Dangerous Temptations

by Kelly Elliott

  I pushed myself to an upright position. “Let’s take a look at the puppy.”

  No thoughts of bacon or bread are allowed.

  The beautiful boxer puppy licked me as I checked her over. No tag. No chip. Healthy. All vitals and responses were normal. “She’s in great shape. We can list her as missing on the local community boards and on a few forums I know. I don’t know of any local families who had boxers eight to ten weeks ago.”

  “I found her hiding underneath the bench. When I squatted close to her, she ran into my arms, shivering. By the time we got here, she seemed fine. She looks like she’s purebred.”

  “I agree. Someone probably paid a lot of money for her because of her markings.” The little boxer had a perfect white stripe down the middle of her head and four perfect white socks on her paws.

  Mike took a few steps back to lean on the counter. The little boxer whined while trying to escape my arms, apparently not happy with him walking away. It was precious—it appeared as though she’d latched onto him. Testing my theory, I set her down on the floor. She nearly lost traction on the tile as she scampered to his leg. Before she had a chance to whine a little more, Mike picked her up. I knew what those arms felt like, and a twinge of jealously went through me.

  For goodness’ sake, it’s a dog.

  “It’s all good, little girl. Syd will take good care of you,” he cooed.

  The dog snuggled into him. I wanted to swoon again but stayed steady on my feet. I had already fallen way too many times around Mr. Sexy Cop. Stop calling him that. I bet he smelled heavenly. If only my nose hadn’t been bleeding, I might have been able to sniff him. My eyes widened in horror at my thoughts. I’d hit a new low, for sure.

  Mike cocked his head to the side. I straightened and plastered on a pleasant, professional smile, feeling like a complete idiot. Why does this man affect me so? It was like I had been on a deserted island my entire life and this was my first encounter with a man.

  “So when do you move into your new house?” Of course, Mike knew about what Grandpa had done.

  “The movers arrive tomorrow to unload everything.”

  He shifted the puppy in his arms. “Do you need any help?”

  “The movers are doing everything. All evening, I’ll be unpacking boxes. If you want to save me from the monotony, feel free to stop by.”

  The puppy’s head lulled to the side, and she gave a little snore.

  “I think she likes you,” I said.

  “I like her, too. I used to have a boxer. They’re incredible dogs. Anyway, I better head out. Sorry your coffee is cold now.”

  I wanted to put that easy smile back on his face. The furrowed brow bothered me more than it should. “The coffee will definitely be reheated.”

  A gross look passed over his face. “Syd, that’s stooping pretty low, even for coffee.”

  “It’s been two days since I’ve had some. I need it. Even reheated, it will be glorious.”

  He gave a chuckle, and the wrinkle lines faded. Carefully he transferred the puppy to me. “Here she is.”

  “I’ll tell her you said bye.”

  I got a wink in response. Mike reached for the door, and the puppy woke up and began to wriggle and whine. “Shh… it’s okay. We’re going to find you a home.”

  The dog became more agitated to be set free, so I put her down. At top speed, she took off toward Mike. In one fluid movement, he scooped her up, instantly calming her.

  “I think she wants to stay with you.”

  “I work crazy shifts. Sometimes I’m gone eight to ten hours at a time. I can’t leave her alone that long.”

  I wanted Mike to be able to have this puppy. Something told me they needed each other more than I could have possibly known. Without thinking, I offered to help. “Good thing you know a vet. I can watch her on the days you work, and she can stay with me until we find the owner.”

  “Is that what you want to do, little girl?” Mike got a lick in response. “Okay, let’s go home.” From behind the front desk, I pulled out a bag and packed it. “Here’s some food and basics you’ll need until you can get to the store. If you need anything else, let me know.”

  “What do I owe you?”

  “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

  “Thank you, Syd. That’s awfully nice of you.”

  “You’re so welcome. I really appreciate the coffee and helping with my nose since my arms were so tired.”

  I needed to slap myself. Stop with the tired body parts!

  He gave me an incredible smile before taking the bag and walking out of the office, leaving me with my frayed thoughts. I wanted him to stay. Be quiet. Don’t say a word.

  “Ooh la la. Copper is hot for you.”

  My eyes shot up to Marie. “What? No, he’s not.”

  “Oh yes, and I think you’re hot for him, too.”

  Changing the subject, I said, “Let’s see who we have on the schedule first.”

  Mike

  I put Maggie Maye down in the living room and watched her race around, exploring every little nook and cranny. Part of me was happy she was a girl. Maggie Maye had been my grandmother’s beloved dog when I was a kid. I loved that dog. With a smile, I walked into the kitchen and pulled out a bowl from the cabinet to fill with water and then another for the puppy food Sydney had given me.

  A short bark caught my attention, and I turned to see Maggie Maye racing into the kitchen. The moment she saw the food, she attempted to stop but failed. The back door stopped her momentum. Once she saw the large backyard through the glass, she started barking.

  “Okay, okay, little one. Let’s go exploring.”

  The moment the door was open, she was off. I made a mental note to pick up some toys for her. Searching the yard, I found a small stick and played fetch with her. She reminded me so much of my childhood dog, Rus. He was a boxer and had been my best friend. When my mother and father divorced and we moved to Chicago, that dog got me through the worst of it as I adjusted to a new school and made new friends.

  My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. I smiled when I saw it was my mother.

  “Hey, pretty lady.”

  “Oh, Mike. How are you, sweetheart?”

  “Doing well.”

  Maggie Maye barked, clearly impatient that I hadn’t thrown the stick for her.

  “Is that a dog?”

  “Yeah, she’s a puppy I found outside the coffee shop here in town. No tags or chip. Sydney is going to check around to see if she was reported lost.”

  “Who is Sydney? I haven’t heard you mention him before?”

  With a grin I couldn’t control, I said, “Sydney is a woman. She’s one of the veterinarians in town.”

  “Is that so?”

  I instantly heard the hopefulness in my mother’s voice. As the youngest of her three children, and the only one unmarried with no kids, I knew she wanted me to meet someone and settle down. I wanted that, too. I simply hadn’t met the one yet. My brother, Darrin, was the oldest and was a police officer in Boston. He was married to Lynn and they had two kids—Aaron and Lucy. Then there was my older sister, Karen. She still lived in Chicago and was a nurse. She had recently gotten married and was expecting her first child with her husband, Joe.

  Before I had a chance to reply, my mother went in for the attack.

  “Tell me all about her! What does she look like? How old is she? When did you meet? Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing anyone, sweetheart? Text me a picture of her!”

  I rolled my eyes, picked up Maggie Maye, and carried her back into the house. She started right in on her food while I made myself a quick snack to hold me over until lunch.

  “Mom, my gosh, take a breath, will you?”

  “I’m sorry I’m interested in my son’s life.”

  “While I appreciate the… interest, I’m not dating her.” My mother was more than interested in her children’s lives. I was pretty positive she had somehow convinced Darrin and Lynn—through some weird telepathic co
mmunication—to have kids right away.

  “Oh.”

  With a laugh, I threw some fruit into the blender along with some protein powder. “Don’t sound so devastated. She’s a nice woman, and I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better. She’s a breath of fresh air after all the women in Chicago.”

  “Oh!” she squealed. “Tell me more!”

  “Mom, don’t get your hopes up.”

  “Don’t get my hopes up? Michael Murphy, the last time you were even remotely interested in a woman was years ago!”

  I rolled my eyes and poured some almond milk into the blender. “It was more like ten months ago, Mom.”

  “Lori?” She scoffed. “Oh, please, Mike. Even I know that was a booty call.”

  My eyes widened in horror as I held my finger over the button to blend my shake.

  “What did you just say?” I asked.

  “Nothing, nothing. Moving on. Now, what has made you not ask Syd—”

  I hit the button on the blender, drowning out my mother’s voice. “Sorry, Mom. I can’t hear you right now.”

  She simply spoke louder.

  “Blond hair? Dark hair?”

  I pushed the next button, and the blender got louder.

  Finally, my mother stopped talking, and I stopped blending, removed the pitcher, and poured my protein drink into my Yeti cup.

  “Ha-ha. I know what you were doing, Michael.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Fine, we don’t have to talk about her. You will let me know when you ask her out though, won’t you?”

  “Mom, was there a reason you called other than to check in and say hi?”

  “Yes. Actually, there is.”

  Her voice turned grave, and my heart felt like it stopped for a quick moment. “Is anyone—”

  “Everyone is fine. I thought I should give you a warning.”

  “Okay,” I said, sitting down and tossing the stick Maggie Maye had brought into the house with her. It probably wasn’t the best idea to play fetch in the house, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

  “Your father, well, he’s learned how to text.”

  I smiled and shook my head. My parents had divorced when I was seven. There had been no animosity between the two of them. They separated as best friends. They had gotten married too young and had grown apart, but they continued to be friends. We had spent Christmas every single year with both of our parents. Dad would either fly to Chicago, or we would go back to Boston. The strange thing was, neither ever remarried.

  “So, that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

  She laughed. “Oh, dear. I would give anything to be in the room when you get that first text. Darrin and Karen already received one earlier today. When your dad told me Darrin was teaching him to text, I was impressed. You know how he is with technology. Hell, he just got a cell phone a year and a half ago, and that was at my urging.”

  Smiling, I nodded and tossed the stick again. Maggie Maye took off barking.

  “I’m sure he’ll get the hang of it.”

  My phone buzzed, and I pulled it away from my ear to see my father’s name. “Looks like mine just came through.”

  Mom laughed. Again. “It probably took him a few hours to type it out!”

  This time she laughed so hard she snorted. “I’ll… let you… go…”

  Another round of laughter caused me to laugh as well. “Okay. You doing good with everything? Karen feeling good, not working too hard?”

  Mom was still giggling when she replied, “I’m wonderful, honey. Karen is feeling amazing. She’s starting to show and is the cutest thing ever. Joe spoils her and doesn’t let her do a thing.”

  “Good, he should spoil her.”

  “I’ll let you go so you can read your father’s text. I’m still planning on coming up to see you in a couple of weeks.”

  “I can’t wait to see you, Mom. I miss and love you.”

  “Miss you and love you, too.”

  Hitting End, I opened up my father’s text message and stared at it for a few moments before I started to read it.

  Dear Mike,

  The weather has been unseasonably cool. I know you know this, since you are in Salem.

  Darrin stopped by yesterday and showed me some fancy features on this silly phone your mother talked me into getting. Apparently, I can write you a letter and it will automatically deliver to your phone, no need for stamps. Not sure what in the hell the post office is going to do now. I plan on discussing it with my Sunday men’s club after we play a round of golf.

  I’ve been keeping busy, being retired has its ups and downs. I’m trying to eat healthier, per your mother’s request. The woman is constantly in my business, and I have no earthly idea how she knows I’m eating at the Cheesecake Factory once a week. Then there are times she will ask me why I’m not home because it is so late. I’m beginning to think she has someone watching the house or talked Darrin into putting a camera in here somewhere. She worries about me still, you know. I love her, but there is a reason we got divorced all those years ago.

  How is the job going? I don’t suppose it is very different in some respects, and in others, very different. I checked the crime rate there, much better than in Chicago. If only I could talk your mother into moving back to Boston.

  Have you met anyone? Don’t rush into a relationship, son. Plenty of time for that.

  I’m going to sign off, I’m getting a headache from trying to look at this tiny typewriter.

  Write when you can.

  With love,

  Dad

  I continued to stare at my phone, wondering how long it had taken my father to type that all out in text message. Then I laughed so hard I got a cramp in my side. Maggie Maye jumped up on me, barking, before she ran to the back door.

  “Good girl!” I said, still chuckling. “That’s a smart girl. You’re going to get a treat for that!”

  I made a mental note to ask Sydney what the best treats would be to buy for Maggie Maye. Then I sent my mother a text.

  Me: You’re tracking Dad, aren’t you?

  She replied back almost instantly with a winky-face emoji followed by a laughing one.

  Me: He’s going to be upset when he finds out, you know.

  Mom: That is what makes it so much fun! Karen tracks him, too! He won’t find out for months!

  With a smile, I just shook my head. My poor father. I could have only imagined what trouble he would get himself into next.

  I watched as Maggie Maye ran around the yard chasing a butterfly. Deep inside, I hoped like hell Sydney didn’t find anyone missing the pup. I’d already fallen head over heels for her, and I knew I would be screwed if Sydney found her owners.

  Maggie Maye stopped and looked at me as if she knew I was thinking about her. She started running full speed toward me and then tumbled over her paws, rolling a few times before landing on her side.

  “Mags! Are you okay?” I asked with a chuckle.

  She stood, shook it off, and made her way over to me. I couldn’t help but think of Sydney.

  “Mags, I hope you didn’t love your previous owners because if we find them, there might be a legal battle.”

  The pup barked and jumped up at my face. Then she fell back, doing an impressive somersault.

  “I think you took lessons from Syd, didn’t ya, girl?”

  Maggie Maye barked again and then licked my face. Grinning, I made a mental note to get Sydney’s phone number.

  Sydney

  After an early morning at the clinic, I went to the house to meet the movers. Thank goodness I had Marie. Even though I’d had my degree for three years, running a business on your own was more daunting than I’d imagined. Thankfully, Grandpa had kept me involved for years, so I understood most of the ins and outs.

  Marie suggested we pack up everything of Grandpa’s for now as opposed to waiting. I agreed it would be easier to not see everything exactly as he’d left it. Later, I could go through it to determine
what to keep when his loss wasn’t so fresh. That made sense.

  I glanced out the window and stopped short when I saw a man who looked like Mike. When he turned, my shoulders sagged. It wasn’t him.

  Mike Murphy.

  Talk about a hormone booster. Seriously, the man was good looking, nice, and short-circuited my brain. If I kept this up, I’d have broken bones soon and not an ounce of pride left. The ridiculousness of my thoughts and actions went beyond normal, even for me.

  Maybe I need to see someone about this. My subconscious answered back. No, let Officer McHotty give you a good plunging with his night stick.

  My eyes widened, and I looked around, making sure I hadn’t said that out loud. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was clear I hadn’t.

  Thinking about all the humiliation I created for myself made me groan. A good plunging. With his night stick. Maybe he had a small dick. A teeny, tiny one.

  Riiiight.

  I took the last box from the living room to the garbage out back. He’s just a man. A sexy man. A man in uniform. With dimples. And blue eyes. Sigh.

  “I have to stop this. I’m going certifiably insane.”

  The sound of the doorbell had me nearly jumping out of my skin, and my hand hit the counter. Hard.

  “Ouch!”

  Maybe I should invest in a padded suit to wear while thinking about and interacting with the hunky cop.

  I opened the door, a little disappointed and trying to hide it. Wesley greeted me with flowers. It was wonderful having my good friend so close again and a nice distraction from he who shall not be named dominating my thoughts. “What brings you to this part of town?”

  Wesley held up a wine bottle in his other hand. “I came to celebrate your new domicile.”

  “Domicile?” I giggled. “How lawyery of you.”

  “Lawyery? We went from a too-proper word to not a word at all.”

  “Basically.” In sync, we laughed. “Come on in. I think I know where the glasses are.”

  I’d lit a fire in the fireplace though it was summer. The flames dancing around relaxed me.