by Melissa West
The thought made Lila’s already nervous stomach rumble.
One thing at a time, and for now, she needed to get out of her SUV and walk into Dr. Baxter’s office, assistant or not, and show that she wasn’t the same little girl who used to run after her brother and Charlie.
“Deep breath, deep breath.”
Lila glanced in the rearview mirror to check her makeup, which consisted of no more than mascara and lipgloss—well, tinted Chapstick, but that was something.
She reached for her work tote when a knock on her window caused her to jump back. A memory slipped into her mind, but before it could take shape, she shook her head and pushed it away. This was Crestler’s Key, after all, her home. Not the city, where shadows chased you and it was hard to walk anywhere without looking over your shoulder. But then it hadn’t always been that way, only after . . .
No. I won’t think about that anymore.
Another knock, softer this time, had her rolling down the window to find the front-desk manager, Tracy, standing outside her door.
“Hi, Tracy,” she said. “Did you need something?”
Tracy wore a turquoise blue T-shirt with the Crestler’s Key Animal Hospital logo on the front left pocket—an outline of a kitten on one side of the words, a puppy on the other—and white capris. Like always, she was smiling.
“Hey there, honey. Saw you out here and didn’t know if you were waiting on something or what. But you do know that you don’t need a key to come on inside, right? At least not at this hour.” The older lady released a loud laugh as though she’d said something especially funny, causing Lila to release her own loud laugh, though it sounded less like a laugh and more like a cackle. Both women went silent.
“Right, sorry. I was just reading over a few things.” Lila motioned around her, where not a single piece of paper, brochure, or pamphlet could be found. She frowned. Damn inability to lie. Even at twenty-eight Lila still couldn’t lie without fearing her mother was somewhere around, all too ready to pop her hand with a ruler.
“All right then. We’ll just be inside if you need us for anything. Take all the time you need. Doc Baxter isn’t back yet, anyway.”
“Really? Where is he?” Lila asked, this new piece of information giving her a bit of confidence. It wasn’t that Dr. Baxter was a mean man. He wasn’t mean . . . exactly. He was simply old and very, very set in his ways. And a little on the anal side. Okay, a lot on the anal side. Which meant he would expect Lila to do things his way, and only his way, and the problem with that was that Lila had previously worked with a very new-age, advanced vet in Charlotte, who loved to test new things and loved to give their staff opportunities to learn and grow.
Lila suspected Dr. Baxter would be offended if she suggested trying anything outside the norm.
“He’s down at Littleton Farm, checking on a new calf there.”
“Did you say Littleton Farm?” Lila fumbled with her phone, dropping it between the driver’s seat and center console. She groaned. Why did everything always have to fall in that exact spot, where even her small hands couldn’t fit? Now she’d have to spend the next ten minutes moving the seat forward and back until she could reach the stupid phone.
With no other choice, she pressed the button for the seat and slowly and painfully it moved back. Lila reached under the seat, but couldn’t feel it. So she switched to moving the seat up, this time causing the engine in the seat to whine rebelliously. Once again, though, she couldn’t reach the phone.
“Ugh!”
Tracy’s brow furrowed. “Are you okay? You look a little feverish.”
Right, feverish. So not only did her mind react in crazy ways to hearing the Littleton name, but her body reacted as well. Thank God Tracy hadn’t mentioned Charlie’s name outright or Lila might lose all ability to function. She needed to pull herself together and call him or stop by or something. Rip off the seeing-him-again bandage so she could function in town without fear of running into him.
But instead of saying any of that, she waved her hand through the air casually. “Oh, no. I’m fine. Just a little hot. I’m ready to go on in if you are.”
Once again, Tracy’s face scrunched up. “All right.”
“Got it!” Lila pulled her phone out from under her seat and grinned at Tracy, who simply stared back. All right then.
Clearing her throat, Lila turned off her SUV, grabbed her tote, and followed Tracy into the animal hospital.
It had changed from the last time she was there. On the outside, it was still an old house, converted into a business, complete with a wide front porch and decorative shutters. A black, white, and brown basset hound lay flat as a pancake outside the front door, snoring.
Tracy shook her head as she opened the door. “That’s Old Babe, Baxter’s dog, and I swear he sleeps more than he breathes.”
Lila laughed and bent down to scratch his head, but he didn’t budge an inch. “Seems sweet.”
Tracy held the door and Lila stepped inside the animal hospital, her insides swirling with excitement as she peered around. The outside might be the same, but the inside had been fully renovated. The maple hardwood floors she remembered had been replaced with dark tile, and the walls were now a light tan. To the left was a small waiting area with a brown couch and two chairs. A coffee table sat between the couch and chairs, and a dozen or so animal magazines were organized on top of the table.
To the right of the door were shelves of grooming supplies— shampoos, conditioners, brushes, trimmers, etc. Then various supplements and vitamins and over-the-counter medications, like flea-and-tick treatments. And then below all of that were stacks of organic dog and cat food.
Even in the common area, you could smell the perfumed scents coming from the grooming area, and Lila wondered if she would forever smell like a freshly-groomed poodle now or if the scent would wash away. The last office she’d worked at didn’t have grooming services in the same building, so it was never something to consider.
The phone rang from the front desk before them, and Tracy sped up to catch it. “Crestler’s Key Animal Hospital, this is Tracy. How may I help you?”
Lila grinned at the annoyed look that crossed the office manager’s face and knew without having to ask that Baxter had called.
“Yes, she’s here now, actually. Yes. Right. Of course. I’ll show her now. Of course. Right, right. Sure. Anything else?” Tracy rolled her eyes and Lila had to bite her lip to keep from laughing out loud. “Okay. See you soon, bye.” She hung up the phone and spun to face Lila. “I better get you set up. He’ll be here in fifteen and he wants you to sit in with him on an annual check.”
“But I—”
Tracy shook her head. “I know. I’m sure this is going to be as painful as watching water freeze in early winter, but trust me, it’s best to just go along with it. He’ll settle down soon enough.”
“It’s fine. Really.”
Tracy smiled. “We’ll see if you’re this agreeable after the day is over.” She released a laugh, then waved Lila on. “Come on, let me show you around.”
They toured the main common area, then each of the patient rooms, then the small break room, before stopping at an office with windows along the back that overlooked the small lake behind the animal hospital. A flock of ducks milled by the water’s edge, and Lila smiled as she took a step forward. “Wow, this is so nice. Thank you.”
“Oh, no. That’s not your office. That’s Dr. Baxter’s office. This one is yours.” Tracy pushed open a door across from the pretty office to reveal a space so small it must have been a closet. Surely, it wasn’t her office. But then she caught the grimace on Tracy’s face. “I’d say what I’m thinking right now, but some say Baxter has cameras watching us, so all I’ll say is that at least you can close the door if he’s really driving you crazy.”
Fantastic.
The phone rang again, and Lila waved for Tracy to go on. “I’m good here. I’ll just set down my things.”
“All right, honey.”
Tracy sauntered off to grab the call, and Lila had just set down her tote on the small metal desk and tested out the small, black swivel chair, when a back door opened and it was like a storm had flown into the building.
“Lila. Lila, you in here?”
Lila jumped up and stepped outside of her office-closet to find Dr. Baxter with his hands on his hips, a trail of sweat dripping down the side of his wrinkled face. His hair had long since turned white, and that forever scowl of his had created a deep indentation in the space between his eyebrows. He was easily twenty pounds heavier than he had been the last time she saw him.
“I came here to pick up a few things, but there’s been an emergency down at the Carlisle farm. A mare is delivering, but that foal of hers is turned and it’s a mess. Can you wait here for me to return?”
Tracy appeared then before Lila could speak up. “The waiting room is full. Can I have them see Lila for now so they can—”
“Absolutely not. Reschedule everyone.”
With a tiny step forward, Lila motioned to the waiting room. “I can handle it, Eric, if you’d—” She paused at the look he shot her. He waited, the stare of all stares continuing. What did he—oh, she’d called him by his first name. “I mean, Dr. Baxter. I’ve cared for animals by myself for the last year. Really, it’s fine.”
“I don’t know a thing about your abilities, beyond what a piece of paper says to me. This is my livelihood. Surely you can appreciate why I would prefer to be here to ensure everything goes as planned.” He continued his stare down as though he wanted her to reply to this, but Lila was rooted to the spot, so greatly offended she was tempted to tell the old man to stuff his job in that belly of his, she quit. But she needed this job, needed to be at home, and this was the only animal hospital in town.
For now.
In time, Lila hoped to open her own establishment, but that would take time. And money. Which she wasn’t overrun with at the moment. So instead, she simply took a step back and smiled. “Of course. I’ll just wait for you here.”
“Fantastic.” Then without another word, he went back to his office, grabbed a black bag, then set off out the door, Tracy well on her way to rescheduling everyone in the waiting area and Lila standing there helpless.
She’d need to gain Dr. Baxter’s trust soon or she’d lose her mind out of boredom. Or go off on him. Right now, both seemed to be equal risks.
Walking into the waiting area, she paused beside Tracy and motioned to the line. “Why don’t I help you get them rescheduled? Might as well do something.”
They went to work rescheduling everyone in line, and then Lila helped clean up the area, wipe down the shelves, and sweep the floors. Soon it was dark out, and Tracy grabbed her purse and glanced with hesitation at Lila.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay with you? It’s your first day. I hate to leave you alone.”
Lila smiled. “I’ll be fine. I’ll just review some things to keep me busy. No big deal. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.” The older woman waved good-bye and Lila went to work looking around the place, checking out what they offered, the various equipment and supplies they carried. Before long, two hours had passed with no Dr. Baxter, and Lila wasn’t sure which would take her first—sleep or hunger.
For a moment, she contemplated ordering food to be delivered. Pizza. She could eat an entire pizza right now. But what if Baxter showed?
She sat down on the couch in the waiting room and took out a magazine, leaned back against the couch and sighed.
So much for her first day on the job.
Chapter Two
Charlie couldn’t turn his brain off.
Ever since he’d had lunch with Lucas and his friend had told him that Lila was back in town, he found himself searching for her. Looking down the sidewalk after lunch as he walked to his truck. Watching passersby as he drove to the shop. Then, once he was parked and back inside Southern Dive, he kept finding himself by the front windows that faced the street, watching and searching and generally acting like a deranged stalker. All over a woman he hadn’t seen in more than a decade.
And yet . . .
He thought of the last time he’d seen her, when he was packing up to move to the Keys, the need to leave Crestler’s Key and find an adventure so great he’d felt as though he were suffocating. Added to that, Lucas had enlisted and now Charlie was stuck around town, hanging out with the girl he wasn’t allowed to have and wanting to change that fact so badly he couldn’t think straight.
Lila had helped him box up his things, and when it was finally time for him to hit the road, he pulled her into a hug. He couldn’t help it, he needed to touch her, let her feel how much she meant to him, because he sure as hell couldn’t say it. Even if Lucas was halfway across the country. It didn’t matter.
So he hugged her, breathed in her sunflower and summer scent, and then when he started to release her, she gripped him tighter.
“What am I going to do without you?” she’d asked, her voice shaking, but Charlie forced himself to smile down at her, because he already knew what she would do—live. By that point, she’d been accepted to several colleges and would have the option to do whatever she wanted in life. And she should do whatever she wanted, live, dream, be. He wouldn’t hold her back. So, he said good-bye to the girl in his heart and lost himself in the laid-back lifestyle of the Keys. Shorts and T-shirts and flip flops and a beer in his hand. And it was fun . . . until it wasn’t anymore.
Needing something else to think about, Charlie cracked open his laptop and went to his Instagram page. The only good thing to come out of the Keys/Jade debacle was his Instagram page. Somehow that witch of a woman had helped launch him in the world of social media in a way that he never could have himself. Still, years later, after years of managing the account, he still wasn’t fully comfortable putting himself out there. But it helped that he had regular followers, many of whom had travelled to Crestler’s Key to shop at Southern Dive, the Littleton brothers’ scuba diving equipment shop that had morphed into a clothing store for the outdoorsy type.
He surfed through his phone and pulled the photo he’d taken that morning of Henry chasing some chickens at the farm. He went through the process that felt like second nature to him now, resizing it and adding a filter and background. Then he captioned it “Tastes Like Chicken.” Of course, he would have never let Henry actually get to the chickens, but the picture was hilarious all the same.
Immediately the likes and comments started coming in. There was once a time that he tried to reply to comments, keep up, but with four-hundred thousand followers and thousands of comments per photo now, he could either manage his Instagram comments or work. He couldn’t do both. He chose the latter. Still, he’d keep a look out for and reply if something relevant came up. Plus, he kept a questions/ comments box on Southern Dive’s main website, so people could reach him if they needed to.
Once he’d sifted through the comments from yesterday’s photo—he tried to post daily—he checked the stockroom to make sure no packages had come in without him knowing, then went to work making sure the store was in order, adjusting clothing racks, refolding T-shirts. By the time he was done, it was closing time.
Time to head home . . . alone. For whatever reason, that had never bothered him before, but knowing Lila was in town somewhere made him hyperaware of just how alone he was in Crestler’s Key. In every way.
* * *
So . . . Lila was back in town. In Crestler’s Key. Charlie thought of calling her, but then he had no idea if her cell had changed over the years, and he had no idea where she was staying. Had she bought a place here? Rented? Was she—
He cut himself off before his thoughts went any closer to obsessive.
Twirling his beer bottle in his hand, he stared at his wide-screen, not really watching it, and not for the first time, he wondered why he had bought it. He wasn’t a TV kind of guy. He was a get-outside-and-do-something kind of guy, and nothing made him feel lazie
r than a damn TV. But it was nine o’clock, and the wings he’d picked up on the way home were long since gone. The truth was, he was lonely.
Lonely in a way that he hadn’t felt in a long time. It was a feeling that rose up within him every time Lucas came back to town, and he felt like an idiot for missing his best friend even before he left, yet he couldn’t push away the dark hole in his chest. And now he found out that not only was Lucas here for only two days, then leaving again, but his sister had returned for good, the single person who Charlie knew could fill in that hole in his heart. Not that he’d go that way with it; after all, he had once thought of her as a sister. That much hadn’t been a lie. But what he didn’t say to Lucas—couldn’t say—was that one single night had changed that fact, and though Charlie had stopped it, he couldn’t help wondering . . .
He twirled the beer in his fingers again, sure that he was just feeling shit that really meant nothing at all. Memories had a way of making you think they were real, live things, when really they were nothing more than past actions that needn’t be repeated.
Especially this one.
Especially if Charlie hoped to keep his head intact.
He took another pull from his beer then grimaced, because nothing had tasted right to him since he’d seen Lucas and heard that Lila was back.
Pushing off the couch, Charlie started for the kitchen to toss the beer when his gaze fell to Henry, stretched out on the floor between the family room and kitchen in Charlie’s open-floor-plan ranch house. But whereas normally Henry would be snoring, deep asleep by now, today he was groaning. Charlie bent down and scrubbed the dog’s ears, but instead of edging closer to his owner, like always, the dog continued to groan, and that was when Charlie noticed the bit of foam coming out of his mouth.
It took him less than ten seconds to grab his keys, cradle his dog in his arms, and head out the door. Charlie wasn’t a vet, but he’d been around animals his whole life on the farm, and he knew that whatever this was couldn’t be good.