by Katie Ashley
Becca was right. Of course, it’s always so easy to hear or say the words. It’s implementing them that’s an entirely different story. But I knew for both my sanity and my future I had to try. With a confident smile, I replied, “The past is just the past. I’m going to focus on the present and the future.”
Nodding, Becca replied, “I’m going to hold you to that.”
“How do you propose doing that? A pinky swear?”
“By allowing me to fix you up.”
While my gut reaction was to groan and tell her hell no, I realized that wasn’t focusing on the present. I was truly going to move forward, here in Hayesville, I needed to believe I could forge my own future here like I did in Atlanta. I’d dated. I hadn’t felt . . . rejected . . . for years. But was that just because I’d left my heart here? No. I had to swallow my pride
Reluctantly, I replied, “Okay.”
Becca worked to hide her surprise at my lack of protesting. “Okay.”
“Just promise me it won’t be with anyone from my past.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” And there was that smile on her face, the one so much like Papa’s when he had mischief on his mind.
It was because of that smile I didn’t believe her.
Chapter Eight
The morning of my one month anniversary back in Hayesville found me seated on a barstool at the counter of The Main Street café. During the past few weeks, I’d fallen into a routine of stopping by for breakfast before heading to the clinic. Not only did they boasted the best coffee in town, not to mention their famous pancakes and cheese grits, but it was less than a five-minute walk to the clinic.
While I could have easily just prepared something at home, there was something to be said for eating at the café. The owners of my current patients, as well as prospective patients, were a part of the breakfast crowd. Although I’d grown up in Hayesville, my decade long absence somewhat made me a stranger. I dare say an outsider. Hanging out with the locals helped to remedy that.
As much as I’d feared the humiliation of returning home to Hayesville, my anxiety had been unfounded. I’d come to find most people were genuinely glad to have me back. Most noted that they knew it meant so much to parents while only a few dared to mention Declan. While they might not have been mentioning him, my thoughts were certainly on him. I kept going back to Pauline’s visit. Part of me wanted to confront him about it while the other part wanted to nothing more than to pretend he didn’t exist.
On this particular morning, I was enjoying a rather large stack of blueberry pancakes when someone plopped down on the stool beside me. Without looking up from my phone, I knew who it was the moment the familiar cologne assaulted my nose.
Fuck me.
“Good morning, Dr. Beasley,” Declan said, in an annoyingly cheerful voice for seven o’clock.
“Morning,” I reluctantly grumbled. Even though I was prepared to live and let live when it came to Declan, it was way too early in the morning to have to deal with him. In my mind, I hoped to only sporadically see him. Like that odd person from high school you run into every Leap Year. Up until today, I was doing pretty well.
Pointing to my plate, Declan said, “Mm, are those some of Mrs. Conroy’s blueberry pancakes? They look delicious.”
“Yep.”
Cissy, who was my equally cheerful waitress, appeared before us. “Can I get you your usual, Declan?”
Shaking his head, Declan replied, “You know what, Cissy. I think I’ll have what Peyton is having.”
“It’ll be right out.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” After Cissy left, Declan leaned closer in to me. “How are you settling in?”
“Just fine, thank you.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear it.”
Jerking my gaze up, I narrowed my eyes at him. “Somehow I don’t believe that.”
He shrugged. “Believe what you want. It’s the truth.” Turning towards me on his stool, Declan said, “Honestly, Peyton, I really don’t know what else to do to show you I’m not the man you think I am. I’ve apologized profusely. I’m not sure what else I need to do to change your negative opinion of me.”
“Is there a reason you sat down here besides aggravating me?”
“Do I have to have a reason to be friendly? I mean, you are new back to town. It’s the cordial thing to do.”
“There is no reason you need to be cordial to me. We can pass and repass without acknowledging each other.” Of course, that wasn’t going to be easy considering he looked practically edible in his crisp, white button down shirt and electric blue tie. Some women loved men in uniform while others like me enjoyed suit porn.
“I don’t think I could do that. Especially considering how close in proximity we’re going to be working to each other.”
I blinked at him in disbelief. “If you don’t leave me alone, I’m going to give you another unladylike knee to the balls.”
“Then I’ll be sure to start wearing a cup when I come to work.”
Then he had the unmitigated gall to wink at me. What was next? Groping my ass again?
“Insufferable bastard!” I grunted. After taking a ten out of my wallet, I threw it on the counter. I slung my purse over my shoulder before giving Declan one last rot in hell look. I stormed through the café’s doors and out into the sunshine. Considering my mood, it might as well have been pouring rain. As I stomped down the sidewalk, I clenched my fists at my side. God, I hated him. Like with a thousand passions from the depths of the darkest part of hell. I wasn’t even sure that did my level of hatred justice.
Even though I was confused, one thing was absolutely clear. There was no way I’d let him get his mitts on Papa’s practice. He could pry the deed out of my cold, dead hands!
Chapter Nine
After putting the last suture in place, I stepped back from the operating table. My gaze flickered from the Shi tzu’s tiny abdomen over to the machines recording blood pressure, heart range, and oxygen levels. I breathed a sigh of relief into my mask. Although ovariohysterectomy aka spaying was a relatively easy procedure, it wasn’t without risks. I’d completed hundreds over the years, but I always breathed easier once the procedure was over. “Everything looks good,” I remarked as I swept the green surgical drape off of Miss Bailey—the pride and joy of the Dunlop family.
My vet-tech, Jaycee, nodded in agreement at me across the table as she finished the final antiseptic cleaning before we moved Miss Bailey to recovery.
It had been a week since my altercation with Declan at the café. To avoid running into him, I’d started leaving the house thirty minutes earlier. By the third day, he’d somehow caught on. He appeared just in time to claim the stool next to mine. Although I’d ignored him as I devoured my pancakes, Declan had continued right on talking to me much to the amusement of the other patrons.
The next day I decided it was best to arrive thirty minutes later. When I swept through the café doors, I froze at the sight of Declan sitting at the counter grinning at me. What the fuck….
Although I thought about turning around and marching out of there, I decided I wouldn’t let him have the pleasure of aggravating me. There was also the pesky fact my growling stomach was pretty insistent on me getting a hearty breakfast, especially since it was a half an hour later than when I usually ate.
“Are you stalking me?” I demanded as I took my seat.
“And good morning to you, too.”
Scowling at him, I replied, “Answer the question.” When he opened his mouth, I threw my hand up. “No. Don’t bother. I’ll just have Anthony file a report for me at the station.”
Declan chuckled. “Christ, Peyton, I’m not creeping outside your house in the bushes. I’m merely patronizing the same café as you are.”
“If you’re not stalking me, then how did you know I’d be here when I changed my routine?”
The amused look in his eyes changed over to one so intense it caused me to shiver. I’d seen that look many times in our pa
st. Usually, whenever he’d resorted to that look, he’d either told me something deep about his feelings for me, or he’d ended up burying his dick deep inside me.
“Because I know you.” His deep voice hit me straight between the legs, which caused my mind to immediately go to the sexual connotation of his comment. He had certainly known me in the biblical sense many, many times in many, many different positions. At the moment, I knew he was speaking more to the fact we’d grown up together before our relationship had deepened when we’d begun dating.
After taking a moment to recover, I drew my shoulders back to glare at him. “You might’ve known the old Peyton, but you certainly don’t know me now and you never will.”
“Hmm, my ability to accurately anticipate your next move would say I do know the old and new Peyton.” When I waved Cissy over, Declan leaned in to where his body touched mine. I swallowed hard as I fought my body’s reaction to having him so close. “You want to know what you’re going to do next?” His breath warmed my earlobe, and I felt the hairs on my arms rise.
“Not interested,” I gritted out. But I’m very interested in the prospect of dribbling maple syrup over what I can only imagine is your six-pack abs. What? Peyton, stop right now. We don’t want to see Declan’s sex…no, Declan’s six-pack abs.
“Since you’re hungry and won’t let me screw you out of your daily pancakes, you’re going to ask Cissy to make yours to go.”
I swiveled my head to stare at him. Holy hell, he really did know me. Now that he’d called my hand, I didn’t know what to do. Did I go ahead and get a to-go order because I couldn’t stand being near him one second more, or did I go ahead and dine in rather than letting him be right. Talk about an epic conundrum.
But at that moment, I was rescued by some divine intervention in the form of my father and some of the deacons from church. Thrusting my hand into the air, I furiously waved at my dad. I then turned to Declan with a sickeningly sweet smile. “Actually, I was just waiting to join my father for breakfast.”
A cocky grin slunk across Declan’s face. “You had plans to join your dad’s weekly deacons’ meeting?”
Crap. Was that a thing? While I wouldn’t have had a clue since I hadn’t been in town that long, Declan would have been privy to that knowledge. Think Peyton. “Yes, I planned to discuss with them my idea for a blessing of the animals.”
Declan snorted. “Sure you were.”
“I’m sorry that you don’t know everything.”
“I stand corrected. Now you have a good one, Peyton.” Using two of his fingers, he made the “eyes on you” gesture. “I’ll be watching,” he teased.
“Jackass,” I muttered under my breath as I made my way over to Dad’s table. Although they’d initially been surprised, Dad and the deacons welcomed my company. From time to time, I’d throw a glance over my shoulder at Declan. Every single time he anticipated me and would wink.
Since I’d grown tired of playing the “breakfast roulette game”, I’d decided to stop going to the café the last two mornings. This morning as I choked down a McDonald’s biscuit in my car, I’d cursed Declan with every chew. Who the hell actually enjoys these things anyway? At the same time, I knew how ridiculous I was for just ignoring Declan and enjoying my usual breakfast.
But getting back to Miss Bailey and the present. Jaycee had just transferred her off the operating table before wheeling her over to the recovery bay. Back at the operating table, I started to put the organs into a medical waste bag when Jaycee’s gasp caused me to freeze. “What? Is it Miss Bailey?” I called over my shoulder since my hands were currently cradling a tiny uterus.
“There’s no water.”
Forgetting the uterus, I whirled around to see Jaycee standing gloveless in front of the sink. “You mean it’s running slow?”
She turned on the faucet. “No. There’s nothing there at all.”
Her answer caused me to fumble with the slippery uterus, which in turn sent it bouncing off the table. It pinged against my thigh before sliding down one of my legs.
Hell. Fucking. No.
After bending over, I snatched up the uterus and then tossed it into the bag. I crossed the room to Jaycee. Her expression was horror stricken, which I imagined was not from the water shortage, but from the escaping uterus.
Not wanting to get the handles contaminated, I used the crook of my wrists to move the handles back and forth. But just like with Jaycee, nothing came out. For a moment, I could only stand there wide-eyed and open-mouthed. We’d paid our bill, so it wasn’t like we didn’t have water from being disconnected.
And then it hit me. The only reason why our water wouldn’t be running is if a line had been disturbed, and the best way for that to happen would be through construction. Declan’s construction to be exact.
Since I wouldn’t sell to him, he was resorting to underhanded techniques to sabotage my business. Rage rocketed through me. “Fucking bastard!” I screamed.
I must’ve looked as scary as I felt because Jaycee took a step back from me. “Who is a bastard?” she tentatively asked.
“Declan.”
Her eyes bulged. “You think he’s the reason why we don’t have water?”
“Can you think of anyone else who is gutting and jackhammering and bulldozing?”
“That’s the contractor’s doing, not Declan’s. He’s just in development.”
I snapped my fingers. “Bingo! He’s the one calling the shots, and I will no longer allow him to undermine my business simply because I refuse to sell him the building!”
“What are you going to do?”
“Give Declan a piece of my mind.”
“You want me to have Sylvia get him on the phone?”
“Oh no. I’m going to march myself down to his office.”
Jaycee’s gazed trailed down me. “You’re going looking like that?” I knew she wanted to screech, “You’re going out in public with blood-stained scrubs and soiled gloves?”
“Do you know of a better way of getting his attention?”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s going to get his attention. I’m just not sure that’s the best course of action. Especially considering your history with him.”
I wagged a finger at her. “This is not about my history with Declan. It’s about him continuing to be an unimaginable asshole because I won’t give in to him like I used to when we were dating.”
“You know it could be just a misunderstanding.”
“Clearly, you don’t know Declan like I do.”
“No. But the Declan I know would never sabotage a business that takes care of animals. Cam is crazy about their dog, Moose, not to mention all of Declan’s horses.”
“Any love he has would be clouded by his overpowering need to stick one to me.”
“If you say so,” Jaycee warily replied.
“Oh, I know so.” Jerking my chin over to Miss Bailey, I said, “Can you do me a favor after you get her into recovery and call the family?”
“Of course.”
“Good. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
The corners of Jaycee’s lips quirked up. “I’ll be here in case you need bail money.”
“With my rage, that’s a distinct possibility.”
While my resolve was firm to make a spectacle in order to get Declan’s attention, I didn’t intend to do that in front of any of my patients in the waiting room. Instead, I hightailed it out the back door. I stayed in the alley until I reached the side of Declan’s office building.
Normally, I might’ve received a cat-call from the hard-hat horndogs working construction. But not today. They stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed as I crisscrossed in front of them. Ian Plummer, who not only was the construction foreman but had graduated with Declan and me, said, “Christ almighty, Peyton. Are you all right?”
“I’ll be fine once I get a piece of Declan.”
He shook his head. “From the looks of it, you’ve already had a go at him.”
“Oh no, I would
look worse if I had.”
With Ian blinking in disbelief, I power-walked to the ornate office door bearing the name, St. James Development. It was then I experienced the first snag in my plan: how the hell to get inside considering the state of my bloody gloves? But then it hit me that was exactly the point. With almost childish glee, I then smeared my bloodied glove all over the doorknob. Oh yeah, that will teach Declan to mess with my livelihood.
When I entered the office, the overwhelming smell of essential oils assaulted my noise. My eyes narrowed on the receptionist. Of course, she would be incredibly young. God forbid, he hired an older woman. Not only did she barely look twenty-five, but she was platinum blonde, heavily made up, and incredibly thin. You’re just pissed because she’s the complete opposite of you.
When she glanced up from the computer, her eyes bulged. “M-May I help you?”
“I need to see Declan.”
“I’m sorry, but he’s on a conference call right now with some investors. Would you like to make an appointment?”
I waved a dismissive hand. “No. I don’t have time to wait. I have to see him now.”
“I’m sorry, but that’s just not possible. If you’d like to have a seat—”
“Which room is he in?”
“I’m not—”
“You can tell me, or I can find out.” I flashed my bloody gloves in front of her face. “Of course, that will mean soiling the knobs of all the doors.”
The wheels appeared to be furiously turning in Receptionist Barbie’s head. “He left word not to be disturbed,” she repeated more for herself than for me.
“Oh, he’s going to be disturbed.” I then walked around the front office desk and started down the hallway.
“Ma’am, please just wait for me to let him end the conference call!”
“Nope. I don’t’ think so.” I threw open the first door I came to and found an empty office. After leaving a blood smeared doorknob behind, I started for the next door. I froze when I heard voices coming from down the hallway. As I grew closer to it, I made out Declan’s voice over the others. Bingo.
