Things had been going so smoothly in nearly every aspect of her life that Kennedy had begun to worry simply because everything was good. She wasn’t used to the seamless day-to-day—and night-to-night—and as of that morning, when she had walked into the vet office, something had begun to niggle at her to the point she was beginning to feel a little paranoid.
Okay, a lot paranoid.
As she flipped on the lights, she took a look around the office. Nothing looked out of place, everything right where they’d left it on Saturday night when they’d closed, but still . . . she couldn’t shake the feeling.
Half an hour later, when Jessie and Olivia arrived, Kennedy still felt odd, but she decided not to mention it, hoping the strange sensation would just go away on its own. She even managed to make it through the morning, and then the afternoon before the hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she knew she couldn’t ignore the feeling any longer.
Making her way out to the reception area, Kennedy looked around.
“Somethin’ wrong?” Jessie asked, pushing to her feet and looking in the same direction Kennedy was.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I’ve just had this strange feeling today.”
“Like what?” Jessie inquired as she moved around from behind the desk.
“I’m not sure.” Kennedy didn’t know what the feeling was, or if it was real or just something she’d conjured up in her head because of how well things were going. Whatever it was, it was becoming quite the annoyance. “Maybe it’s nothin’.”
“Or maybe it’s somethin’,” Jessie told her. “Don’t shrug it off. Maybe we should call someone? Your dad, maybe?”
“Maybe,” Kennedy said, although she had no idea what her father would be able to do.
Jessie, being Jessie, was on top of it, grabbing the phone and dialing. A second later, Kennedy heard Jessie’s voice, but she wasn’t listening to what she was saying.
“He didn’t answer, but I left him a message,” Jessie said, drawing Kennedy’s attention. She realized the other woman was standing directly in front of her then, looking at her with worry etched across her pretty face. “Should I call Sawyer?”
Kennedy didn’t want to worry him, so she shook her head. “When’s my next appointment?” she asked.
“We’re done for the day,” Jessie told her and Kennedy peered up at the clock. Damn. It was already six.
“You should go ahead and go,” Kennedy told her, realizing that was why she hadn’t seen Olivia. Her assistant had mentioned cutting out a few minutes early to take care of something.
“I can wait,” Jessie told her, but then the bells over the door jingled and Kennedy whipped her head around to see . . . “Hey, Tim,” Jessie greeted the deputy. “Everything okay?”
Kennedy held her breath, praying that he wasn’t there to deliver bad news, but the look on his face told her that what he intended to say wasn’t going to make her smile.
“You got a minute?” Tim asked her, ignoring Jessie.
“Whatever you have to say, Jessie can hear,” Kennedy said as she got to her feet. “What’s up?”
She hoped she didn’t sound as panicked as she was, but the fact that her voice shook sort of gave it away.
“There’s been an incident,” Tim began, his eyes darting around the room as though he were looking to make sure no one else was listening.
“And . . .” Kennedy’s stomach began to churn.
“I think it’d be best if you just came with me,” Tim stated, his eyes landing on her face.
“Just tell me what the problem is,” Kennedy said a little hysterically.
Jessie moved beside her, placing a comforting hand on her arm. It was a nice gesture, but it didn’t help to calm Kennedy’s rioting nerves.
“There was a problem down at Moonshiners.”
“Is my father okay? Is Mack okay?” Kennedy asked immediately.
“Mack is fine,” Tim explained. “Your father . . . He’s being taken to the hospital.”
“Oh, my God!” Kennedy exclaimed.
“Go,” Jessie urged. “I’ll lock up here. And I’ll call Sawyer.”
“No need to call Sawyer,” Tim said, his eyes reflecting something that looked a lot like satisfaction. “He’s in lockup.”
“What?”
“Go, Kennedy. Tim can explain on the way. I’ll call Braydon. We’ll take care of it and I’ll call you.”
Kennedy nodded as she passed Jessie on her way to the front door. She didn’t bother with her purse, which was in her office, but she did check to make sure her cell phone was in her lab coat before she stepped outside. Tim led her around to the passenger side of his squad car and opened the door for her. Once she climbed inside, a renewed sense of anxiety hit her.