There was a list of things that Gabe savored about being in surgery, and at the top of it was when he knew it might save or dramatically improve the quality of an animal’s life. On this Tuesday early afternoon, after finishing a two-hour-long cesarean section on a Boston terrier who proved too high a risk to handle a vaginal birth—and successfully delivering her five pups, Gabe thought of another benefit.

Being in surgery kept him from checking his phone.

He couldn’t remember experiencing such a sharp swell of both hope and disappointment each time he reached for it as he had the last few days.

He left the operating room while his assisting staff was still cooing over the cuteness of the five square-nosed black-and-white pups.

In the prep room, Gabe stripped out of his mask and surgical gear and headed to the sink to scrub down. Standing there, he spotted his phone on the shelf above it, facedown. In surgery, he’d been too focused to think about how it was closing in on seventy-two hours since he and Olivia had shared that remarkable goodbye kiss in the parking lot behind Milton’s Feed Store.

Maybe she’d called while he was in surgery. Maybe she hadn’t.

What if she never did?

Swallowing back a rush of nerves, Gabe dried his hands and flipped the phone over to find a handful of new texts from his brother, his dad, and one of his firefighting buddies. And no new missed calls.

Doubt flooded him, but he pushed it down. She’d felt something too. He’d never been more sure of anything in his life. Maybe what she needed was time. And challenging as it was proving to be, it was the least he could give her.

Holding onto this hope, he tucked his phone in his jeans’ pocket. He’d give it a few more days. She’d call. She was definitely going to call.

Thankfully, there was the distraction of an overloaded work schedule this week to keep him occupied. Holding onto that idea, he headed up front to tell the Boston terrier’s anxious owners the news. Their much-loved dog had come safely through surgery, as had her five newborn pups, which was another one of those everyday blessings he’d promised himself he wouldn’t take for granted.

Chapter 12