Breathing easy for the first time since they entered the bedroom, he held her tightly a few more minutes. “Let’s go to bed, baby. Why don’t you use the bathroom first and I’ll make sure the apartment is secure, okay?”
Crawling into bed several minutes later, they looked at each other awkwardly. Shane, taking charge said, “Come on, baby,” as he pulled her body in tightly to his. “We’ll sleep tonight. As long as we’re together, everything is gonna be fine.”
Annie felt the familiar warmth of his body surrounding hers and she drifted off to sleep quickly, the emotion of the evening having exhausted her.
Shane lay awake holding her for a long time. I promised to protect her. But what about protecting her from myself? Before dropping off to sleep, he decided to call the department shrink tomorrow. I may have come in from the dark, but it still has a hold on me. No more. That shit stops. Kissing her head one more time as he listened to her slow, rhythmic breathing, he finally slept.
Chapter 21
The next several weeks flew by as Shane and Annie found themselves busier than ever. As the holidays approached, the clinic was packed with animals that ate things they shouldn’t have eaten and worried owners. Annie’s schedule did not allow any breaks and Shane was equally busy with trying to tie up the loose ends in several cases, keep an eye out to make sure none of the major players were making bail, and trying to find an apartment. Plus talk to the department shrink.
Matt looked over at his partner, studying files on his desk. “Is it helpin’?” he asked.
Shane looked up, knowing instinctively what Matt was talking about. He had confided about the incident with Annie to him. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly. “Only met him a couple of times, so I don’t really know yet.” Looking away for a moment in thought, he continued, “But yeah, I guess it’s not so bad talkin’ about it.”
“How’s Annie doin’?”
Shane’s piercing glance came back to Matt’s. “In general or with my shit?”
Matt shrugged. “Both, I suppose.”
“In general, fine. Busy. She’s been puttin’ in long hours ‘cause it seems the holidays are when everyone’s pets get fuckin’ stupid, eatin’ shit they shouldn’t. I asked her about takin’ on another vet, maybe even part time, and she’s thinkin’ about it.”
The silence stretched out between the two partners. “And my shit? Better. It was a little rough the first time…well, after that night when…you know.”
“She loves you, man. She’ll deal.”
Shane swore, “That’s the problem. She shouldn’t have to fuckin’ deal.” Blowing out his breath, he rubbed his hand over his face in frustration. “I mean, we got over that hump, but I feel like I’ve been walking on eggshells ever since. I hesitate to initiate anything ‘cause I’m worried that she’s worried.”
“Annie’s smart, Shane. Give her more time and you keep gettin’ help. It’ll sort itself out. How’s the apartment hunting going?”
At this Shane grinned for the first time. Matt looked at him curiously.
“I’m startin’ to look at buyin’ a house, not an apartment.”
“No shit?”
“Matt, I’m wanting to take this to forever. She’s the one and it doesn’t make any goddamn sense to beat around the bush. I’ve got a big-ass dog that needs a yard to run in. She’s got three cats that need their space too. I didn’t spend hardly any of my money for two years, plus the danger-pay I got. I banked it all and have more than enough for a down payment.”
“What does Annie think of this?”
“Well…”
“You haven’t told her? Don’t fuck this up, man.”
“I wanted to see what was out there first, then bring her on board.”
Matt smiled at his friend, nodding. “Good luck, man.”
Shane looked at his friend for a moment, his mind sliding back to what Annie had said. “Matt is such a great guy, I hope he finds his happily ever after too.” His sunshine was right.
* * *
Annie and Suzanne were in the back doing surgery while Leon was handling the patients up front. Annie stretched her aching back, trying to get the kinks out of it.
Suzanne looked over at her with concern in her eyes. “You okay, doc?”
“Yeah, just tired of leaning over this table. These damn dogs will eat anything.”
She had started her day with a neuter, then they were on their third foreign body surgery of the day. “One ball of ribbon, a golf ball and the winner now is…a sock!” she said as she pulled the sock from the stomach of the puppy.
Suzanne had to laugh at the mangled, wet sock dangling from Annie’s fingers.
“Lordy, it makes me glad I have cats,” Annie said as she began stitching up the dog.
“Do you and Shane have plans for the holidays? Are you going to split your time between your folks and his family?”
“Honestly, we haven’t gotten that far in our planning. I know he needs to spend it with his family since they lost the last couple of holidays with him, but my mom will have a fit if I don’t get into Jefferstown. I don’t know. It’s one of those things every couple has to figure out, but we’ve had so much other stuff to deal with, it just hasn’t come up.”
“What other stuff, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I’m working all the time, he’s working late on cases and says for me not to worry, but I see him constantly checking to make sure the security system is on. He’s been seeing a police counselor to help with some flashbacks, but due to the nature of them he can’t really talk about it.” Annie sighed deeply. “My apartment is too small for all of us.”
“This is the hard part, isn’t it?” Suzanne asked quietly.
Looking over at her as she finished the puppy, she asked, “What do you mean?”
Shrugging her shoulders, she replied, “The hard part of a relationship. The easy part is falling in love. The hard part is keeping that love.”
In the time that Annie had been around Suzanne she had noticed that Suzanne never talked about dating or a boyfriend at all. In fact, she always seem to shy away from personal questions.
“So you know about the hard part?” Annie asked softly.
Suzanne turned her brilliant blue eyes on her boss and friend. “Yeah. I know. I was in love. I thought it would be forever.”
“What happened?” Annie found herself asking, even though she was afraid of the answer.
“We just didn’t have enough in us to make it last through the hard part. He needed … to become himself, and I needed…well, I didn’t get to keep what I needed.”
Annie knew that Suzanne had shared all that she was going to share and so she picked up the still sleeping puppy and followed her out of the operating room. Once the dog was settled in recovery and they had cleaned up, Annie turned to Suzanne and hugged her.
“What was that for?” Suzanne asked with a smile on her beautiful face.
“I just thought that we both needed it.”
Leon’s voice broke through their moment, calling for Doc to come to the front. Walking into the reception area, Annie saw a man in his early thirties dressed in a nice suit waiting to be seen. Looking over at Leon, she waited for an explanation.
“Doc,” Leon said. “This is Dr. Carl Ogden. He’s here looking for a job.”
Annie was shocked but recovered to walk forward and shake his hand. “Dr. Ogden. I’m Dr. Annie Donavan. It’s nice to meet you, but I haven’t advertised for a partner.”
“Please call me Carl and I know you haven’t advertised. I was hoping that we could talk for a few minutes if you have time. If not, I will be glad to come back at a more convenient time.”
“Well, the clinic is closed now so I have some time. Would you like to come back to the office? It’s small, but we’ll be able to talk privately there.”
Leon and Suzanne shot her a dirty look as she turned and led Carl toward the back. Annie almost giggled, knowing they wanted to see what the doctor ha
d to say.
Once settled, she turned to him. “So Carl, what did you want to discuss?”
“I am looking for a job, but my situation is unusual,” he began. “I don’t normally live in the area but my mother fell and broke her hip. I’ve moved in with her temporarily to assist. She has some home care so I’m not needed twenty-four-seven. I worked in a clinic in North Carolina but had to take a leave of absence. I would like to practice, just part time, while I’m here. I was passing by the other day and noticed your clinic. I was hoping that perhaps during the holiday time you might be so busy that you could use an extra pair of hands.”
Annie responded, “I’m actually very interested in someone helping out. I can’t give you a lot of hours, but if your credentials check out, then I would consider having you on a part time basis. I’m finding that my surgery schedule is so packed that I have a hard time getting through the appointments. If you could work maybe three mornings a week, would that suffice?”
Carl smiled broadly, thanking her profusely. “Dr. Donavan, that schedule would be perfect.” He stood and reached out his hand again.
“Leave your information with Leon and I will let you know as soon as I call your references.”
She led him out to the front to meet with Leon and was surprised to see Shane standing there scowling. “Hi sweetie. I didn’t expect you so early.” She walked over to give him a hug wondering about his sour expression. She notice his eyes had not left Dr. Odgen’s.
“I’d like you to meet a potential part-time vet who may be able to take some of the load off of me,” she said. “This is Dr. Carl Ogden and this is Detective Shane Douglas.”
The men shook hands but seem to be sizing each other up. Shane gave a head jerk then turned his attention back to Annie. “You ready to go, babe. Got somethin’ I want to show you.”
“Sure honey, but I need to finish up here.”
“Doc, you go on. Leon and I will get things ready for tomorrow. You need a rest break anyway,” Suzanne offered.
After making sure that Leon would be getting Carl’s information and giving a quick hug to Suzanne, she and Shane headed up to her apartment so she could change.
“So do you want to explain to me why you looked like you wanted to get into a pissing contest with Dr. Ogden downstairs?” she called from the bedroom as she quickly changed. “And where are we going so I will know what to put on?”
“We’re going to check out a place for us to move to so just wear something comfortable. And I wasn’t in a pissing contest.” Before he could ask more about the other veterinarian, Annie came running out of the bedroom jumping into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.
“You found a place?” she screamed. “You found an apartment for all of us?”
Laughing, he grabbed hold and swung her around, kissing her soundly. “I did but we’ve got to get going if we want to see it tonight.”
They headed out of town a few minutes later, Annie anxious to see the apartment that Shane had found. They continued to drive out of the urban center of the city to the north side, passing a large park and turning into an older residential area of town. The lawns were large and well maintained with huge trees lining the roads and filling the back yards.
Annie looked around curiously, wondering where an apartment building would be in this neighborhood. “Are you cutting through the neighborhood to get to another area?” she asked.
Before Shane could answer, he turned into a driveway of one of the houses with a ‘For Sale’ sign outside. The white, two story colonial sported black shutters and a front porch that spread the width of the home. The large front yard held trees and flower beds and was surrounded by a rustic wooden fence.
Annie whipped her head around to look at Shane, seeing the smile on his face. “What are we doing here? Are you looking at this? When did you…”
Before she could fire out another question, he leaned over capturing her mouth. The kiss was gentle. Slow. Soft. Pulling back slightly, he whispered, “Welcome home, sunshine. That is, if you like it.”
Her eyes widened as she turned her head back to the visage out of the front of the truck. “You bought a house? For us?”
“Come on, baby. Let’s take a look,” he said as he slid out of the truck, gently pulling her out of his side. “Sarge,” he called and the dog jumped out of the cab as well, running through the yard.
Another car was in the driveway and a pleasant-looking lady emerged, briefcase in hand as she approached. Introductions were made and she led them up the porch steps where she proceeded to let them enter.
Shane had seen the house before, but found himself nervous over Annie’s reaction. He held her hand but kept his eyes trained on hers to see what she thought.
She was stunned. She had no idea that he was looking at houses. I thought he just wanted to get a bigger apartment. Not a house. But oh my God, this is amazing. Wandering through the downstairs, she discovered the living room was on the left of the entrance hall and was flooded with natural sunlight from a large picture window facing the front side window as well. A brick fireplace stood on the wall opposite of the picture window, and she immediately noted the mantel was large enough for decorating in ‘family’. To the right of the entrance hall, was the dining room, with the same wooden floors that extended from the living room.
Walking into the dining area, she tried to stifle a giggle. The realtor looked over quizzically and Annie explained that where she lived, she ate on the sofa with the coffee table. The realtor smiled indulgently and began pointing out the attributes of the house and neighborhood. Annie was in her own little world by that time, wandering from the dining room into the kitchen. Sucking in her breath, she looked around at the fully equipped kitchen filled with oak cabinets with decorative knobs, granite countertops, and new appliances.
Shane walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame, and whispered, “What do you think, baby?”
“It’s amazing, Shane. It’s gorgeous.”
“Come on, let’s look at the rest of it,” he prodded. Leading her by the hand, they continued from the kitchen to the family room in the back of the house where the windows overlooked the back yard, complete with stone patio. Up the wooden staircase, they discovered a large master bedroom with a bathroom that made Annie stop in her tracks.
Shane watched as she gingerly leaned over and ran her hand along the edge of the soaker tub. She deserves this. She deserves all of this.
They explored the two other larger bedrooms and the one smaller one that would be perfect for a study. Or a nursery he thought as he watched his beautiful woman take it all in. I could see her. Standing by the window, the sun shining on her coppery hair, holding their child.
“Shane, are you all right?”
Jolted out of his musings he smiled as he walked back over. “Yeah, baby. I’m perfect.”
They finished the tour standing in the back yard enjoying the view. The realtor, knowing she had a sure sale, began pulling papers out of her briefcase. “Shall we go in to the kitchen where we will be able to use the counter for signing?” she suggested.
Annie’s eyes cut sharply over to Shane’s. “Sign? You’re going to buy it now? But I don’t even know how much it is? Shane I can’t afford much. I can’t…”
Once again, Shane shut her up with a kiss. Looking over to the realtor, he said, “Will you excuse us a minute.”
She nodded and went inside.
Annie turned to him, ready to cut loose with her million questions and concerns, but before she could say anything, he placed his fingers gently over her lips.
“Sunshine, I need you to stop and just listen for a minute. Can you give me that?” She nodded against his fingers so he released them.
“We both grew up in a neighborhood like this. Old homes. Big yards. Lots of room for kids and pets to play. I always knew that at some point in my future I would like the same thing. I never looked before ‘cause I never had a reason to. But baby, we’re an us n
ow. And this us is going to keep going. You with me so far?”
Her green eyes never leaving his beautiful blue ones, she nodded once again as her heart began to pound.
“Money is not a question here.” He noticed her brow immediately furrowed, but he continued. “Baby, my pay’s not shit and I’ve saved most of it over the years. The two years I was under, I didn’t have to use hardly any, and on top of that I received extra for hazard pay. I invested and I’ve got a decent nest-egg. We’ll have about a twenty-minute commute, but you can start looking for vet practices out this way if you want. I’ll stay with the force for a while more then I may decide to take Tony up on his offer of security work. Haven’t made up my mind yet, but his office is on this side of town so that would be good too.
“Do you get what I’m tryin’ to say? I want you in my life. In my future. Not wastin’ any more time getting to the life I want. I’ve been wild, but you’ve been the one to tame this beast. I want you, this house, our pets, and eventually our kids.”
At that declaration, Annie’s wide eyes filled with tears as she grabbed his face and pulled him down for a kiss. He let her take charge of the kiss for just a moment before he angled his head and took the kiss right where he wanted it to go. Wild, passionate, breathing her in and giving it back.
Slowly pulling away, she glanced over, seeing the realtor peeking through the window. “Shane, we have an observer.”
“Don’t worry about it, sunshine. That kiss just got her a sale!”
Laughing, the two of them went inside where Shane signed on the numerous dotted lines. Shaking hands with the realtor, they were assured that the sale should go through quickly since the previous owners had already moved and were anxious to sell. “You should be owners in about a month,” the realtor announced proudly as she led them back outside.
Corralling Sarge back into the truck, they headed back into the city talking about the future.
Love's Taming (The Love's Series) Page 18