Best Friends (New Species Book 15)

by Laurann Dohner

“No. Do you want to?”

  “I’m here! Move!”

  Snow felt relief when Doc Alli entered. She had gloved up and wore colorful cartoon-print scrubs. She ignored him and focused on Melinda. Chimes stepped to the side to give the doctor room to work.

  “You were shot with a handgun, correct? I’m Dr. Allison. What’s your name?”

  “Mel. Um, Melinda York.” She groaned. “It looked like a .38 but I’m not real good about knowing that stuff, and it’s kind of a blur. It happened too fast. It hurts.”

  Doc Alli pulled back and frowned at Chimes. “Why hasn’t someone given her pain meds yet?”

  “Doc Ted is with Wind. Doc Harris is waiting for the bad humans to arrive. We just got an update that Homeland is sending us more medical help.”

  “Shit. Okay.” Doc Alli leaned in close. “Are you allergic to any medicines?”

  “No, she’s not.” Snow met Doc Alli’s stare.

  “Is she taking any medications? Been drinking? Doing drugs?”

  “Nope, nope, and nope.” Mel paused. “Birth control pills. I almost forgot that.” She rattled off what she took.

  Doc Alli nodded. “I’m on it.” She spun away and returned quickly with a syringe. “You’re going to feel a little pinch in a second.”

  “It’s got to be nothing compared to feeling like my arm is being torn apart by a hungry crow.”

  Snow smothered a grin and stroked Melinda’s hair. “Do crows tear limbs apart often?”

  “Well, no, but they might if you’re bleeding and think you won’t fight back.” She paused when she was given the shot, her face scrunching up slightly. “They’re scavengers. That was nice. It didn’t hurt much.”

  “I’m happy to hear that.” Doc Alli moved away to dispose of the syringe. “It will quickly take effect.”

  “Nighty-night time?”

  Snow’s amusement at the way Melinda spoke grew.

  “No. You’ll be feeling good though.” Doc Alli came back to the bed.

  The female under him relaxed after a few minutes and smiled. “Oh, this is good.”

  “What is?” Snow eased some of his weight off her chest as her body became limp.

  “The drugs.” Mel smiled. “I can’t feel my toes.” She paused. “They are still there, right?”

  He nodded. “I promise you that they are.” He turned his head to address Doc Alli. “Will she be alright?”

  “Yes. She was grazed. She’s going to have a scar but I got the bleeding stopped. I’m about to put in stitches after I finish cleaning the wound. She got lucky. The bullet missed the bone. I don’t even see a crease on it.”

  Snow gazed into Mel’s eyes. He wanted to keep her distracted and focused on him to prevent her from seeing what was about to happen next. He never enjoyed looking at sharp needles, especially if it involved his skin being sewn together. “How long have you lived in town?”

  “Just over a year.” She smiled. “I love your eyes. The color is amazing. They remind me of my favorite kind of summer day. I call you Mr. Blue Eyes. I didn’t know your name.”

  He grinned. “Thank you. Your eyes are quite pretty, too.”

  “Why did you pick your name?”

  He hesitated. “My hair is white and someone said it reminded them of freshly fallen snow. I liked that.”

  She smiled at back.

  “Melinda?” Doc Alli spoke. “I’m going to give you antibiotics. It can nullify the effectiveness of your birth control pills. Your partner will need to use condoms for at least a month, okay?”

  Mel snorted. “Partner? Have you met the guys in town? I dated one of the deputies for a few weeks right after I moved here. He was hot, but good in bed he was not. It was sad. I thought it might be a fluke, but nope. Three strikes and I was done with Deputy Dud. Dang cable television.”

  Snow couldn’t hold back. He laughed. “He watched television while sharing sex with you? That is sad.”

  She shook her head, and her big brown eyes locked onto him. “No. It’s just a theory I have.”

  He was intrigued. “Tell me this theory of yours.”

  “I’m from a small town. We don’t have cable, and what television signals we do get are crappy. Nobody could afford to have those fancy channels anyway, even if they did run the lines that far out. And nobody trusts satellites. They think the government is using them to spy on folks.” She licked her lips. “The boys have nothing to do besides chores and messing around. They get really good at sex, otherwise word spreads fast that they’re bad in bed.” She sighed. “It isn’t worth getting naked if you know it’s going to be disappointing. Men here have cable. Instead of trying to get better at seducing women themselves, they’re all sitting on their backsides, watching people have fake sex, where the women act like they enjoy stuff that actually frustrates and irritates us in real life.”

  Snow clenched his teeth and pressed his lips together to prevent the laughter from escaping. Doc Alli and Chimes didn’t hold back, though. He nodded. “I like that theory.”

  “It’s true. Do you have cable?” Melinda peered at him intently.

  “No,” he lied. He didn’t feel guilty about it, either.

  She smiled. “I hoped you didn’t. That would have bummed me out.”

  “Okay,” Doc Alli cut in. “You might want to go now, Snow. Our friend here is a lightweight with pain meds.”

  He didn’t want to leave her. “I’m not going anywhere. I brought her in, and I’m staying by her side.”

  “You carried me.” Mel released his hand and gripped his arm, rubbing it. “You’re really strong. I like your muscles. You should wear tank tops more often. I loved the gray one you wore last time I saw you. Jeans look really good on you, too. I kind of hate your uniform. It hides your amazing butt since the jacket hangs low.”

  “You think my ass is amazing?” He felt pleased.

  “You have tons of muscles there, too. It’s the best one I’ve ever seen. I bet it feel really nice to touch.”

  “Okay. That’s it.” Doc Alli slapped Snow’s shoulder with the back of her gloved hand. “Out. Now.”

  “It’s just getting interesting,” he protested, grinning at her. “She seems to like me.”

  Doc Alli shot him a disgusted but amused look. “Fine. I’ll have Chimes dose you later, and we can let Melinda stand next to your bedside as you’re spouting things while you’re high as a kite.”

  “Come on, Amazing Ass.” Chimes gripped the back of his belt and yanked hard. “Go out in the waiting area. Otherwise, you’ll be Bruised Ass when I toss you on it. I’m not letting go until you’re at least fifty feet from the other side of the door.”

  He knew the female meant it; she’d literally drag him out. He winked at Mel. “I’ll be close by.”

  “Don’t go!” She reached out toward him.

  He was tempted to stay, but Chimes tugged hard enough to make him flinch. Species females didn’t bluff.

  Chapter Three

  “I have to quit my job.” Mel put a hand over her face since her other arm was in a sling. The nice doctor had asked her to wear it for a few days to prevent her from tearing the stitches. She was supposed to keep her upper arm immobile.

  Mary sat on the couch next to her. “How bad can it be?”

  “I was like a love-sick calf bawling for its mama. I’m pretty sure I screamed ‘come back, Mr. Blue Eyes. I need you.’”

  Mary rubbed her leg in sympathy. “That’s not too bad.”

  “That was after I told him he had a nice butt. It’s kind of foggy, but I’m sure I said something along those lines. They gave me the good drugs. I can’t face him, Mary. He comes into the diner for lunch when they’re in town. I have to get a different job.”

  “I am not letting you quit the diner.”

  “Don’t you understand how embarrassed I am?”

  “You were dopey. I broke my wrist years ago and flashed my ass at the nurses when my dad came to take me home. I wasn’t fit to drive, and my car wasn’t there anywa
y. Nobody gave me any shit about it.”

  Mel finally looked at her friend. “Everyone flashes their butts in a hospital gown. They’re designed to do that. Those ties in the back to keep it together are a joke.”

  “I purposely mooned the nurses on my way out. I don’t want to talk about why, though.”

  “I’m sharing my humiliation with you. Come on. That’s what friends do. I’ll be in a better mood if it’s funny. Spill.”

  “Fine.” Mary crossed her arms over her chest, leaning back. “I was messing around with Kenny Brian and thought it would be hot to have sex in the back of his truck bed. Here’s a tip—don’t do it doggy style when you’re facing the end of the truck and the tailgate is down. He got a bit excited, and was going at me with, um…enthusiasm. I fell over the edge and hit the ground. There went the wrist.”

  “Ouch.” Mel winced. “That’s not funny at all. It sounds painful. You’d have thought he’d have yanked you back.”

  “He went with me! I tried to catch us both. I think it was our combined weight that caused the break. It happened really fast.”

  “That’s pretty horrible.”

  “Kenny agreed. He complained the entire time while he drove me to the hospital because our fun ended before he got off, like I was a wimp for calling a halt. I told him my wrist was broken, but he thought I was being a drama queen. He dropped me off at the ER and left.”

  “What a scum bucket!”

  “That’s why I’m not with him anymore. Then those nurses started in on me. They thought they were a riot, telling dumb blonde jokes. Like I was in a mood to put up with that crap. I’ve gotten it my entire life.”

  “What mean heifers. You’re a smart blonde.”

  “Thank you. See why I was mad? I would have told them to kiss my ass, but my dad was in a mood already. He hates bad language. Plus, he knew how it happened before he got to me. I’m sure it was one of those nurses who ratted me out. So much for patient confidentiality. I had worked out a good lie, too. It involved hiking and falling on a rock. Instead, he stormed in and said I was grounded for life. He even gave me a lecture about how Kenny was no good and I was forbidden to see him again.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Nineteen, but I still lived at home then.”

  “Parents suck at times but he was right about Kenny.”

  Mary laughed. “Yes. He was.” She grew serious. “Did the sheriff or a deputy come over yet? They said they were going to need a statement from you.”

  “No. I was just dropped off an hour ago, and one of them let me borrow his cell phone to call you before they left. Thanks for coming.”

  “Of course. The diner’s closed until it’s all cleaned up and the broken tables are replaced. Joel said a few days off would do us good.”

  “Doctor Alli told me both of those gunmen are still alive.”

  “The New Species took them out of the diner breathing, but that one with the chest wound?” Mary wrinkled her nose. “It looked bad. Don’t be upset if he doesn’t make it. They’re dirtbags for trying to murder people. Speaking of being shot, is the New Species going to live?”

  “I’d heard that Wind made it through surgery and was doing well before two task force members showed up to drive me home.”

  “Were they any New Species that come into the diner?”

  “They were humans. They flew in from Homeland with more doctors and to ask me questions.”

  “What did they want to know?”

  “I was shown pictures of the men I shot, and asked if I had ever seen them before. I hadn’t…and I’ve met almost everybody in town.”

  “It’s impossible not to. This place isn’t that big, and we only have one decent grocery store.” Mary pulled a face. “That gas station minimart near the freeway is way overpriced. They screw the tourists.”

  “I don’t shop there, either.” Mel sighed. “Anyway, I’m just glad I’m not going to jail. Those task force guys I spoke with said I wasn’t in any trouble.”

  “You’re not, Mel. The New Species were very clear that you acted in self-defense and saved their lives. Sheriff Cooper wasn’t even mad that Joel keeps a loaded shotgun at the diner. Hell, he patted him on the back. Where did you learn to shoot like that, anyway?”

  “You’ve never been on a working farm, have you?”

  “No. I’m a city girl. I mean, our town isn’t real big but I couldn’t milk a cow. I’d probably grab a bull’s balls by mistake. I don’t even know how to tell them apart.”

  “That would end badly.” Mel laughed, imaging that scenario. But her humor was short-lived. “Two words for you: barn vermin. We got infestations if we didn’t get rid of them. It was good practice.”

  “What are barn vermin?” Mary looked confounded.

  “Rats, racoons, and snakes, mostly. You sure don’t want them around. Some are downright mean. Though, I did miss some of them on purpose because the noise chased them off.”

  Mary shuddered.

  Mel chuckled. “See why I left my hometown? Not to mention, we had one bar there, and it doubled as a gas station and minimart. The owners only served food on the weekends, so it was where you went if you didn’t feel like cooking or wanted to take someone on a date. Everything else was over half an hour away. It wasn’t bad to travel during good weather, but in the winter, we were stuck. The roads could get too bad.”

  “I thought you mostly left because of your mother.”

  “Her too. Mama and her friends made my life a living nightmare. But the last straw was Bobby Roy.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “The fifty-two-year-old widower Mama kept throwing at me, but he looked way older than that. He’d never had kids with his dearly departed wife, and he owned a nice spread next to ours. Mama told me he drank a lot, meaning he wouldn’t live to a ripe old age. She had her heart set on adding his land to ours when he left me everything as his widow.”

  Mary’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah. He had a sweating problem, too. Probably from all the booze trying to escape his bloated body. I told her I wasn’t going to sleep with a man just so she could have a nicer fishing spot. She said I was sleeping with pond scum anyway, and I might as well get something out of it besides a bad reputation.”

  “She sounds really harsh. I’ve known you for a year, and you’ve only dated one guy in that time. A bad reputation implies you sleep around, which you don’t.”

  “Well, I was with Jimmy for five years, but two of those he was in the service after we graduated. I didn’t get to see him unless he was on leave. We were high school sweethearts. I wasn’t the cheating kind, but he turned out to be. Some girl showed up out of the blue looking for him. They’d broken up, and she wanted him back. Imagine how surprised we both were. She didn’t know he’d asked me to marry him. We were waiting until he was home, after he got out of the service. Meanwhile, he’d been living with her where he was stationed. Then I was with Buck, but he was more fun than serious.”

  “You told me about Buck. He was the one who loved to race cars, right? Cute but kind of stupid? He had a good sense of humor?”

  “Yeah. I didn’t want to become a widow since, he wasn’t very good at not wrecking cars, so I kept telling him no when he talked about marriage.”

  “He met some girl and married her when he was in Texas, if I recall.”

  “That would be him.” Mel shrugged. “Better her than me.”

  “How long were you with him?”

  “Two years, on and off.”

  “Anyone else back there?”

  Mel shook her head.

  “And that earned you a bad reputation in your town? You’re twenty-five and have only had a total of two boyfriends. That’s not slutty at all.”

  “They were kind of bad boys. Jimmy’s old man is the town drunk. Buck’s mama is a wandering spirit, which is a nice way to say she sleeps around. She’d hook up with any man who offered to take her away from there, then come home to her husban
d after she got dumped. He always let her back in the door, and then she’d take off again with someone else. It was like an endless cycle of misery. It’s probably still going on.”

  “That made them bad boys?”

  “Small town. The sins of the parents and all that. Nobody lets them forget who their folks are, and it’s kind of implied any woman willing to hook up with them is asking for trouble. Plus, I stopped going to church.”

  “Is that a crime?”

  “It is with my mama being who she is. She’s really involved, but I refused to go after Preacher Todd started hitting on me. I told her, but she insisted I was only saying it to get back at him for making me an example during one of his sermons about sinning. And he really did that as payback over me turning him down flat. Mama believed him over me, saying it was wishful thinking that a man of God would want me.”

  Mary shook her head. “Your mother is a bitch, and Preacher Todd sounds like a first-class prick.”

  “That’s why we’re friends, Mary.” Mel grinned. “And I agree. Then my mama started inviting Bobby Roy to dinner as my date and started laying on the guilt trips about how much easier her life would be if I married him. She still does every time I talk to her. She wants me to come home and marry him. See why I hate talking to her on the phone? Why I like to torment her about being open to cameras and some guy nicknamed Big Boner nailing me? Payback.”

  “Are you going to tell your parents what happened? You might want to. Sheriff Cooper had everyone promise not to tell anyone what happened, to avoid a media circus coming to town, but whatever cover story they come up with might not work. Someone still might blab. New Species were attacked. It could make the news.”

  “Nope. I’m going to lie if that happens, and tell my folks that there’s another woman with my name living here. They think this is some huge city, so as far as they’re concerned, it’s possible.”

  Mary laughed. “Nobody would buy that.”

  “Don’t pop my bubble of hope, Mary. I’m already having a bad day. I told Snow he had a nice butt and made a fool of myself. He’s got to think the worst of me. Did I mention I admitted I’m on the pill, and that I slept with Deputy Dud?”