Second Act

by Herkness, Nancy

  Her body began to tremble, racked by deep, violent shudders as the fear she’d refused to feel—for all three of them—finally hit her. She should have refused to let him come into the clinic with her.

  Hugh yanked off his mask. “Jess, what’s the matter?” His voice held panic. He turned to the EMT. “You need to help her.”

  Jessica shook her head, keeping the mask on Geode with one hand while she pulled her own down. “It’s only the adrenaline draining out of my system.” The tremors made her teeth chatter slightly as she spoke. “I didn’t have the luxury of being afraid before. I just need to sit here for a minute.”

  In one swift movement, Hugh was on the floor beside her, drawing her against him while his hand moved up and down her back in long, soothing strokes.

  She leaned into his strength, profoundly grateful that he was alive and well when she might have gotten him killed. The solidity of his body and the gentle movement of his palm eased her tremors until she could relax against him.

  “You scared the hell out of me when you didn’t answer me in there,” he said into her hair.

  “There was too much smoke. I had to hold my breath until I got farther down the hallway.” She pulled her face away from his chest to look up at him. “How did you know to crawl? I was going to pull my shirt up over my mouth until you said that.”

  “The fire scene in Best Laid Plans. Bryan decided that authenticity would make it grittier, so he brought in a fire chief to advise us on how you really should behave in a fire. Smoke kills more people than flames.”

  “I can’t believe you went in there. You are crazy.” She loved him so much that she thought her heart would burst out of her chest.

  “No crazier than you are.”

  “I’m supposed to be insane about animals. I’m a vet.”

  His grip tightened, and he kissed the top of her head. Closing her eyes, she savored the living, breathing presence of him. She swallowed hard to fight back tears at the memory of Hugh’s head and shoulders disappearing into the terrifying black smoke when he stood up to shift the cabinet.

  “Jess! Oh my God, are you all right?” Aidan appeared at the open back of the ambulance, the lights and flames turning his face into a mask of worry.

  “I’m fine,” she said, pulling away from Hugh to sit up straight.

  “You don’t look fine,” her brother said before turning to Hugh. “And neither do you. Tiana said you were supposed to stop Jess from going into the clinic.”

  Hugh’s mouth twisted. “I tried. I even considered hauling her away bodily, but I knew she would hate me if Geode died.” He kissed her temple. “I couldn’t bear that thought.”

  Tiana came up beside Aidan, her gaze going to the cat case. “You got Geode! Is he okay? Here, let me take care of him.” She climbed into the vehicle to take over Jessica’s ministrations.

  “The cat? Really?” Aidan shook his head before he reached out to take Jessica’s hand in both of his. “Don’t do that again,” he said, his voice holding a distinct quaver. “You could have been killed, and then I’d be an only child.”

  Jessica answered him with a hard squeeze, her heart warmed by his concern. “Let’s hope there’s never another fire. How did you know about it anyway?”

  Aidan rolled his eyes. “Text alert, remember?”

  Jessica gave a laugh that turned into a cough. Aidan peered at her. “Maybe you should put the oxygen mask back on.”

  “Nope. Hugh’s the one who got a lungful of smoke.” She leaned away to inspect him once again. “You should let the EMT check out your chest,” she said to Hugh.

  He waved a grimy hand in dismissal. “My knees are killing me, but otherwise I’m good.”

  “Mine, too!” She massaged her battered kneecaps. “Crawling is a lot harder than it looks.”

  Aidan blew out an exasperated breath. “I don’t understand why you guys broke up when you’re so much alike.”

  Jessica gave Hugh a searching look. Even after what he’d just done, she didn’t know where they stood. “Are we broken up?”

  He gazed at her for a long moment without answering. “Let’s step down from the ambulance,” he said, pulling her up with him as he stood. He jumped down onto the street before he put his hands around her waist to lift her down, setting her feet on the pavement as carefully as though she were a porcelain statue.

  Then in an abrupt movement, he dropped to one knee, his breath hissing out in a grunt of pain as he made contact with the pavement.

  Her heart started to imitate Geode banging into the walls of his cat carrier.

  Taking her dirt-smeared hand in his equally filthy one, Hugh turned his smudged face up to her, his eyes blazing in the madly dancing light of the fire. “Jess, you showed me—in a terrifying way—how to have the courage to love. You convinced me—with more drama than was comfortable—you would never abandon someone you care about.” The lines of his face seemed to soften, and his voice became a caress. “I want you in my world. And I want to be part of your world. I think tonight proved that we can make that work. Will you marry me?”

  Joy flared through her, brighter than the fire. “Yes! Yes, I will!”

  He rose with only a slight wince, but he didn’t pull her into him, even though she tugged at his pleated shirt. “I should have fought for you eight years ago,” he said, sadness shadowing his face. “I feel like I’ve wasted so much time.”

  “Well, we’re just going to have to make up for it, aren’t we?” she said and yanked on his shirt harder.

  This time he took the hint and enfolded her in his arms. “Starting right now.” He lowered his mouth to hers and sealed his proposal with a scorching-hot kiss.

  Epilogue

  Several months later

  Jessica stood in front of the new entrance to the South Harlem Veterinary Clinic, the scissors she held glinting in the soft spring sunshine and not a single paparazzo in sight. A small crowd was assembled on the sidewalk in front of her, including the staff members of her clinic and the Carver Center, her brother, and her husband. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that the man who looked like a god dressed in jeans and a white button-down shirt was now hers for the rest of their lives. She smiled straight into those intense turquoise eyes and got a slow, sexy smile in answer.

  “I’d like to thank everyone on my staff for putting up with the incessant hammering, banging, and cursing, as well as the workmen’s bad taste in music, for the last couple of months.” That got a laugh. “Seriously, your suggestions for the new place have been invaluable. Who knew a burned-out bodega could be transformed into such a great addition to our vet clinic?”

  She turned her gaze back to Hugh, who shook his head almost imperceptibly. He’d told her to keep him out of the limelight, but she couldn’t bring herself not to acknowledge that he’d had a pivotal role in the project. In fact, he’d made it all possible by purchasing the bodega and then funding most of the construction costs. “I owe a debt of gratitude to my wonderful husband for the idea of using the building to expand the clinic. Of course, he then left for exotic locales, so he didn’t have to suffer through the daily renovation disasters of hidden water leaks, surprise termite damage, or load-bearing walls that wouldn’t bear a load. However, he heard about them—at length—every night.”

  Even Hugh laughed, despite her public mention of him. Happiness bubbled up in her chest at the thought of how much thought, effort, and love had gone into this building.

  “We’re all here because we care deeply about the creatures we hope to heal,” she said. “I am awed daily by the commitment each and every one of you shows. That is what I thank you for the most.”

  She couldn’t get any more words past the lump in her throat, so she was grateful for the loud applause. When she snipped through the purple ribbon strung across the facade, a cheer went up. She waved her hand in front of the electric door, which magically opened, a convenience for her clients with reluctant dogs or large critter carriers. “Come on i
n and eat!”

  Hugh slipped his arm around her waist and gave her a peck on the cheek. Just that casual touch sent heat flooding through her veins. “Good use of humor in a ceremonial speech,” he said. “That’s why I’m not annoyed with you for dragging me into it.”

  “You didn’t really think I would leave you out. We’re married, after all. People expect it.”

  “I’m still not quite convinced we’re married. It seems almost miraculous,” the superstar who could have any woman he wanted actually said.

  Their wedding had been a miracle in her eyes, one of romantic beauty. Hugh said they’d had an eight-year engagement already, so he wanted to marry her right away. Gavin had offered his Southampton beach house—actually, mansion was a better description—for the celebration. Gavin’s wife, the amazingly down-to-earth Allie, had orchestrated most of the planning. By the time they’d decided on lavender and silver for the color scheme, the two women had bonded into fast friends.

  The ceremony had taken place around the indoor pool, which Allie had filled with floating, lavender-scented candles. The huge, potted ficus trees were wound with twinkling white lights, turning the vast, glass-enclosed space into a fairyland. Jessica had walked to Hugh on a platform running down the middle of the pool, which had made her a little nervous. To reduce the danger of tripping and falling in the water, she’d requested flat shoes from Quentin when he was helping her choose her bridal ensemble. It turned out to be a smart move, because when she’d seen Hugh standing at the end of the walkway, his elegant, black tuxedo highlighting the stark beauty of his face, she’d forgotten where she was. When he smiled at her, she’d lost her breath.

  Since then, she’d only fallen more and more in love with him.

  Her reverie was interrupted when Gavin strolled up, holding hands with Allie. “You know that relationships begun during a traumatic event don’t last.”

  Jessica laughed. Once she’d gotten to know him, she’d come to enjoy Gavin’s needling, not to mention the occasional serious insights he offered into Hugh’s character. “I might worry, except our relationship started nine years before the fire.”

  “I thought being married to a wonderful woman like Allie would mellow you,” Hugh said.

  “This is Gavin being mellow,” Allie said.

  Gavin raised his eyebrows. “I reserve my pleasant side for my wife and a few special friends like Jessica.”

  “Because your pleasantness is in such short supply, you’re afraid it will run out?” Hugh asked with a snort.

  “Enough!” Jessica said, holding up one hand. “I need to eat or I’ll start to sound like Gavin.”

  “Have I been insulted?” the writer asked.

  “Yes,” Hugh said with a wicked grin before he swept his hand across in front of the door to open it for his friends.

  Jessica elbowed him in the ribs as they walked into the spacious reception area, where the food was laid out on Carla’s new kingdom, a huge, granite-topped half circle of workspace.

  “Hey, Doc,” Diego said, strolling up with a well-filled plate in his hand, “this is mad dope.”

  “There’s something I want to show you,” Jessica said. “Give your plate to Hugh and come with me.”

  Diego looked dubious about using a movie star as his plate holder, but Hugh solved the problem by taking it out of Diego’s grasp. “Don’t be too long or I may eat it myself,” he said, inspecting the array of goodies the boy had chosen.

  She led Diego down the wide, new hallway with its fresh, cream-colored paint and pristine, blue tile floor, to the farthest room at the back. Opening the door, she waved him into an antechamber that contained a scrub sink, a laundry hamper, and shelving stocked with rubber gloves, smocks, and cleaning supplies. From there a glass-fronted door opened into a small, empty space, floored in concrete that was painted a shiny gray with a drain set in the center.

  “What is it?” Diego asked, peering through the door.

  “A quarantine room. With its own ventilation and drainage system so there will be no danger of contamination to the rest of the clinic. I thought you’d appreciate it.”

  Diego’s face glowed with delight. “So I can bring contagious dogs here and never get the Carver Center in trouble again.”

  “You didn’t get the Carver Center in trouble in the first place. It was just bad luck to be visited by a grouchy health inspector,” Jessica said. “I’ve always wanted to be able to treat highly infectious cases in-house. Your situation inspired me to install a facility for it, so thank you!”

  She’d thought the boy couldn’t look any happier, but somehow he did. “Now I can’t wait for another case of giardia,” he said.

  She wrinkled her nose at the memory of the stench. “Let’s not go that far.”

  When they returned to the reception area, Diego retrieved his plate from Hugh with a sideways look and brief thank-you before he fled.

  “You still make him nervous,” Emily said as she joined them along with her husband, Max, a genius chemist who also served on the board of the Carver Center.

  “It’s amazing how many people truly believe I can kill them with my bare hands,” Hugh said.

  “I can’t imagine Diego’s worried about that,” Emily said, her expression a little sad. Since Jessica knew about Diego’s father’s penchant for violence, she understood. Then Emily brightened. “Hugh, I hear you’re taking on a new role soon . . . on Broadway.”

  “The Wrong Side of Truth,” Hugh said. “I haven’t done live theater in years, so I’m not straying too far from what I know. I play a cop who’s obsessed with finding his mother’s murderer because her death put him in foster care.”

  Jessica couldn’t believe he was nervous about it, but he was. He’d told her that she’d given him the courage to take such an artistic risk, which had made her nervous about it. But she’d been running lines with him at home, watching as he added layers to the character, so she knew he would be brilliant.

  “We’ll get you tickets for opening night,” Jessica promised.

  “Oh my goodness, that would be dope,” Emily said, making everyone laugh.

  A couple of hours later, Jessica locked the front door behind the last of the catering staff. Even though it was a Saturday, they’d decided to close the clinic for the day, giving everyone a weekend day off for once. Most of the staff had departed to enjoy their unusual holiday, but Carla and Diego remained behind, chatting with Hugh while lounging in the comfortable new reception chairs that all matched. Contentment and a sense of accomplishment floated through her.

  As Jessica turned, Carla raised her hand to signal silence. Jessica followed her gaze toward the archway that now connected the old side of the clinic to the new one. Geode stood in the opening, his head lifted as he sniffed the air. Up until now, he had refused to abandon his favorite hiding places in the old building, despite the staff’s attempts to lure him over. Jessica suspected it was the mouthwatering aromas from the catered food that had brought him to the threshold.

  He sniffed a few more times before sauntering into the reception area and looking around. Then he turned to amble down the hallway, his tail ramrod straight up to the white tip that curled over. Jessica tiptoed along behind his fuzzy little rear end, feeling the presence of the other three observers at her back.

  Geode stuck his head in each doorway he passed but continued until he reached the entry to Jessica’s new office, which he padded into. Since the only furniture she’d moved from the old place was her treasured ergonomic chair, she wasn’t sure how Geode knew it was her space, other than by scent.

  All four of them crowded into the doorway to watch the cat sniff around each new piece of furniture before he leaped on top of the built-in credenza and curled up on the brand-new cat bed she’d placed there, in hopes he might someday deign to use it.

  Carla lifted her hand for a high five. “That darned cat finally did something he was supposed to,” the receptionist said, shaking her head.

  “That darned
cat convinced Hugh to propose to me,” Jessica pointed out.

  “Well, I might actually have gotten around to it without the cat’s help.” Hugh’s tone was dry.

  “Huh,” Carla said, giving him a skeptical glance before she sauntered back toward the reception area, taking Diego with her.

  Hugh nudged Jessica into her office and closed the door behind them. He ran his hands down her back and cupped her bottom to pull her into him. “You look happy,” he said.

  “I have Hugh Baker’s hands on my butt. Any woman in her right mind would be happy,” she teased.

  He didn’t smile. “This is going to work, isn’t it?”

  It amazed her that he still worried, although it happened less and less these days. “Never doubt it.” She skimmed her hands up the warm, hard wall of his chest to curve around his neck, wanting him to feel the love suffusing her. “You give me the confidence to be myself.”

  “You give me the courage to take chances.” The gratitude in his voice pierced her soul. “But the greatest gift you’ve given me is belief in your love. That it will be there for me always.”

  “Always,” Jessica said, before rising on her toes to give him the kind of kiss that would convince him she meant it.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Writing tends to be a solitary business, so I count myself very fortunate to have many people—and animals—to shore up my sanity, confer authenticity on my research, and turn my sweated-over manuscript into something that folks will want to buy and read. This is the fourteenth book that I have published, which means that I know a bit about the business. Let me tell you that I am blessed with the most fantastic team any author could ask for. I pinch myself on a daily basis. All my thanks go to:

  Maria Gomez, my tireless, fabulous editor, who orchestrates every aspect of my work’s publication. She does an amazing job of keeping all the balls in the air that are required to turn my manuscript into a real, live book. I bow down to her.

  Gabby Trull, Colleen Lindsay, Adria Martin, Kyla Pigoni, and the whole incredible Montlake Romance author relations, PR, and marketing team, who make sure the world knows I have a book out there. Their hard work and creativity are second to none.