More Than a Hotline Fling

-9-

Juneau's POV

"Good evening, Jacob, Esme," I cooed, walking to the AMC's white, semi-circular front desk. "Hi, Court."

"Hey, Juneau," a tired voice greeted me from behind not one, but two glass fish tanks.

"I'm glad to see them before they leave tomorrow..." My New Balances, or 'old lady shoes' as Damian teased, squeaked to a stop at the separated hedgehog buddies. "Did they get into a fight?"

By the end of my first day at Animal Medical Center, my feet were so numb that my ankles throbbed and I couldn't feel my toes. Since then, I wore the squishiest, most supportive walking shoes. From walking between exam rooms, lifting animals, setting up supplies, and cleaning down rooms between patients, I was more active than if I attempted to exercise.

I also learned to bring in two sets of scrubs. Probably should have three.

"Not exactly," Courtney murmured, her lips pulling into a smile. "Esme's pregnant."

"Jacob!" I leaned down to the larger one's cage, where he groomed his nose. "Didn't know you had it in you, little devil."

Shows how much I know. With how much Esme bit him, I thought she wanted to eat him.

Named after two characters from the book Twilight, these adorable, black-eyed balls of soft quills were another New Yorker's creative idea for a small apartment pet. While the shy animals were low maintenance, their nocturnal behavior was a bad idea for the woman who surrendered them at this same front desk two weeks ago.

"Who knew the little rat was packing." Courtney giggled. "Guess Esme did."

"Looks like Pittsburgh's getting buy two get, what..." I blinked at Courtney as if she knew how many babies African Pygmy hedgehogs had. "Four? Fourteen?"

Her fingers tapped on her phone, then her dark brown eyes peered over her screen. "Google says most likely four or five."

"Aww..." Walking my palms around the curve of the counter, I side-stepped and peered into Esme's cage. She was curled up in the corner, ignoring the world's existence. The black tips on her light brown quills expanded and contracted. "That's exciting."

"Like a happy, little hedgehog family."

Courtney's words stiffened my spine as I straightened up.

Family shouldn't be a sensitive word for me.

My eyes closed under the solemn reminder of my recent visit to my parents. I appreciated more than words expressed how frequently Damian and I visited Holy Name Cemetery, across the Harlem River in Jersey City. His response, past unwavering support, was joking that spending time in a cemetery was more enjoyable than when we visited his mom after.

Esther Rivera, Damian's mom, was a wonderful, big-hearted woman. She oozed love out of every word she insulted him with, and vice versa. An only child, I didn't know much about mother-son dynamics but Damian and Esther's was...

More to unpack then I have time to think about right now.

I still hadn't wrapped my brain around Damian informing me I needed to identify a man who stabbed me more than a year ago....

Ahh, I was such a fool when he offered me that Christmas box.

My heart skittered at the idea that Damian...

Doesn't matter. He didn't.

When I realized my misunderstanding, pain struck my chest like I was kicked by one of Damian's work boots. It gripped the strings of my heart and toyed with them.