by Tonya Kappes
“Why is Jenna a problem?” Liz shouted across the lawn. “I’m a big girl. I can make my own decisions.”
She stood firm. He rushed across the yard. He grabbed the edges of her quilt. He ripped it off and held it in one hand.
“This was what I want.” He jabbed his finger toward her. “And I can’t have it. You are a distraction to me.”
The quilt fell from his hands and to the ground. He hurried away.
Liz closed her eyes tightly, whishing he’d come back. But when she heard his truck door slam, her eyes filled with tears.
The engine didn’t start. She walked through the gate. Cole was slumped over his steering wheel.
Without thinking, Liz jumped in the passenger side.
“You can’t leave like this. It’s too late. Hayes is involved.” Secretly, Liz felt ashamed using Hayes to keep Cole here. Just like those men who use their dogs to attract girls.
Cole looked into the night. His jaw clinched. If he only knew how fascinating she found him.
“I love the way you interact with people, the way you are with your son, your dog.” Cole gripped the steering wheel.
The passion in his eyes scared her. The tension in his jaw released. He pushed the hair away from her face.
She drank in the comfort of his nearness.
“God, you’re beautiful. You are dangerous, Liz.” He cupped her face with his strong hands and tilted his lips perfectly over hers.
Just one kiss, one kiss was all she wanted. Just tasting him once was better than never tasting him.
It was nothing like she expected. Soft and sweet.
Not hungry.
Not wanting.
Beautiful, just as she imagined in her dreams the past few nights.
Gathering her into his arms, he held her snuggly. She liked his strong arms around her. The way he stroked and smelled her hair, she could feel their hearts talking to one another.
“Like I said, Jenna is a problem.” His embrace went limp.
She couldn’t move. He reached over her and opened the door from the inside.
There was nothing left to say tonight. It was getting late and her mind was cloudier than before. With respect for herself, she quietly got out of truck.
He pulled out of the driveway, leaving her standing alone in the cold dark night.
EIGHT
“Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”
~Albert Camus
It was a long night and was going to be a longer day. With the lack of sleep, Liz was already feeling exhausted. Getting Hayes to school was the easy part of the morning, but meeting Jenna for coffee was going to be much harder.
She was used to girlfriends she could gush to about her personal life, but she couldn’t be so open with Jenna about Cole.
Jenna’s car was parked in her usual spot in front of The Trembling cup. The mixed aroma of coffee and baked goods loomed outside the building and wafted around the cars. Liz could see Jenna in the corner table they always sat in. Everyone in town knew it was their spot.
“Wow, you look like hell.” Jenna gave Liz the once over when she got to the table.
Granted, she was up all night, but she had tried to pull herself together this morning. But…that kiss.
The kiss played over and over in her head. Many times she had jumped out of bed to see if a passing car was Cole coming back.
“Hello?” Jenna’s hand passed in front of Liz’s eyes.
Liz had to get it together before Jenna started asking questions.
“I’m tired. Good tired.” She assured Jenna.
The kiss was well worth the bags under her eyes.
“I tried the old model trick of rubbing Preparation H under my eyes, but it’s obviously an old wives tale.” She patted the pads of her fingers on her cheek bones.
Jenna cackled, breaking any tension between them.
“Plus I haven’t had my coffee this morning.” Liz glanced over the benefit folders laid all over the table. She picked up a big binder. “What’s this?”
“We have a ton of great sponsors for the benefit. I organized them all in that.” Jenna pointed to the overstuffed binder. “Where have you been all week?”
“It’s been a crazy week.” There was no way in hell she was going to tell Jenna about the kiss. “Are you planning on going over any of the benefit information over the weekend?”
“I think we should, because we only have a few more weeks to pull this off.” Jenna pulled out her Blackberry and thumbed through it. “What looks good to you?”
“Probably Sunday night would be good.” Liz pretended to thumb through hers. “I’m dropping Hayes off in Cincinnati for my nephew’s birthday and he won’t be back until Sunday afternoon. What do you have going on?”
“Nothing; just the general running around.” Jenna sat her coffee down, folded her arms and looked Liz square in the eyes. “You don’t seem like yourself today.”
“No? I just have a ton of new clients, that’s all. I’m trying to get all of them taken care of so I can spend the first week of winter break with Hayes and the second week focused on the benefit.” She pretended to search her purse so she didn’t make eye contact with Jenna.
She wasn’t good at hiding her feelings, and she certainly didn’t want to lie to Jenna. She pulled out her lotion and offered some to Jenna before she put some on.
Jenna shook her head. “What are you talking about?”
“Hayes is going to spend the last week of winter break with his dad, so the first week I want to take off to be with him. The second week, I’m sure we will be busy running around tying up last minute loose ends for the benefit.”
Her stomach turned thinking about Hayes being gone for a week. It will be the longest amount of time she’s ever been away from him.
“Most of my client’s want to meet with me before the New Year, so I’m trying really hard to squeeze them all in.”
Liz was getting some great donations from friends back in Cincinnati. She was delighted most of them had responded to her emails begging for donations.
“Let me know if you need something or just want some company while he’s gone.” She reached over and gave Liz a hug. “I am sure that you will immerse yourself in work. . .or that dog of yours.”
“You can thank yourself for that dog of mine. You got him for us, so technically we should have shared custody.” Liz cherished her friendship with Jenna. If not talking about the Cole situation helped to maintain their friendship, she wouldn’t even bring it up.
As a matter of fact, she didn’t see or hear from Cole the rest of the week.
NINE
“You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them.”
~Desmond Tutu
Liz felt more like a grownup than ever on her way back to Cincinnati. She’d done it. She’d moved away and made a successful life for her and Hayes.
Her parents and sister were running around doing last minute decorating for the party in anticipation for all the boys coming over to celebrate with Mike.
“He looks like he’s enjoying himself.” Her mom patted her on the back, “Maybe you shouldn’t have moved.”
That was Liz’s cue to leave. She was tired of defending herself. She was an adult and didn’t have to explain her motives.
“If you think he looks happy now, you should see him with all his new friends. I can barely keep him home.” Liz checked her watch.
She needed to go. After all, Tramp was home alone.
“I miss seeing my grandson.” Her mom gave a half smile. “I like seeing you two happy.”
She wasn’t going to get into an argument with her mom. Before the move, her mom called or came by every day begging her to stay and not move.
“Mom, I love you. I am not going to talk about this anymore.” Liz hugged her mom.
“Please stay the night.” Her mom begged.
“I wish I
could, but Tramp is at home and I can’t leave him alone.” They embraced with their hands and their eyes. “I love you. I will see you tomorrow.”
“I already have a luncheon with the girls from the club, but I can cancel.” Her mom went to the country club with her friends every Sunday for a round of golf, and afternoon tea.
“No. I will see you at Christmas.” Liz reminded her that they were planning to come to Grandberry Falls for the holiday.
Liz said her goodbyes to Hayes and Kristen after wishing Mike a very happy birthday.
She jumped in her car for a much-needed drive home.
Home, she sighed.
Lately, long distance driving was when she seemed to be able to do her best thinking.
The crisp, clean country air coming in through the small window opening whipped across the bridge of her nose. Liz loved the fresh air in and around Grandberry Falls. Especially since she was so used to the smog surrounding Cincinnati.
She smiled.
It was everything she’d dreamed of.
But she’d not dreamed of being alone.
“Tramp! I’m home!” Liz put her keys on the table just inside the front door.
Strange. Liz cocked her head to the side, waiting to hear claws clicking across the floor and flicked the light switch on.
Tramp always came to the front door as soon as he heard her car drive up…unless he was into something.
“Tramp?” Liz walked through the family room and flipped on the light switch in the hall.
Panicked, she rushed into the kitchen, praying she didn’t leave the back door open this morning when they were running late. If he got out, she’d never find him.
“Tramp?” She swallowed hard when she noticed the door was locked up tight.
She rushed down the small cottage hall, making sure Tramp wasn’t stuck in one of the closed up bedrooms.
Ripped up toilet paper and the remains of a half eaten plastic bottle were strewn all over the hall in front of the bathroom door.
“Tramp! Oh, no.” She knelt down and gently shook him.
He was lying on the floor with a chewed up bottle of toilet bowl cleaner next to him.
He wasn’t moving.
She picked up the bottle that had been full. It was now empty.
Without thinking, she picked Tramp up. “It’s going to be okay, buddy. Just hang on.” His big brown eyes stared at her.
She put Tramp in the back seat of the car and fumbled to get the keys into the ignition.
As far as she knew, he’d never been to a veterinarian, but she remembered Joe from Claws and Paws telling her about the local vet out in the country.
“Please be open,” she whispered, whipping her car across town. It wasn’t uncommon to have very unusual hours in Grandberry Falls. She maneuvered through the back streets, afraid downtown would be busy with people milling about and Christmas shopping in the quaint town. She didn’t want to risk getting caught in traffic. Every second was precious.
The wheels squealed, hugging the curves of the country roads. She rolled down the car windows.
She looked in the rear-view mirror and hoped Tramp would want to stick his head out into the cold air like he always did. He wasn’t moving.
Nothing.
She drove faster, without thinking and without feeling the cold air whipping throughout the car.
On a fence post, where a gravel drive met the country road, there was a sign that hung down by a rusted chain and was barely visible through the grown up weeds.
Liz slowed down to read the rusty sign:
Grandberry Falls Vet.
There was some relief as she whipped her car onto the gravel drive. She didn’t pay any attention to sounds of the gravel dinging the side of her car.
Smoke billowed from the log cabin’s chimney and a light radiated from the windows, but the outbuilding was dark.
“Help me!” Liz screamed out the window and beeped the horn.
She screamed louder once she got out of the car.
“Help me! Help me!” She opened the car door to get Tramp out.
She didn’t even look up when she heard footsteps coming toward her.
“Please help me! My dog ate a bottle of toilet cleaner.” Liz held the bottle of cleaner in the stranger’s face.
It was Cole.
What seemed to be minutes turned out to be seconds when they noticed each other. Liz couldn’t figure out if she was shocked at seeing Cole standing before her or in shock about Tramp. Either way, seeing Cole made her feel a lot better.
Immediately, Cole picked Tramp up out of her car and ran toward the dark building next to the house. Without saying a word, Liz followed him. Tramp was in trouble.
The sign on the building read:
Grandberry Falls Veterinary Clinic
Cole Michaels, DVM.
Confused and unable to say a word, Liz turned the light on after they made it inside. They worked as a team, like they could read each other’s body language.
“Turn on both sets of light switches to the right of the doors.” Cole ordered her before they went through the swinging doors.
Feeling around in the dark, she felt the double light switch and flipped both of them up. Light illuminated the surgical room in front of her. Cole was already working on Tramp.
“Come over here and talk to Tramp. Stroke his head, tell him you love him.”
Seeing Tramp in this position, brought tears to her eyes.
“I love you,” she whispered into his ear.
Cole rammed the concoction down Tramp’s mouth.
“What are you doing?” She asked.
Tramp gagged. Cole grabbed him and hoisted him up on all fours. Tramp threw up the black liquid.
“What are you doing to him?” Liz frantically grabbed Tramp around the neck.
“Liz! Get control of yourself!” Cole’s eyes pierced her. “I’m the vet. I know what I’m doing.” He turned his attention back to Tramp. “Good, boy. Get all that nasty stuff out buddy.”
“If you can’t control yourself, you can wait in the lobby.” He told her. She tried to control her sobbing. “I should’ve told you I was the local vet that day at the store, but I never figured we’d be in this situation with Tramp.”
They continued to stroke Tramp’s back. He laid there with his eyes closed.
“I gave him some coal to empty his stomach and any poison that may be there. It makes him throw up and release those toxins,” he said.
Every time their hands accidentally touched, her body tingled with pure ecstasy. She wanted him to take her into his arms and reassure her that he would do everything in his power to heal Tramp.
And to heal her heart.
“He will need a lot of sleep.” Cole looked at her with a relief in his eyes.
“Thank you, Cole.” There was now a grateful place in her heart for him.
He caressed her cheek with his knuckle, and wiped away a tear. She felt something more than electricity.
Love.
Her heart felt light and fluttered with each stroke of his hand.
“It’s going to be a long night.” His hands slipped down her arms, bringing her closer. He whispered into her hair, “You are more than welcome to stay with us tonight. I have bedding for you here. If you would rather go home, I would understand.”
“Is that what you say to all your patient’s moms?” She buried her face against the corded muscles of his chest.
He pulled away. “Let’s make sure that Tramp is comfortable.”
He picked Tramp up off the cold steel table and carried him out of the building. Liz turned out the lights.
Tramp’s head lay limp and bumped up and down as Cole trotted towards the log cabin that was nestled in the woods.
The cabin was cozy with plaid rag rugs, rustic furniture and wooden rocking chairs. It was not how Liz had pictured Cole’s home. His wood burning stove was warm. Cole laid Tramp on the big pillow next to it.
A standard black poodle p
eeked her head out between the wooden spindles on the staircase leading down from the upstairs.
“Hey, girl,” was what the poodle needed to hear from Cole. She bolted down the stairs and hovered over Tramp.
“Get down, Lily.” Cole told the black standard poodle sniffing around Tramp. Lily lay down next to Tramp as if she was taking care of him.
“She’s used to all the sick animals over the years.” Cole fluffed up the covers around Tramp. “It might be a long night. I’m going to make some coffee. Can you stay for a cup?”
Liz didn’t know if he really wanted her to stay, so she bent down on the plaid rug and patted Lily and Tramp.
“No. I guess I should go.” She gestured towards the door. “I guess that’s what I’m supposed to do. I know that you will take good care of Tramp.” Fumbling with the car keys, she had to thank him for his generosity. “Cole, I don’t know how to thank you. You surprise me with all of your talents.”
“Stay.” His eyes begged her more than his words. “Just for a cup of coffee.”
He stood in the doorway between the kitchen and family room. “One cup.”
Tramp was settled. What would a cup of coffee hurt?
Just one, she thought, but she knew better.
The kitchen was just as rustic as the family room. It looked like a room straight out of Better Homes and Gardens. The grey granite countertop complimented the rich pine cabinets. The double stainless steel kitchen sink was nestled between two windows that overlooked a beautiful pond. A plaid tile floor completed the whole look.
“I love this kitchen.” Liz loved the coziness. “I can imagine some really good family dinners cooked in here.”
She was a great interior decorator, but she would’ve never thought of using a plaid tile floor with red, blue and gray hues.
“Yes, there has been.” Cole admitted.
He handed her a hot cup of coffee.
She held the rooster mug up to her nose. She closed her eyes and let the moment engulf her.
“Something wrong with the coffee?” he asked.
“Oh, no.” She pulled the cup away from her face and she placed it on the countertop. “Have you ever had a certain smell that wakes up all your senses?” She continued when he nodded, “That is what good coffee does to me. It’s such a welcoming aroma. Not bad, Dr. Michaels.” She toasted and stressed the doctor in his name before setting the mug back on the counter again.