Leon walked over to stand behind Suzanne. “Gotta say, doc, Suzanne’s telling it like it is. I like the guy, but he’s got some serious issues.”
“I know what his issues are and I believe him,” Annie replied. “A few more days and then he is back on the police force as a regular detective. No more undercover. No more dangerous missions.” She hesitated a moment before looking back at them. “No more Rocky or other women.”
Suzanne, still on a roll, continued, “Let’s face it. Other than Leon, men are just shits. They lie, use you, make promises they don’t keep, and then you are left high and dry to pick up the pieces of your life all on your own!”
Leon and Annie just stared at Suzanne. “Are you sure you aren’t just talking about your own experiences?” Annie asked gently.
Suzanne pursed her lips together for a moment until the fight seemed to leave her. She had never talked about her past relationships.
“So the other night was just an act?” Leon asked, turning the attention back to Annie.
“Yes. And even if you don’t believe him then you should at least believe me. I know he is telling me the truth. I told you what Detective Dixon said. And when Shane laid it all out there, I admit it was overwhelming. But guys,” she said looking at her two closest friends, “I believe him. I want to give this a shot.”
Suzanne and Leon were silent for a moment, taking it all in.
“I just want you to be happy and honestly, he scares me,” Suzanne admitted.
Annie walked over to her friends, taking their hands. “I know. Sometimes he kind of scares me too. But then the thought of him not in my life scares me more.”
The two women embraced then Leon threw his arms around both of them, shouting, “Group hug!” Just then, the front doorbell sounded accompanied with the noise of dogs barking, starting a new day for the clinic.
By Thursday, Annie could feel the nervousness of waiting reaching an all-time high. Before Shane had left her last weekend, he promised her that he would be with her on Friday evening. If it wasn’t for the busy work schedule, she wasn’t sure she would have made it.
Suzanne passed her in the small hallway with a small Chihuahua in her arms, heading back toward the workroom. “Mrs. Greenwald’s neighbor is in exam room three. Looks like his dog was in a fight, but it’s not too bad.”
Annie dropped off the cat in her arms to Leon to finish in exam room one, then walked in to see the dog. An elderly gentleman was standing by the examining table talking softly to his bulldog. After greeting him, Annie looked at the bite marks that Suzanne had already cleaned.
“The good news is that they are superficial and not deep. I don’t think any stitches will be required, but I want to give him an antibiotic injection to make sure they don’t become infected.”
She looked up to see the owner smile as he leaned down to place his face next to his dog. The old bulldog lifted his sad eyes to his owner.
“You hear that Petunia. The nice doctor says you’re going be just fine,” he said as he continued to rub his dog’s ears.
“Petunia?” Annie couldn’t help but smile as she inquired about the bulldog’s name.
“Yes. My wife named him after her favorite flower. Lucy’s been gone a couple of years now, but me and Petunia keep her memory going just be hanging on to each other.”
“Oh, I am so sorry about your wife, but I can definitely tell you that…Petunia’s bites are not too bad.” She looked down at the notes that Suzanne had taken, but there wasn’t much information on how Petunia was attacked. “Mr. Charleston, can you tell me what happened?”
The pleasant look immediately left his face as he became animated. “Me and Petunia were just out for a walk when a stray dog came from the dumpsters in the alley behind my street. I live about five blocks over and we have never had any problem with strays before. Next thing I knew that dog rushed over and jumped on my poor Petunia, starting to bite him. I had my cane and I whaled on that dog till it ran away. I got him home and washed him off, but I knew he needed to see a vet. I took him to that emergency vet down the way, but the doc on duty that night said he’d be fine.”
Annie looked up sharply from taking notes. “Mr. Charleston, we have to make a report when an animal is attacked, so surely they took down your information to do that.”
“He didn’t do a goddamn thing,” he said, then immediately apologized. “Doc, I’m sorry about my language. I should have never cussed in front of a lady, but I guess when it comes to my Petunia, I just lose my manners.”
Why would the emergency vet not take notes and file the city report? Shaking her head to clear her musings, she just replied, “Well, I can certainly understand why you wanted Petunia seen. I’m glad that Mrs. Greenwald suggested you come here.”
Finishing up with his discharge instructions, she left the exam room and noticed that Leon had closed the reception area since Petunia was the last client to be seen for the day.
“Hey Leon, do you have those city animal control forms that are needed when an animal had been attacked?”
Leon found the file and handed one to her. As Annie was filling it out, she began to tell Leon about what Mr. Charleston said concerning the emergency clinic. Suzanne walked in from the back, hearing the story.
“I’m sorry, doc. When he told me that he had taken his dog to the other clinic, I assumed that they filed the report.”
Annie looked up, a crinkle above her brow, replying, “I can’t imagine why they wouldn’t! I’ll call them once we finish up and see what the deal is.” Handing the form to Leon to fax to city hall, she turned and began their end-of-day duties.
By the time Leon and Suzanne left for the evening it was after six o’clock. Perfect time to call the evening shift at the emergency clinic. Sitting at the desk, she reached for the phone when her cell phone rang. Looking down, she saw Shane’s number. Smiling to herself, she grabbed her cell.
“Please tell me you are not calling to put things off some more,” she said hastily.
She heard a deep chuckle that made her smile even more.
“Well, hello to you to, baby,” Shane said, the warmth of his voice carrying across the airwaves. “And no, I am not goin’ to put things off one more fuckin’ moment.”
“Thank God,” she said.
“Tonight is my last night and then I’m finished. I’ll be back to bein’ Matt’s partner at the station.”
“Are you going to be in danger tonight?” she asked.
“I promise that there is nothin’ I’m doing tonight that will put me in harm’s way. I’ll see you tomorrow night when the clinic closes.”
“Okay,” she said softly.
“And baby?”
“Yeah?”
“Be ready to change into other clothes, ‘cause I’m finally takin’ you to dinner. And on Saturday, be prepared for a road trip.”
“A road trip? To where?”
“I’m takin’ you to meet my family.” Silence met this statement. “Baby, you still there?”
“Shane, are you sure? It seems too rushed. You haven’t even seen them yet.”
“Baby, not waitin’ anymore on this shit. Stole too much from me – not lettin’ it steal more. You with me?”
The warm feeling from last weekend crept back over Annie, washing away the fears. “Yeah, I’m with you.”
Clicking off her cell phone, Annie sat back in the chair with what she knew was a silly grin on her face. Sighing happily, she reached for the phone to make her call to the other vet.
Reaching the vet that was on duty, she heard, “Dr. Ketchum, may I help you?”
“Phil? This is Annie Donavan.”
“Annie! How good to hear from you. How’ve you been?”
Annie had gone to dinner several times with Phil the year before, but the spark wasn’t there and they had remained professional friends.
“I’m really calling in an official capacity, Phil. I had a client come in to the clinic this afternoon with a dog that had been
attacked by a stray dog. He claimed to have brought him to your emergency clinic last night, but that no one would treat the dog, nor did they take a report.”
“I was here last night but was working in the back. We have a nighttime receptionist up front, but I can tell you that they never told me that a dog had come in. I admit that the person up front is a new hire, but I don’t know why they wouldn’t let me know about a dog attack. Are you sure he actually came in?”
“Well, no. I am just going off of what he said. I filed the report to animal control, but I wanted to follow up with you.”
“I’m glad you did, Annie. That new hire isn’t working tonight, but I will talk to our clinic supervisor, Dr. Watkins, and let him know he needs to train our new hires, especially if they are going to be working the front desk by themselves at night.”
“Thanks, I appreciate that,” she replied.
“So…any chance we could get together for dinner sometime soon?” he asked.
Annie smiled, thinking of the difference between the dapper Dr. Ketchum and the untamed man that would be taking her to dinner instead. “Phil, I appreciate the thought, but I’m seeing someone.”
“Hey, that’s great Annie. Well, if you ever need me, professionally or otherwise, you know where to find me.”
Hanging up the phone, she finished her reports and then headed upstairs to her apartment. Setting the alarms carefully, she turned to be greeted by her meowing trio. “Guys, this is our last night where it is just us by ourselves. Tomorrow night we will have someone else here.”
After she fed the cats, she walked to the small bedroom and looked in the tiny closet. Unlike most females she knew, she did not have a lot of clothes. Her days were spent in scrubs and a lab coat. Pushing her clothes to the side, she made room for Shane to put some things in the closet. Looking down at the floor, she realized that she also had very few shoes: Dress pumps to wear to professional conferences, crocs and tennis shoes for work, running shoes, a few pairs of sandals and flip-flops, and one pair of fuck-me shoes that she wore once when going to a vet school dance.
Looking back behind her, three pairs of eyes stared at her from the bed. “Looks like the wild man has hooked up with Miss Boring, doesn’t it guys? Well, at least he will have room for his clothes.” Rags and Tiddles were occupied with bathing, but Boo stared as though he understood everything she said.
Walking over to her dresser, she moved her possessions around to empty some drawers as well. Noticing the full moon shining into her bedroom from the window by the dresser, she walked over to look out. The surrounding brick buildings gave off little personality, but she could hear the music coming from some of the bars down the street, giving her little area of Richland a certain energy.
Looking back at Boo, she remarked wistfullly, “I still want a clinic in the country.” Somewhere where I’ll have a view and you can watch birds out of the windows.”
The few light posts gave off little illumination on the alley below, but she found herself looking down toward the dumpster behind the building. Her mind went back to the first time she saw Shane. Was that really just a month ago? It seemed as though the roller coaster had been longer. Smiling once again, she went to bed wondering what the ride would bring tomorrow.
She missed the silhouette of the man in the alley, looking at the woman in the window, his eyes gleaming with malice.
Chapter 17
Barely containing her excitement, Annie found herself wanting to rush through her appointments, but her professionalism wouldn’t allow it and the time seemed to drag. At three o’clock, Leon locked the front door, two hours before closing.
Looking at him in curiosity, she asked, “What’s going on?”
Suzanne walked in from the back room and stood next to Leon as he threw his arm around her. “Well,” she said, “We decided to make sure you had plenty of time to get ready for your big date tonight, so we shuffled around the appointments so we are done for the day.”
Beaming a huge smile, Annie ran over to grab her friends. Pulling back, she looked at Suzanne. “I thought you didn’t like Shane,” she said gently.
“Oh doc, I just don’t want to see you hurt. He seems so…I don’t know…wild and unpredictable.”
Annie laughed, “Yeah, you got that right.” Looking into Suzanne’s worried face, she said, “But it’s okay. I feel safe with him.”
Leon took her by the shoulders, turned her around, and gave her a gentle shove toward the back stairs. “You, dearest doc, need to head up to your apartment, get ready for tonight. Suzanne and I will finish up here getting the clinic ready for Monday.”
Flashing a smile over her shoulder at her two friends, she jogged up the stairs. Walking into her apartment, she was met with her trio, all demanding to be fed. “Guys, it’s not dinner time yet. I’m just early today.”
Boo, being the ring leader, refused to be persuaded that her walking in the door was not the signal of dinner time and continued to meow loudly.
“Fine, fine. But just remember this later when you get hungry again!”
Once her furry friends were sated, they followed her into her bedroom, piling on her comforter to watch the proceedings as they licked themselves clean.
Walking into her tiny bathroom, Annie looked over at her shower. What I wouldn’t give for a bathtub. A chance to soak until I was a wrinkled prune. Knowing that no matter how long she stared at the minuscule shower stall it was never going to turn into a large soaker tub, she stripped and hopped in. Shower, shave, and shampoo. God, this feels good.
After drying off with one of her fluffiest towels, she began getting ready. As she rubbed lotion on every part of her body, she imagined Shane licking along the trail that she was smoothing. Glancing to the bed where Boo was keeping his eyes on her, she thought, if I am lucky tonight, Boo, you won’t be sleeping on my bed all night!
Looking at the clock, she was so grateful that her friends had closed the clinic early so that she would have time to get ready. Her long, thick hair took forever to dry and she wanted to have time to tame a few of the natural curls.
Once the curls hung down her back she finished her make-up, deciding to go with simple instead of something more sultry. The dark smoky eye just isn’t me.
Walking over to her small closet filled with scrubs, two extra lab coats, a few professional looking pants, and blouses, she went to the back corner pulling out a plastic bag. Her one little black dress. It had been her extravagance when she first got out of vet school and assumed that she might actually have a night life. Or a dating life. Or any life that didn’t involve fur, guts, blood, and anal glands. Yeah, didn’t exactly call that one right, she thought ruefully.
The dress was still in its store bag with the tags attached. Pulling it out carefully, she cut the tags and then slipped it on. Twisting and turning in front of the mirror checking out her reflection, she couldn’t help but smile. The dress was asymmetrical, high on one leg and flowing down lower on the other. Little straps held the top in place as it dipped low enough to show off some cleavage without screaming ‘check out my knockers’. Finally pairing it with a pair of strappy, sexy heels that had been worn once, she was ready.
“So, Boo. What do ya think?” As usual, Boo just stared before he lifted his leg to lick himself. Nice job, Boo. Way to make a lady feel special!
Glancing at the clock one more time, she walked into the living area to wait. Butterflies began to flit around her stomach, catching her off guard. Realizing that she did not want to just sit around, she headed back down the stairs to the clinic.
* * *
Shane entered the clinic through the door opened by Leon. The two men shook hands and Shane noticed that Leon held his in a tight grip for a millisecond longer than necessary. Recognizing mans-speak, he raised his eyebrow in question.
Leon smiled as he dropped Shane’s hand. “You good, Shane?”
Nodding, Shane replied, “Yeah. A helluva lot better now that I can move on with my life.”
<
br /> Suzanne slid up beside Leon, peering intently at Shane. He held her gaze, knowing that she was struggling with accepting him.
While undercover, to stay alive he learned to keep his mouth shut, giving nothing away. No emotions. No thoughts. No explanations. Fighting the desire to tell Annie’s friends to fuck off and keep their opinions to themselves, he knew this was part of being back in the real world. The world of honest, clean living – normal.
Deciding to acknowledge the elephant in the room, he simply stated, “I know you’re worried. Don’t know what to say other than I care about Annie.”
Moving her long, black hair off of her shoulder, Suzanne fixed her blue eyes on his. “I just don’t want to see her hurt again. And you Shane, have the makings of hurt written all over you.”
Shane noticed Leon wrap his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in gently. That girl’s been hurt. Don’t know that she’s shared with anyone, but that hurt runs deep.
“I can’t make any promises about where this’ll go, but know this – I’m out now. Not goin’ back under. I plan on movin’ in with Annie just until I can find a place for me and Sarge. Things go the way I hope, she’ll want to move in with me sometime. I care about her, plan on taking care of her, and I’m gonna protect her.”
“But who is going to protect her from you?” Suzanne asked softly.
Shane couldn’t help but smile, “Darlin’, Annie soothes this savage and I assure you, she doesn’t need protectin’ from me. I may be a wildcard, but that woman knows how to tame.”
A sudden movement from the back hall had the three of them turning to see Annie standing there, her eyebrow raised in question.
“I feel like a teenager whose parents are questioning my date,” she said as she glided into the room.
Shane stared at the vision in front of him, his breath catching in his throat. His eyes scanned her from the coppery waves falling over her shoulders down to the black dress that somehow covered more than the hooker skanks he had been around and yet seemed to scream ‘here I am” at the same time. The dress showed a hint of cleavage that he couldn’t wait to get his hands on again and flared around her hips that hid the sweetness he couldn’t wait to taste. Her toned legs went on forever, and her tiny feet were encased in heels that he decided he wanted left on when he stripped her tonight. His eyes made their way back up to her green ones that he smugly noticed were taking him all in as well.
Love's Taming (The Love's Series) Page 14