Rescued

by L. P. Maxa

  Lonnie inclined his head toward Brittany. “She’s one of The Barstows. Miss Lexi’s her grandmother.”

  “Wow. I can’t wait to tell my husband I met you. He’s a huge Barstows fan. So we’ll start Cocoa’s treatments in the morning. As badly as she seems to feel, she needs to stay here so we can do the laser treatments several times a day. That should help with the inflammation as well as the pain. We’ll get her started on some tissue supplements, steroids, and a painkiller.” She smiled reassuringly. “We’ll get her fixed up. If you restrict her activities so she doesn’t reinjure herself, Cocoa should have a good life.”

  Brittany breathed a sigh of relief.

  They gave Cocoa a pat good-bye and trooped out to the waiting room, where Lonnie forked over the already considerable vet bill. Brittany got in the passenger seat and glanced over at him as he started the Jeep. “It wouldn’t have mattered whether you had the money. You would have paid that bill, wouldn’t you?”

  Lonnie shrugged. “You were ready to do the same. And you’re the one keeping her, knowing about the bad back.”

  They drove to her apartment in silence. Lonnie pulled up next to her car and killed the engine. They got out of the Jeep. “We need to talk,” he said as he leaned against the hood.

  “So talk.” She leaned against the car next to him and folded her arms in front of her.

  “I was an ass and I’m sorry. I should have called you.”

  She looked at him. “Who are you?”

  “Who am I?”

  “I don’t get you. On one hand, your picture’s in the dictionary beside ‘hopeless flirt.’ You’ve made it an art form to the point that no woman in her right mind would take you seriously. And yet, you have the biggest, kindest heart I’ve ever seen. You keep a carrier and a net to rescue animals. and tonight you committed to spending thousands of dollars over the course of Cocoa’s lifetime to provide her the treatment she needs. So which man is the real Lonnie Jeffries? The hopeless flirt or the serious, committed guy in the clinic tonight?”

  “A little of both, I guess. I swore off love when I saw what a love gone wrong did to Ike. I swore I’d never hurt like that. The flirting’s natural with me, so I ran with it. Keep it light. Nothing heavy, nothing serious, no commitments, no tomorrows. Strictly here and now and on to the next pretty girl. And I was fine with that. Until you. That’s why I didn’t call you. I have never in my life felt what I felt kissing you.” He smiled ruefully in the early morning shadows. “It scared the hell out of me. You scare the hell out of me.”

  “I scare the hell out of you?”

  “You better believe it. You’re not a one-night-stand kind of lady. You’re a tomorrow kind of lady. You deserve a man who wants and respects that. Who can be serious and make a commitment. Who wants more than here and now. Who’s willing to look at you with the possibility of tomorrows.” He took her by the hand. “You make me want to be that man. I’m capable of serious and committed. I’ve proven that with the animals. And I’d like to at least try to be that kind of guy with you. No, let me rephrase that. I’d like to be that kind of guy with you. If you’ll give me the chance.”

  Brittany felt a smile bloom on her face. “A chance.”

  His happy grin lit up the parking lot. “So let’s start, darlin’, with another of those mind-blowin’ kisses.”

  She hesitated for a moment before she walked into his arms. It felt so good and so right to hold on to him. He drew her close and pressed his lips to hers. His kiss was hot and hungry, and she met his demanding tongue with passionate thrusts of her own.

  Reality was even better than her memory as she put her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers in his soft, curly hair. His heart beat strongly against her breasts, which had stiffened against his hard, muscled chest. The evidence of his desire poked into her tummy even as warmth and moisture flooded her core. She wanted him as badly as he wanted her.

  Brittany’s lips gentled as he nibbled her mouth, his touch a promise of sweet things to come. He cradled her head in his hands, so tender as he stroked her hair back from her forehead. He finally lifted his head from hers.

  “Wow,” he breathed. “I don’t know any other word for it.”

  She nodded. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

  “Oh, you better believe it, darlin’. When’s your next night off?”

  ###

  Brittany blinked at the soft little woof that came from the dog crate in the corner of the bedroom. “Coming, baby girl,” she whispered into the room as the slightest bit of morning light filtered through the blinds. She eased out from under Lonnie’s arm and pulled on a T-shirt and sleep shorts. As quietly as she could, she opened the crate door. Cocoa gingerly got to her feet and hobbled out of the crate. “Not quite up to par yet, are you?” she whispered as she scooped the tiny dog into her arms and carried her into the living room. She snapped on the leash, but rather than put Cocoa down, she carried her down the outside stairs and placed her gently on the grass.

  Cocoa did her business and they made their way to the steps. The sky was brightening from pink to orange and the distant rumble of trucks on I-81 was the only early morning sound. She climbed the stairs with the dog in her arms and sat down on the sofa with Cocoa beside her. “It was a long three weeks, wasn’t it, baby girl? I’m so glad to finally have you home.” She and Lonnie had picked Cocoa up from the clinic yesterday afternoon.

  Brittany nuzzled the top of Cocoa’s head. “But it was a good three weeks, too. So what do you think, baby girl? Was it too soon to let him spend the night with me? Should I have played hard to get a little longer?”

  Cocoa looked up and wagged her tail as Lonnie stood yawning in the door of the bedroom. Clad only in his boxer briefs, he was sex on a stick, and Brittany’s fingers itched to touch him, to explore those tight muscles in his hair-sprinkled chest and run her lips down the trail that disappeared into his shorts. “Sorry. We didn’t mean to wake you,” she murmured as she looked at him hungrily.

  Lonnie’s smile was sleepy as he sat down on the other side of Cocoa. “Cocoa, tell Brittany that it wasn’t too soon. Tell her that it was the best night of my life. Tell her that I can hardly wait to hold her and make love to her again. Tell her that I want to give her a big good-morning kiss right about now. On second thought, I’ll deliver that message myself.”

  He leaned over and drew Brittany toward him. “Good morning, darlin’.”

  “Good morning,” she breathed as Lonnie placed a long, loving kiss on her lips, pulling away only when Cocoa started squirming between them. Lonnie picked up Cocoa and scooted closer.

  Brittany smiled at Lonnie. “Was it really the best night of your life?”

  “You better believe it. But it’s been a mighty wonderful three weeks leading up to it, too.”

  “You’re right. It has been.” She and Lonnie had spent a lot of time with one another. They’d gone out on formal dates—to dinner, to the movies, to the Barter Theater in Abingdon. But they’d also done a lot of hanging out, laughing and talking in the instrument room, checking out gas station jams, and enjoyed being together.

  Lonnie stroked Cocoa’s head. “So is it too soon to tell everybody that you’re my girl?”

  “I think everybody’s figured that out already. But by all means, announce it to the world if you want to.”

  “Oh yeah. I want the world to know you’re mine.”

  So did she. She wanted everyone on the face of the planet to know that this wonderful, kind, loving man was her man.

  And to think she had a six-pound bundle of fur to thank for it.

  I owe you, Cocoa. I owe you a lot, baby girl.

  Yes, they both owed Cocoa. Big time.

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  L.P. Maxa

  L.P. lives in Austin, Texas with her husband, daughter, three rescue dogs, four chickens, two dwarf goats, and one adopted cat. The fish died. She is a full-time writer, and part time business owner. L.P. says she loves to read as much as she loves t
o write, and reading a good book is her reward after writing one. In her spare time, she fosters puppies for a rescue organization based in Austin.

  Connect with L.P. –

  lpmaxa.wordpress.com

  facebook.com/pages/LP-Maxa/1442560722667127

  twitter.com/lpmaxa

  instagram.com/lpmaxa

  Diane Benefiel

  National Readers’ Choice Award winner for her novel, Solitary Man, Diane Benefiel has been an avid reader all her life. She enjoys a wide range of genres, from westerns to fantasy to mysteries, but romance has always been a favorite. She writes what she loves best to read – emotional, heart-gripping romantic suspense novels. She likes writing romantic suspense because she can put the hero and heroine in all sorts of predicaments that they have to work together to overcome.

  A native Southern Californian, Diane enjoys nothing better than summer. For a high school history teacher, summer means a break from teenagers, and summer allows her to spend her early mornings immersed in her current writing project. With both kids living out of the house, in addition to writing, she enjoys camping and gardening with her husband.

  Diane loves hearing from her readers.

  Website: dianebenefiel.com

  Facebook: facebook.com/DianeBenefielRomance

  Twitter: twitter.com/dianebenefiel

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  Cindy Holby

  Award-winning author, Cindy Holby, first became published in 2002 with her historical western Chase the Wind. Since that time she has written eleven historicals, four sci/fi romances, one time-travel, four young adult novels and three short stories. She lives in North Carolina with her husband Rob, and two cats, Cisco and Dax. Cindy works with the Humane Society and has a blog about rescue titled Authors for Animals.

  Connect with Cindy:

  www.cindyholby.com

  www.facebook.com/CindyHolbyBooks?ref=ts

  www.twitter.com/cholby

  Gabi Stevens

  Gabi Stevens was born in SoCal to Hungarian parents. After spending time in boarding school, college, and grad school, and studying abroad, she spent seven years in the classroom trying to teach eighth graders the joys of literature.

  An award winning author, Gabi writes in New Mexico where she lives with her robotics engineer husband, three daughters, and two dogs. She loves to play games (she's appeared on Family Feud and Jeopardy!), has a wicked addiction to reading, forgets her age on the volleyball court, avoids housework and cooking whenever possible, and doesn't travel nearly as much as she'd like to.

  Connect with Gabi:

  gabistevens.com

  facebook.com/gabi.stevens

  twitter.com/gabistevens

  instagram.com/gabistevensauthor

  Sheri Humphreys

  Sheri Humphreys used to be an Emergency Room nurse, but today applies bandages, splints, and slings to the characters of her Victorian romance novels. She loves to ignore yardwork and housework and read—usually a book every couple of days. Having conjured stories in her mind her entire life, she wondered if she were normal. Then she began putting stories to paper and became a two-time Golden Heart® finalist. She lives with a Jack Russell mix rescue, Lucy, in a small town on the central California coast.

  Her first published novel, A Hero to Hold, received a prized Kirkus Star and was named to Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books of 2016.

  Connect with Sheri:

  sherihumphreys.com

  facebook.com/SheriHumphreysAuthor/

  twitter.com/sheri_humphreys

  Marilyn Baxter

  After discovering romance novels quite by accident, Marilyn revived her interest in writing. Since 2001, she's had over 40 short stories published in both confession and romance magazines and in 2013 she sold her first book. She is an active member of Romance Writers of America and her local chapter, Heart of Dixie Romance Writers. Her involvement in RWA's local and national levels has combined to give her a great love of the romance genre as well as developing friendships that span the globe.

  In addition to reading and writing, Marilyn loves watching TV crime dramas, cooking for one and gardening in a few pots on her patio. Her motto is "Have passport, will travel" and she is always ready to add another location to the list of 32 states and 21 foreign countries she has visited so far.

  A native of North Carolina, Marilyn arrived in Huntsville, Alabama by way of Frankfurt, Germany. She has lived in Alabama longer than anywhere else and calls it her home. She raised two great sons and now loves to dote on her two terrific granddaughters and newly arrived grandson.

  Connect with Marilyn:

  www.marilynbaxter.com

  www.facebook.com/marilyn.baxter.372

  twitter.com/marilyn_baxter

  instagram.com/marilyn_baxter

  Joan Bird

  Joan Bird has been telling stories for years. In her first incarnation she was a singer/song writer with a rock band (yes, her Fender guitars are awesome), then she started writing books, mostly for herself.

  Joan's storytelling is legendary amongst her family and friends. For years she¹s been including short stories with her holiday greetings each December and for years her friends and family have been encouraging her to write a book. Little did they know she had a storehouse of novels just waiting to be read by more than her mailing list.

  A few years ago she began working on polishing the stories she had already written, which sparked new ideas that led to writing more novels. Tumbleweed Heights was her first published book. Since then three more have been published. There are more on the way and she can't wait for you to read them.

  Connect with Joan:

  www.facebook.com/joan.m.bird

  www.twitter.com/AuthorJoanMBird

  Emily Mims

  The author of over thirty romance novels, Emily Mims combined her writing career with a career in public education until leaving the classroom to write full time. The mother of two sons, she and her husband split their time between central Texas, eastern Tennessee, and Georgia visiting their kids and grandchildren. For relaxation Emily plays the piano, organ, dulcimer, and ukulele for two different performing groups, and even sings a little. She says, “I love to write romances because I believe in them. Romance happened to me and it can happen to any woman—if she’ll just let it.”

  Connect with Emily:

  emilymims.com

  facebook.com/emily.mims.756

  twitter.com/emilymimsauthor

  instagram.com/mims_emily

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