Vetted: An Everyday Heroes World Novel (The Everyday Heroes World)

by A. M. Williams

  “Got that right,” he muttered as he sipped from his beer. “If we’re not careful, we’re going to end up with another wildfire situation and no one wants that.”

  I blanched at his words. Wildfires were a big problem for us, and it was a major fear for the area. We’d had destructive fires several years back, bad enough that there was talk of evacuation and the wine growers worried it would destroy their vineyards.

  “Guessing they ain’t local?” I asked.

  “Nope. You know locals have more sense.”

  I nodded. “Let’s hope that it doesn’t become a bigger problem.”

  We lapsed into silence and after a few minutes; I tipped my beer to my brother and turned to go upstairs and shower, my half-finished beer still in my hand.

  I took the steps two at a time and by the time I was in the shower, beer still in my hand, my mind had turned back to Britain.

  Jesus. She’d aged well. She was just as beautiful, more so really, as when we dated before.

  I thought about what her ass looked like while she was working on the yard and my dick twitched. I spent a little more time thinking about that ass and what it looked like when I was taking her from behind and my dick hardened.

  “Fuck,” I muttered, draining my beer.

  I reached out and set my bottle on the counter and stared down at my dick, which was bobbing in the air. I looked up at the ceiling of the shower and tried to think about anything else besides Britain to get it to go away, but it wasn’t working.

  “Shit.”

  I looked back down and wrapped a fist around my shaft, hissing at the pressure. This would be quick.

  I gave a firm stroke and felt tingles in my legs. Another stroke and I was already feeling it in my balls.

  While stroking myself with my right hand, I used my left to cup my balls and my head fell back. I was already on the edge from watching Britain all afternoon, so all it took to push me over was a memory of one of the last times we’d had sex.

  I’d considered telling her I loved her. But I wasn’t sure how she felt about me, and things were so up in the air. So, I didn’t.

  That night, we’d made love, and it had been a heady experience.

  Remembering that sent me over the edge. My balls drew up, and I bit my lip as I groaned low in my throat as my dick jerked in my hand, spattering my cum on the side of the shower and on the floor.

  I leaned to the side, propping myself up as I panted in the aftermath. “What the fuck?” I muttered to myself.

  I hadn’t come that hard by myself in years. Years. All it took was a few minutes of thinking about Britain and I was off like a rocket.

  I quickly wiped the wall down to get rid of the evidence of what I’d done and lathered up a washcloth so I could quickly wash and get out.

  A few minutes later, I was padding into my bedroom with a towel wrapped around my waist and trying to push thoughts of what I’d just done in the shower from my mind.

  Once I was dressed, I was back downstairs with my empty bottle.

  “You want pizza for dinner?” Rich asked as I passed by the door to the living room.

  “Sure.”

  “Good, because I already ordered it.”

  I laughed at Rich’s words. “Okay. When will it—“

  I was cut off by the sound of the doorbell.

  “Be here,” I finished, stopping and turning toward the door to get it.

  “It’s already been paid for,” Rich called out as I walked back by.

  I put my empty bottle on the small table by the door and opened it to find Perry, one of the kids I taught at the high school, standing on my front porch with a smile while wearing a hat with the pizzeria’s logo on it and a bag of pizzas in his hand.

  “Hey, Mr. Black. Got an order for ya here.”

  He reached into the bag and pulled out three boxes and handed them to me. “Thanks, Perry. Was there a tip on the card?”

  “Yes, sir. There was. See ya Monday!”

  Perry turned and bounded down the stairs and back to his car, which was idling at the curb in front of the house.

  I stepped back in and nudged the door shut with my foot.

  “I’ll take those while you get us beers,” Rich said, taking the boxes from my arms.

  “Works for me.”

  A few minutes later, I was lounging on the recliner watching baseball with my brother, drinking another beer, and eating the best pizza Sunnyville offered.

  There were worse ways to spend my Saturday night, that was for sure.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  BRITAIN

  “HOW WAS YOUR WEEKEND, BRITAIN?” Ken asked Monday morning right before we opened up.

  “Not too bad,” I told him with a smile. “Yours?”

  “I got out on the golf course, so it was perfect.”

  I grinned into my coffee mug. It was well known how much Ken liked to play golf. Rain or shine, heat or cold, he was on the course on his days off. He was pretty good too, winning a lot of local tournaments when he took part.

  I was about to respond when Rhonda came in, panting slightly. Ken and I both looked at her.

  “Sorry to bother you, but August just came in with a dog that looks like it's been hit.”

  I gasped and set my mug down, stepping forward.

  “I’ll make sure your morning patients are taken care of,” Ken said as I passed him.

  “Thanks,” I called over my shoulder, following Rhonda down the hall and to the examination room.

  “Amy is already in there.”

  “Thanks, Rhonda,” I told her, double-checking that I had my stethoscope in my pocket before pushing into the room.

  The first thing I noticed was the low-pitched whining coming from the dog on the table.

  The second thing I noticed was August standing beside the dog, obviously dressed for work, with blood streaked on his shirt and his pants.

  “A car hit him?” I asked, going to the sink to wash my hands.

  “I think so,” August said. “I didn’t want to move him, but I didn’t want to leave him either.”

  I nodded. “You made the right call. No tags?”

  “None that I could find.”

  “Amy?” I asked, looking at her as I dried my hands.

  “No chip, either.”

  “Right.”

  That meant that the dog could be someone’s pet, they just hadn’t tagged him. Or he could be a stray.

  I quickly looked him over, noting his right front leg was obviously broken and the lacerations on his back and sides. He didn’t look malnourished, so there was a good chance he was someone’s pet and we’d just have to find who they were.

  I started telling Amy what to get so we could get a set of X-rays and then set his leg before cleaning him up.

  “I’ve got the sedative,” Amy said, handing me a syringe.

  We worked quickly, getting him sedated, and the pictures taken so I could assess.

  From there, we could set his bone, wrap it, and get his cuts cleaned up. By the time we were done, August was obviously late for work and it looked like he probably wouldn’t be going in that day.

  “Thanks, Amy,” I told her once we finished.

  “No prob. I’ll get the stuff to clean up when you finish.”

  I nodded and pulled my gloves off, tossing them before washing my hands again. I quickly pulled up a new patient file and started filling in information about the case, forgetting that August was even in the room with me.

  “You do that every day?” He asked, making me jump.

  My heart was pounding as I turned to look at him. I chuckled. “Sorry, I forgot you were in here.”

  He smiled. “I’ve been pretty quiet.”

  That was an understatement. Once I started working, he hadn’t made a peep, not even when we set the bone. “To answer your question,” I said as I turned back to the computer, “no, I don’t do that every day.”

  August said nothing at first. “But you used to?”


  I froze at his words. We were entering dangerous territory with that question. I thought it was unsaid that we didn’t talk about the military given our history.

  “It depended on the day and where I was,” I finally said.

  August again said nothing, and he remained quiet until I finished inputting everything on the computer and had saved it.

  When I turned to face him, he said, “Where’d you go?”

  Since I was looking at him now, I took the chance to study him. He looked like he was genuinely curious to know the answer to that, but I wasn’t sure how I felt sharing it. Our break up had been messy, very messy.

  We’d both said a lot of things in the heat of the moment, and I knew how deep his resentment toward the military ran. I also knew how deep his anger at my joining ran. He’d told me several times before we broke up.

  “Not too many places,” I finally said.

  August grunted, but I wasn’t sure what that meant. “You don’t want to tell me?” There was an edge to his voice.

  I sighed and dropped my head back, staring at the ceiling for several moments before looking at him again. “I’m not sure what you want me to say here,” I finally said. “I know that you don’t agree with my military career, so I don’t know what to say or what I can say that won’t get you upset.”

  August sighed and seemed to deflate. “I’m just curious is all.”

  I arched a brow and said nothing. After a few beats, August continued. “I’m genuinely curious. It’s obvious you’re good at your job and you got that experience in the military. So, I guess I want to know where you ended up.”

  I studied him, taking in his facial expression and the stance of his body. He wasn’t tense, and he looked open. I sighed and leaned back against the counter behind me. “I spent most of my time in North Carolina at an Army base there. I deployed a few times.”

  August winced at my admission about deploying. “Any issues?” he asked.

  I tilted my head. “You mean from deploying? No, not really. I wasn’t on the front lines, so I had it easy compared to some. Besides crappy conditions and sand getting in everything, it wasn’t all that different from working on a regular base. Besides the triage, at least.”

  August said nothing to that and after a few moments, it didn’t seem like he would, so I straightened and said, “If you’ll follow me, we’ll head up to the front and see what we can figure out about our dog.”

  He nodded and followed me out the door. The front desk was in sight when he asked, “You take lunch soon?”

  I stumbled at his question and quickly righted myself. “Lunch?”

  “Yeah, lunch,” August said as we drew up to the window to the front desk.

  “Uhhh…” I said, not sure how to respond. “Yeah?”

  August nodded. “Okay. I’ll run home to change real quick and then come back. We can go together.”

  I stared at him, my mouth hanging open, and I knew for a fact that Rhonda and Lisa were staring at me. “Okay.”

  I snapped my mouth shut and turned to look at Rhonda, whose eyes were big as they flitted back and forth between me and August.

  “We’re done with the dog he brought in. Amy should have him in a kennel soon. I want to get some flyers up because he wasn’t chipped, and he doesn’t have a collar,” I started.

  “I’ll handle the bills,” August butted in, stopping my thoughts.

  “What?” I asked, looking at him again.

  “I’ll handle the bills.”

  “Okay, that handles that then. Get his info and we’ll go from there,” I told Rhonda, looking at her again.

  She nodded and continued to look between August and me. I sighed. “I’ll catch you later.”

  I turned and started walking toward my office. “Later as in in like an hour,” August called after me.

  My shoulders bunched up around my ears at his words. He hadn’t whispered them; he’d said them loudly. Loud enough I was certain anyone in the waiting room heard, which meant gossip was going to spread like wildfire.

  Never mind the fact that us going to lunch would do the same.

  Maybe I could go out with a bag on my head and no one would recognize me?

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  BRITAIN

  AN HOUR LATER, Amy poked her head into my office where I was switching my Crocs for some sandals.

  “Loverboy is here,” she said, waggling her eyebrows.

  I looked at her in horror. “Loverboy?”

  She laughed. “You know who I mean. He’s in the waiting room.”

  I froze at her words. The waiting room. God. “You didn’t bring him back?”

  “Nope.” I looked up at Amy and caught her grin. “Have fun,” she said, turning to walk back down the hall.

  I watched her go, and she slipped into the break room a few moments later.

  “Fuck,” I muttered to myself as I pulled my compact mirror out of my desk drawer so I could check my hair.

  I wasn’t used to being able to style it how I wanted at work, so I checked it frequently throughout the day. That was one good thing about having to wear a sock bun: your hair didn’t move out of place.

  Hair was still looking good and makeup wasn’t looking too bad, so I snapped my mirror closed and put it back in the drawer before snagging my purse.

  I dashed down the hall, ignoring the catcalls that followed me as I passed the break room. I should have known everyone knew about my lunch date. I was more surprised they weren’t waiting in the waiting room to watch me get August.

  I slowed when I reached the door to the waiting area and braced myself. I had no idea what was on the other side, but knowing Sunnyville, it was likely to be packed.

  I sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out before pushing through the door.

  I thought I was ready for what I would find on the other side, but I wasn’t.

  Every chair in the waiting room was taken by someone, their pets either in their lap or on the floor in front of them.

  “At this rate, we’ll see most of the town for their check-ups and have the rest of the year off,” Rhonda muttered from my left.

  I glanced at her and tried to smile. I wasn’t sure I was successful based on the look on her face, but I couldn’t do much better.

  She wasn’t wrong though. We were packed and if all these people were here to get their pet looked at, we really wouldn’t have any business for the rest of the year.

  I looked back at the room and caught sight of August sitting between Mr. Amos, an old teacher of mine, and Mrs. Carlisle, one matriarch of the church in town.

  “Ready?” I asked him once we made eye contact.

  He quickly nodded and stood. As he moved through the room, so did everyone’s eyes.

  I could feel their stares burning into me as August and I turned toward the front door and walked out.

  Walking to the car, I resisted looking over my shoulder, certain I’d see faces pressed against the glass walls of the reception area as they stared after us.

  Once the door closed behind us, I didn’t look at August as I said, “Next time, come to the back door.”

  “I’ll remember that,” he said, chuckling. “By the time I got back, that place was packed. I’ve never seen so many people at that clinic.”

  “I’m sure,” I muttered.

  “It’ll blow over.”

  I snorted. “Not anytime soon,” I said. “Where are we going to eat?” I asked, not wanting to continue this conversation.

  “The diner good for you?”

  “Sure.”

  We walked the few blocks to Lulu’s Diner. August held the door open for me, to which I smiled, before following me in. I remembered coming here as a teen and getting milkshakes and fries with my friends.

  It had been a little kitschy and outdated then, and I was surprised and pleased to see that it had changed little.

  “Sit where you’d like,” a waitress said as she walked by with a tray loaded with plates.

&nb
sp; I nodded and started scanning the restaurant, my eyes lighting on a booth toward the back.

  I threaded through the tables, smiling and greeting people I knew, but not stopping to have a conversation as I passed.

  Once at the table, I slid into one side and sighed as most of the restaurant disappeared from view.

  “Here ya go,” the same waitress from earlier said, dropping two laminated menus onto the Formica table. “I’ll be back for your drinks in a minute.”

  She hustled off, and I watched her go. Looking at the menu, I smiled as I saw that while the menu itself was new, what was included in it was not.

  I quickly found what I used to get—a loaded burger and fries—and set the menu down. August was carefully studying the menu, and I used the chance to study him.

  He was no longer wearing his work clothes, which was good considering their state. He was instead wearing a t-shirt and workout pants. Simple clothes that he looked good wearing.

  “What’ll you two have to drink?” The waitress asked, coming to stop by our table.

  “I’ll take a Coke,” I said.

  August asked for the same, and the waitress left again. This time, she returned quickly and took our food order before leaving us alone again.

  I wasn’t sure what to say to August now that the two of us were, for all intents and purposes, alone.

  “So…” I said, pulling August’s attention to me. “What made you pick Sunnyville?”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “I was wondering how long it would take you to ask me that.”

  I arched a brow. “Did I pass the test on it?”

  “Yeah. You lasted longer than I would have if I’d discovered you living in my hometown.”

  I nodded and waited for him to continue.

  “I don’t really know,” he finally said, dropping his gaze to his drink and swirling his straw through the dark liquid. “I got a job right out of college, but it was in an inner-city school. I didn’t love teaching there, even though I loved my students. I was looking for something, anything, that would be a better fit. Something came up on one of the job boards I was looking at for a job here in Sunnyville. I remembered you talking about growing up here and thought it might be fate. Now, here we are, a decade later, and I’m still here. So, I think I was right.”