With These Two Hands

by Lori Ryan

  He lifted her and set her on the counter. “This won’t take long. I am a doctor, after all.”

  Epilogue

  Kayleigh walked through the sliding glass doors of Denver International Airport, on her way to pick up Aaron. He was flying in from Chicago where he’d gone to formally give his notice to terminate his fellowship at Northwestern Hospital.

  The decision had been a tough one. She knew he felt as if a dream was dying, but hopefully a new one was beginning for them both.

  She’d signed a contract with Alan and his son Dylan Rutherford to formally create a partnership out of the vet clinic. Thankfully they’d given her controlling interest and that had eased the pain of accepting help.

  Alan would be putting in a cash infusion, but he’d be a silent partner, and Dylan would be a minority partner.

  She was also well on her way to securing a grant for companion pet care, an idea that Aaron had when she’d told him the story of Mr. Ferguson and his cat Pebbles. Her goal was to bring more pets to the nursing home in Canyon Creek and also to elderly residents still living on their own.

  Her phone rang in her purse and she smiled when she saw the name.

  “Hey Jake,” she said.

  Aaron’s brother Jake had been integral in helping her write grant proposals. Since he was in politics, he had plenty of contacts to help her.

  “Hey, gorgeous,” he said. “My brother treating you right?”

  “Most days,” she said with a smile.

  “Well just remember, if he screws up, I’m only a phone call away. California has beaches.”

  She laughed. Jake was such a flirt. But it came as no surprise. He was the twin of Grant Sumner, world-famous and oh-so-sexy movie star.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said.

  “I just wanted to let you know that my senator knows a guy in Washington, D.C. who works in the U.S. Government Grants Department. He says there are all kinds of things we can apply for when it comes to veterinary care. They even have things for veterans and PTSD and rural practice enhancements.”

  Kayleigh loved that he said “we.” She was quickly learning that the Sumner family helped their own. And she was now considered one of their own, even if she and Aaron weren’t engaged or married.

  “Oh, Jake that’s amazing. Thank you so much.”

  “Of course.”

  “I know you’re busy with the senate race and all.” Jake was the chief of staff for a state senator in California. The man had just announced his desire to run for U.S. Senate so Jake’s life was even busier than ever. And yet he’d still found the time to help her.

  “I like the diversion,” he said.

  She didn’t mention that he sounded dead on his feet, similar to the way she had just a few short weeks ago. “You should take a break for a few days and come visit your family. They’d love to see you.”

  “Actually, my mom called the other day. Apparently some contractors are trying to push through a state highway expansion without proper notification.”

  “Oh, yeah, it’s a big thing here. People are really divided on the project.”

  “She asked if I could come take a look and see how it will impact the lodge and tourism in general.”

  “That would be awesome. I know a lot of the small businesses are worried. And it would be nice to see you, to squeeze your neck and thank you in person.” She’d only met Jake once at Maggie and Ben’s wedding. She’d love nothing more than to hug him tight and thank him in person for everything he was doing to keep her clinic afloat.

  “I’d take a squeeze.” He laughed. “Although I’m not sure my brother would like it.”

  “Eh, he’ll get over it.”

  “True enough. Look, I’ve got to run but I’ll get back with you soon when I hear something back from our contact.”

  “Sounds good, thanks so much Jake. I really appreciate it.”

  “Of course, any time. See you soon.”

  “Okay, see you.” She clicked off the phone, thankful she had so many people now helping her. All she’d ever had to do was let them.

  Settling her phone back in her purse, she moved through the crowd of people who were also awaiting arriving passengers. Bolstering her purse higher on her shoulder, she held tight to the poster she’d made for Aaron. Looking down, she read it again, smiling.

  “Lucky lady,” someone said as they read the poster.

  “I know,” she said quietly. She was lucky.

  Kayleigh glanced up at the arrivals and watched a slew of passengers walk by. She bounced on her feet, searching the crowd, smiling when she saw Aaron’s gorgeous face at the top of the escalator.

  He grinned wide…until he saw her sign. Then, he shook his head. Winding his way around the other passengers, he stopped and stood on the opposite side of the ropes from her. “Really, Kayleigh?” He glanced down at the poster then back up at her. “‘Welcome Peter Footlong’?”

  She pointed to the poster. “It says doctor Peter Footlong.”

  “Yeah,” he nodded his head, “because that makes a difference.” He leaned over the ropes and gave her a kiss.

  “I know a lot of guys who’d be flattered to be called Peter Footlong.”

  He wound his way around the ropes and the other passengers and took her in his arms, her favorite place to be. “You might be right about that, Anita Cox.”

  She giggled and lifted up on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Welcome home, Dr. Footlong.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Cox.” He gave her a quick kiss and released her.

  “How did it go?” she asked.

  “Sad, but good. It was hard leaving everyone at the hospital, but I know it’s for the best.”

  “Are you sure?” she asked, holding back her fear.

  “I’m very sure. In fact.” He dug around in his backpack. “I made a pit stop in Boston.”

  She furrowed her brows. “What did you do in Boston?” Maybe he’d talked to her father about Operation Smile or guest lecturing at Boston University.

  “I had to ask your mom and dad something.”

  “You saw my mother and father?”

  He nodded.

  Oh, crap. Her stomach knotted with fear. “What did you ask them?”

  He sank to one knee.

  Her eyes widened. What the…? This wasn’t happening, was it?

  “I had to ask for their permission to marry you.” He pulled out a box and popped it open.

  She covered her mouth. “Oh, my God. That’s my grandmother’s ring.” Her eyes went wide, staring from the box to him.

  “I know. Your mother gave it to me.”

  “Are you serious?” She didn’t even know her mother had her grandmother’s ring.

  He nodded.

  She burst into tears, unfazed by the small crowd forming around them.

  “Dr. Kayleigh Marie Montgomery.”

  She stared down at the man she loved.

  Small dimples drilled into his cheeks as his lips curled into a heart-stopping smile. “Will you marry me?”

  She stood silent, dumbfounded.

  “Oh, wait.” He dug around in his backpack. “I have this, too.” He held out a paperback book that had a picture of a half-naked man standing on the bow of a ship, holding a scantily clad woman. “Mrs. Nelson said it was your favorite as a teenager.”

  Kayleigh’s face heated as she blushed, snatching the book from his hands. “Aaron.” She glanced around at the ever-growing crowd.

  He laughed. “I have more.” He raised a brow.

  “Please don’t bring them out.”

  “So what do you say? Want to be Dr. and Dr. Footlong?

  She arched a brow. “Wouldn’t that be Dr. and Dr. Cox-Footlong?”

  He laughed. “Say yes.”

  As if he had to tell her. She sank to her knees and clasped her arms around his neck. “Yes,” she said, pressing her mouth to his.

  The crowd around them clapped and cheered.

  He pulled back and pul
led the ring from the box. “Here’s to Dr. and Dr. Cox-Footlong.” She watched in awe as he slipped her grandmother’s ring onto her finger.

  “I can’t believe you did this,” she said, staring down at the ring.

  “I’d do anything for you.”

  She glanced up, not surprised to see love radiating from his hazel green eyes. “Even if I’m just a pet doctor?”

  He groaned.

  “It’ll never get old.” She laughed.

  “Yes, even though you’re just a pet doctor. I’m willing to lower my standards.” He lifted Kayleigh to her feet. “Only because you’re the best pet doctor I know.”

  She poked his chest. “You got that right.”

  “Now, can we go home, Anita, so you can tuck me in? I’m ready for my bedtime story.”

  “Oh, it would be my pleasure, Dr. Footlong.”

  He smiled, that grin that set her pulse racing and her girly parts tingling. “It will be your pleasure if I have anything to do about it.”

  And she had no doubt it would be.

  About the Authors

  Hi! it's Lori here. We could do the boring old bio stuff here—and we will—but, first, I want to tell you about the two of us.

  Me and Kay, Kay and me, we're besties and buddies and soulmates and the mostest of everything. We occasionally have to do some serious marriage-counseling-type negotiations when we get into creative differences, but most of the time, writing with Kay is a BLAST! I love, love, love what we create when we get together. When we first started talking about writing books together, I didn't imagine it would be this great.

  I'm so dang proud of the books and series we've put together. The heroes are steamy and sexy, the heroines strong and powerful...and, maybe, a little goofy, like me and Kay. We hope you love the people of Canyon Creek as much as we do. We hope you love coming back to the town and visiting again and again. We hope you want to stay there forever. We do.

  Now, here's the regular bio stuff I promised, along with links to each of our websites where you can find the stuff we write separately, in case you can't get enough of us!

  Lori Ryan is a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author who writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense. She lives with an extremely understanding husband, three wonderful children, and two mostly-behaved dogs in Austin, Texas. It’s a bit of a zoo, but she wouldn’t change a thing.

  Lori published her first romance novel in April of 2013 and has loved every bit of the crazy adventure this career has taken her on since then. She is a hybrid author, publishing both independently and through SilverHart Publishing.

  To see what Lori writes on her own, visit her website at www.loriryanromance.com.

  In addition to being an author, Kay Manis is also a wife and mom. She lives with her husband and daughter in the Live Music Capital of the World, Austin, Texas. In January of 2012, after listening to Kay blather on and on about the millions of book ideas floating around in her head, her daughter finally reached her limit and said, “Just write it Mom!” They were the four most important words to Kay's new career and a catalyst for everything she's done since. In other words, she owes it all to her daughter! If you ask Kay, she'll tell you she can’t thank her daughter enough for her motivating words and belief that Kay could do more with her talents.

  To see what Kay writes on her own, visit her website at www.kaymanis.com.