“Brody Minton.”
Brody “The Iron” Minton. No, she didn’t personally know him, but she’d seen him fight. He was in the heavyweight division, which explained his build. Those fighters ranged anywhere from two twenty to two sixty-five. Some of them even had to cut weight before a weigh-in to make the weight limit. It also explained why she didn’t really know him. Tommy was middleweight and kept to a svelte one eighty-five.
“Yeah, he’s a fighter.”
“You think Tommy knows him?”
“Probably. If I’m not mistaken, Brody trains at Tommy’s old gym. What’s he here for?”
“The kitten won’t eat.”
Julie nodded, pushing aside her awe and donning her vet cap. “Can you go ahead and get him situated in a room?”
“Oh, it’d be my pleasure.”
Chuckling, Julie hurried to her locker and tugged on a white lab coat, then stepped into the examining room. “Good afternoon, Mr. Minton. And who do we have here?”
“Uh.” He shifted before red crept up his neck to his cheeks. “This is Princess.”
Normally she didn’t react when she heard a pet’s name, having heard some doozies over the years, but his deep voice saying such a feminine word had her stumbling to a stop. “What was that?”
He grimaced. “My three-year-old niece named her. I didn’t realize how embarrassing it would be to say the name outside my own home.”
Julie smiled. What a wonderful uncle to let his niece name his cat, and then stick with it in public. “Well, I think it’s perfect.”
She ran her hand down the kitten’s soft fur. “I see she’s only a few weeks old.”
“Ten weeks. I’ve had her for two.”
It was so odd to see such a huge man have such a small pet. He seemed like the type to walk a Rottweiler on a thick chain. But the worry in his caramel-colored eyes as he reached out to pet Princess, his hand engulfing the kitten as it slid down her fur, let Julie know he didn’t care that a cat wasn’t the animal most people would envision him having.
“What’s the problem, Mr. Minton?”
“Brody, please. I hate being called by my last name. I’m not that formal.”
“Okay, Brody, what’s going on with Princess?”
“She won’t eat. She was doing fine, but about three days ago, she just stopped, and she keeps pawing at her face.” His eyes lifted to meet hers, and she was struck by how handsome he was.
“I’ve tried to look in her mouth, but I can’t see anything.”
“What do you feed her?”
“Dry cat food.” He winced. “I occasionally give her wet. I know it’s not good for her, but she loves it, and when she stopped eating that, too, I knew something was wrong.”
“Sounds like she may have something stuck somewhere on the way down. Let’s have a look in her mouth.” She went to the door and asked Melody to assist her.
While Melody held the kitten, Julie looked inside with a penlight, checking every crevice she could see. Sure enough, something was wedged between her back teeth. “Has she been chewing anything lately?”
“She’s into everything, but most recently she chewed through a cardboard box.”
Yeah, that looked about right. Julie took a pair of tweezers and tugged out the foreign object.
“I think we’ve solved the mystery, Brody.” She held it up. “It’s tiny, but this wet bit of cardboard would’ve been enough to make her mouth feel uncomfortable enough to not want to eat.”
He released a breath. “Really? That’s it?”
“Yep. I’ll go ahead and prescribe some antibiotics just in case, but I think she’ll be fine now. If she still isn’t eating in a few days, come back and we’ll do further tests, okay?”
“Thanks, doc.”
He scooped up the kitten, but then hesitated as he looked at Melody and Julie. The giggle that came from the other vet as she hurried from the room made Julie blush. “Was there something else?”
“Yeah, I was wondering if I could take you to dinner, as a thank-you.”
The blush scalded her face. “That’s not necessary.”
“Then how about as a date? Unless, of course, your boyfriend would mind.”
She blinked.
Not unless a standin boyfriend counted.
Tommy’s words echoed in her head. Spinster, eh? Was Brody a sign?
“No. No boyfriend.” She gave him what she hoped was a dazzling smile. “And yes, dinner would be great.”
He smiled, and she found she liked it. It didn’t have her melting to the floor or anything, but it was warm and friendly, and he seemed really nice.
“You have plans tonight?” he asked.
“Unless you consider sitting on the couch watching TV plans, then no, I don’t.”
“Hey. I love a great night in, kicking back and relaxing after a hard day. I swear sometimes there is nothing that beats it.”
Her smile stretched into a full grin. “Exactly. But tonight I think I’d like to go out.”
Someone who actually got it! Tommy just stared at her like she was speaking gibberish when she tried to explain why she liked to stay home.