a monstrous howl, making Danny shriek in response.
“I couldn’t agree more!” Granddaddy exclaimed. “Our prayers have been answered.”
“Granddaddy, don’t get Judah excited,” Evie said with a light warning in her voice. “It can hurt him to move that way. You remember my friend from vet school, Molly? And this is her little boy, Danny.”
“Hi, Mr. Hewitt,” Molly said cheerfully.
But disappointment registered on every crinkled feature of his face. “Not yours?” he asked Evie.
“Nope. Did not go out and buy a baby while you napped. Sorry.” She came a little closer to the bed while Judah stared at Danny with wonder and maybe a little uncertainty, then started to sniff his tiny sneaker.
“Let him smell you, Danny,” Molly said. “Like all new dogs.”
As the dog came a little bit closer, Danny’s little fists grabbed at Evie’s T-shirt, and his eyes widened in trepidation. “Mmmbah.”
“This doggy is Judah,” Evie said, vaguely aware she was rocking side to side to keep Danny calm. “Molly’s going to help me in surgery with Judah,” Evie reminded her grandfather. “So she needs to do a quick exam on him again.”
He nodded, unconcerned about the dog, riveted on the baby. “He looks good on you, Evie.”
She laughed. “He’s not the latest accessory, Granddaddy, but I cannot tell a lie. He feels good, too.”
Molly guided the dog to the other side of the big bed where she could look at him, starting the exam with a gentle hand on Judah’s back.
While she did that, Evie bounced the baby and moved closer to her grandfather. “This is Granddaddy Max. Can you say Max, Danny?”
“Maaaaa.”
Her grandfather laughed and clapped his hands. “Oh, this one does my heart good.”
Molly smiled at the exchange, but her concentration was clearly on Judah’s spine. “We had a Great Dane with Wobblers come in a few months ago,” she said. “Didn’t need surgery, but acupuncture worked really well, along with laser therapy, but as usual, we had to bring physical therapists in from Asheville and Charlotte.”
“There’s no PT here?”
“Oh, there is at the college, but they’re booked solid. They’re available for their vet patients, so Judah will get one for post-op, but the regular old vets?” She shrugged. “Really hard for us to get access to a lot of services.”
“No mobile services?”
“I wish.” She eased Judah’s snout up to look into his eyes. “And you can forget a neurologist. I can never find one within twenty miles for referrals.”
“Well, I’m here until after the holidays. Call me.”
She looked up from Judah. “Seriously? Because I have a seven-year-old Lab with epilepsy, and he is not responding to meds.”
“I can look at him this week.”
“Oh, you’re a godsend, Evie. Now, look at me, big fella.”
While Molly continued checking out the dog, Danny shifted his attention to Granddaddy, reaching out a stubby finger to point at him.
Granddaddy playfully snatched it. “I gotcha!”
Danny giggled and tried to free his finger, but Granddaddy held on. “Might have to take a bite,” he sang playfully, snapping at his finger. “Whoops. No teeth.”
“Got…got…ga-ga-ga.”
“He’s trying to say ‘gotcha,’” Evie exclaimed.
“He’s got a brain under that mop,” Granddaddy teased as his old watery gaze shifted to Evie, his look so full of abject longing she almost laughed. But it wasn’t funny. She knew what he wanted, knew he ached for it, probably as much as she did.
“Granddaddy,” she whispered in warning.
“What? I was going to say you look so much like my Penny right now.” He gave her a big old toothless grin. “Could be her holding your father. He had a bunch of dark hair, too.” He sighed noisily, the grin fading. “Ah, Evangeline.”
“Please,” she said softly, fighting the rush of emotions and praying he didn’t go on a baby tirade right then.
“Okay, I’m officially done,” Molly said, looking from one to the other.
“That was fast,” Max said.
Because Molly was helping her out of an awkward moment like the true friend she was.
“Molly’s already examined him at her office,” Evie said.
“Yep, this is just for paperwork,” Molly agreed. “Judah is all yours again, Mr. Hewitt. You can rest.”
He reached his hand out to Danny’s sneaker, giving it a playful tap. “I know what I’ll be dreaming about…”
“Say bye-bye,” Molly told Danny. “Can you say bye-bye?”
“Ba ba ba ba!” he complied, making them laugh as Molly and Evie headed back into the hall.
“No pressure or anything, right?” Molly whispered. “Sorry if Danny made things worse for you.”
“Worse?” She shifted him in her arms because he was getting heavy, but the last thing she wanted