Circle on Home (Lost in a Boom Town Book 5)

by MJ Fredrick

  “Sorry, didn't hear you.” The statuesque blonde straightened, and her shirt fell over what looked like another baby bump. But Miranda wasn't going to mention it. She didn't deal with children much, so kept her distance, especially since she felt grimy after being in the office.

  “Hey, I was just over at the office and it’s kind of a mess. I thought it would be cleaned up, at least, if not painted. And there’s clearly a leak.”

  Sage made a sound of disgust. “That’s unacceptable. I’m so sorry. I should have inspected it myself but I haven't had the time so I sent Flynn over there. Don’t worry. I’ll get Tyler over there to get it fixed up. It will be ready in no time. It will be good to have you back in town, a young lawyer who cares about something other than personal injury cases and liability suits against the oil companies.”

  Miranda laughed at the reference to Albert Casillas, a man in his middle sixties who had been old even when he was young. “I hope there’s enough business in town for both of us.”

  Sage’s smile slipped into a grimace. “I hope there are enough people in town for the both of you. You should have been here last year.”

  “Is business that bad?”

  “Down, but I have enough locals who like to hang out here, and Flynn has enough fans that people will travel to see him and spend the night in the inn. The oilfield guys usually preferred Garcia’s, anyway. But it was nice when people had more disposable income.”

  Sage turned her attention to the baby in the seat on the bar and Miranda moved closer to give her attention to the children.

  “Wow, they really took after you, didn't they?”

  “Flynn says it’s a good thing,” Sage said with a soft laugh, lifting the chubby infant from the seat and setting her—him?—on her shoulder and patting her back. “I wouldn't mind for this one to look like him.” She tapped her belly briefly.

  Miranda bit her tongue against the temptation to say, “Another one?” She wasn't the one who had to raise three little ones under the age of five. Apparently Sage knew what she wanted. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

  “I’ll get Tyler over there to get it fixed up for you. It’ll be ready by the weekend. Is that okay?”

  “I have my desk being delivered day after tomorrow.”

  “We can work around it,” Sage assured her. “It will be taken care of, I promise. Come in any time,” she called after her.

  *****

  Noah checked the locked medicine cabinet again, just outside his office door. Clindamycin, Erythromycin, Novobiocin. But not Ketamine Hydrochloride. He was anal about keeping all his medications on hand, since a delay in treating an animal could mean life or death, but he couldn't find even the empty bottle in his to-be-ordered stack. He popped open his laptop and scrolled through his orders, kept in a file on the desktop. Yes, there it was, ordered in September, and he knew without looking he’d only used it once since.

  So where the hell was it? Had he left it at the Valadez place the last time he’d used it? No, he was very careful with his medication, especially since it wasn't cheap.

  Had someone taken it? He knew the drug had the ability to cause hallucinations in humans, and had been the news because of that. He wasn't sure if he should call the sheriff yet, or maybe check a few more places, but he knew himself well enough to know he didn't have it anywhere else. But he didn't know when the medicine would have gone missing. He hadn't used it in weeks.

  He would make a note to order more, and go back by the Valadez ranch just to double check.

  But maybe he needed to be more careful about his medications, lock them up more securely. He didn't think his father would steal from him, but he’d be better not to leave the temptation there for him. He’d have to get a new cabinet. He checked the lock and couldn't see any tampering. No, he needed a new cabinet, one more secure.

  His two techs, Kayla and Lisa, and his receptionist Janie, were getting ready to go home for the day.

  “When is our next order going in to the vet supply? We need to place another order for Ketamine.”

  Janie blinked at him. “We order on Friday, but I thought we just got some of that not long ago.”

  “Three months.”

  “You don't have a patient who goes through it that quickly.”

  “Yeah, I’m aware.” She waited for him to expound but he didn’t. “Just make a point of getting another order of it. Do we have anything on the schedule here for tomorrow?”

  “Nothing we need you for,” Kayla said with a toss of her ponytail.

  Right. He deserved that. He had office hours only twice a week, and the girls ran the place the rest of the time. He was out making calls most days anyway, but they called him in if they needed him.

  “All right. I’ll see you on Thursday, then.”

  During the height of the boom, he’d thought about hiring a second vet, but the population was thinning again as the rigs closed, and he couldn’t guarantee a longterm position, and the girls were just fine on their own.

  He’d try to get Miranda to come in on Thursday, get the kitten her shots, see about getting her fixed. He didn't like to spay until the kittens were about four months old, but he knew some vets did it as early as eight weeks. He thought Miranda’s kitten was about three months.

  He clicked on the hands-free option on his phone when he got into his truck, a device he’d come to depend on since he spent so much of this time driving around. He had to repeat Miranda’s name twice before the software recognized it, and then the phone was ringing and he was inexplicably nervous.

  She answered with some hesitation and he wondered if she had his name programmed into her phone.

  “I checked my schedule and I have room to get your kitten her shots on Thursday, if you want to bring her in.”

  “Um. What time?”

  “Whatever time you want. It won’t take long.”

  “Ah, okay, I guess. Mom has a committee meeting that day and I’m sure there’ll be a lot of running around getting ready for the festival.”

  The thing is, he could have just sent her into the office any time. Lisa and Kayla were perfectly capable of giving her cat shots, and he’d already given the kitten an exam. But he wanted to see her again.

  He was such a coward. If he wanted to see her, he should just call her and not make up excuses.

  If only the rest of his life wasn't in so much upheaval. And she hadn’t just left a relationship, and hell, her whole life. Timing was everything.

  “I’ll be here whenever you’re ready,” he said before disconnecting.

  Chapter Eight

  All the festivals were alike, and ran together in Noah's mind. The Bluebonnet Festival had a parade, food and rides. The Fourth of July Festival had a parade, food, rides and fireworks. The Fall Festival had food and hayrides, and the kids paraded around the square in their costumes and got candy from the trunks of townsfolks' cars. Now the Christmas festival, which had food, arts and crafts, and Santa. At least the white lights strung everywhere made it pretty.

  But honestly, he thought there were too many for a small town, always organized by the same group of women. They did a great job, but damn, that was a lot of work to put on them.

  He wouldn't be here except that Selena loved these things, and he wanted to see her happy.

  And the fact that he might catch a glimpse of Miranda had no part in his decision to accompany his sister.

  He saw her working at the ticket booth, and wondered if she'd get off duty early enough to walk around with them. Of course, the way Selena was going, they'd be here all night. She inspected each craft booth methodically, made note of anything she was interested in, asked him again how much she could spend.

  "Selena, it's your money. You can spend what you want. But you brought fifty dollars."

  "I want to buy some presents, is all. But I don't think they'll have anything for you or Ben or Dad here." She wrinkled her nose as she looked around.

  He chuckled and rubbed her back. "Anyt
hing you pick for us will be special."

  She pursed her lips. "Maybe. Maybe I'll have to go to town."

  "Uh-huh. And who's going to take you?"

  She batted her lashes at him, a gesture she learned from watching Gone with the Wind back when she was a teenager, and that always amused him. "I bet you will."

  "How will you find a present for me if I take you?" he teased.

  "You won't peek when I tell you. Not like Ben. Ben always peeks."

  Where was Ben, he wondered. He had driven himself, but he was around somewhere. He wished his brother would get a woman, something, and find some focus.

  He wandered after Selena, booth after booth. She didn't skip one, even ones he knew she didn't really care for, like the jewelry. She wanted to see everything.

  "Oh, do you think Dad would like this?"

  They'd walked into a leather booth, and she held up an intricately tooled belt that probably was the prettiest piece of work he had ever seen.

  "It's beautiful, Selena, but how much is it?" His own plain belt had been about fifty dollars.

  She slid her hand down the underside as if she was hesitant to touch the tooled top, and turned over the price tag. Her face fell. "It's too much."

  He could have told her that, too much for a man with no appreciation for his only daughter.

  “Can I borrow some money?”

  The request took him aback. “Selena, I think you should think about maybe not spending so much on him. On any of us. It’s your money.”

  She frowned at him. “But I want to buy presents with it. And like you said, it’s my money. I’ll pay you back when we get home.”

  The look on her face was so sincere, but he couldn't help himself. “And you want to get it for Dad?” The word was stiff coming off his tongue.

  “Yes.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “He’s our dad,” she said, a little more firmly.

  Yeah, so what if she wanted to spend her money on her dad? He didn't want his feelings about the old man to dim her love for him, bastard that he was.

  “I’ve never bought him a present before,” she went on, considering as she stroked the leather. “This would be a nice one.”

  “It would be,” he reneged, pulling out his wallet. “But I will make you pay me back when we get home.”

  She made a face at him and turned to the hopeful vendor, holding out the belt. “I’m buying this for my dad.”

  The joy in her voice almost drowned out his own resentment.

  “Hey, what did you two find?”

  Miranda’s voice as they stepped out of the leather goods tent almost erased that resentment, and he turned to smile at her. She seemed taken aback at first, then returned his smile. He recognized Riley from the bakery as her companion.

  “My sister is doing her part to support the festival.”

  Selena pulled the rolled belt out of the brown handled paper bag and handed it to Miranda.

  “Oh, this is gorgeous! Is this for you?” Miranda’s brow furrowed as she looked at the size of it, then looked back at Selena.

  “For my dad.”

  Miranda flashed a glance at Noah, who was careful not to let his emotions show, but he got the feeling she figured it out anyway.

  “That’s a really nice present, Selena. He’ll appreciate it.” She handed the belt back and Selena reverently tucked it into her bag.

  “Have you bought anything?” Noah asked Miranda, hoping to veer away from the subject from his father.

  “I’ve been working.”

  “I saw.”

  Her color deepened, in pleasure, he thought, and the smile that curved her lips was alluring. He couldn't take his gaze from her.

  Riley cleared her throat, and Noah realized the silence between them had stretched too long.

  “How’s the office coming? Did everything get straightened out?”

  “It’s just right over there. Why don't you go see for yourself?” Riley blurted.

  Noah raised his eyebrows and turned to Riley.

  Flustered, she raised her hands. “I meant, why don't you show him?” She nudged Miranda hard enough to make her take a step to the side.

  “Oh.” Miranda’s color deepened enough that it might be termed a blush. “There’s not much to see. Just an empty bookshelf and a desk.”

  “He hasn't sent the books yet?”

  She blew out a sigh. “Not yet. I don't know if he hasn't gotten around to it, or if he’s just shipped it the slowest way possible, you know, just because I asked him for them.”

  “Still, you can show him the work Sage had done, and how you’re going to lay everything out.” Riley’s nudge wasn't physical this time, but even Noah felt it.

  “Selena still wants to look around.”

  “I can take her.” Riley stepped beside a surprised Selena. “We’re friends, right, Selena? And maybe she can help me pick up some presents.”

  “Do you have any cupcakes?” Selena asked.

  Riley gave an exaggerated roll of her head. “I’m quite done with cupcakes for the day. Do you know how many I had to make for this thing?”

  “How many?”

  “Let’s walk and I’ll tell you while Miranda shows Noah her office.” She tucked an arm through Selena’s, a challenge since Selena was so much shorter.

  “I want to see.”

  “You can see it when it’s done.” Riley gave Noah and Miranda a dismissive jerk of her head and walked off toward the next booth.

  Noah was ready to protest but Selena was already inspecting the wares at the woodcarving booth.

  “Shall we?” he asked, turning to Miranda.

  “I’m sorry about that, about Riley. I may have told her about high school.”

  “Did you?” A smile crooked his mouth as he thought about what she might have revealed. “It’s no problem. Selena is just as happy, and it’s maybe good for her to walk around with a girl instead of me. I’m not much of a shopper.”

  “So she bought a belt for Rey?”

  He blew out a sigh. “She was insistent, and it is her money. I couldn't explain why she shouldn't spend all that on a man that couldn't give a damn about her.”

  The way she was looking at him told him that he had gone in a different direction than she expected.

  “Yeah, okay, some resentment there. She should be using the money on herself.”

  “And what would she buy? She was proud of the purchase, and if he rejects her generosity, that’s on him, not her.”

  “I know. I just don't want her hurt.”

  “I’ve always loved how protective you are of her.” She snapped her mouth shut, as if she’d said too much.

  “Yeah, well, I don't know if I’ve done her any favors by being so protective. She’s pretty sheltered.”

  “And what would you prefer be the option? That you push her out into the world alone? You’re not that guy, Noah.”

  He knew it. He was the responsible one. Sometimes he wished he could be more like Ben and not give a damn. He knew Ben loved their sister, too, but he was content to let Noah take lead on her.

  They crossed to the quieter side of the square, away from the booths, though the white strings of lights cast a soft glow on the sidewalk. She turned into a shadowed alley. He frowned but followed as she started up the metal staircase beside the building. He’d feared it to be rickety but found it was quite sturdy. On closer inspection, he saw that repairs had been made where the staircase met the masonry.

  She unlocked the new, heavy wooden door that gave the office the impression of importance, saw the place where her name could be etched. The smell of paint when she opened the door was overwhelming.

  “You need to air this place out while the weather is warm.”

  “I know. I just haven't wanted to risk it when there was a danger I’d forget to close the windows. I’ve been so busy helping with the festival.” As she spoke, she flicked on the overhead fluorescent light that was too bright, even with the sage color
ed wainscoted walls. “I know. I want a new light fixture.”

  “Probably would help to have some furniture. A desk, at least.” He turned to her and offered a half smile.

  “I have one in the inner office, but haven't found one I’d like for out here. But yes, one bookshelf is not enough for my books.” She moved forward with purpose, spreading her arms. “I’ll put a desk here, and a nice rug, though I haven't found just the one I want for that, either. I’ll have a couple of wing chairs or something for my clients to wait in, since I don't expect to have very many to start with.”

  She opened a black door that was lighter than he expected, and motioned to a room with slate blue walls instead of the sage green, dominated by a large cherry desk. A big window overlooked the square, and she stood there a minute, looking down on the town, on the festival still in full-swing. The Christmas carols piped through the festival permeated the heavy glass window and limestone walls. He stepped toward her to look over her shoulder, but she turned abruptly, smiling a little too brightly.

  “So not much to look at yet, but it’s better than it was last week.”

  “Are you sure this is what you want?” He’d wondered about that since she’d been back, since he’d heard what she was investing

  “This is what I want right now.”

  Right now. Was that enough? She’d walked away from him once. Could he watch her go again?

  He took another step and curved his hand around the back of her neck, tilting her head up as he lowered his.

  This kiss wasn't like their last, not the heat and the hunger, more of a question as his lips brushed hers, and again, remembering the shape of them before settling over them, taking in the taste of her, peppermint and chocolate, before he found the real taste of her, the taste he remembered. He kept one hand on her neck, beneath her hair and the other on her hip, resisting the urge to drag her against him, to feel her body, wanting only to kiss her, to feel her out, to give her a chance to back away.

  Only she didn’t, putting her hands on his shoulders instead, sliding them up to link them around his neck. She kept a space between them as well, which he would have questioned, but he was too busy kissing her, letting the scent of her surround him, wash over him, sink into his pores and his memory, where he’d replay it later tonight.