by Loni Ree
FIRST SIGHT
Copyright © 2020 by Loni Ree
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Edited By: Kendra's Editing and Book Services
Cover Design By: Sarah Kil Creative Studio
Cover Photo By: Lindee Robinson Photography
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Epilogue
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Loni Ree
Chapter 1
Slater
After Tony pulls Mrs. Jacobs’ Chevy back, I turn to Zander and growl, “I’m going to lose my sanity over that kid.” I just gave Mr. Mills his oil change free because the little shit ran his mouth and offended the older man.
As Zander runs his hand down his face, he sighs. “Give him a chance. He’s still young and stupid. Hell, he graduated high school three weeks ago.”
I glare at my business partner. “You’re in charge of the mechanics. Manage the little asshole before I lose my mind.” Zander flips me off before I storm into my office and slam the door. This is the third time this week the new-hire has screwed up, and I’m getting tired of dealing with the fall-out. I like to sit in my office and deal with the paperwork, not kiss customers’ asses because young dumbass mechanics can’t keep their mouths shut.
Zander sticks his head in my office door twenty minutes later. “There’s a guy in a business suit out here to see you.” If this is another Tony fuck-up, I’m going to kill the little bastard and be done with my problem.
Sighing in frustration, I slam my hand down on the desk. I took one day off, and this whole place has gone to hell. I look over at my business partner and demand, “Can’t you handle it?”
“Not this.” Zander walks away, and I wonder what the hell is going on.
The short, bald guy leaning against the counter stands straighter when I walk up. His wrinkled suit looks like he slept in it, and I’m positive I see ketchup stains on his dark green tie. I blink several times, sure I’m imagining the furry mop he has sitting at his feet. “I’m Slater Torrey. How can I help you?” He takes my hand, and I’m surprised at his firm grip.
“Mr. Torrey, I’m Dorian Lorrin, your late aunt’s attorney. Since you failed to show up for the reading of her will, I’ve come here to bring your inheritance to you.”
The fucker steps over to me, and I look down and realize he’s wrapped the leash handle around my hand. The rust-colored furball is staring up at me suspiciously. “Wait a minute. I have no idea what in the hell you’re talking about. You have the wrong guy. I don’t have any dead aunts.”
The lawyer sets a briefcase on the counter then pulls out an envelope and several other pieces of paper. He looks over at Zander before looking back at me. “Do you give me permission to discuss your personal business in front of this gentleman?” Zander grunts at the lawyer’s description but doesn’t leave.
“Yes. Let’s get this over with.”
“First of all, would you confirm that you are Slater Torrey, son of Hollis Torrey?” I have a sinking feeling at the mention of my dead father’s name.
“Yes, Hollis Torrey was my father, but he didn’t have any siblings. Neither did my mother,” I inform the lawyer as the little dog dances around at my feet. Both of my parents were only children, so I know there are no long lost aunts that are going to come out of the woodwork.
It looks like Mr. Lorrin has a shock for me. “Your father had an aunt, a Ms. Mildred Torrey. She was quite a few years younger than her brother, your grandfather. She was disowned by the family in her early twenties and never had any further contact with the family. Ms. Torrey never married or had any kids of her own. She found out a few months ago that she had a terminal condition and wanted to find her family.” He hands me the envelope. “She found you and requested that I give you this with your inheritance.”
After the lawyer hands me the envelope, I look down at the little furball and have a bad feeling. I hand the leash to Zander, and he grumbles, “Why do I get stuck with it?”
“Just let me read this.”
I open the envelope and find a letter written in neat, elegant handwriting:
Dear Slater,
Our family history is long and unhappy, but I am your Aunt Mildred. I regret never getting the chance to meet you, but I am your grandfather’s younger sister. I’ve recently learned that I have very little time left. Since you’re my only living relative, I wanted to leave something to you. I researched you and was pleased when I found an article about your success. It explained how you sold a very lucrative business in New York and moved to a small town in Texas to start an automotive repair shop, which has also become very successful. This information made me so happy. I am extremely proud of you. It convinced me that you don’t need my money in order to have a wonderful life. Because of this, I’m leaving my money to charity. I am leaving you my most valued possession, my Duchess. Please take loving care of her. She’s been my love bug for the last few years, and she deserves a loving home when I’m gone. I only wish I had time to meet you while I was alive.
Love,
Your Aunt Mildred
Holy Shit. I had a great-aunt, and she left me a dog. I’m not sure what shocks me more. Zander drops the furball on the counter and looks over my shoulder at the letter. He whistles through his teeth and laughs. “You own a dog named Duchess?”
I glare at the asshole over my shoulder before Lorrin gets my attention. “All of the information for Duchess is in that packet.” He points at a large envelope on the counter then turns for the door.
Before he makes it out the door, I call to him, “Why didn’t you try to contact me before today?”
The attorney turns and rubs the side of his head for a second. “Mr. Torrey, I had a notice about the reading of the will delivered here two weeks ago. An employee signed for it.” He looks in his paperwork then back at me. “Tony Durmont signed for it.”
Shortly after my growl fills the room, Zander swears behind me. I turn to see the invoices on the counter soaked and a guilty-looking furball staring at me.
“Oh, by the way, Duchess has stress incontinence, so please watch the loud noises and swearing around her,” the attorney suggests before rushing out the door.
“Don’t say a fucking word!” I leave Zander with the mess and run to grab my keys.
He’s talking quietly to the dog when I return, and I roll my eyes. After I pick up the furball and head for the door, Zander calls to me, “Aren’t you going to clean up the piss?”
I turn at the door and look down at the dog then back at Zander. “I’m taking this animal to the animal shelter. They probably won’t have any trouble finding a new home for the fuzz bucket. I’ll take care of the mess when I get ba
ck. Oh, and tell Tony I’ll kill him if he’s still here.”
Chapter 2
Slater
The entire ride to the animal shelter, I’m praying the furball doesn’t christen my seat. I don’t know much about dogs, but I’m sure this is some expensive breed with its black, flat face and fuzzy, rust-colored coat. When we arrive, the dog begins to have some sort of panic attack. She’s making a coughing, wheezing sound as I pick her up, and I’m worried something serious is wrong. The receptionist quickly stands and calls to me as soon as we push through the front door. “Sir, if your animal is sick, I’ll need you to take it straight through these doors.”
She opens the door and hustles me through before I can explain anything about the dog to her.
I forget about the heaving dog in my arms when I catch sight of the gorgeous woman standing behind the door. The blood thunders in my veins while I’m looking at her gorgeous, curvy body, and I realize I’m standing in the doorway, staring at her with my mouth hanging open. She looks at me oddly for the longest time before stepping over to us. “You poor baby.” As she coos and lightly pets the furball in my arms, my dick thumps in my pants from having her this close. Duchess immediately calms under the girl’s gentle strokes. “What’s this pretty girl’s name?”
It takes several seconds before I can drag my attention away from her perfection, then I blink several times and attempt to focus on what the beauty is asking. “Duchess.” My voice comes out as a grunt, and I wonder what the fuck is happening to me. Fuck, I think I just fell in love with this girl. At first fucking sight. I shake my head to clear the crazy thoughts, but they don’t leave my mind. Holy shit. My legs get weak, and the room is fading out around me.
The beautiful angel blinks a couple of times before looking down at the dog in my arms. “Hello, pretty girl Duchess. I’m Elyse.” I’m staring at the top of her chocolate brown hair as she rubs the little dog under its chin and makes kissing sounds.
While trying to keep control of my iron-hard cock, I manage to croak out, “Slate Torrey.”
The curvy beauty seems oblivious to my predicament as she continues petting the dog, “Why did you bring Duchess in today?”
I can’t seem to find the right words to say. What the hell? I’m fucking tongue-tied by a five-and-a-half-foot little girl. Finally, I find my voice and croak out, “I inherited Duchess from a great aunt. I’m not really a dog person, so I need to find her a new home.”
Elyse steps closer as her eyebrows draw together in a frown, and outrage flashes in her dark brown eyes a second before she gasps, “You can’t do that! She’s a gift to you. Your relative entrusted her care to you, and you have an obligation to her. You need to man up and accept your responsibility to Duchess.”
“Now, listen here. I didn’t father the damn dog.” As my temper overtakes my common sense, I step even closer to the little hellion. Her delicate scent is surrounding me, and I’m getting lightheaded. All the unfamiliar emotions churn around, and I’m about to implode.
The gorgeous woman’s hold on my heart tightens at the same time the dog buries her nose in my neck. Swallowing deeply, I realize I’m a fucking goner. Unable to resist the double-teaming by these two females, I’m folding like a deck of cards. “Then I need to get supplies for her. I don’t have a thing.” What the fuck is coming out of my mouth? “What time do you get off? I’ll pick you up, and you can come with me and show me everything Duchess will need.”
Elyse looks as shocked as I feel for a second, then she shyly smiles. “We close at six, but I usually don’t get out until six-thirty.” I’m finally able to take a deep breath.
She has a little gold piercing on the side of her nose, and I can’t resist running my finger over it. “I’ll be here at six just in case. We can grab some dinner and head over to Petland.”
Before she can change her mind, I wink and rush out the door. I’m not sure what it is about this woman, but I’ve never felt these insane feelings in my life. There’s no way I plan to let her get away without exploring what the hell is going on. My instincts have never led me wrong, and they’re shouting at me to grab her and hold on tight, so I jump in with both feet.
It looks like I’ve just become the owner of a furball, too. I couldn’t stand the disappointment and reproach in Elyse’s eyes when I mentioned giving Duchess away. I set the furball in the truck seat and run around to the driver’s side. As I look out the windshield, it hits me how my life has changed from twenty minutes ago when I walked into the fucking shelter. I really just lost my heart and soul over this girl.
When we get back to TBD Auto, I grab the furball and prepare myself for the reaction. We closed over an hour ago, so I find Zander and Brock sitting in the back room. Zander’s eyes widen comically as he looks at the dog in my arms. “Uh. You were supposed to drop the dog off at the shelter. What happened?”
There’s no use lying to these two. “I met someone at the shelter.” God, the words sound as crazy coming out of my mouth as they do running through my mind. These two would shit kittens if I said, “I met the love of my life at the shelter,” so I’ll tell them that a little later.
Brock looks between Zander and me, then speaks to me like I’m a child. “And that meant keeping the dog?”
After letting the dog down onto the floor, I flip off the asshole. “Fuck you. Now, would one of you assholes watch the furball tonight while I take my girl on a date?”
Brock waves his hands in a stopping motion. “Woah. Wait a minute. You really met a girl?” His eyes are wide, and he arches his eyebrows dramatically when he looks over at Zander and mouths, “What the fuck?” The asshole is always the comedian of the bunch.
Zander shrugs, and I have the urge to punch the smirk off of his face. “I expect this of him,” he points his head at his older cousin then looks back at me, “but you never even notice women. She must be something.”
My patience is coming to an end with my two business partners and good friends. “Will you watch my fucking dog or not?”
Zander looks up at the ceiling for a second before grumbling, “Yes. I have your dog. I’ve already cleaned up pee one time today, so you owe me.”
Before he can change his mind, I turn and head out. “I’ll pick Duchess up tomorrow morning,” I call over my shoulder, and his complaints follow me out the door.
Chapter 3
Elyse
I watch Slater walk out the door and wonder what in the world just happened. Holy cow. I have a date with the hottest guy I’ve ever seen, and I’m still not sure how it happened. When Leanne called me back to look at a sick dog, I rushed around the corner and stopped dead. It’s not every day you see a drop-dead gorgeous, six-foot-tall guy standing in the doorway holding a coughing Pekingese dog. I couldn’t help myself when I stared at him from head to toe for a few seconds. His thick, dark brown hair is cut longer on top and shaved short on the sides. When my inspection moved to his piercing brown eyes, his held mine captive for a moment before I pulled mine free and continued down past his bearded chin. I don’t usually go for guys with beards, but he’s the exception. Thoughts of that beard scraping over sensitive parts of my body zipped through my mind unchecked until I blinked to clear the fog holding me captive. My inspection of his amazing body found a tattoo peeking out of the sleeve of his fitted black t-shit, causing me to wonder about the rest of his body and how many other tattoos I might find under the t-shirt and tight, faded jeans. It took me a moment to realize I was still staring at him, so I pulled myself together and rushed over to help him with Duchess. Somehow, I persuaded him to keep Duchess, and he convinced me to accept a date with him.
I’ve heard about Slater and his business partners. Everyone in town knows about the three friends who bought the old auto repair shop last summer and turned it into a thriving business. My best friend, Emerson, takes her car in for oil changes way more frequently than is needed just to get a look at the three owners of the garage.
While I’m thinking about Emerson, I se
nd her a text canceling our pizza and Netflix. I know she’ll understand. Before I can put my phone away, Emerson’s face flashes across the screen, and I remind her I’m at the shelter today. “Hey, I’m at Animal Care. I can’t really talk.”
“Bitch. You can’t send me a text that says you have a date with one of the hottest men alive and expect me to wait until later for details,” she screeches in my ear, and I roll my eyes.
I look around to make sure no one is listening then hurry to explain, “I have to make this quick. He came into the shelter today and asked me out. I’ll give you the rest of the details tomorrow.” Since tomorrow is Thursday, we’ll both work nightshift at Darion Memorial, so I suggest, “Why don’t we meet for dinner before work?”
“Okay, but you owe me all the juicy details for cutting out on me tonight.” After agreeing, I slip my phone in my pocket and concentrate on making it through the rest of the afternoon. The closer we get to the end of my shift, the more my nerves are taking over.
Leanne rolls her neck from side to side and rubs her red eyes before she looks over at me. “Thank you so much for coming in for an extra shift this week. I know how hard it is to work nights at the hospital and flip your schedule around to volunteer here, but we do appreciate it. With so many illnesses going around, we need all the volunteers we can get.”
“Of course. You know I love to help you guys.” After smiling at Leanne, I walk through the back room one last time and turn off the main lights. A couple of days a week, I volunteer at the animal shelter because it’s a way for me to spend time with animals. I’ve always loved animals, especially dogs, but can’t have any in the small apartment I rent above the Hendersons’ garage. Plus, my job working nightshift as a nurse makes it nearly impossible to have any pets even if I were allowed.