Princess growled on the table as she came up from her anesthesia. Liam double checked the glue on the incision and said, "Do you mind watching her for a few more minutes while I run Lucky around the block? When she's lifting her head, you can put her back into her cage."

Princess was a long-haired Persian cat who had come in for a spay and gone out of her way to let them know how she felt about her veterinary experience with her claws and teeth. Carolyn had a bandage on her right wrist, an unfortunately common badge of honor for even the most dexterous techs.

"Sure thing, Doc," Carolyn said. "At least I got lunch."

Liam shrugged. Life in the ER was either feast or famine, and though this was a small family clinic, they too got patients in fits and spurts. Liam glanced over at Puff, who was curled up on the heating pad with his tail over his nose. He and Carolyn had taken turns hand feeding him through the day, and he was beginning to show signs of recovery.

Liam closed the door behind him to the treatment room and stepped into the open space between the two exam rooms. This building had originally been zoned residential, and it still had a single family home layout. To his right was a small bathroom, and beyond that, a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf held bags of prescription cat and dog food for sale.

To his left, on top of a three drawer chest, sat a mini fridge, beside that a bowl of fruits and a pile of granola bars. Liam brought lunch in a Tupperware container from home, but even though there was a microwave, he usually found himself grazing on fruit and granola rather than sitting down either in the back or in the front waiting room for a full meal. As often as not, he'd take his lunch home for dinner.

Liam slipped two granola bars into his pocket and grabbed a banana. His apartment was a ten-minute walk from the clinic with an eccentric older client of Dr. Griffin’s, Mrs. Davis, who welcomed the menagerie. One of the benefits of working at a vet clinic was that he could keep Lucky with him in the office all day.

Usually, Liam just let Lucky out in the yard when he had to go, but if he got some extra time, he liked to take him out for a quick walk. Lucky was a pitbull mix with golden fur and a perpetual, goofy grin. Like most animals who were given the name Lucky, his early life was anything but. His right ear was mangled, he was missing an eye, and his tail had a crook in it where it had been broken when he was a puppy. His skin was also scarred from where his previous owners had forced him to fight.

The dogfighting ring had been broken up, and thankfully Lucky was rescued before it was too late, but it had taken months for the young dog to truly trust Liam and relax. Now, he was a perfect angel most of the time, lounging beneath the desk or padding up to greet the clients and accept their affection as his due.

Liam took the leash off of the hook and said, "Lucky! Ready for your walk?"

Lucky let out an excited yip and crawled out from under Pam.

"You have about twenty-five minutes until your first afternoon appointment, Dr. Chandler," Pam said cheerfully. She looked at the banana in Liam’s hand. "That's not all you’re eating, is it?"

"I'm fine, Pam."

"You're too skinny. Did you finish the lasagna I made up for you yet?"

"It was delicious." It had been. Pam’s cooking put Liam’s to shame, which he readily admitted.

"Good. I've been experimenting with the tofu meats for you."

"You're the best, Pam," Liam said as he hooked the leash on to Lucky's collar. "You have my cell if you need me."

"I think Carolyn can manage the place for twenty minutes, doctor," Pam said with a laugh.

"This place wouldn’t function at all without the both of you," Liam said. "I just do what I’m told.”

“That’s right.” Pam grinned and waved him to the door. "And I’m telling you then to get out of here and get some sunshine. You’ve been working hard. I heard Princess through the door when you were giving her the sedation."

"Carolyn bore the brunt of that one."

"Go! Shoo!" Pam waved at the door again. "My ankle needs a rest from all the grooming."

Liam felt a stab of remorse. Having Lucky here was convenient for him, but he didn’t want to impose his dog on the unwilling. "Is Lucky bothering you?"

"Lucky’s great. Now get out."

Liam let Lucky roam ahead as they made their way down the street. It was slow going. Like most males, he had to stop at every tree stump and uneven patch of pavement to sniff to mark his territory.

It was a beautiful day, sunny and not too warm. Liam let himself enjoy the warmth on his skin as he devoured his banana and started on the first granola bar. Normally, Dr. Griffin would join him on the afternoon shift, but she was away this week on a rare trip to see her granddaughter in San Francisco. Liam was honored the doctor trusted him to manage the practice unsupervised after only having been there for a couple of months. He loved his work, and the low-grade fear that somehow Damon would find him had begun to fade as spring advanced.

Maybe Liam could risk dating again.

Gunnar’s face flitted across his memory, and Liam blinked it away. No more alphas. He’d look for a beta instead. One who was an animal lover like himself. Liam and Lucky made a full circuit of the block, and after a brief stop at one of the local cafés for a spinach and feta filled croissant, they returned to the clinic with time to spare.

As Liam opened the door, over the rattling chimes, he heard a child’s voice. Olivia stood in front of the desk talking to Pam. The girl wore navy blue slacks and a short-sleeved, white button-down shirt. Not a uniform, but definitely school colors. The shirt was unbuttoned, and beneath it with a T-shirt with the logo for a martial arts studio. She had a bright red book bag on the floor beside her, leaning against the wall.

Lucky hopped around, pulling on the leash as Liam shut the door.

Oliva looked over at the door, and her face broke out into a wide grin. “Dr. Chandler! Is that your dog?"

Liam glanced at his watch. It was just past four. Had the alpha and his daughter come back early? “We belong to each other. His name’s Lucky.”

“He only has one eye.”

“Yup, he and Ferrous, my cat, are a matching set. Lucky’s missing the left eye and Ferrous is missing the right.”

Olivia laughed. “That’s weird.”

Liam asked, “Where's your dad?"

"Olivia just walked in by herself," Pam said, locking her gaze with Liam’s. "She was just explaining this to me."

"My dad's coming." Olivia looked down at the ground. "Later."

Later? Liam hadn't had any kids of his own, but he didn't have to be a parent to know Olivia wasn't telling the whole truth.

Olivia asked, "Can I see Puff? Is he okay?"

"Puff is doing much better now," Liam said. "Is there another adult with you? Your stepdad?"

Olivia furrowed her brow. "I don't have a stepdad. Or stepmom. It's just me and dad."

"Oh, I thought because of your dad’s wedding ring – –."

"Dad wears his 'cause he's sad. About Daddy. I wish I had a ring too, but Dad says I have Daddy's nose, so I guess that has to be good enough."

Carolyn had been right. The alpha was wearing his wedding ring because he was still in mourning. Which made Gunnar, and any thoughts about him, strictly off limits. Even if Liam had wanted to have those kinds of thoughts, which he didn’t. Liam said, "I'm sorry. About your father."

"I wish I had a stepdad. But only if he's a nice one. Can I see Puff now?"

Liam looked over at Pam. She gave a minute shrug.

"Let me see if Carolyn has gotten our last surgery patient back in his cage."

"You do surgery!"

Liam's lips twitched. "Yes, I do surgery, and we do x-rays, and lots of other things."

"Cool!"

"How did you get here?"

"I took the bus from school. I looked it up on the computer, and wrote down the directions." Olivia squared her shoulders, and her chest thrust out with obvious pride. "It wasn't hard. It costed $2.25 though. That's a lot."

"How old are you? Ten? Your dad lets you take the bus all by yourself?"

Olivia looked at the ground again. "I'm eight. My birthday was on Sunday."

"Eight?" Liam was surprised. "You're very tall." But it was more than the height that made her seem older. Her maturity was probably an unfortunate result of losing her bearer dad so young. Losing a parent aged you. Thankfully, Liam’s mom and dad were both hale and hearty, living together on their farm. He hated having to be so far from them now. Hopefully, by Christmas, he’d be able to visit them at home. If he didn’t go out anywhere, it would be safe. Damon would have to have moved on by then.

Olivia said, "I'm in the top ten percent of my grade for height."

So Olivia had taken the bus on her own, likely without notifying anyone of where she’d gone. If her dad found out, he’d be tearing his hair out of his head. A real challenge, considering the alpha’s short buzz-cut, not that the haircut actually mattered. It’s an expression, Liam.

Sometimes he needed a muzzle for his own brain. Thankfully, Puff's file was still on the counter in the back treatment room so Liam would be able to call Olivia's dad and let him know where his very independent and resourceful daughter was, hopefully before the alpha had found out and started to panic.

In the back, Carolyn was on the floor, lifting Princess on her towel into one of the bottom cages. The grumpier the cat or dog, the closer to the floor they were housed. Princess was growling in earnest now, and as Carolyn closed the kennel door, the cat hissed and made an awkward swipe at Carolyn's fingers on the door.

"Feisty!" Carolyn said. "It's always the Princesses and the Preciouses."

Liam nodded. This rule of thumb was especially true for the cats.

"You were right," Liam said.

"Of course. What was I right about?"

"He's not really married. Mr. Justice. I need to call him. It seems his daughter worked out how to use Liberty's public transportation system. She's here now. On her own."

Carolyn raised both eyebrows. "The little girl, Olivia, she’s here?" Carolyn stood up and looked through the door’s window down the hall. "She sure is. She came by herself?"

"On the bus." Liam walked to the pile of today's active files and began rifling through them until he found Puff Justice. "I'm going to give her dad a call. Hopefully he hasn't found out yet. Otherwise, I bet he's worried sick."

Liam flipped through the file until he found Gunnar's cell phone number. Using the office line, he dialed.

After two rings, it picked up. "Detective Justice." Gunnar sounded out of breath.

"This is Dr. Chandler at Griffin's veterinary office."

"Is Puff okay?"

"Doing fine. I'm calling about your daughter."

"The afterschool program just called. She's not there. Oh God, did you see her on the news? I haven't – –."

"She's fine. She's here."

"She's where? At the clinic?" Gunnar let out an audible breath. "Did her grandmother come and get her from school? She should have called."

"I don't think so. It looks like Olivia worked out how to get here on her own. On the bus."

"Olivia’s not allowed to take the bus by herself! I didn't even know she knew how to take a bus."

"Your Olivia seems like a very resourceful young lady."

"She's grounded. How do you even ground an eight-year-old? I was just getting ready to put out an Amber alert."

"I don't think she wanted to upset you."

"She can't do this. We have rules in our house. She could have been killed."

"It is broad daylight, and she doesn't look any worse for the – –."

"Do you think an abductor or murderer gives a shit how sunny it is outside?" Gunnar sounded furious.

Liam should've known better than to say anything. Let alone try and argue with the man. "I'm sorry, Mr. Justice, I just wanted to let you know where she was in case you hadn't been aware. Olivia is welcome to spend the afternoon with us, and we will see you at 5:30 unless you want to come in earlier."

"Wait!"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out. I'm glad you called. That's more than the afterschool program did when one of the other kids just told the counselor Olivia wasn't going to be in today. How could they have just left without checking in with me? It's irresponsible. And after Adam, I don't know… I'm sorry. I'm not trying to dump this on you."

Adam must have been his husband. Liam said, "My condolences for your loss."

"It's been over a year. You don't have to do the condolences."

Considering Gunnar was still wearing his wedding ring, it seemed like condolences were in order, but Liam didn't want to do or say anything to upset the man again. "We're happy to have Olivia for the rest of the day. I'll show her how to hand feed Puff, and will keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't go off on any other bus rides until you can get off work."

"I can't possibly impose even more on you and your office. I'll come to get her right now."

"It really is fine. I'd like to have some more time to monitor Puff, and I like kids. We're done with surgery, and I can find her some jobs to do to keep her busy while Puff is sleeping."

"You really don't have to do this."

"I want to. You're having a tough day, and I know what that's like. Don't worry, everything's okay here."

"Th--thank you," Gunnar said, his tone low and a little gravelly. For a brief, horrifying instant, Liam wondered if this was something like what the alpha sounded like in bed. Low. Commanding.

I'm the worst.

The man was still in mourning, and he'd had two traumatic shocks in less than eight hours. Maybe more, considering what he did for a living.

"Glad to help, Detective Justice," Liam said.

"Gunnar."

"Excuse me?"

"If you're going to babysit my kid, least you can do is call me by my first name."

Liam smiled. "And you can call me Liam."

"Thanks, Liam."

"No problem, Gunnar."

Gunnar ended the call. A click. A dial tone. Slowly, Liam put the phone back on the receiver.

"You're still smiling," Carolyn said.

Liam's face warmed. "I'm just happy I could help him. I'm lucky I got him in time. He was going to put out an Amber alert."

"Yup, you’re definitely wearing the ‘happy to help’ smile. Not the ‘I like this guy and want to learn more smile.’ Definitely not."

"Shouldn't you be making up the surgery packs to run through the autoclave?"

"Already done," Carolyn said and pointed at a stack of surgical packs the counter. “Just need to fill it and run it, but I wanted to wait until Princess was up and at ‘em.” She peered into the cage. “Right, Princess?”

Princess growled and whipped a paw out through the bars of the cage.

Carolyn smiled. “Looking good.” She stood. "So he's on his way? Your detective?"

"He’s not my detective.”

“Right. He’s on his way?”

“Probably."

"He's a nice guy."

"Seems like it."

Then again, just because they seemed nice didn't mean they were. No matter how attractive Gunnar was or how kind he seemed, Liam was better off with a beta. Both of his parents were betas, and they were happy together. Maybe other omegas were better judges of an alpha’s character. Liam has learned the hard way that he was not.

Still, he couldn't stop himself from grinning as he went back to the desk to talk with Olivia and Pam again.