Last Chance

by Natalie Ann

  After his gun was holstered and his badge clipped to his belt, he grabbed his keys and climbed into the Lake Placid Chief of Police SUV, then pulled out of his driveway and down his street, looking at the lake as he made his way into town.

  He always found peace on the lake. He had no problem admitting that now. It was only natural when both his parents had retired and moved to be near his youngest sister, Taryn, in Florida, that he’d buy the house from them. His other sister, Kennedy, who was four years younger, still lived in Lake Placid. But she lived above her business overlooking Mirror Lake right off Main Street.

  He worried about her, but reminded himself she could shoot a gun as well as any of his officers and probably could take half of them down, himself included, from her years of karate as a teen.

  Parking his vehicle in his designated spot, he walked into the police station, past the metal detectors with a wave to the guard on duty, swiped his card, and let himself into the back with the offices. His assistant, Marcy, quickly shoved her iPad into her desk. “What level are you on now?” he asked her, knowing her addiction to Candy Swipe games.

  “Higher than you’ll ever be,” she said back. He laughed, the shooting pain forcing him to grab his jaw before he could stop himself. “You still haven’t had that tooth taken care of. I’m calling the dentist and getting you in today. No arguments.”

  Since she was older than his mother and was pointing her finger at him, he decided to let her have her way. “Fine. Just let me know the time.”

  He hated going to the dentist. Hated everything about the place. The nice sweet-smiling women who chatted with him while they stuck all those shiny metal instruments in his mouth and expected him to answer while drool was running down his chin. What the hell?

  He was the chief of police in this town. No one needed to see him drool unless they were sleeping next to him in bed. Even then, he didn’t drool. At least he didn’t think he did.

  Once he was in his office, he started to go through his email. Finding out he had to make budget cuts once again was making the pain in his tooth spread to his head.

  “Trevor,” he heard over his intercom.

  “Yes, Marcy.”

  “They can fit you in at ten.”

  “Thanks,” he said back, wishing the appointment were either right now or ten years from now, not two hours, giving him time to dread it.

  At a quarter to ten, Trevor pushed back from his desk, the budget cuts overriding the tiny edge the Motrin tried to take off. “I’ll be back,” he said to Marcy as he walked by her.

  Ten minutes later, he was pulling into the parking lot of his dentist’s office. It didn’t matter he’d been coming here since he was a kid; the place still made him want to run to his room and lock the door like he did when he was five.

  But Dr. Fielding gave him a lollipop when he was done, despite the fact his mother scowled and said, “What dentist gives candy to kids?”

  “I do,” Dr. Fielding had said. “Otherwise they wouldn’t come see me. Bribery works in all forms.”

  He still remembered that to this day. And he still grabbed a lollipop from the jar on his way out, regardless of his age.

  “Hey, Christy,” he said to the woman who let him sneak two lollipops when he was younger and having a bad day. “I’ve got an appointment with Dr. Fielding at ten.”

  “Actually, you’re seeing Dr. Hamilton, Trevor.” She’d tried to call him Chief in the beginning when he got promoted, but he’d stopped that. Here, he was still Trevor.

  “Who’s that? Where’s Dr. Fielding?” Seriously? Then he looked to the right and the jar of lollipops was missing. What? He started looking for an escape.

  Fear of the dentist was stupid and childish, he knew. It was one of those ridiculous things he just couldn’t get past, always feeling they were talking about him behind his back. Did they do that? Did they compare notes on patients’ teeth? Make fun of them behind closed doors? Damn his parents for never letting him get braces.

  “Dr. Fielding is retiring next month. A letter went out to all his patients, but I’m guessing you didn’t read it. He is only finishing up the last of the few appointments he has scheduled at this point. Every new appointment for the past month has been scheduled with Dr. Hamilton, who bought his practice.”

  Great, now he was going to have to get used to some other guy. Nothing about today was going right.

  He leaned on the counter, then forced himself not to wince from that small motion. How could leaning on a counter hurt his jaw? “Dr. Fielding couldn’t fit me in?” he asked, trying to sweet talk her.

  “Now, Chief,” she said. Damn it, she was on to him. “No one gets favoritism here. You know that. But don’t you worry, just because Dr. Hamilton took down the lollipop jar doesn’t mean I don’t have a few left. I’ll make sure you get yours when you leave. Maybe even two, if you’re good.”

  He wanted to smile at her but ended up grabbing his mouth again. Instead he turned and took a seat, expecting to wait for at least thirty minutes. That was a good day in Dr. Fielding’s office.

  “Trevor Miles,” he heard. He’d just picked up the magazine and hadn’t even had time to open it yet. Okay, that was a perk for sure. It didn’t make up for the new dentist, but it was better than sitting there dreading the appointment while he could hear all those tools running in the back.

  He stood up and followed the assistant he’d never seen before down the hallway and into the room with all the bright lights and the chair with tools sticking out everywhere. This room was like a torture chamber in his eyes. It was no wonder kids were afraid of the dentist. His parents didn’t have to threaten him with Santa when he was bad as a kid, all they had to do was say “dentist” and he got his act together.

  Since he knew he’d be lying back, he slid his shoulder holster off, sat down, and leaned back, putting the holster on his lap.

  He turned his head when he heard footsteps and saw a woman wearing a white coat in the doorway. A sexy woman. Not really tall, but not short at all. Brown hair, dark eyes, little to no makeup, and no need to even have it. She had a smile on her face. Damn. Talk about drooling.

  “Hi, I’m Dr. Hamilton. I hear you’re having some tooth…” She stopped talking when she saw the gun on his lap.

  ***

  Riley had read Trevor Miles’s chart before she came in from her office. It had taken a lot of convincing, but she’d managed to finally get all the patient files entered electronically.

  This office was like Mayberry in The Andy Griffith Show that her father used to watch. Manila folders several inches thick with records in them going back to when people started coming here as kids. The loyalty was great, but the backwardness of everything was just plain nuts.

  As if that wasn’t bad enough, they handed out candy to patients when they left. Toothbrushes and floss, samples of toothpaste…that was what you handed out. Stickers to kids if you wanted, but not something that would rot their teeth.

  She thought she was making progress here, bringing this practice into the current century, missing a little of what she’d had at her old place of employment. And that surprised her since she couldn’t wait to leave.

  Now she walks in and sees a gun on her next patient’s lap. Really?!

  Thankfully, her eyes shifted up and she saw the badge on his belt, and realized this wasn’t going to be an everyday thing where patients carried weapons. “Tooth pain,” she continued. “Sorry. Having a gun on your lap just threw me off. You aren’t planning on shooting me if I can’t fix it, are you?”

  She watched as he tried to smile but only grimaced. “Not unless you send me out in more pain,” he said.

  He had kind eyes. She saw the pain in them, but saw the flirting glance, also. She looked past the flirting and focused on the pain. “What’s going on?” she asked, walking closer to him.

  “I have no idea. A few days ago I woke up and my jaw was aching. Then it narrowed in on my tooth. Lower right side in the back. I can’t see an
ything, but days later it’s worse rather than better.”

  He looked frustrated and it didn’t distract from the rough handsomeness of him one bit. Whoa. Where did that thought come from? She’d closed up shop on even thinking of men the past several months.

  “Why don’t you open up and let me take a look.” She moved a light over and turned it on, then put her gloves on, and started to poke around in his mouth.

  Nice straight teeth, not corrected by braces, but natural looking. Perfectly straight teeth weren’t normal in her eyes. Cleanliness was more important and she could see he took care of his teeth. Her eyes shifted over and caught sight of his biceps. Looked like he took great care of a lot of things.

  “Can you open up a little wider?” she asked, glancing up at his eyes. Blue eyes, clear as could be, with light brown hair. Probably was meant to be darker, but it looked as if the sun lightened it over time. “I see the problem,” she said.

  “What?” he said, or tried to say. She always secretly found it funny that people tried to talk to her when she had their mouth wide open and her hands in it. She never expected them to answer. If she wanted an answer, she’d remove her hands. No one seemed to understand that, though.

  “It looks like you cracked your wisdom tooth.” She removed one hand and grabbed a pick, poked around where the crack was, saw it wiggle and Trevor jump. “Sorry.” She removed her hands and took a step back, lifting the light out of his face.

  “Now what?” he asked, his large hand massaging his cheek. She wasn’t looking at his hand, not really.

  “I can repair it if you want. Pull the broken piece out, get any slivers removed—which is what I think is hitting a nerve—then put a porcelain filling in and bond it back together. There is always a risk it will crack again, getting infected and your roots becoming damaged with that option. Then you might need a root canal if that happened.”

  She watched as he cringed. It was kind of funny and extremely cute. He was a big guy…with a gun on his lap, and she was making him squirm. Sometimes it was nice having a little bit of power over things. She had to keep reminding herself that. That she needed to take back power in all aspects of her life. Not that she ever lost it here. Confidence in her ability to do her job was always sky high. She was good and she knew it.

  “What’s my other option?” he asked.

  “I can pull it. Wisdom teeth aren’t needed anyway. You’ve got all four of yours. Though you keep them nice and clean, most people can’t or don’t. We could take them all out.”

  “Just the one. I’ll keep the rest, thank you very much.”

  She grinned at him. She figured he’d say that. Most people did. “Well then, I can pull it now, or if you’ve got somewhere you need to be, I can do it another day.”

  “Do it now. It’s better to get it over with.”

  She nodded her head. “My assistant is busy right now, so if you don’t mind, I’ll just numb it for you and get set up.” She grabbed the topical numbing agent, put some on a cotton swab and placed it on his gum.

  “That’s how you’re numbing me?” he asked, looking a little horrified.

  “No. I’m numbing your gum for the shot. It takes the sting out of the needle.”

  “Is that something new?”

  “Not really,” she said, turning her back and filling the syringe. “Dr. Fielding doesn’t seem to be up on some of the modern advances. I’ve found most people don’t like coming to the dentist, so I try my hardest to make it as painless as possible.”

  She saw the understanding in his eyes when she turned back. “This shouldn’t hurt too much,” she said, moving the needle from behind her back, then inserting it into his gum. He didn’t even flinch. She grabbed his cheek and started to pull it in and out, trying to get the Novocain to work faster.

  “Didn’t feel anything other than you pinching my cheek like my great-aunt Lucille,” he said, a bit of wonder in his voice, his clear eyes staring at her mischievously.

  “We aim to please here.” She turned her back and got her extraction tools along with the rest of what she needed together on a tray. This would be fast.

  “So, law enforcement? A detective with the state police?” she asked. He wasn’t in uniform, so she was trying to figure it out, and put him at ease at the same time. A little small talk always did wonders when people were nervous.

  “Lake Placid Police,” he said, frowning.

  “A detective?” she asked again. “I’m new to the area, so I’m not sure what law enforcement covers what areas.”

  “No. I’m the chief of police,” he said.

  It was her turn to be shocked. “You’re kind of young.”

  “So are you,” he said, lifting an eyebrow.

  She smiled. “Point taken. Let me know if you can feel this?” she asked, leaning closer while he opened his mouth for her, then moving her pick in and poking at his gum.

  He shook his head. “Nope. Nothing.”

  “Well then, are you ready?”

  “As ready as I’m going to be.”

  “Just relax, I’m only going to poke around a little at first.” She wiggled his tooth like she said, but popped it right out a split second later. “All done.” She grabbed the gauze she had set up and packed it into his socket.

  “Huh?” he said, looking at her.

  “Not only am I good, but I’m fast,” she said, winking at him. “And hold off eating the lollipop Christy gives you for a few days. Sucking on anything could give you a dry socket with a pulled tooth. I’m sure you don’t want to come back in and see me again.”

  Another Day

  He wouldn’t mind seeing Dr. Hamilton again. Just not in her office.

  He hadn’t had any intentions of walking back in his office again with his cheek stuffed like a chipmunk storing a feast for winter. Nor did he need Marcy laughing at him. It was hard to be real authoritative when your staff giggled at your swollen face. But he had work to do and that always came first.

  “Riley Hamilton,” he said out loud ten minutes later, pushing his uncompleted paperwork aside for the moment. He was sitting at his desk right now, a search up on his computer. Not an official one using the department’s databases, just a general one anyone could do. He wouldn’t look into anyone officially without cause. His only cause at the moment was she was pretty hot, and she’d had her hands in his mouth.

  Unfortunately, it wasn’t the way he would have liked, but since he wasn’t in as much pain right now, he’d take it.

  A few more clicks and he discovered she was related to Max Hamilton. Dr. Max Hamilton, the plastic surgeon who moved here a few years ago. The one whose wife’s mother and boyfriend broke into Max’s house. Nice guy, his wife quiet and sweet. He could see the resemblance between Max and Riley now that he was looking more closely.

  Some more searching, and he saw who their father was and that they’d come from some serious money downstate. He wasn’t surprised. They were both doctors, so that normally went hand in hand with wealth.

  Then he found a website for his dental practice. Go figure. Guess lack of lollipops and new computer files weren’t the only changes going on there.

  She was a shock to him. Not just her looks, nor how fast and efficient she was, but how well she read him and the situation.

  She put him at ease, knew when to talk and when to work. And if he wasn’t mistaken, flirted back with him just a touch.

  Or maybe it was his imagination. He’d been searching for anything to take his mind off of the fact she was going to be reaching in his mouth and causing him pain…not pleasure. He’d have to try for the pleasure another time. When he wasn’t at a disadvantage and not on his game.

  The pain had been minimal, though. Maybe he wouldn’t be so terrified of going back in the future. Nope, one time wasn’t changing a lifetime of childhood fears. A hot woman wasn’t enough to make him want to have another tooth pulled.

  But she wasn’t just hot. She was kind. He saw it. Saw the look in her eyes when her
mask was over her mouth and she was gazing at him back and forth, watching for his reaction to what she was doing. Gauging everything in the room.

  He didn’t miss her glance at his arms either. He was observant, too. He read people well and could judge them even better.

  Dr. Hamilton was cute, funny, and confident, but something else was going on. There was genuine fear in her eyes when she walked in and saw his gun. The question was—why? He didn’t think it had anything to do with people’s normal fear of law enforcement, either.

  ***

  By the end of the week, the pain in Trevor’s mouth was gone. Hell, even the next day, it was pretty much obsolete. And two days later, he was eating without a problem, just keeping food to the other side.

  Now, it was like he’d never even had the toothache. Maybe he should have her pull the other three wisdom teeth out so they didn’t break. Nah, even the prospect of seeing her again—having her hands on him—wasn’t enough for him to go through that.

  “Trevor,” Marcy said after she knocked on his door and opened it. He didn’t know why she couldn’t wait for him to say she could enter. He didn’t care if she was his father’s assistant prior to him, she should still wait. He was the chief now.

  He’d told her that once and she laughed at him, then filled up the jar on his desk with chocolates. The jar his father had left behind. He never cared for the candy, yet every time he’d grab a piece, she’d fill it back up. He couldn’t hurt her feelings and not eat it.

  “Yes,” he said, looking up from his computer.

  “Richie Sanders just called. Said someone must have broken into his truck last night and stole some tools. He just realized it when he went to get a few things at a house he’s working on. Wanted to report it and will only talk to you.”

  Trevor sighed. Richie had been a friend of his father’s and wouldn’t talk to any of his officers about anything. Said he only trusted Trevor’s father and now him. Rather than argue with Marcy, or even Richie over it, he said, “Just give me the address of where he’s at and I’ll go deal with it in a few minutes.”