Chapter 4
Grace
Sweating like a pig.
The sentiment wasn’t one typically used by a woman. We perspired with glistening beads creating shimmers across our naked skin.
Not this girl.
My tee shirt was clinging to my body, my bra driving me insane, and I had to constantly stop what I was doing and wipe my face before the sweat pooled in my eyes. It was at least a thousand degrees under the hot sun but thankfully, I’d managed to keep a smile on my face.
I hadn’t realized just how much need there was in Missoula for reasonably priced veterinarian services. Granted, most offices had been gobbled up by nationwide chains, jacking up the costs to twice what they’d been. That’s why my little tent had a line already formed even before I’d opened up shop.
Maybe the upcoming Fourth of July holiday had something to do with the long line. Now, at a little past noon, I could finally grab a bottle of ice water, half of which I guzzled while considering pouring the remainder over my head.
While Ellie May had expressed her displeasure by not eating her breakfast after I’d told her she wasn’t coming with me, I was thankful I’d put my foot down. She would require me to make it up to her later, including taking a swim in the river.
At least I’d yanked my long hair into a ponytail before stepping from the truck. Which meant I probably looked disheveled, a perfect match for a sweaty stink.
“Forty-two people,” Tammy said as she crowded my space. “That’s a record.” My assistant was a recent hire, her enthusiasm pitted against her macabre look with dark hair, black eyeshadow, and all black clothing, but she’d been a magnificent hire.
“Since we’ve only been doing this for four weeks, I can’t call the numbers breaking the trend.”
She laughed, as bubbly as ever. Maybe because even in pitch black clothing, she hadn’t broken into the same clothes-staining sweat.
Right now, with the mood I was in from another sleepless night, I wanted to rip her hair out.
But that wouldn’t be very polite of me. Besides, it wasn’t her fault the fawn had dropped into my sacred little world.
Or the man.
Shit. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t think about the mysterious, gorgeous, yet stupid man.
Again.
I gritted my teeth as images of the hunk of a man from the night before popped into my mind for the tenth time.
Try one hundredth.
My inner voice never allowed me to get away with anything.
Sadly, the inhumane bitch was right. His stunning good looks had caught me completely off guard.
For insane reasons, I’d expected some old dude had locked his pup in the truck given the rusted appearance.
Why I didn’t mind going full action hero with a local yokel versus a guy who appeared as if he’d stepped out of Baseball Spring Training Magazine was beyond me.
One foot in mouth followed by my entire leg.
Sighing, I finished off the water, hoping the sexy mystery hunk didn’t make a surprise appearance searching for the perfectly ripe tomato.
“Do you mind if I go grab a soda?” Tammy asked.
“Go right ahead. We’re slow.” I loved my job, every bit of helping to save little furry lives.
I’d lived and breathed becoming a veterinarian since I could remember dissecting my stuffed animals for the sole purpose of learning their anatomy.
Finally, after I destroyed dozens of toys, my parents had started purchasing me software programs and games aimed at enticing kids into the medical profession.
But I’d always felt more connected to animals than people.
I had my reasons and learned late in life.
Which was why every single case of abuse hit me so hard.
You might as well take a baseball bat to my face.
That’s how painful the situation was in my mind.
Even while I tried shaking off the ugly thoughts, which had no place on this beautiful day, a single shot of high-tension, pure adrenaline-boosting, core-igniting electricity rushed into my system.
Being breathless had nothing on the mainline feed of my bloodstream.
“Are you okay?” The question sounded ghostly, forcing me to blink to try to focus on any of the millions of synapses in my brain.
“Um. Fine. Peachy keen.”
“Maybe you need to stay out of the sun for a little while. You’re flushed.”
I touched my face, sensing an overload to my bloodstream. “I’m perfectly fine and we only have an hour left. Go.”
Tammy’s face lit up and I sensed her sudden thirst had more to do with the blond rodeo star who’d been stalking our booth all morning.
Why was I a stick of dynamite where the wick had been pinched but still smoking?
Laughing, I tied the bag of trash, grabbing a new one and putting it in the holder. You never knew when a last crush of people would come my way. At least I could leave here feeling like a decent human being. Unlike the night before.
Hearing a slight woof, I realized I was back in business. I hurriedly fixed the bag, spinning around with a smile on my face. Oh, my God. No. There was no way the jolt of current was all about… him. Yet there he was, a godlike creature standing in all his glory.
And the scowl on his face was a clear indication he remembered the night before.
“You.” The word slipped from my mouth with ease and before I could dare try to keep the faux pas from occurring. Slipped? I spit it out as if winding up like an all-star pitcher.
As with the night before, there was no amusement or anger in the stranger’s eyes, his irises so intense I was at a loss for words. With the sunlight flickering through the tent, they seemed the color of smoldering topaz, catching the light in a way that infused danger with desire.
Blinking, I dragged my hypnotic state away and to the dog he was holding in his arms.
“Yeah, it’s me. The dog killer.” His voice held the same darkness but even more of an intoxicating, subtle timbre that reminded me of a predator. He placed the dog on the table in front of me, keeping his massive hands around the pup’s waist to stabilize him.
He even leaned over the table separating us, crowding my space to the point another bead of sweat trickled down my cheek.
Of course he followed the salty bead with his seductive gaze, the scowl turning into a smirk as if he knew in his heart of hearts that he was the reason for my overwrought condition.
Damn the man. I wiped it away furiously, tossing out the same if not more pointed and nastier look he was giving me.
While the whole package, including being allowed to bask in his sculpted abs peeking through his tight tee shirt was incredible, the condition of the puppy snapped the electric tether shared for a few angry seconds.
I’d seen those movies where the couple who supposedly hated each other drew the invisible line in the sand, each one daring the other and refusing to back down.
While this had all the markings of a perfect movie moment, we weren’t destined to be lovers.
Forget about it. No matter how sexy he was, I refused to crawl between the sheets with someone so… so…
Gorgeous.
Huffing, I casually brushed hair from my face, reminding myself I was a professional. “I hope you didn’t bring your dog here because of respiratory issues.”
He huffed and puffed and I could tell nasty words were on the edge of his tongue, but he closed his eyes instead.
“I was only in the store for five minutes. I would have kept the engine running if I had a second set of keys. Can’t be too careful about the criminals around here.
” When his eyes opened again, I was stuck by the flecks of gold sparkling around his irises.
And he’d leaned further over the table, his chest rising and falling as if in distress.
The pup whined, moving closer to me.
Oh, my God. The pup smelled to high heaven. “Whoa,” I muttered, my eyes watering.
The mystery man was studying me carefully, daring me to toss out something else I might regret.
“Well, at least you didn’t leave him on the side of the road.”
“Wow. A compliment. I feel special.” His voice was gruff and alluring, the combination and the deep tone sending vibrations deep within my core. Returning to his full height, he placed his hand over his heart. Goddamn, the look on his face was one I wanted to wipe off.
And not with my lips.
The man was goading me, maybe expecting me to say I was sorry.
Nope.
I wasn’t into providing apologies especially since he had locked the dog inside a hot truck, even if for a good cause.
So I turned my full attention to the situation.
“Who is this little fella?” I gently placed my hand on the pup, the mama bear inside me furious with whoever had either starved the puppy or had tossed him out like trash.
“Sailor.”
Whoever the handsome stranger was, he certainly wasn’t in the mood to risk telling me too much. “Ah, Sailor. Okay, little guy. Let’s check you out. Can you tell me anything about him?”
“Nope.”
“Where did you find him?” I touched Sailor’s tummy, thankful neither the pup nor the man snarled.
“A road.”
“When was this?”
“Last night.”
This was getting us nowhere. I lifted my head, trying to yank back my own predatory nature than only came around when animals were hurt.
“Why don’t we start over. Okay? I want to help this poor little baby, but I need to find out as much information as I can.
Hi, I’m Dr. Grace Monroe, a local veterinarian.
And you are?” I held out my hand for a shake and I’ll be damned if he didn’t peer down at me with all of his six-and-a-half-foot body remaining tense.
The man was huge, his forearms bigger than my two arms together.
He finally took a deep breath, grasping my hand as if we were old wrestling buddies, his fingers crushing mine on purpose. That didn’t bother me nearly as much as the jolt of current that rushed up the length of my arm. I’d never had this kind of chemical reaction with a man in my life.
With anyone for that matter.