball of ice formed in her chest and dropped razor-sharp icicles into her belly. “But this job is all I have. It’s everything.”
    Dr. Kessler stroked his white mustache and gave his head a small shake. “I don’t like this any better than you. But you brought this down on yourself. I warned you last month not to mess with any of the founding families of this town. Even
I
cannot go up against the Jamesons.
    “Now, don’t take it too hard, my dear. I’ll give you a good recommendation and allow you to turn in a resignation letter. Take the weekend to draft it. Be at the clinic before opening on Monday to collect your things. Don’t look so sad, my dear. I’ll make sure you’ll be able to secure employment with another veterinarian. I have a friend who’s looking for someone to . . . to . . .” He sliced his hand through the air in annoyance. “Bah, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. But you cannot remain at the clinic. I am sorry, my girl.”
    Dr. Kessler continued to talk, but she didn’t hear him. It wasn’t until Dev reached across her to shake the old vet’s hand that any words registered. “Yes, sir, I’ll see her home.”
    Dr. Kessler patted her shoulder gently. “Such a shame. I like you, girl. You’re one helluva vet, even if dogs do go barking mad at the sight of you.” He shook his head again, then climbed into his ancient Cadillac and drove away.
    Shelley blinked her tearless eyes and listened to a single thought echo through her mind.
I’m fired.
    *   *   *
    D EV DIDN’T KNOW what to do. Shelley crumbled right in front of him. She didn’t move, barely even breathed, but all the color in her face drained, and her beautiful blue eyes unfocused.
    And damn it, he’d seen her upset enough back in college that he didn’t want to watch her suffer another second. “Shelley?” No response. “Shells, are you all right?” He stroked a finger down her silken cheek.
    “He-he
fired
me. But I didn’t do anything. You saw. You were with me. I didn’t threaten anyone. I was only trying to help the . . . the . . .” Her words trailed off.
    “Why don’t we head back to your apartment and talk about