The Place I Belong (31 page)

Sawyer recovered quickly, taking a pair of glasses from his breast pocket before bracing his hands on the podium and surveying the scene below him with a friendly air. “Good morning!”

His audience responded with a hearty “good morning”
in return
.

“I’m here to put the record straight about a very special dog and a very special veterinarian,” Sawyer said. “Sophie, our golden retriever, was part of our family for eleven years when she developed cancer. At first, Dr. Linden—” he nodded toward Hannah with a grave smile “—was able to use her considerable skills to keep Sophie comfortable and functioning as part of our family. Unfortunately, we had a vacation scheduled just as Sophie’s condition began to deteriorate. We chose to leave Sophie in Dr. Linden’s more than capable hands while we were away, with full confidence that she would make all the right decisions about our beloved dog’s health.”

He swept the crowd with his gaze.

“While Dr. Linden made heroic efforts to control Sophie’s pain, the cancer in our sweet dog’s body continued to grow. At last, our poor golden was in too much agony to prolong her life any further, and Dr. Linden made the absolutely correct judgment call. Our Sophie had to be put to sleep.”

Sawyer pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket, removed his
glasses, and swiped the cloth over his eyes. Hannah wanted to snort
in disbelief at the play-acting, but controlled herself as she noted
the glowing, red lights signaling that the cameras were recording.

The senator replaced the handkerchief and glasses. “Unfortunately, due to an oversight on my part, I neglected to leave my cell phone number at the veterinary office in the event Dr. Linden needed to reach us, and this is where the misunderstanding occurred. She explored every possible avenue available to her to track us down, calling both my office and my home number to beg someone to contact us.”

He paused to make a wry face. “I am lucky to have very loyal staff members. They felt my family needed the vacation and did not wish to disturb us with such sad news, so they refused to allow Dr. Linden access to us.” He drew himself up to his full height, his voice increasing in volume and resonance. “I take full responsibility for this breakdown in communication. I should have given Dr. Linden my cell number or left instructions with my staff to put her through to me. My lapse created much trauma for my family and for the doctor.”

His tone shifted from solemn to regretful. “My children were understandably upset to discover their wonderful Sophie had died in their absence. I’m afraid I overreacted to their distress without knowing all the facts.”

Hannah tensed. Her moment was coming soon.

“To atone for my error, I would like to state unequivocally that Dr. Hannah Linden of the Roscoe Veterinary Hospital acted appropriately at every stage of the situation. I deeply regret any past statements I have made to the contrary.” Hannah had to give him credit: Sawyer’s voice boomed as he spoke the words of apology. “To prove my sincerity, I am making this donation to the All Paws Onboard Animal Shelter to create the Sophie Memorial Fund in Dr. Linden’s honor.”

That was the cue for Hannah and Nick to step forward. Ward handed Sawyer the check, and the senator handed it to Nick as they shook hands and cameras clicked. Nick spoke a few words of thanks before holding the check above his head as the T-shirted spectators cheered. When Hannah caught sight of the amount she blinked: it was twice what the senator had agreed to.

Hannah was about to step up to the vacated podium when Sawyer took the microphone again. “Because Dr. Linden has made a believer out of me, I will be introducing a stringent animal rights bill in the Senate. My staff members have copies of the proposed legislation for any who would like to read it.”

So that was his surprise. He’d found a way to turn the apology into a political opportunity, appealing to the animal activists in his constituency. It might be pure calculation on his part, but she hoped some good would come of it.

Sawyer backed away with a graceful gesture indicating she should take the podium. Taking a deep breath, she walked up and bent the flexible mic down to her level. “Thank you, Senator Sawyer.” She sent a cool smile in his direction before she turned back to the assembly in front of her. “It takes a big man to let the world know he’s made a mistake, and I appreciate the senator’s willingness to do so.”

She waved to the building behind her. “This shelter does remarkable work for the animals in this community and beyond, and Senator Sawyer’s generous donation will support many worthwhile programs.” She took a page from his book and paused to let the yellow shirts applaud. “His sponsorship of such necessary animal rights legislation is a wonderful bonus. I am thrilled to have made a convert to the cause of those creatures who so enrich our lives yet cannot speak or fight for themselves.” More applause. She decided to express her gratitude to those who truly deserved it. “Many thanks to Nick Wodarski for doing such a great job in organizing this event, and to all of you who came out to show how important our animal friends are.”

As choreographed, she turned and held out her hand to Senator Sawyer, something Paul said she had to do for the press, even though it made her skin crawl. The senator took it in both of his and spoke in voice too low for the microphone to pick up, “I hope this is behind us now.” He gave her a warm and entirely false smile.

She smiled back just as insincerely as she nodded. “I look forward to reading the bill you’re sponsoring.”

A gleam of grudging admiration shone in his eyes. “You’re a tough young woman, and you’ve got yourself a good lawyer.”

“The best,” she said, withdrawing her hand from his grasp and walking back to her spot in the background.

Two of Sawyer’s aides stepped forward to distribute copies of the proposed animal rights bill while a couple of reporters tossed a few questions at the senator about its content. He answered them without hesitation before making his way to his car. The press dispersed almost immediately, and with a sigh of relief Hannah turned to head back into the shelter.

She halted as Ward blocked her way. “Hannah,” he said. “The animal rights bill was my idea,” he said.

“Great,” she said, starting to walk around him.

He grabbed her wrist, his voice pleading. “I thought you’d like that.”

She shook loose from his grip and let her gaze drift over his
pale-blue eyes and sandy hair, his navy blue suit. A vision of Adam
rose up in her mind, his dark complexity making Ward look like a cardboard cutout. “Should you keep the senator
waiting
?”

“He knows I need to talk to you.” Ward started to reach for her again, but she skewered him with a look. He dropped his hand. “I’m sorry about what happened. I overreacted.”

“You and Sawyer both, except he wasn’t living with me,” Hannah said. Ward had the grace to flinch. She thought of her conversation with Adam. “If I’d asked you for Sawyer’s private cell phone number, would you have given it to me?”

Her ex-fiancé looked down at his polished wingtips. “I realize now you were protecting me by not asking.” He raised his gaze to meet hers. “I’d like to think I would have given it to you.”

At least he was honest enough not to pretend outrage about her doubts. “I’d like to think so too. Good-bye, Ward.” She stepped sideways and continued to the doorway where Paul stood waiting for her. He swung open the door and she walked into the shelter.

A splash of yellow T-shirts greeted her, and a cheer went up. “Han-nah! Han-nah!” She smiled and waved before she threw a beseeching look at Paul. He took her elbow and led her through the chanting crowd to Nick’s office, closing the door behind them. Hannah sagged into a plastic chair, the adrenalin draining from her body and leaving exhaustion behind.

“You were great,” Paul said, leaning his hip against a desk. “Does it feel good to know your reputation has been restored?”

Hannah had been so focused on surviving the press conference she hadn’t yet absorbed the end result. “It feels like a black cloud just cleared away between me and the sun.” She hadn’t realized how much it had bothered her until the shadow was gone.

“That was a nice ad lib of yours about the animal rights bill,” Paul said.

Hannah allowed herself a short bask of pride at holding her own against the well-practiced Senator Sawyer. “Ward claimed it was his idea. I can’t decide if he considered it a sop to his conscience or a political opportunity.”

“Hey, cynicism is
my
territory. You’re the kind, warm-hearted healer,” Paul said.

“Only when it comes to animals,” Hannah said, leaning her head back against the wall behind her and closing her eyes.

Adam peered past the local reporter on the television screen, his gaze riveted on Hannah as she stopped to speak with one of the senator’s entourage before she disappeared into the shelter.

His attention shifted back to the white-haired
woman with
the microphone as she said, “Dr. Hannah Linden of the Sanctuary Veterinary Hospital should feel real good about today. She’s been
cleared of any wrong-doing
and
she’s turned a powerful U.S.
senator
into an animal-rights supporter. I’d say we’re mighty lucky she moved down to our neck of the woods. This is Gladys Weikle, signing off for Channel 44.”

As the screen switched to a scroll of upcoming events
accompanied by country music, applause rippled through the
spectators
.

Tim stood to turn off the television. “Our Dr. Linden is one impressive lady.”

“She looked as cool as a cucumber,” Estelle said. “That high-falutin’ senator didn’t bother her at all.”

“What’d you think, Dad?” Matt asked quietly as other voices chimed in with praise of Hannah’s performance.

“I thought she was magnificent,” Adam said, working hard to keep his voice even. And heart-shreddingly beautiful. Her poise in the face of the powerful politician, her warmth toward the crowd, and her all-too-well-remembered body, clothed in a tailored coat, had sucked the air out of his lungs.

“That guy was a real jerk for thinking his vacation was more important than his sick dog,” Matt said. “He was lucky Dr. Linden had the guts to do the right thing without his permission.”

“You’re a smart guy. A lot smarter than Senator Sawyer.”

Matt’s face glowed. “Maybe I just know Dr. Linden better.”

“There’s some of Adam’s good food left,” Tim announced, “so let’s finish it up before we get back to work.”

“It’s time for you to get back to school,” Adam said, even though he wanted this moment of unexpected bonding to go
on forever
.

“Don’t you want to wait until you can take all the empty platters?” Matt asked.

“Nice try,” Adam said, one corner of his mouth twitching upward in amusement. “I’ll get them on my way home.”

Matt shrugged as he picked up his jacket. “It was worth a shot.”

Adam’s heart twisted at the exchange. It was nothing, just a typical wrangle between a parent and a child about going to school. Which made it enormous.

Hannah’s words echoed through his mind: “You don’t need an excuse to keep Matt. You’re his father.” At times like this, he could almost convince himself she was right.

Then he remembered where he had gone after Hannah left him that day. Straight to the wine cellar.

As Paul stopped his Corvette in front of her house, Hannah gave
him a rueful smile. “I apologize for sleeping almost the entire trip.”

Paul waved a hand in dismissal. “You’ve had a tough week, and I got a lot of paperwork done, so no apology is necessary.”

“I can’t thank you enough for getting my name cleared and for—” she began.

“You’ve thanked me more than enough.”

“Well, if you ever get a pet, all veterinary care is free,” she said.

“I’ve always wanted a boa constrictor. I just haven’t been able to talk Julia into it,” Paul said with a wink.

“She seems more like the tiger cub sort.”