by Malone, M.
“Of course. Thanks, Mr. Stevens.”
He nods and then disappears back into his office.
Well, that tells me absolutely nothing.
Since Patrick can’t tell me anything and I have nothing else to go on, I’ll have to use my own judgment here. What’s the big deal? I’m just supposed to be friendly to the guy and then put in a good word for his dad. I shouldn’t have to know his entire background to do that.
But as I pack my things to leave for the day, I know I’m just fooling myself. I want to know more about Tank for reasons that have nothing to do with Maxwell Marshall or his insane job offer.
I want to know him because I’m attracted to him. Which is the number one reason I need to stay far away.
As if my thoughts have conjured him, Tank comes through the door at five minutes before closing time. He’s wearing his usual beat-up leather jacket and his dark hair is spiked up at the top but not in a metrosexual I use hair product kind of way. This looks more like he’s growing out a buzz cut and his hair hasn’t figured out which direction is down yet.
“You don’t have an appointment today.”
He acknowledges the observation with a slight nod. “I don’t. I didn’t need all those other appointments either. But I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now.”
A warm tendril of pleasure unfurls inside me at his words. The thought had crossed my mind because he seemed to have more frequent appointments than any of our other clients but to hear him confirm it out loud is unexpected.
He’s so … forward, sometimes. It’s like he has no fear, of rejection or embarrassment.
Then again, considering the things he told me yesterday on our beach date, he’s had far worse to deal with in his life than a girl hurting his feelings.
“Maybe. But then maybe you flirt with every girl you meet.”
“No. I do a lot of things with you I don’t do with anyone else.”
“Oh, you aren’t normally a beach-going kind of guy?” I tease.
He’d seemed so out of place at the beach, like he wasn’t quite sure how to relax.
“Or an ask a girl out repeatedly kind of guy. I just don’t care that much as a general rule.” He tucks his hands in his pockets. “You seem to be the exception.”
“Lucky me.”
I gather my things and then slide my arms into my coat. He follows behind me as I walk out of the law office. My car is parked directly in front of the door.
“You fixed it already?”
I’d spent so much time obsessing over Tank that my car had completely slipped my mind.
“It turns out, I know a guy.”
He laughs softly and I figure there’s probably way more to that story than I know.
“Still, thank you. If I’d had to go to my usual garage it would have taken at least a week before they’d finished with it. Plus they’d want my life savings and the blood of my future firstborn child.”
I pull out my phone to text Ivy that I don’t need a ride anymore.
“No sacrificial lamb will be needed this time. Although, I feel bad about how off-track things got yesterday. We were interrupted, and then you end up playing hairdresser for my Mom and cleaning her kitchen. This can’t stay on my record. I need a do-over.”
“Well, the thing is I’m not going home. Mondays are when I volunteer at the animal shelter.”
Tank leans closer and my breath seizes in my throat when he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. He’s so close I can see his eyes are actually a mixture of brown and green.
“Can’t you skip today? I really want to spend some time with you, Emma.”
Something clenches deep and low in my belly as his fingers brush over my cheek. I could skip going to the shelter but I know they really count on my help. They can’t afford to hire more people due to budget cuts.
Blowing it off just to go out with a guy, a guy I’m not even sure I really like, seems pretty crappy. A hot guy should not trump poor, sweet, helpless animals.
Although my libido doesn’t seem to agree. There is a completely shameless hussy inside of me that doesn’t care at all about the helpless strays at the shelter.
I shake my head and open the driver’s side door of my car. “I can’t. They really need all the help they can get. But you could come with me. We could use the extra set of hands.”
I smile pleadingly, hoping he’ll come. Lusting after him isn’t so bad if he’s using those muscles to help out charity, right?
“I’m not really an animal person.”
“How can you not be an animal person? Animals give love so freely and they don’t hurt anyone. Not like people. Come on. This can be our do-over. What do you say?”
I find myself holding my breath waiting for his answer.
I want this do-over just as much as he appears to. I can’t ask him more about his relationship with Mr. Marshall without making him defensive but maybe I can find out how he feels about the rest of his family.
That could give me a clue as to why he’s so against the idea of reconciling with his dad.
“Okay, you’ve convinced me.” Tank walks around the car and gets in the passenger seat. “There won’t be any interruptions this time.”
Chapter Ten
Tank
I’m prepared for the next hour or so to be pure torture. But if dealing with a bunch of pitiful creatures makes Emma more likely to give me another chance then I’ll do it.
“Where is this place we’re going?”
“Near the community college. Back when I was in school, one of the guys in my biology class, Brett, mentioned they needed volunteers. He’s studying to be a veterinarian, too. If I hadn’t had to drop out, we’d probably be in vet school together.”
“Everyone’s life takes a different path. I’m not sure why. Hell, I have absolutely no answers. But your path isn’t wrong, Emma. It’s yours and you’ll make it meaningful and right. Don’t compare yourself to others.”
“You’re completely right. I just need a reminder of that some days.”
Emma smiles over at me before turning into the parking lot in front of a small white building.
“The owner, Dr. Kenya Marsh, is really appreciative of all volunteers. This place is exactly what I want to do after I finish school. I want to offer veterinarian services to people who can’t afford it. Dr. Marsh has an open clinic one Saturday per month so everyone can make sure their animals get preventative care.”
We climb out of the car and I follow her into the white building. Emma bypasses the front desk and walks down the hall. She seems to know where she’s going. We enter a room in the back, filled with metal cages. It smells like pee.
Christ, I must really like this girl.
“Hi Brett. How are the babies, today?” Emma asks as she shrugs out of her coat.
She hangs it on a peg behind the door so I do the same. A young man with dark, tightly curled hair turns around. In his arms are two black and white kittens.
“Great, I’m just getting some playtime in with Thing 1 and Thing 2.”
Emma accepts one of the kittens and holds it gently in her palms. “Hello, Uno. Did you miss me? I missed you.”
Brett shakes his head. “She can always tell them apart. I don’t know how she does that.”
I watch in amazement as Emma lights up. How wrong I was to think that she never smiles. Obviously I’m just not the right audience. She is wearing the biggest, most beautiful smile right now. When she turns to me, her face bent so she can rub her cheek against the kitten’s soft fur, my heart gives an extra thump.
“You are so beautiful.”
“Huh? Did you say something, Tank?
“Uh, they’re beautiful. The kittens.”
She smiles her agreement and then sits right on the floor and allows the kittens to crawl all over her lap. Brett moves around the room, opening a few other crates and taking out their occupants. Before long the room is a meowing, hissing, purring cacophony of sound.
“Mos
t of the cats don’t get a lot of one-on-one affection. That’s where we come in. I do some chores to help Brett take care of them but also I get to play with them.” She hands me a calico kitten nicknamed Patches.
“Wait, what am I supposed to do?”
A tickle of panic threatens. I’ve never had a pet. My mom could barely afford to feed us, let alone an animal.
“Just give them some love. I’m going to help Brett clean out a few cages.”
Give them some love. Right. Like I know what that means.
Emma moves away, chatting easily with Brett. The other man squeezes her arm, his touch lingering a bit longer than necessary. I look down at the calico kitten currently trying to climb the front of my T-shirt.
“This is not going the way I’d hoped, cat. I’m supposed to be charming her, convincing her to give me a chance and now she’s off with that guy and I’m stuck here with you.”
Patches meows plaintively.
“It sounds like you agree.”
I run a finger experimentally over the kitten’s soft little head. It stretches into the caress. It’s so small it almost looks like a toy. It fits in the palm of my hand.
There’s a movement to my right so I turn to see what it is and then immediately jerk backward. A hairless thing stands at my elbow, watching me with narrowed eyes.
“Uh, Emma. What is that?”
She turns to see what I’m talking about. “Oh, that’s Poochie.”
“What’s a poochie? And why is it bald?” The thing blinks at me with huge golden eyes. Now that I’m not so startled it looks less threatening.
It’s so ugly it’s almost cute.
“No, that’s her name silly. She’s a cat. A breed called a Sphynx. She’s supposed to be hairless. Unfortunately, her last owner decided she wasn’t cuddly enough and abandoned her outside in the middle of winter. I can’t believe they just left her like that.”
The cat watches me with strangely human eyes. An image comes back to me of watching my dad’s car drive away from our house while my mom sobbed in the background.
“I know how she feels.” I stretch out my hand slowly, tentatively. Poochie’s ears flicker but she doesn’t move.
“Oh dude, she never lets anyone pet her. She’s bitten me like five times–” Brett stops when Poochie walks forward, her head bent, and allows me to stroke the top of her head.
“Well, I’ll be damned. That mean ass cat finally took a liking to somebody.”
“Tank, can you help me? This one is stuck.” Emma points at one of the cages.
I stand carefully and Poochie retreats to the corner of the room. For the next hour, I help Emma and Brett by lifting cages and cleaning.
It’s an easy hour, surprisingly. One where I’m not required to think about myself, just what I can do to help out.
This is what Emma meant earlier about animals not requiring anything from you other than love. I scratch the kitten Emma’s holding behind the ears. Brett replaces the food and water in the cage we’ve just cleaned out.
When I sit back down on the floor, Poochie slinks over. I’m not sure exactly what to do but she doesn’t require me to do anything. She rubs up against my shirt using me as a makeshift rubbing post. Another kitten crawling on the floor nearby climbs into my lap and curls up.
“This is amazing. I’m still in awe. You’re some kind of cat whisperer.” Brett holds out a clipboard. “If you wanted to adopt her, it’s easy. You fill out this form and then just pay the fees. She’s already up to date on all her shots and stuff.”
I’m shaking my head before he’s even done with his spiel. “Adopt? I can’t even keep a plant alive.”
He looks over at Emma. “So, how are you two friends? It seems like a bit of an odd matchup.”
I can’t disagree with him but the way he’s looking at her makes me want to stake my claim anyway.
“Opposites attract, right? Besides, I’m sure Emma knows enough about animals for the both of us. I’m just here to help her out.” I stand up and place the kitten back in its crate.
Emma appears at my elbow. “She’s so cute.”
While I’m not an animal lover the way she is, it would take a heart of stone not to be moved by some of these little balls of fluff.
Poochie follows us as we move around the room.
“Come on, cat. It’s time to go.” I try to coax her back to me but she seems to sense it’s a trick.
She gives me a mournful look and then retreats to the other side of the room. She presses herself against the wall, looking like she’d rather disappear than get back in the crate.
“She’s not coming. Not that I blame her.”
Emma makes a soft cooing sound. Poochie’s ears twitch but she doesn’t come any closer.
Brett waves a hand. “It’s okay. You can go. Once you leave, I’ll put her back. Thanks for the help today.”
“Of course. See you next week, Brett. Good luck with your exam.”
She gives him a quick hug and then retrieves our coats. He watches her movements a little too closely for my taste. I grit my teeth and then shrug into my leather jacket.
There’s a mournful cry from across the room. It’s eerie, like the sound of a wailing ghost. Poochie yowls again when I step out of the room.
Emma doesn’t move. She looks horrified.
“Aw, Tank. She’s upset that you’re leaving. Look at her.”
Against my better judgment, I poke my head back in the room and look at the meddlesome cat. She’s still doing that horrendous howling and ramming her back against the wall.
“Okay, okay. Come here.”
I crouch down and she immediately comes to me. I scratch behind her ears and she emits a rumbling purr. Brett walks up behind us. Poochie opens one eye and hisses at him.
“Good girl,” I mutter under my breath.
I stand again and Poochie rubs against my leg.
“Wow, I’ve never seen her take to anyone like this.” Brett sounds amazed.
Emma looks up at me, her gray eyes soft. “She obviously has very high standards.”
Before I know what I’m doing, I grab the clipboard from the table. “This is a bad idea.”
* * *
It takes a little while to complete the paperwork, pay the fees and then get Poochie into the car. Every few moments, I stop and look over at the cat in question.
She looks like someone’s wrinkled grandfather.
I have no idea what the hell I was thinking when I started this but it’s too late to back down now.
We stop at the store so I can purchase a cat carrier, food, bowls and a collar. Emma stays in the car while I navigate the pet supply aisle on my own. After I spend more money on cat crap than I’ve spent on myself in a while, I carry the bags back to the car. It takes a minute to coax Poochie over so I can put her in the carrier but she finally gives in. Then I slide back into the passenger side seat.
Emma starts the car. “Thank you for your help today. I’m sure that wasn’t what you were expecting when you came to see me earlier.”
“I had fun.”
Shockingly, I’m telling the truth. I enjoyed the experience far more than I’d expected to. I look into the backseat. The cat carrier is made partially of mesh so I can see Poochie moving around restlessly.
“I even got an attack cat out of the deal.”
A wide grin stretches across her face. “Clearly you got the best end of this bargain.” She glances over at me. “So what now? I can drop you off or you could come over for a while. Ivy isn’t home so we’d have the place to ourselves.”
There’s a soft invitation in her eyes. She’s never seemed particularly open to spending this much time with me. Spending time with the cats must have softened her up a bit.
“Sure. I can come over.”
All I know is I’m not ready to go home yet. Being around Emma brings me the most profound peace. Everything inside me seems to settle down into an uncomplicated stillness. I’m not ready to let go of that ju
st yet.
Emma pulls up to her house and turns off the car, leaving us in silence. Lightning streaks across the sky and she jumps.
“Okay, we need to get inside the house.”
“You don’t like storms.”
She shakes her head. “I like them best when I’m warm and dry inside.”
Emma climbs out of the car and then leans into the backseat to grab the cat carrier. She’s talking to the cat, telling her where we are and where we’re going.
I follow her up the walkway and wait while she wrestles with the door. There is a sudden boom of thunder that sounds extremely close. Then the skies open up and the rain falls in heavy sheets, the wind splattering the rain in an angry gush across the porch.
Emma curses as we’re both instantly drenched.
“Finally,” Emma announces as the key slides into the lock.
We stumble across the threshold in a wet heap. Our legs tangle together and I have to twist myself so that when we fall, I take the brunt of the force.
“I’m really glad I didn’t go to your place first, otherwise I would have been driving home in this!”
She pushes up from my chest but goes still when she ends up half-straddling me. There’s no way she’s missing the unmistakable press of my erection beneath her. Her gaze lifts to mine and her cheeks flush pink but she doesn’t move.
We stay just like that, lost in each other’s eyes, until another boom of thunder rends the air, breaking the spell.
I set her to the side gently and stand up. “Well, I’ve never had to go to such lengths to get a woman on top of me before.”
With a laugh, she takes the hand I extend to her. She looks out the open door at the storm. “I didn’t think it was supposed to rain until later tonight.”
I didn’t either but I can’t say I’m upset about the forecast. I shrug out of my wet jacket and hang it on one of the metal hooks by the door. I toe out of my soggy shoes as well.
“Looks like you’re stuck with me for a while.”
Chapter Eleven
Emma
Crap, crap, crap. What the hell am I supposed to do with Tank Marshall in my house?