Quit Bein' Ugly

by Vale, Lani Lynn

  The moment my skin came in contact with his, my heart started beating double-time.

  When he moved, he handed me the dog, and I put her on the floor for him.

  When I stood back up, it was to once again find him supremely close to me and crowding my space.

  I didn’t push away, even though I started to feel trapped.

  “I don’t know anybody that has a pet raccoon.”

  I snickered and pressed my hand lightly against his shoulder, right under his wound.

  Still cool to the touch.

  “Me neither,” I admitted. “What do you want for breakfast?”

  He reluctantly stepped back, and my hand dropped from his shoulder.

  “What do you have?” he wondered.

  Once again he stepped back, and I felt like I was missing half of my soul when he did.

  Damn, but the man made my heart warm.

  As well as other things…

  “Umm,” I said as I slipped past him, my backside brushing his leg. “I think that I have every flavor of Pop-Tart imaginable. I also have cereal, powdered donuts in those little to-go bags, and some oatmeal.”

  His eyes were blinking wide at me as he looked at me with surprise.

  “For a girl who owns a gym, I would’ve thought that you’d eat better,” he joked.

  I winked. “You don’t know me all that well, Croft Crusie.”

  • • •

  After my shower, I debated for a good fifteen minutes on what to put on.

  I finally decided on a tank top, short blue jean shorts, and a pair of Birkenstocks.

  Once I was fully dressed, I went to the bathroom and dried my hair, curled it, then added some mascara and eye shadow.

  After that was done, I looked at myself in the mirror and decided that I was definitely looking like I was trying too hard.

  So on the way out, I grabbed a ball cap and yanked it on my head before heading to the kitchen to find him.

  He was polishing off a bag of powdered donuts and drinking a gigantic glass of milk.

  I only used that cup when I was watering about eight plants throughout the house and I didn’t want to have to come back and refill it.

  “Good?” I asked him.

  He winked, not bothering to answer seeing as he was busy stuffing his face.

  “You have powdered sugar in your beard,” I teased. “Are you going to shave today?”

  Croft always shaved. Like, always.

  I’d never seen him unshaven. So, to see him with not only a five o’clock shadow, but a couple of days’ worth of growth on his face, it was definitely surprising.

  And hot.

  I’d never thought that scruff was sexy, but on Croft, it definitely was.

  Holy hell.

  “Nope,” he grumbled. “I trust you, but not enough to shave me, and since I’m left-handed,” he held up his left hand, which happened to be the arm that he got shot in. “I’ll be waiting for a while to do it.”

  “You’re left-handed?” I asked in surprise.

  He nodded once.

  “But you bat right-handed,” I found myself saying.

  Flint, Ezra and Croft had joined a men’s softball league last year, and the few times that I’d gone to see him, he’d definitely batted right-handed. I would’ve noticed another lefty.

  “I’m ambidextrous,” he answered. “Switch hitter. I used to really fuck with some people in high school when I played baseball.”

  “I’ll bet,” I said. “Those were always my least favorite to pitch against.”

  “Pitch?” he asked, intrigued.

  “Yep,” I pointed to myself. “State champion fast-pitch my senior year.”

  His face was beautiful when he said, “I like that.”

  I like that.

  Three words that had the power to undo me.

  I licked my lips and went to the pantry, pulling out a Pop-Tart.

  “What kind?” he asked curiously.

  I sneered at him. “The only kind that there should be.”

  His eyes lifted in surprise. “You’re a snob?”

  “I’m a Pop-Tart snob, yes,” I agreed. “And chocolate fudge all the way. The rest are all shit.”

  He laughed then.

  “I guess that since you chose one, it’s a good thing that you like the one that I love the most,” he admitted.

  That made me think bad thoughts—like the idea of slicking some chocolate fudge on his well-defined chest—so I changed the subject.

  “I texted the couple that has Danger,” I murmured. “I told them that I’d be about an hour, and that I would be willing to meet them halfway. They’re going to meet me at the Walmart in town.”

  “Okay,” he said as he walked to my coffee maker and started to make himself a cup of coffee. “I’m ready when you are…” He paused. “As long as you are the one to run into my office for me. I don’t plan on putting on any more clothes than I have to.”

  I snickered. “Don’t get dressed on my account.”

  “You’re sure that we’re not going anywhere else?” he asked.

  I nodded. “The pharmacy, your office, the gym and the dog. That’s all I have to do, and you don’t have to get out of the car for any of them.”

  He nodded his head. “Okay.”

  The toaster popped and I pulled my hot Pop-Tarts out and started to eat them, making that ‘hot’ blowy sound with my mouth as it started to burn my tongue.

  I washed it down with a drink of Croft’s milk, however, and it was just fine.

  When I was finally done, I headed toward the door looking for my keys.

  I’d just found them when he came up behind me. “Do you think we can take my truck?”

  I frowned. “Yeah, but why?”

  “Because it’s easier to get into my truck,” he answered. “And you have a really low-slung car.”

  I had a Camry. It wasn’t that low.

  But I didn’t see a point in arguing.

  “Fine with me,” I said. “I like wasting other people’s gas.”

  “I drive a diesel, honey,” he teased. “You will be wasting fuel, not gas.”

  I shrugged. “I’ll bet you’re one of those people that call a car a SUV, too.”

  “I call a car a car, and an SUV an SUV,” he commented as he called to Lion. “Let’s go, girl.”

  Together we walked back across the street to his car. I put Lion inside and grabbed his keys off the counter in the kitchen. After locking up, I met him back outside to find him already in the truck and looking feverish.

  “You okay?” I questioned.

  “Fine,” he mumbled. “Just didn’t much think about it and used the wrong hand to pull myself up in here.”

  I winced.

  “Gotta pay more attention,” I ordered.

  He snorted and leaned his head against the headrest.

  “Seat belt,” I ordered.

  He sighed and went to reach for it, freezing before he’d even gotten his hand moving.

  “You’re going to have to do it for me,” he grumbled with annoyance.

  I snickered and reached for the belt, gently threading it across his body and poking it into the hole, being super duper careful not to touch his body in any way.

  The first stop was to the drugstore so I could get his prescription.

  The second was to his office where I ran in and got his computer.

  Something which Karen most certainly did not want to allow me to do as evidenced by her refusal to give it to me.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and walked back outside, heading to the passenger side of the truck.

  “Karen won’t let me in,” I told him.

  Croft’s eye twitched in annoyance.

  Reaching for his phone, he dialed a number and placed it to his ear.

  “Cal,” he said. “This is Croft. I have my girl coming in to get my computer. Please see that she gets it. Karen isn’t allowing her inside to do it.” There was a long pause. “Yeah, I know. I’m
glad that she’s leaving. Don’t fall for her shit. Thanks, man.”

  My brows rose when he hung up. “Don’t fall for her shit?”

  “Karen’s a bit annoying,” he admitted. “She’s very in-your-face about everything, and she doesn’t just have little ol’ me in her sights. She has Cal and Justin as well.”

  Cal and Justin were the partners that Croft shared the firm with.

  Both were also very happily married.

  “She sounds like a real peach,” I teased.

  He snorted and gestured for me to go back inside.

  Just as I turned around, the doors opened and Cal came rushing out.

  “I had to come make sure that you were actually okay,” he grimaced. “I can’t fuckin’ believe that you were shot right in our fuckin’ parking lot. Your goddamn blood is still right there.”

  We both looked toward the spot that Cal had gestured to, and my stomach pitched.

  Cal was right. You could still see the stain of Croft’s blood.

  You could also see where he’d rolled across the concrete to hide under the other car, too.

  My belly rolled again.

  “Thanks, man,” Croft said as he gestured to me to take the computer. “I’d do it myself, but I can barely lift either arm at this point without some considerable pain.”

  “It’s fine. Karen’s last day is tomorrow,” Cal muttered. “I can’t fuckin’ wait. Tammy is going to shit a brick when she hears that she’s gone.”

  “Same,” Croft grunted. “She’s been handy to have around with the case that we just finished, but seriously, swear to fuckin’ Christ, I can’t goddamn breathe when she’s around. And having her show at the hospital yesterday was the final straw.”

  “She asked to keep her job,” Cal chuckled. “Came in this morning and straight-up asked Justin and me. I told her that unfortunately we already filled her position. If she wanted to reapply when we had another opening she could.”

  Croft burst out laughing.

  Something he immediately stopped doing and pressed his closed fist to his forehead and started to breathe deeply.

  “Laughing makes him hurt,” I explained to Cal. “And, sadly, we need to go get some meds in him. I think he has about thirty minutes until he can take some more. He probably needs a nap, too.”

  When Croft didn’t contradict me, I knew that he was already waning.

  “Take care of my boy.” He paused. “You’re Carmichael, aren’t you?”

  I looked at Croft.

  Though I knew of Cal, he’d never met me. I hadn’t realized that he even knew of me.

  Yet, there he was, proving me wrong.

  “Yes, this is her,” Croft replied softly, his eyes closing as he leaned his head back against the headrest.

  I wanted to ask a thousand questions, in the end, I chose to keep my mouth shut, though. For Croft’s sake.

  I’d ask him about it later, though.

  When he wasn’t hurting so bad.

  “Take care of my boy, Carmichael,” Cal said softly. “When this is over, you and Croft can come to eat with my wife and me. My girl loves your boy.”

  I opened my mouth to say ‘maybe’ when Croft’s eyes flashed open. “I’ll bring her.”

  Cal tapped the roof of Croft’s truck and said, “Better go inside before Karen decides to come out and harass you.”

  Croft shuddered. “That woman needs to learn to catch a clue.”

  Nobody disagreed with him.

  Saying his goodbyes a minute later, Cal headed back inside while I rounded the front of Croft’s truck with the computer in my hands.

  When I got inside, it was to find him staring at me.

  “What?” I wondered.

  He gave the smallest of shrugs. “Just like looking at you.”

  I felt my face heat.

  To cover up my sudden embarrassment at his words, I put the truck into drive and drove to the gym where I ran in really quick and gathered all the things that I’d left behind last night in my haste to leave.

  I thankfully got out without having to talk to a single person inside and headed back to the truck and to our final destination.

  Danger.

  When I got back inside, it was to find Croft asleep, his head resting against the window.

  After texting the couple that adopted Danger, I headed to our pre-approved meeting spot and sat idling waiting for them to get there.

  When they finally arrived, I felt my heart skip a beat at the way the dog looked out the window longingly.

  Every time I saw her, it was as if she was daydreaming about running away.

  Getting out of the car, I smiled sadly at the two that got out of their car to meet me.

  When the woman opened the door, she reached quickly for Danger’s leash so she didn’t take off, and Danger flinched.

  The woman frowned hard.

  “This is so hard,” she whispered as she gently tugged the leash to urge Danger out of the car.

  I knew what she meant.

  Danger had been with me for almost four months and we’d never made any progress.

  “I know,” I agreed softly.

  I heard the click of the door being opened behind me and looked over my shoulder at the man and the vehicle.

  “This the dog?” Croft asked, sounding rough.

  I looked up and nearly swallowed my tongue.

  He’d followed me outside, shirtless and shoeless and uncaring that he was standing in front of two complete strangers.

  Danger’s adoptive parents both looked at Croft as if he was lunch. Well, the wife of the couple did. The man looked kind of pissed, to be honest.

  “This is Danger,” I confirmed as I reached for the leash.

  The man handed her over to me and I gently tugged on her leash, urging her to the truck.

  The dog slinked with me, back hunched, head dropped, ears pulled back.

  My stomach sank as it always did when I saw Danger act like that.

  I’d never hurt a dog in my life, not even by stepping on their tails. And there she was, acting like I would beat her at any second. The poor girl.

  “We’re sorry,” the woman called out.

  I waved her off. “No worries.”

  I opened the back door and Croft looked down at the dog who was slinking her way inside of his truck.

  He frowned hard, not looking happy in the least.

  The dog meekly got into the truck and laid down at the back of the seats, making my heart ache even more when she curled into as small of a ball as she could.

  I pressed a hand to my chest as I closed the back door and rounded the truck to the driver’s side.

  When I got inside, it was to see Croft practically crawling into the truck one slow step at a time.

  I reached for his prescriptions and got the pain pill, happy that he’d gotten something a little more heavy-duty than the one he’d gotten from the nurse last night.

  “Here,” I said as I handed him the pill.

  He took it, swallowing it dry yet again.

  I grimaced and slowly started out of the parking lot, taking a peek at the pup in the back seat just before I pulled into traffic.

  “Do you know any of her backstory?” he asked, reaching awkwardly into the back seat and slowly petting Danger’s head with his good hand.

  I froze for a second, wondering what she would do, but she stayed perfectly still.

  “The first time that I tried to touch her, she bit my wrist.” I showed him the scars. “Please be very careful. The last thing you need is a dog bite on top of a bullet hole.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “She doesn’t look like she’ll bite.”

  “I didn’t think so back then either,” I admitted. “And to answer your earlier question, I only have the house that we pulled her out of. The occupants had moved out, leaving her tied up in the basement. The new homeowner found her after they moved in two weeks after closing. She was almost starved to death. Luckily the air conditioner was down there,
and she drank out of the pan from the condensation.”

  “Bitches,” he said. “Did you ever find the old occupants?”

  “No,” I sighed. “They tried to, but they moved to California, never to be seen again.”

  “People suck,” he muttered.

  I agreed wholeheartedly.

  “We got her out. Had to tranq her, though. She was seriously a fighter. Scared to death, too. When we finally got her into a pen, she freaked out even more. I had to let her run free in my back yard for the longest of times before she would even let me come close to her.” I shook my head. “I think it was being outside that made her so… amenable. It was only when she came back inside with me that she started to kind of go back into hiding.”

  “Sounds like a mess,” Croft murmured, his hand falling still on Danger’s head. “Alaskan Malamutes are fuckin’ heavy coated breeds, too. She’ll get hot outside.”

  I scrubbed my face. “I know. I put her a pool out at my house. Her and Francis turned out to be friends of a sort. Shared their food and their pool. I think Francis is mad at me that I found Danger a home.”

  “Why didn’t you keep her?” he asked quietly, his words sounding slightly slurred.

  His pain pill was finally kicking in.

  “Because I have too many dogs that need my help. And I thought Danger was going to love it there,” I admitted.

  But there was no reply.

  Nor was there an easing of my guilt.

  I shouldn’t have given her away.

  He was right. I should’ve kept her. But I’d honestly thought that she would love that family. I’d just been trying to do what was best for Danger.

  And look how that turned out.

  CHAPTER 10

  As long as I have a face, you’ll always have somewhere to sit.

  -Text from Croft to Carmichael

  CROFT

  I was lying in my bed alone the next morning, and I really, really fuckin’ wished that I’d told the judge that I wouldn’t be coming in today.

  Only, I’d misspoke, and now I was going to be forced to go in whether I wanted to or not.

  Easing out of the bed, I kept myself distracted by thinking of Carmichael.

  She’d left last night around nine, and she’d taken my dog with her.

  Why?

  Because Danger and Lion had really hit it off, and Danger had needed a friend. So, I’d let her go home with my dog.