Defending Hayden (Second Chances #7)(59)

Luckily, I didn’t have to walk past the clinic to get to Furever Yours. The last thing I wanted was for someone to see me and ask what I was doing. I was already taking a gamble with Kellie, but I had to believe she would help me. When I opened the door, Kellie was busy petting the puppies, but when she lifted her head, she gasped.

“Hayden, how are you?” She hurried over and hugged me hard.

“Not good, Kellie. I’m sure you know what happened?”

She let me go. “You mean the travesty? I told Pappy he was making a mistake. There’s no way in hell you’d ever put those animals’ lives at risk.”

“I’m glad you think so. What did he say about that?”

She shrugged. “Not much. Just that he had no choice but to suspend you, since you were the one responsible for your patients. I think it hurt him to let you go.”

I snorted. “Didn’t seem like it last week. He basically made it sound like I’ve been neglectful since I started dating Derek. If anything, that made me better.”

She smiled wide and raked her gaze down my body. “I can see that; you’re practically glowing.”

“Thanks. I never thought I’d be happy like this ever again.” I paused and took a deep breath. “But I know of a way I could be happier. The only thing is that I need your help.”

Her brows furrowed. “What do you need?” Not wanting anyone to hear us, I glanced around the room to make sure no one was there. “No one’s here,” she said, chuckling.

I moved closer to her, my gaze serious. “I need you to help me figure out who screwed me over.”

“Hayden,” she said with a sigh. “What are you doing?”

Placing my hands on her shoulders, I looked into her eyes. “I’m trying to get my job back. I can’t let Wilford and the others think I’m negligent. Not to mention it’s my reputation on the line. Someone in that office made a mistake, and I’m taking the blame for it.”

“Do you have any ideas about who it could be?”

I clenched my teeth and nodded. “I think it’s Jessica, but I don’t have a way to prove it.”

“That wouldn’t surprise me. She can be a catty bitch sometimes.”

“So you’ll help me?” I asked.

I could see the wheels in her head turning. Biting her lip, she said, “There’s something I’m going to tell you that no one else knows.”

“What?”

“Pappy bought a security system many years ago. It’s high-tech, with live video and everything, but I don’t think he’s ever really used it. Not much happens here in Belmont. Anyway, he has hidden cameras all through the clinic. If we can get to his laptop, we’ll be able to log on and search the feed.”

A new sense of hope spurred inside me. “Do you really think this could work?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know, but it’s worth a shot. He leaves his laptop in his office every night. All we have to do is get in there and look.”

“When?”

“It has to be late.” She pursed her lips in concentration. “I’m busy Saturday, and Pappy usually comes by the clinic on Saturday night. How about Sunday night sometime?”

I groaned. “I’ll be at Derek’s game.”

“What about afterward? The game starts at four, right? It’ll be over and done with before eight o’clock. We could meet around midnight. That way I know there won’t be anyone around to see us go in.”

“I can do that.”

“Great. Meet me out back and we’ll go in together.”

I nodded. “I’ll be here.”

The door opened and I jumped, turning quickly to see Derek stroll in. He smiled at Kellie and waved. “Hey, it’s good to see you again.”

Kellie beamed. “Same to you. Thanks for coming in.”

He glanced at me and nodded toward the door. “Our food’s in the truck. You about ready?”

“Yep,” I said happily. I gave Kellie a hug and winked at her. “See you this weekend.”

I had no clue what I was going to see on the cameras, but hopefully, it would be something. Anything was better than nothing. Taking Derek’s hand, we walked up to his truck and got in.

“You seem happier,” he observed.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “I am. Kellie’s going to help me figure out who contaminated my animals.”

I’d thought he’d be happy about it, but he stared at me with narrowed eyes. “And how is she going to do that?”

“By letting me see the video footage from the hidden cameras. She’s going to be with me the entire time.”

He shook his head disapprovingly. “You could get into some serious trouble if you’re caught doing that. I’m assuming you have to break in to the office to do this?”

I bit my lip. “Not exactly. Kellie will be the one to let me in. And I still have a key to the clinic.”

“This is a bad idea, Hayden. Why can’t you just let this go? You’re with me now. I can take care of everything for you.”

Hearing those words just made me love him more. While many girls would have loved to be a kept woman, that wasn’t my style. Taking his face in my hands, I kissed him. “You have no idea how much I love you for saying that. The problem is that I don’t want you to have to take care of me. I want to work and look after animals; it’s what I do.”