by Molly O'Hare
“Good.” John straightened before placing his hand on top of his stomach. He then puffed it out. “You have time to take me out for breakfast.”
Ben’s brow arched.
“What’s with the pot belly?” Holly asked coming from the back staring at John. Her scrunched face caused John to huff out a laugh causing his stomach to go back to its proper place. “Oh, that’s more like it. Show those abs who’s boss, big guy.”
“Holly Richman,” Ben growled at his wife while giving her a pointed look.
“What?” Holly stared back at him. Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “He’s got a nice tummy.”
“And why are you looking at his tummy?” Ben asked tilting his head to the side.
“Hey, if you guys want to play your sports games without your shirts on, that’s not my fault.” Holly shrugged.
That little shit. He saw her bite her bottom lip to stop from laughing. Oh, I’ll give you something to laugh about. Just wait until tonight.
Ben turned back to John narrowing his eyes in warning. “From now on, you’re wearing a shirt. End of story.”
“Hey, don’t go all asshole on me. It’s not my fault your lady has good taste.” John puffed out his chest. “I got the goods everyone wants a piece of.” John started circling his hips.
“Eww!” Holly shuddered, throwing her hands over her eyes. “Don’t ever do that again. I can’t unsee it.”
“Hey, you were all for my goods a few seconds ago.” John pouted.
“No. I said you have a nice tummy.” Holly moved in front of Ben before placing her hand on his abs. “But not as nice as his.”
With a chuckle at John’s flabbergasted expression, Ben bent and kissed the top of Holly’s head. “Thank you, baby. But don’t think I’ll forget what you said.”
“What? What did I say?”
Ben swatted her ass causing Holly to jump. “If I ever catch you staring at John’s goodies, there will be more of that to come.”
“You can try, but you’d have to catch me first.”
As Holly took a step away from him ready to run, Ben growled. Oh, it’s on.
“For fuck’s sake,” John threw his hands in the air effectively distracting Ben from chasing his wife. “I’m right here. Can you all wait to do your kinky shit when I’m not around? Besides, let’s get back to my tummy and feeding it.” John pointed at Ben while looking at Holly. “Your husband just promised to take me out for a big breakfast. One that's going to make him question everything he knows with the amount of food I plan to consume.”
“You have been known to pack it away. Where it goes, I have no idea. If I ate the way you do, I’d be as big as this room,” Holly grumbled.
Ben sent a warning growl in her direction. Oh, tonight is gonna be fun.
Holly threw her hands up at his glare. “How about I stay here and start rescheduling patients? I’ll call the clients that have animals here and tell them what happened. Sound good?”
Ben decided to drop the conversation about her talking bad about herself for later…. And there would be a later. “Sure. Do you have to go to work today?”
“Yes, but I’ll call Mildred and let her know what’s going on. She can cover for me until Stacy comes into the clinic. Actually…” Holly placed her finger on her chin. “When Stacy comes in she can help me rearrange the appointments. Maybe I should tell Mildred I can’t make it in. No wait, yes I can. It won’t take long to do all this. If I remember correctly, you had a light day.” She looked up at him. “Right, or am I making that up? Friday’s are normally your off day. Maybe I’m losing my mind. Am I losing my mind?”
Ben couldn’t help but laugh at her rambling. “Yes, babe. Fridays are normally my light day, and no you are not losing your mind. You just need some sleep.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“Sounds like she’s got it under control,” John chimed in. “Now, feed me.”
“You’re a pain in the ass.” Ben looked at his best friend.
John straightened while he smirked. “Tis true.”
“Fine.” Ben rolled his eyes. Is it too late to get a new best friend? “But we’re stopping at the station to file the report.”
John’s whole face brightened as a lopsided grin appeared. “You mean we’re gonna do the walk of shame in and out of the police station?”
“Wait, what?” Holly asked.
“Yeah, what?” Ben mimicked.
“You know, only people with stories get to stroll out of the station doing the walk of shame.” He pointed at his clothes before he placed both of his hands in his golden-brown hair and started disheveling it.
Holly and Ben both watched him in awe. “You’re strange, you know that right?”
“This is coming from the woman with a dog that thinks it’s a human and that he’s your master.”
“Hey, you can’t blame me for how my dog acts,” Holly defended, as she placed her hands on her hips. “Have you ever tried to reason with him? It doesn’t work. Plus, you can’t say anything when you’re the one trying to make yourself look like a crazy person so people will notice you and think you have some epic story to tell. And you say me having a human dog is strange.”
“You enable him,” John countered.
“Enabling him is safer. When Waffles eventually takes over the world I hope to get one of the better jobs.” She pointed at John. “You, on the other hand, will probably get pooper scooper duty.”
“And, Ben will be imprisoned since he’s a vet.” John tsked at him “No dogs like the vet.”
Holly shrugged and looked at Ben. “He has a point.”
“You know what? Both of you are strange.” Ben scratched his chin. But that does remind me to give Waffles a few extra treats when we get him from Henry’s.
John moved his hands through his hair one more time causing Ben to roll his eyes.
“Let John do whatever the hell John’s brain thinks is a good idea, Ben.” Holly placed her hands in her pockets looking away from him. “Plus, it’s best you take him with you to the station anyway. I don’t think it’d be wise for me to show my face there.” Not looking at him, Holly started moving towards the reception desk causing him to quirk his brow.
John burst into laughter. “What are you scared you’ll run into Officer Jones?”
“He started it.” Holly snapped her head toward John as her eyes narrowed on him.
“Holly.” Ben gave her the eye.
“Do not Holly me, Ben! Jonsie boy had it out for me from the second we arrived.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “He’s a jerk face McJerkerson.”
“You threatened him.” Ben’s brows shot to the ceiling.
“Is that why she was in cuffs when I got here?” John asked.
“No.” Ben shook his head. “She was in cuffs because he ran her name and saw she’d been arrested before. Add in her threats and he said he did it for safety reasons.”
John darted his eye’s to Holly. “No shit. You’ve been arrested before?”
“It was a misunderstanding!”
“Just like last night was a misunderstanding? A misunderstanding that ended with you in handcuffs and me having to promise to keep you away from officer Jones for the foreseeable future?”
“It’s not my fault he can’t handle me.”
“He looked like he was handling you just fine. You were after all the one in cuffs. He was just standing there eating a donut.” John laughed which caused Holly to punch her fist in the air.
“That’s another thing! He was taunting me with those donuts. Where the hell did they even come from?” She growled narrowing her eyes at John. “You want a piece of me, Bub? Just say the word.”
“Down girl.” John held his hands up. “You’re liable to trip on your way over here and break an arm anyway.”
Ben saw it coming from a mile away. You know that thing cats do right before they pounce? Apparently, Holly was part cat. He saw her take a small step back then shake her ass before she leaped into the air.
Her sights set on the man who was now hunched over uncontrollably laughing.
Thankfully, Ben caught her in mid-flight before cradling her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head. “Have I ever told you, you’re sexy when you get all protective and domineering?”
John gagged. “Eww, not again.”
Holly’s face glowed as her eyes brightened. “Love you, Ben.”
“Love you too, Grace.” Ben placed a stray piece of Holly’s hair behind her ear after setting her down. “I’ll call you as soon as I’m done at the police station. See if Mildred wouldn’t mind covering your whole shift so you can go home and get some sleep.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?”
Holly looked at him. “You’ve been up as long as I have.” The love and caring that radiated off Holly filled Ben with warmth. Her concern for everyone else was one of the biggest reasons why he loved her. Ben bent before kissing her lightly on the cheek. “Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be home before you know it and we can both take a nap.”
“Does anyone care about me?” John whined. “I’ve been here just as long as you two. Don’t I get a nap?”
Ben laughed before shaking his head at his friend. “You are pretty cranky.”
“And hungry.” John lifted his chin.
“Whoa.” Holly looked at John. “You clearly do need a nap. You’re on the brink of a temper tantrum like a two-year-old.” Holly then turned and winked at Ben. “But that’s someone else's problem, not mine.”
Ben groaned at the realization.
“Right through the heart.” John held his hand to his chest like he’d been shot. “And all this time I thought we had something going, Holly. I’m heartbroken.”
Holly shrugged, before walking to the reception desk leaving Ben to deal with John. “You’ll get over it.”
Chapter Six
After spending the morning rearranging all of Ben’s appointments for the day, Holly was downright exhausted. Once Stacy, Ben’s receptionist, made it in which was a chore on its own since Stacy nearly had a full-on meltdown once Holly told her what happened, they worked nonstop.
Thankfully, all of the clients had been very understanding, and there weren’t any emergencies.
Holly closed her eyes the moment she pulled into her driveway.
Universe, when I asked for something interesting to happen for book material this was not what I meant. She finally let the events of the last twenty-four hours really sink in. Holy freakin’ crap on a cracker!
No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t fathom any reason why someone would want to break into the clinic. Not only that, but nothing was taken.
It was like they only did it just to be a jerk.
Holly placed her hands on her forehead trying to ward off the headache she had.
Wonderful. As if today couldn’t get any worse. She glared up at the roof of her car. Now you’re gonna give me a headache?
Holly placed her head on the steering wheel. Well, it could have been worse. At least she didn’t have to go to work.
Once Holly called Mildred and told her what happened, she was more than happy to cover for her.
Although Holly got the feeling if it were up to Mildred, she would have stormed into the police station demanding answers herself. Holly had to listen to Mildred for twenty minutes as she detailed what’d she’d do to the person that dared to hurt her Mr. Hotness. She was so up in arms, she was about five seconds from interrogating everyone she came across. Young or old she didn’t care.
Holly shuddered.
Calm and collected Mildred was a freaking tornado. Angry and determined Mildred was someone the freaking devil feared himself.
Me too, Holly thought as she smiled at Mildred’s nonsense words as she started naming off her contacts and who she could call to take care of it.
Holly wouldn’t be surprised if Mildred was at the library right now scouring through investigation books and crime dramas.
With a shake of her head Holly pushed the thoughts of Mildred out of her mind, she reached for her phone. She hadn’t heard anything from Ben. She really wasn’t all that surprised though. She’d seen the way John ate before. If Ben were lucky, he would have gotten John out of the diner with only two meals instead of four. That man could eat everything in a buffet and still ask for more. Worst part was, he never gained a pound. He was still built like a damn cover model no matter what he stuffed in his large mouth.
Bastard.
They were probably just now getting to the station. Plus, once they were at the police station, there was no telling how long they’d be there. The one and only time she had been arrested she was there forever and a year.
She just hoped once this was all said and done, they’d never have to deal with it again.
Holly turned off her car and grabbed her bag. In slow movements, she dragged herself to the front door. Something was missing though. Once she made it up the last step, she realized it was quiet. Too quiet.
It was weird walking up to their house and not hearing barking.
Extremely weird.
She didn’t like it.
Right before Holly left the clinic, she’d called her dad to give him the full rundown of the events that had transpired. After getting an earful from him too, Holly couldn’t tell who was more pissed, her dad or Mildred.
Thankfully her dad agreed to watch the pups while Ben and her dealt with the situation.
It was a win-win. Henry always loved having the dogs around. He always spouted stuff about how the dogs made him young again and if we were only going to give him dogs and no grandbabies, then he’d take every moment he got with them.
Speaking of that…
Right now, she was too tired to really think about it. All she wanted was to crawl into their bed, and never get back out again.
That wasn’t too much to ask for, right? She didn’t think so.
Holly opened the front door. When she looked down the hall she saw Twitch running with all his might straight toward her. Her smile spread from ear to ear. What a way to come home. “Hey, little guy. Did you miss your momma?”
Twitch started jumping on her legs trying to get Holly to pick him up. She couldn’t help but laugh as she reached down and scooped him into her arms. “You’d think I’d be used to you acting like a dog when we come home, don’t cha think?” She kissed his head. “But, I’m not.”
When Ripley and Waffles were at the door ready to greet whoever was coming in, Twitch was always there too.
While Holly scratched his head, she felt his little twitch, and her heart warmed. It wasn’t as strong as it was when he was first poisoned but it was still there. She suspected it would always be there. Especially, since he’d grown out of his kitten phase and there was no sign of the twitch going away. But that was okay. It gave him character.
It made her love him all the more.
Holly scratched between his ears as she cooed at him. “How could anyone have ever done that to you? You’re nothing but a big lump of love.”
Holly was just glad the kid that poisoned him had gotten in trouble. She still however wanted to punch him whenever she thought about it, though.
But no, two wrongs don’t make a right. And there was that whole being an adult thing, and never punching a child. But still, anyone that hurts an animal and —
She stopped herself. Whenever she started going down that path it was never a good thing. And right now, she didn’t have the energy.
She gave Twitch another squeeze. “Love you, Twitchy.” She was rewarded when he started to rub against her chin while he purred.
Holly placed him onto the floor before making her way towards their couch. With a dramatic sigh, that could rival Lord Waffles, she plopped down.
Twitch was having none of it though. How dare his mom get onto the couch without him? He jumped onto her lap demanding more attention.
“My bad, sorry little one.” Holly scratched under his chin before Twi
tch crawled into a ball.
A broad smile spread across Holly’s face.
Ignoring her kitty, she reached into her pocket before pulling out her phone once again.
Nothing.
Holly let her eyes fall closed. What a day it had been.
But even with everything that had happened, she still had one thing in the back of her head.
Holly knew there was no way she’d be able to bring up the conversation with Ben now. She’d been seconds from letting Ben know at dinner last night, but now it didn’t seem the time nor place to bring it up. At least not today. Not while everything was still happening.
A longing ran through her body as her heart squeezed.
Soon.
Holly opened her eyes and looked around their home. “One day. One day it will happen.” She let out a drawn-out sigh as she looked down at her lap. In an instant, she scooped Twitch into her arms before rolling onto her side. She brought her fur-baby up to her chin and carefully placed him in the crook of her neck. This will have to do for now.
Twitch opened one of his eyes briefly before stretching and making himself more comfortable.
“Glad to see I wasn’t an inconvenience for you there, little mister.”
Twitch yawned before shutting his eyes completely ignoring Holly.
I can’t tell if he missed me or he was just upset he was home alone this whole time and away from Ripley? She decided she would leave well enough alone. Ignorance is bliss as they say. At least he didn’t talk back to her like Waffles did.
Yet.
Jesus fucking Christ. John can eat a lot.
Ben stared at his best friend in awe. And how the hell was he able to run up these damn steps?
“What’s that look for?” John asked as he took the steps two by two up to the front of the station.
“I’m trying to figure out how you’re not over in the bushes spewing your breakfast. How the hell can you run after all the shit you just ate.”
John’s face morphed into a boyish grin as he patted his stomach. “It’s truly a gift.”