That Perfect Place Page 2

  “I’m glad you came. Your boys are sweeties.” She wondered what bad things the woman had heard. This clinic is any vet’s dream.

  Her last appointment was a new puppy. She explained puppy care and diet and suggested basic obedience classes when the pup reached six months. When she was done she gave the puppy a hug before setting her down. There were new-puppy bags made up in one of the drawers with food samples and pamphlets on feeding and training that she handed to the owner.

  “I’m so glad we came here,” the owner remarked. “Our last dog suffered because we weren’t good parents. It’s obvious you love what you do.”

  “Thank you, but who wouldn’t love a puppy, especially an Aussie like yours. She’s such a little lady.”

  Jill had no problems finding things. The exam rooms were set up very smartly, and Emma Murdoch was a model of efficiency. By the end of the session though, she knew more gossip about the Gundersens than she wanted to. The older man with a Bulldog named Winston told her that Jake was a much better vet than his father had been—and more honest.

  She learned from another that Jake lived with his mother, son, and a foster daughter whose mother had died in the clinic fire, and that he was divorced from a foolish (in the informer’s opinion) woman. His son, not wanting to be called little Jake, went by his middle name of Bradley. From the Persian-cat lady she heard that Jake was involved with a Quarter Horse breeder named Cynthia. The new-puppy people informed her that the fire that had claimed Jake’s father and the clinic had been of suspicious origin and said the vet knew more than he was letting on.

  Now all I need is his shoe size, and I’ll know everything.

  She tried not to take heed of the gossip, but she was human and intrigued. As she finished her notes, she realized it had been a very satisfying afternoon. Just the type of work I enjoy most: preventative care.

  Jeanine handed her a slip of paper and a set of keys when she came into the office to turn in her reports.

  “If you wouldn’t mind, the farm you passed on your way in, the one with the merry-go-round horse on the gate, needs a couple of Coggins pulled and health certificates. They’re heading for Indianapolis for the mini show. You can take Dave’s truck. It’s the red Chevy. Paperwork’s on the seat. I filled out most of it for you. Tubes and Vacutainer needles will be on the left front side of the Porta-Vet.”

  “OK.” Jill grabbed her purse.

  “Don’t listen to what people say. Jake’s a nice guy, a good boss, and a conscientious vet.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind, Jeanine.” She started out the door.

  “Wait—I just want to say I hope you’ll stay unless you’re patching things up with your hubby. We really, desperately need you.”

  “I don’t know yet,” Jill said, irritated that anyone should know about her marital problems. She fumed during the short drive to the pony farm. Thomas Carver had been handsome and charming, and Jill had been thrilled when he asked her to marry him. Things had bumped along fairly well, if you didn’t count that Tom schmoozed much and worked little, until eighteen months ago when she realized he was giving a lot more than vet service to many of the ladies whose animals they cared for. She still burned with shame when she remembered the fight that had prompted her to file for divorce.

  “If you were half the woman I thought you were before I married you, maybe I wouldn’t have to stray,” he had said.

  So here she was, after months of brooding at her parents’ farm, in another state and determined to prove she was the vet and the woman she hoped herself to be. She wanted to feel appreciated and not used. Was there truth in his words? Am I cold and undersexed? Can I believe in love after his unfaithfulness?

  Putting her negative thoughts aside, she once more descended into the seemingly Thomas Kinkade -inspired hollow and turned left into the pony farm gate. The Connells, who owned the miniature horses, were very nice and welcomed her when she told them she was standing in for Dr. Murdoch. They informed her that no one was surprised at Dave’s heart problems.

  “He eats all the wrong things and never exercises. Still, we’re sorry to hear about it. Dave is very nice and so is Emma.”

  Mrs. Connell (“call me Daisy”) held the ponies for Jill as she pulled the blood samples and kept up the chatter.

  “Jake always jokes about needing a magnifying glass to examine them or he threatens to take them into the clinic so he can put them on the examining table.”

  “He is tall,” Jill agreed.

  “Smart, too. My oldest went to school with him. He could have graduated early but didn’t so he could play baseball. He must have done all his freshmen college courses before he left. He used to help Barb with her calculus and chemistry. It’s too bad about all his troubles.”

  Before Daisy could expand on this, Mr. Connell (“call me Ron”), brought out some coffee and they chatted about the animal population in the county. Jill left the farm with a warm feeling toward the owners and a keychain shaped like a pony with “Connell’s Cuties” etched on it. By now Jill was sure she would need to know of Jake Gundersen’s troubles before she accepted the job.

  About a half hour after her return, as she was examining the mini clinic, called a Porta-Vet, on the back of Dave Murdoch’s truck, a champagne-colored, heavy-duty, 4×4 pickup pulled in. Two Border Collies and a Jack Russell terrier boiled out followed by a more sedate Corgi. They wagged up to her and greeted her as if she were their best friend—except for the Jack who sneezed at her and formally offered a paw. Finally, her perspective boss unfolded his long frame and got out. He leaned against his truck and crossed his right boot over his left.

  “The collies are Woody and Buzz. Woody’s the brown and Buzz the black. The terrier is Newton, the cookie not the astronomer, and the Corgi’s called Legs. He’s Jeanine’s. Any problems?” he asked.

  “No, everything went just fine,” she answered, greeting each of the dogs in turn as they were introduced and giggling at Legs—or the lack thereof.

  “Here’s the deal. I can’t pay you what a city practice makes because we don’t charge our customers anywhere near that. Dave says you want a three-month trial, so I can offer you this much for working four and a half days a week.” He handed her a sheet of paper with a figure written on it and pointed to a log building hidden among some trees a few hundred feet behind the clinic. “I’ll throw in free rent on that cabin back there for the three months, and you get to keep anything above cost on out-of-hours calls.”

  “Sounds OK, but let me ride out with you tomorrow, and I’ll decide by the end of the day.”

  “Fair enough. Would you care to join us for supper? We could talk things over a bit.”

  “Why yes, thank you. I do have a few questions.”

  He walked her to the house, and she couldn’t help but notice he was limping.

  “Foot sore?” she asked.

  “Been on it since five. I get gimpy after that many hours.”

  They entered through a mudroom. Jake sat down to take off his boots, and she realized with a start that his right foot was a prosthetic. She tried not to let on she had noticed, and nothing was said. They entered a large parquet-tiled kitchen with a round table set for four.

  “Celia, what’re you still doing here?” he asked the woman standing at the stove.

  “I just wanted to make sure you got a decent meal before I left. I saw your truck go out early this morning.”

  “Thank you, but where is Ma?”

  “She just got back about twenty minutes ago. Waiva stopped by and took her to see Dave. I think they did a little shopping while they were out. She bought Callie a new doll. I’ll just dish this up and leave.”

  “Oh, here Celia, this is Dr. Jillian Maitland from Ohio. Dr. Maitland, our housekeeper, Celia Deale.”

  They exchanged greetings, and Celia set another plate on the table.

  “Jakey Giraffe!” A very small girl ran into the kitchen and hurled herself at Jake. He scooped her up.

  “Callie Kitt
en.” He gave her a hug and turned her in his arms. “Dr. Maitland, this is Callie. Callie, Dr. Maitland is here to help out.”

  Jill noted that Callie must be small for her age because her language skills were well above the level of the five years old that her size indicated. She was pale skinned with fine blond hair and blue eyes. She squirmed, and Jake set her down.

  “My real dad is coming soon to get me. Jake’s just taking care of me till then,” she whispered. Aloud she said, “It’s good you are here. Today was Jake’s day off, and he didn’t get Sunday either.”

  Jake excused himself during this exchange and headed toward the front of the house. Callie dashed off to get her doll to show the newcomer. Jill took the time to look around.

  The kitchen wasn’t a typical farmhouse kitchen. The ceiling had exposed beams, and there was a wood stove in the corner of the room with brightly patterned tile work. Above the double sinks was a large round plate with something printed on it in what she guessed was Swedish. The woodwork had quite a bit of lattice decorating its corners. Jill peeked through the archway at the dining room. The furniture looked very ornate and very well used. Lace doilies festooned everything, and cross-stitch samplers covered the walls. Straight ahead was a large picture window, and to her left was the front entrance to the house and the stairwell. Beyond that she could glimpse the living room. She could see a TV in the far corner and some plants by a window but not much else from where she stood. She heard Jake talking to someone in there.

  Her attention was drawn to the stairs as a slender, attractive older woman walked sedately down. She had to be Jake’s mother. The resemblance was striking, especially the eyes.

  Jill noticed family pictures on the stairway wall. There must be two sons and a daughter. There were several pictures of one in a football uniform and one that had to be Jake in a marine corps uniform. Next to it were several medals in cases. Jill wished she could see them up close. She had to admit her curiosity was piqued.

  Mrs. Gundersen reached the bottom of the stairs and came toward Jill with her hand extended. “I’m Ida Gundersen. You must be the vet Dave chose to succeed Ellen.”

  “Jill Maitland. Nothing’s settled as yet.”

  “Well, we’ll just have to treat you extra nice and help you make your mind up quickly.” She spoke with a softly accented lilt that reminded Jill of Ingrid Bergman.

  Dinner was served immediately, and Jill met Jake’s son, Bradley. The boy didn’t resemble his father very much. Brad was blond haired, blue eyed, and a stockier build than his father, but the two were obviously close as evidenced by the way Jake wrapped his arm around the boy’s shoulders as he introduced him.

  Callie dominated the first few minutes of conversation with news about second grade as they filled their plates. Jill had already admired the doll Ida had given Callie. When he could get a word in edgewise, Jake asked Brad about school and track.

  “Well, I’m officially their distance runner, and I’ll be anchoring the distance med and four by eight.”

  “I guess sprinting doesn’t run in our family,” his father observed.

  “I’ll bet my daddy is good at sprinting,” Callie offered.

  “You don’t even know what that is,” Brad came back.

  “I don’t have to. I just know he’s good.” Callie pouted.

  “I’m sure we will find out that he is,” Ida placated before asking Jill whether she was originally from Ohio.

  “No, I’m a farm girl from southeast Wisconsin. I wound up going to Ohio State Veterinary School because my uncle teaches there. I worked in Marietta until eighteen months ago.”

  “Jeanine tells me you did a residency in equine lameness,” Jake said, reaching for more potatoes.

  “I worked at Ohio State’s horse clinic for four months and then the emergency clinic for another six months before Marietta. Then you did check on me a bit. I was wondering since you didn’t ask me anything.”

  “I got the whole scoop from Dave while you were doing the afternoon appointments. He knows the clinic director at Ohio who swears you’re top-notch.”

  “Rich Burns? He gave me a letter of recommendation since I couldn’t exactly ask my ex for one. How does Dr. Murdoch know Rich?”

  “They served the AVMA together for a few years. Apparently their daughters presented them with grandsons in the same year.”

  “Oh yes, there are pictures of the little guy all over his office.”

  “I guess you’d like to know a bit about us,” Jake said. “Dave has been here about thirteen years and does livestock. I started here in 2011 and handle everything else, plus what he doesn’t get to. We opened the new building just two months ago. I went a little overboard on the design, so we need to keep a big volume going to pay for it.”

  “I can understand why you did. I’m in love with the layout already. Tell me about you. What school did you attend?”

  “UC Davis in California and did eighteen months after that to get my chiropractic license. I was only here for six months when we lost the old place. After that, we did small animals in the garage until we could get the new building open.”

  Jill laughed. “The new hospital is definitely a step up for us both then. I’ve been giving vaccinations in my dad’s old milk room this past year.”

  “My mom got burned up when the old place caught fire. Her and Dr. Nels were very naughty,” Callie said. “But I still would like it if they weren’t burned up.” Her lip quivered, but she didn’t quite cry.

  “Oh, Callie, I’m so sorry to hear that.”

  Everybody looked stricken for a few minutes. Jake ran his hand distractedly through his hair, then leaned over and pulled the little girl into his lap and held her close while she sniffled.

  They ate in silence for several minutes until Ida broke the spell with a question.

  “You do both large and small animal then?” she asked.

  “Oh, yes. I grew up on a dairy farm, so it seemed the natural course.”

  “Girls today are amazing. I would never consider handling a cow.”

  “Do you want me to do just livestock then?” Jill directed the question to her prospective boss. “Dr. Murdoch led me to believe I would be doing mostly the small-animal side.”

  “Actually, I want you to replace and expand on Ellen’s clinic work. I intend to have a full-time staff for both small and large animals. We are now actively looking for a third man to do Dave’s farm calls. I’ll treat horses, exotics, and perform orthopedic surgeries—if that’s not stepping on your toes?”

  “Absolutely not.” She was just delighted that they wanted her to work in such a first-rate facility. “I should probably have brought this up before, but is there a hotel nearby?” she asked.

  “Didn’t Jeanine tell you that the cabin is all set up?” Ida asked. “I stocked the fridge myself with a few staples.”

  “That’s kind of you, but I wouldn’t want to put you to any trouble.”

  Jake broke in, “Cabin comes with the job—might as well try out both at once.”

  He spent a few minutes coaxing Callie to eat a bit and checked her homework before sending her off with Ida for a bath. She wouldn’t go until he promised to be back in time to tuck her in.

  He escorted Jill to the cabin to show her where the lights and things were. Jill was overwhelmed. It had an open floor plan with a warm natural-wood cathedral ceiling. The living area boasted a large stone fireplace with a rough-hewn mantle. The decor was southwest in style, inviting and new. The kitchen was compact but had plenty of beautiful granite counters with black-fronted appliances and brass plumbing fixtures. The master bedroom was on one side of the great room, and two more bedrooms were on the other. The master was breathtaking, complete with fireplace, hot tub, and adjoining private deck. It was like a cabin at a four-star resort.

  “This is like a woodland oasis. Whose is it?”

  “My grandparents built it. It’s been empty since Granddad passed.” A shadow passed over Jake’s face, and she g
uessed he had been close to his grandfather.

  “Thank you, Dr. Gundersen. I’m sure I’ll be more than comfortable here.”

  “Please, Jakob or Jake. I don’t like formality. Not Big Jake though. Jeanie seems to think it’s funny. I don’t.”

  “I like the way your mother says it: Yea-cob. What is it with Jeanine? She acts like she owns the place.”

  “She kind of does. Jeanine is my half sister from my dad’s first marriage. Nels, my half brother, Jeanine, my mother, and I each own a share of the four hundred and eighty acres. Plus, she’s been with the veterinary practice since I was in high school. I wouldn’t fire her even if she weren’t related though. I know she can be a bit abrupt, but she’s too damned good at what she does. Just wait and see. I don’t do half the paperwork the other guys do.”

  Jill nodded, feeling a bit small. She hadn’t meant to sound critical.

  “I’ve got rounds to do and finish up my reports,” he continued, yawning. “Call if you need anything. There’s a card with contact numbers in the kitchen. We’ll see you about eight, OK?”

  “Fine. Goodnight, Jakob.”

  “Night, Jillian.”

  Jill stood in the doorway and watched until he was out of sight. She grabbed her phone and plopped onto the big comfy couch as she texted her sister and parents to let them know she had arrived and would call later. Then she dialed Trish Carroll, her best friend from her Ohio days.

  “Jill, I was hoping you would call. Now, tell me everything.”

  “First of all, the vet forgot I was coming. Dave Murdoch, who I was supposed to interview with, is in the hospital. They didn’t even interview me, just asked if I was interested in staying. Apparently they are desperately shorthanded. You should see the place they’ve put me up in. It’s like a luxury resort. The clinic, which is incredible, belongs to Jakob Gundersen. I’ll send you a picture of him as soon as I can. He’s about six and a half feet tall and skinny as a pole. He does have nice eyes though and seems pretty laid-back.”