“He’s too young—” Adam cut himself off. “Maybe he’s not too young. I need to go. I have too much to do and...” He looked at her with longing in his eyes. “You were right about us. That we had to keep it secret shows that it wasn’t good. Sorry I was so...” He shrugged. “I wish you and Miguel the best. Forever.” Quickly, he walked away.

Kelly watched him go. “It was one date,” she said in frustration. “Just one.” A duck was at her feet. “And it wasn’t even a very good date.”

She cleaned up the area, then went to the clinic.

CHAPTER TWELVE

It was late Friday afternoon and Kelly was in the clinic having just removed stitches from a bulldog’s belly. “The wound looks good,” she said.

She watched the smiling owner lead the dog away.

Dr. Carl came in. “Are you okay? All week you’ve seemed a little glum.”

“I’m fine,” Kelly said. “Doing really well.”

“Hot date this weekend?” When Kelly didn’t answer, he said, “Sorry. I don’t mean to pry. It’s just that people keep asking me about you and Miguel. Seems you two are doing some serious dating. You’ve been seen together everywhere.”

Kelly took her time washing her hands. “I’ve seen him every day this week.” She tried to sound as cheerful as possible. When she saw that Dr. Carl was about to ask more questions, she looked at her watch. “Oh! Is it that late? I have to go.” She practically ran outside and got into her Jeep.

Everything is great, she told herself. Everyone said she and Miguel were such a cute couple. She let out her breath. She needed to quit lying.

Kelly drove slowly. She wasn’t eager to go home to her mother’s incessant questions. Forey would probably be there, too, and they’d be cooking vats of whatever. Sometimes, when the women were using tall spoons to stir giant pots of soup, Kelly thought they looked like witches.

What the women were conjuring was a love match. Well, actually, a wedding. It was like they had a single goal in life and that was to have an autumn wedding. For somebody. Didn’t seem to matter for whom.

“I’m only thinking about you,” Nella told her daughter.

“I know!” Kelly said. “Because I’m unmarried. Being a veterinarian doesn’t matter. It’s just if I can snare a man and produce lots of kids.”

The look Nella gave Kelly made her hair stand on end. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“You should be,” her mother snapped, then turned to go back to the kitchen. “Maybe you should spend less time with Vera and listening to her ideas.”

“I don’t spend any time with her,” Kelly said too softly to be heard.