The Rescuer (Fall River #3)

19. Habitating Can Lead to Acclimating

Chapter 19

Habitating Can Lead to Acclimating

The week flew by in a whir. With the clinic not yet back at a hundred percent, Dr. Bunting down in Ouray was shouldering half of Neve’s normal load, which afforded Neve time to walk him through her processes. Without a steady stream of business coming in, though, she grew twitchy. She tried to put on a calm face, but he could tell it was a brittle mask. He rededicated himself to helping in any way he could, but she was as prideful as she was passionate, and he had to tread softly.

By day, he was receptionist, lab-tech-in-training, and medical coordinator at the Fall River Vet Clinic. It was surprisingly fun, a break from the usual, and he enjoyed watching Neve in action almost as much as he enjoyed how people and animals responded to her. She had that whisperer’s touch, not unlike some of his search and rescue teammates, and he relished seeing her through a different prism of the same lens. The image of her as that bossy kid from his childhood had completely morphed. Now that his blinders were off and he could see her clearly, she was a dynamic woman with intriguing nuances that held him spellbound. And she. Was. Beautiful. He struggled to not dwell on that part.

Seated behind the reception desk, he was working on admin tasks when the door opened cautiously. The replacement glass hadn’t come in yet, so the temporary plywood didn’t reveal the guest until she stepped into the entry area. A woman, holding a giant flowering potted plant and a shopping bag, closed the door behind her. A dark-haired boy stood beside her, practically leaning against her. The woman whispered something in his ear, and the kid lifted his eyes. They landed on Reece and widened. When he turned toward his mom, he revealed a swath of shaved head and an angry line of stitches.

Reece laid his pen down and rose partway from his seat. “How can I help you?”

The woman approached, and he noticed faint bruising around her mouth that didn’t stop her from smiling wide. “Are you Reece Hunnicutt? From San Juan Search and Rescue?”

“No longer with search and rescue, but yes, I’m Reece.”

The lady’s eyes darted to the hallway that led to the back rooms of the clinic. They went round. “Neve!”

Reece turned in time to see Neve’s eyes light up. “Diane? Omigosh, is that you?”

Diane nodded, and Neve quickly closed the distance between them, her arms wide in greeting. The woman dropped the bag and embraced Neve with one arm. Neve stepped back, holding Diane by her arms while she looked down at the boy. “And how are you, little man? It’s so good to see you and your mom.” He smiled shyly.

Reece rounded the desk in an instant and held his fist out to the boy for a bump. “Looking good, Christopher.” He ran his gaze over the boy’s head. “Got some stitches, huh?” The boy cast his eyes away as though embarrassed. “Hey, wear those with pride, yeah? You went through a heck of a lot, and those are a badge of honor you can share with your family and show off to your friends. Nothing to be ashamed of, buddy. ”

Diane turned watery eyes to him “Thanks to you. What you did was beyond heroic.”

He hooked a thumb toward Neve. “Here’s the one you should be thanking. She’s your hero.”

Though he wouldn’t admit it aloud, Reece was a little in awe of Neve Embry. She was a stud muffin. He’d always known she had a caring heart and was excellent at what she did, but his vision continually sharpened, right along with his admiration.

A pretty blush instantly colored Neve’s cheekbones. “Reece and I tried to find out anything we could. We wanted to come visit you, but no one would give us any information. When did you get out?”

“About four days ago. We just had to see you before we head back home to Virginia and thank you in person—and give you these.” Thrusting the plant at Neve, she picked up the bag and handed her that too.

Neve accepted both. “What’s all this?”

Diane pointed at the bag. “That’s a jacket to replace the one I ruined. I’m so sorry about that.”

Neve patted her shoulder. “Don’t be.”

“And the plant is a very small token to show our appreciation. It’s a Christmas cactus. It looked so cheerful I had to get it. It isn’t much, but …”

“It’s beautiful.” Neve took the plant from her and set it on the reception desk, then peeked inside the bag. “And so is this jacket! Thank you.” She beamed at mother and son. “Just seeing you both here and knowing you’re healthy is all the gift I need.”

Diane elbowed her son. “Don’t you have something for Mr. Hunnicutt?”

The boy pulled a small box from his coat pocket and held it out for Reece.

“What’s this?”

“Open it.” Those were the first words Christopher had spoken, and Reece was relieved to hear them. Head injuries were a tricky thing.

When he opened the box, he found a small carrying case that held a Victorinox Swiss Army knife. “Sweet!”

The kid pointed at the box. “I put a penny in there.”

Reece opened the knife and turned it over, making a big show of appraising it. “Wow! This is really, really cool. And you know about giving someone money when you give them a blade. Good job.” He kept wanting to ruffle the boy’s hair but refrained.

They chatted for a few minutes—mostly Diane answered their questions and told them about their plans to return to Virginia, where they were from. “We came out here to spend time with my sister and so Christopher could catch up with his cousins. Next year, they’re coming to us.”

They shared a chuckle, and Diane gave Neve a final hug. When she pulled away, she dropped her arm around her son’s thin shoulders and shifted her gaze between Neve and Reece. “Thank you isn’t enough, but just know I’ll forever be grateful for what you two did for my son and me. We wouldn’t be here talking to you right now if you hadn’t come along and taken such good care of us.” She choked out the last words. “We’d better go before I start bawling.”

With a small wave, Diane and Christopher turned and slipped out the door. Neve discreetly swiped at a tear tracking down her cheek. Then her phone rang, and she raised wide eyes to Reece. “It’s Alma.” Neve dashed off to her office. He didn’t know whether to follow or stay put, so he took a few steps closer and listened in just as Neve delivered her question about the license.

The squawk in her voice told him she wasn’t happy with the answer. “So you’re saying it’s legit? We haven’t seen anything in the clerk’s portal yet … Oh, I see. Right. We’ll take a look later today. Here’s the thing, though. Reece and I didn’t mean to get married. It was a mistake. You have the power to marry people. Can’t you annul them too?” A moment ticked by, and Neve let out a defeated sigh. “Then what are our options for undoing this?” She stuck her head out of her office, surprising him. Instead of glaring at him for eavesdropping, she motioned him inside and kept talking. “I see. I appreciate the offer, Alma, but I think we’ll look for a lawyer on our own. There’s one more matter that needs to be resolved. About the rings …” She trailed off and was quiet. Reece could hear words on the other end, though he couldn’t make them out.

Neve’s shoulders curled around her, like a bird folding its wings into itself. “No, Reece and I understand. And there’s no way to scrub out the engraving, I take it? Okay. Well, thanks for returning my call. What’s that?” Her eyes locked on to Reece’s. “Yes, he certainly is handsome. I’ll give it some thought. ”

He leaned against the doorframe. “Doesn’t sound like it was the news you wanted to hear.”

“It’s not the news either of us wanted to hear. The marriage is legit. Between a skeleton crew at the clerk’s office and a record number of marriages, they got bogged down. But it should be up by the end of the day. And the rings—”

“Can’t return them when they’re engraved?”

“Yeah. We’re stuck, any way you slice it. I questioned how they were able to get them engraved so quickly, and she said they engrave right there in the store, and that their man—a second cousin, apparently—is very efficient. She was quite proud of that. She also mentioned that we didn’t seem to mind because we were content to ‘snuggle and enjoy our cocktails.’ Of course cocktails were involved. Cocktails are the whole reason for this … this debacle. She did offer up the name of an attorney—her brother.”

“Of course it’s a relative,” he guffawed.

Somehow the news didn’t weigh him down like he’d expected it would. He didn’t feel trapped, didn’t feel dismay. In fact, he didn’t feel bad at all about their screwed-up circumstances. But he had little time to ponder his turn of emotions because all hell broke loose as a woman tore inside the clinic in full-on panic mode.

Reece and Neve rushed to meet her.

“My dog! He ran through a barbed-wire fence, and he’s bleeding everywhere! Please save my dog!”

Neve went into vet mode, placing a soothing hand on the woman’s shoulder. She was pure efficiency with a healthy dose of whisperer. “Where is he?”

“In the c-car! I didn’t want to move him and make it worse. Oh, please! He’s hurt bad.”

“The doc will take good care of him. You’ve come to the best,” Reece assured the woman. He meant every word. Faint surprise flickered in Neve’s big blues right before he sped out to get the dog.

Later that evening, Reece lay on his bed, petting Mr. Whiskers as the cat sprawled across his lap in the guest bedroom, not a care in his fuzzy little head. Neve was hanging out at the clinic to be sure the injured dog could handle the aftereffects of the anesthesia from its surgery. He’d needed stitches to close some nasty lacerations.

Reece was currently taking a break from orientation videos for his new job in Vermont. Another break. Staying focused on the chore was getting tougher by the minute, and he pulled up the wedding video on his phone, like he’d done time and time again in the past week. He marveled at how he and Neve fit each other like two halves of a locket. And that kiss. God, he wished he could remember all of it.

His mind wandered to whether Neve would like the salad he’d whipped up and his go-to Italian-concoction casserole currently warming in the oven. It struggled not to go to the pictures that continually haunted his dreams—the ones of her sleeping between soft sheets in nothing but her creamy, touchable skin.

Maybe he should get up and uncork a bottle of red to go with the meal. He forced himself to run through the small selection in his mind. Since living with her, he’d learned Neve preferred chocolate milk or red wine at home, saving the tequila drinks for the Miners Tavern, and not nearly in the volume he’d once believed she consumed.

They had been sharing the cooking and cleaning, but he wanted her to put her feet up after her long day at the clinic. Maybe they would watch a movie after dinner or play a board game by the fire. They’d fallen into the simple pattern ever since he’d moved in—ironically, not unlike that of a real married couple. Conversation could be light, slip easily into serious, and at times be comfortably nonexistent.

Mr. Whiskers adjusted to Pearl by hiding or pretending she didn’t exist—which was pretty much how he treated everyone unless he wanted his ears scratched. Had anyone told Reece he’d be living in this surreal pseudo state of domestic serenity, he would have examined them for a concussion .

Mr. Whiskers stared up at him with his one green-gold eye as if reading his every thought.

“Yeah, buddy. These digs aren’t too bad, huh? Where do we go after this, you ask? Back to the apartment, I guess, as soon as Charlie gets everything put back together.” Charlie was back from his honeymoon but was playing catch-up on other projects and hadn’t had a chance to finish the plumbing work at Miners Tavern. Not that Noah was in any hurry to re-open the bar. He was still off honeymooning with Hailey and had planned to keep the tavern closed anyway, so the timing dovetailed nicely with the disaster.

Selfish bastard that he was, though, Reece hoped Charlie didn’t get to the repairs anytime soon. He liked being in Neve’s tranquil home and sharing her routine. The peaceful vibe gave him a chance to let his hair down, to breathe, to simply be —a luxury he hadn’t enjoyed since his carefree high school days.

“Whether we move back to the tavern or stay here, though, I’ve gotta find you a forever home. Neve likes you—I can tell—but you’re not crazy about Pearl, so staying here won’t work long-term.” The cat made a chittering noise that could have been a feeble meow. “You know it’s true. And I like you too, pal, but I can’t take you with me to Vermont.” There came that familiar sinking feeling again. It sat like a knot of heartburn in Reece’s chest every time he thought about the move.

From what he’d observed so far about his new assignment, they ran a tight operation, which he appreciated. While San Juan had been great to work for, its small size and makeup of volunteers meant details occasionally fell through the cracks. Yet he struggled to muster excitement about joining Stowe. What choice did he have, though? The only Colorado outfit he truly wanted to be part of was his old one, currently under the command of Chelsea Selkirk.

It’s the change to a new environment that’s bugging me, that’s all . No doubt because it was a massive change.

On top of the upheaval facing him, other questions loomed, throwing a kink into his otherwise blissful existence. For instance, what asshole was behind trying to destroy Neve’s clinic and her livelihood? Was it the same wacko who had stolen her drugs?

On a more personal level, how were they going to resolve this accidental marriage they found themselves in ?

Rustling in the living room told him Neve was home. The walls were thin, and he could hear nearly every movement she made. Setting Mr. W aside, he sprang to his stockinged feet and shoved them into sneakers before leaving his room.

“Something smells good.” She beamed at him with excitement as she pulled off her coat.

He stepped lively to help her, but she had it off before he could reach her. “Just some comfort food for a cold night. How’s the dog?”

“Groggy, but that’s to be expected. I gave him some pain meds to help him through the night, and I’ll go in early to check on him. Thanks for your help in surgery.”

Chuckling, Reece led her to the kitchen, where he poured two glasses of wine and handed her one. “I think I was more fumble fingers than I was a help.”

“No, you were great. And you didn’t pass out in the operating room like the first tech I hired, so big bonus points for you.” She took a sip and let out a satisfied little moan that did funny things to his blood flow.

Without tasting it, he took a quick swallow of his own wine. “You seem awfully happy for someone who’s been on her feet the past twelve hours.”

“I am. Remember how I told you I put info about Mr. Whiskers on my website? Well, I got a call today from someone who said they thought he was their cat. Apparently, it ran off a few weeks ago and the woman who called has been trying to find him ever since. She’s going to stop by tomorrow and see if he’s hers, so is it okay if I take him with me in the morning?”

The thought of not seeing Mr. Whiskers after tomorrow carved a hollow space out of Reece’s chest. He gulped more wine to stuff down his unexpected regret. “You’re working on a Saturday?”

“Well, the dog will be ready to go home …”

“Right. I forgot. Yeah, sure. Take the cat with you.”

“Do you want to come? Not to work—you’ve done plenty of that already this week—but to say good-bye? To meet his maybe parent?”

“No, I’ll pass. I’m helping put up the rest of the lights at the depot so everything’s ready for tomorrow night’s parade.”

The “parade” consisted of the school band leading Sheriff Chesterton down Bowen Street. The sheriff would be dressed up as Santa and riding on a tractor kitted out to look like a train, throwing out tiny candy canes to townsfolk crowding the sidewalk. The lights would all come on as soon as the tractor began its slow roll. There was always a hot chocolate stand, and it wasn’t uncommon for adults to tip liquid from concealed flasks into their steaming cups.

“I love the parade.” Neve’s tone was wistful, distant, as if she were imagining it in her head. “People singing Christmas carols, the lights …” She perched a hand on a hip and tilted her head. “I thought you were done with that project. Are you using the holiday decorations as an excuse so you don’t have to say good-bye to Mr. Whiskers?”

“What? No, of course not.” Christ, was he that easy to read? He had told Charlie he’d help, though Charlie was almost finished and really didn’t need it.

“Uh-huh. You’re a bigger softie than you care to admit, Reece Hunnicutt.”

“Yeah? Well, so are you.” Oh, brilliant comeback . Why he felt like he needed a stellar comeback at all escaped him. This was Neve , he reminded himself. He’d been reminding himself of that fact a lot lately, especially when he lay awake at night knowing she was in the very next room … naked.

“We’ll see which of us is the softest after we wipe the ice with your asses tomorrow,” she chortled.

Both men’s and women’s squads played teams from other towns, and they regularly faced off against each other too. The girls were good, he’d give them that, but they rarely beat the boys, unless they had no goalie minding the net. Where the women excelled was in trash talking, and Neve led the way. They could chirp like pro hockey players. Neve had probably taken a few lessons from Reece’s cousin, Wyatt, who was a pro hockey player.

“Whoa, easy there, Tex. Does your big sister know you trash-talk?”

“Who do you think taught me?” Neve’s golden eyebrows bounced. “I’m really looking forward to that foot massage.”

“Dream on, Doc. You’d better be limbering up your fingers. I have big feet.”

“To match your big head.”

Over dinner, Reece found himself warming to the idea of giving up Mr. Whiskers. “I hope whoever comes to claim him tomorrow is his rightful owner. Before you got home this evening, I was thinking about what I was going to do with him when I leave, and I was getting nowhere.”

She lifted her eyes to his, distress visible in them, and his heart squeezed. “Are you sure moving to Vermont is the right thing? I mean, you might as well have signed up for a one-way trip to the moon. And I noticed you still haven’t told your family. Does that mean you’re reconsidering?”

He leaned back in his chair. “Nope. It’s a done deal.”

“I’m going to miss you,” she murmured.

I’m going to miss you too. “You’ll still see me—in divorce court,” he quipped. He wanted to reel the last three words back in as the dismay in her expression amplified. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. We were having a nice evening until you brought up the elephant in the room.” Her shoulders sagged, and he cursed at himself. “I don’t want a divorce, Reece.” His heart gave a few extra bumps in his chest. “I just want the whole thing to go away. Whatever route we take, it’s going to be a huge pain, so I vote for the annulment route. I don’t want that big black mark on my record.”

Her words doused the spark he’d felt moments before. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure you don’t get it.”

“Yes, but you’re leaving .” She stared at him for a beat. “What do we do with the rings? Leave them here, where we’re closer to the scene of the crime, or should you take them to Vermont and sell them?”

“You hang on to them for now.”

One eyebrow dipped, and a tiny smile quirked one side of her mouth. “You sure I can be trusted not to run off and hock them myself? I could always use the money for the clinic.”

“I thought you had some unexpected deposits coming in that were helping you make ends meet. Are they not enough to cover the difference?”

“Well, there is the little matter of the damage someone did to the clinic.”

“But that’s covered by insurance, right?”

“Right.” She suddenly straightened and blinked. Three times. “How did you know about my unexpected deposits ? I don’t remember telling you.”

He blinked right back. Oops.