The Game You Play (Rixon Raiders 2)

“There’s five of them?” I asked, confused.

“Yes, didn’t I already explain that

?”

“You did, but I’d just assumed someone had left since the position came up.” And I definitely remembered him telling me there were at capacity.

“Ah.” George flushed bright red. “We shuffled things around and managed to find you some hours after all.”

“Wow, that’s… wow.”

“It’s actually great timing as Sandie recently announced she’s pregnant, so she’ll be looking to drop her hours as her pregnancy progresses.”

“Oh, okay then, if you’re sure.” I couldn’t shake Mya’s insinuation George’s motives weren’t entirely innocent.

“There’s nothing to worry about, I promise. I know how important hands-on experience can be for a college application, so if we can do our bit to help you…” He let his words hang.

“Thank you, that’s very kind.”

He beamed, the color in his cheeks returning to normal. “You want to takeover while I grab the rest of the supplies?”

“For real?” I started pushing my sleeves up.

“Of course, get in here. Benji is one of our friendlier arrivals.”

“He’s so cute. I can’t wrap my head around the fact they no longer wanted him.”

“He’ll be rehomed in no time. He’s one of the better cases, trust me. Okay, if you get in here,” George held onto Benji but stepped back letting me slip around him, so I was closest to the tub and the puppy, “that’s it. Now slide one hand to his collar.” Our fingers brushed as he withdrew his hand and it was my turn to blush. George cleared his throat and jerked back.

“You can start rinsing him off and then dry him with that towel.” He flicked his head over to the counter and a stack of towels.

“Rinse and dry, got it.”

“Excellent, I’ll be right back.”

George left and I took my time washing Benji. He was a placid thing, letting me scrub and run my fingers through his soaked coat. “You like that, boy?” I cooed earning me an eager lick to the face. Laughter bubbled up, the smile on my face so wide it hurt. But there was something so right about being here, that I felt happiness wrap around me like a warm blanket.

“We good in here?” George’s voice perforated my bubble.

“We’re fi—” Benji chose that exact moment to shake off his fur, spraying droplets of water everywhere. “Oh my…”

George handed me a towel. “Here, get dried off while I pat him down.”

“Does that happen a lot?”

“Yep, hazard of the job I’m afraid,” he chuckled.

“It’s funny,” I said toweling myself off, “I’ve kind of drifted through high school, never being sure what I wanted to do. Happy to go along with my parents’ plan for me. But being here, it’s like I know this is what I want to do. Gosh, I bet that sounds so cliché.”

“It doesn’t. I felt the same, back in the day. I knew being a doctor was what my parents wanted for me. But I’d be at the hospital, visiting my gran when she was sick, or hanging out with my dad on his rare day off, and I never felt that connection. I knew it would be rewarding, to heal people, save lives. But it never felt like what I was destined to do.”

“How am I going to tell them?” I whispered the words.

“If it makes you happy, eventually it’ll make them happy.”

He made it sound so easy.

“Look at it this way, you could spend the next four years of your life at college, surfing along studying a course that’s okay, or you could spend the next four years of your life studying something that excites you. Something you feel passionate about. Who knows where the future will take you, but wouldn’t you rather be on a path you choose? Sorry,” George added. “Like I said before, sometimes things just spill out before I can stop them.”