Welcome to Blissville

by Walker, Aimee Nicole

  “It could’ve been worse,” I said, unlocking the back door.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” Holly told me. “We were out of town for one of Dexter’s soccer tournaments and didn’t get back until late last night.”

  “You’re not late, Hol,” I told her. “I hadn’t even called your office yet. How’d Dex’s team do?”

  “They played amazing,” she replied. I heard the pride in her voice and saw it sparkling in her green eyes. “The good news is that they advanced to the regional finals, but the bad news is that they advanced to the regional finals. I’m so proud of Dexter’s accomplishments, but a tiny part of me is ready to stay home for one weekend and just read a book. Besides being tired all the time, I worry that playing soccer at this level is too much pressure for a nine-year-old boy.”

  “I think he’ll be okay as long as it’s still fun for him,” I told her. “It might be time for a break if soccer becomes ‘have to’ instead of ‘get to.’”

  Holly tilted her head while she thought about what I said. “That’s sound advice. You should tuck that away for when you become a father.”

  “Noted,” I said with a wink. I liked that Holly said “when” and not “if” like it was a foregone conclusion that all of my dreams would come true someday, not just my professional ones. “Officer Wen took official photos for you that he’ll attach to the report, but I’ll show you my biggest concerns.”

  “Officer Wen forwarded everything to me this morning. His report indicated that none of your medications or merchandise was stolen. Is that correct?” Holly asked.

  “It’s true,” I replied. “I updated Wen last night once Alyssa and Terry completed the inventory. They had to be after the heavy-duty drugs and trashed the place when they couldn’t get their hands on them. They busted up our shelves, cabinets, tables in reception, and even our damn potted plants and flowers. It was completely random. I’m so damn thankful they didn’t hurt any of the pets boarding here this week.”

  “Absolutely,” Holly agreed. “We can replace your stuff, but we can’t replace someone’s beloved pet.” She shook her head. “I’ll forward all the documentation to your claim adjuster, and I don’t think it will take long before you receive a check to replace damaged items.”

  “Do you have a carpenter referral?” I asked Holly. “I’d rather get him started on repairs rather than wait on the check.”

  “I sure do,” she replied. “Let me look up the number for you.”

  “Dr. Vaughn,” Alyssa said, interrupting us. “The Jenkinses are on the phone. Buttercup’s water broke, and it appears that her foal is breech.”

  “Holly, I need to go. Could you give the information to Alyssa?”

  “Sure thing,” Holly told me. “I hope everything turns out okay for Buttercup and her foal.”

  “You and me both,” I said before I left.

  The Jenkins’ farm wasn’t too far outside town limits, so I arrived fast after the call came in. When I entered the barn, I found Buttercup lying in her stall breathing hard and covered in sweat. Her eyes were wide with fear and pain, and her whinnies tugged at my heart. “It’s okay, sweet girl.” I entered her stall slowly, so I didn’t cause her additional stress. I looked up at her fretful owners. “Can one of you kneel down and give her comfort while I examine her?”

  Mara dropped to her knees beside her prone horse and began cooing to her as she stroked her neck and velvety nose. “It’s going to be just fine, baby girl. Dr. Vaughn will make it all better.”

  I hoped Mara was right because I desperately wanted the delivery to go as smooth as possible and without serious injury to either Buttercup or her foal. “How long has she been in labor?” I asked while slipping my arms inside long, latex gloves.

  “Right before we called you,” Stan told me. “Her water broke, and the foal’s hooves dropped instead of her nose.”

  “That’s not completely uncommon,” I told them. “I’ll examine Buttercup to see what’s going on.” I looked back down at the horse and saw that Mara’s ministrations were working, and the horse appeared to be slightly calmer than when I first arrived. “Okay, Mara, she’s going to need some more loving because this could be pretty painful for her.”

  “Okay, Dr. Vaughn,” Mara replied to me before she turned to her horse. “You’re doing good, Buttercup. I promise you that I’ll never put you through this misery ever again. Just hang in there a little bit longer.”

  I slid my hand inside Buttercup and felt along the foal’s leg and was ecstatic when I felt the foal’s chest and neck. “She’s not breech,” I told them. “It’s still going to be painful for Buttercup while I try to position the foal better for birth.”

  “She’s a tough girl, Doc,” Mara said proudly. “Do whatever you can to help her.”

  It took an hour of working with Buttercup’s contractions, but I was finally able to line the foal properly in the birth canal and helped the horse deliver her beautiful baby. “They’re perfect,” I declared after I checked mother and baby over good. “Tired, but perfect,” I said, rubbing Buttercup’s neck. I smiled when her foal, Starla, attempted to take her first steps on wobbly legs that she would grow into someday.

  “Thank you for everything,” Stan Jenkins said when he followed me to my truck. “Mara would’ve been crushed if something had happened to Buttercup or Starla.” Mara wouldn’t have been the only devastated Jenkins had things not gone as well as they did. I saw how damp Stan’s eyes got once Starla arrived safely, but I didn’t say anything about it.

  It was noon by the time I got back to the animal hospital, and I was hours behind schedule. The downside of being the only vet meant I had to reschedule appointments when an emergency came up. In most cases, I worked through lunch and stayed late to make sure I got to the most critical cases the same day. It made for a long, stressful day, but it was worth it.

  Alyssa assured me the carpenter would be there to begin replacing the door and busted shelves before we went home for the evening. Hammering and drilling sounds filled the animal hospital late in the day, but I was too busy to check out the progress. In fact, I hadn’t bothered asking the name of the carpenter because I didn’t care until I spied him talking to Chaz in the parking lot. “It’s that damn Andy again,” I groused.

  “What’s wrong with Andy?” Terry asked. “He’s a nice guy.”

  “Sexy too,” Molly added. “Oh, I know what the problem is, Terry.”

  “Oh, I think I figured it out also. Dr. Vaughn doesn’t like Andy moving into his territory and making a play for his man.”

  I thought of Chaz as my man, but it wasn’t a reality. Yet.

  “Excuse me, ladies,” I said, brushing by them on my way out the door. “Well, this is a surprise.” Chaz and Andy both looked at me.

  “I hope it’s a pleasant one,” Chaz said. He held up a carryout bag from the diner and smiled at me in a way that made the rest of the world disappear. “I thought you might be hungry after your long day.”

  Oh, I was hungry all right, but it wasn’t for whatever food he had in the bag. “Perfect timing. I just finished for the day. I have a few—”

  “Go on home, Dr. Vaughn,” Alyssa yelled out the door. “We’ll close the animal hospital for the night.”

  “It will look as good as new when you come back tomorrow, Doc,” Andy said as he walked back inside with a bucket of nails.

  “Thank you,” I said to both Alyssa and Andy without taking my eyes off Chaz. Hell, I don’t think I even blinked for fear that I imagined his appearance in my parking lot. It was the first time Chaz sought me out, and I liked it a lot. “Why don’t you follow me home so we can do this without an audience.” I didn’t need to turn around to see if my staff was watching us because I felt their attention on us.

  Chaz leaned over and peeked around me. “Yep, they’re watching us all right.” He smiled broadly and leaned closer to me and said, “Too bad it’s not raining, or we could act out the famous kiss in the rain from The Notebook
.”

  I blinked at him for a few seconds as I registered two things: Chaz wanted to kiss me in the rain, and he didn’t care who was watching. I’d never been so tempted to try a rain dance in all my life. “Maybe next time,” I said.

  “Okay then,” Chaz replied with a small smile.

  My heart raced during the short trip to my house. Did I leave my underwear on the floor? Were there dishes all over the kitchen? When was the last time I scrubbed the toilet? Do I still have that extra toothbrush? I was a hot fucking mess by the time I parked in my driveway.

  “What’s wrong?” Chaz asked. My panic must’ve shown on my face.

  “You’re about to learn something about me that not many people know.”

  “You have a sex dungeon in your basement?” Chaz asked.

  “That’s the first thing that comes to your mind?”

  “I have an overactive imagination,” Chaz told me. “On the bright side, the reality is probably a lot less scary and offensive than what I just said.” His cheeks flamed red with embarrassed heat. I loved the way he said whatever came to his mind and the adorable blushes that usually followed. There was no pretense with Chaz. What you saw was what you got. He was a breath of fresh air, and I wanted to breathe him in deep.

  “I’m not offended, and there’s no need for embarrassment,” I told him as we stood looking at one another on my front porch. “Hell, I’m happy you think I’m exciting enough to have a sex dungeon.”

  “You’re plenty exciting without a sex dungeon,” Chaz told me.

  “Yeah?”

  “Definitely.”

  Sadie barked happily on the other side of the door once she heard my voice. I loved knowing that she and Otis were waiting for me to return home. “Sounds like someone missed me,” I told Chaz.

  “I think you’re right,” he replied thickly. I hoped that his tone of voice meant that he was talking about himself, not my dog.

  Sadie bounced around like she had springs for legs when I walked through the door but jerked to a stop when she saw Chaz. She looked as surprised as me that we had company.

  “Hey, Sadie,” Chaz said, dropping to his knees. “Remember me?”

  If my dick could talk, it would’ve started screaming, “I do! I do!” Chaz’s position didn’t help deter my dirty mind from remembering how it felt when my dick was in his mouth. I knew I needed to act fast before I made an ass of myself, so I picked up the bag of food that Chaz brought with him and took it to my kitchen. I looked around the room as if seeing it for the first time. There wasn’t anything special about the space, but it wasn’t dirty or anything. In fact, it looked like it had recently undergone a hard scrubbing. I suspected my mom did more than check on Otis when she stopped by over the weekend.

  I gathered plates, silverware, glasses, and the pitcher of sugar-free, low-calorie lemonade from my refrigerator. I had no idea what Chaz brought me to eat, but I was grateful for his thoughtfulness. I could add to my workout if I consumed more calories or fat than normal. It turned out that I didn’t need to be worried because Chaz brought me a large salad with grilled chicken, cherry tomatoes, sliced avocados, and boiled eggs.

  “Daniella said you like the avocado and lime dressing on the side,” Chaz said. He looked up at me and caught me staring at him. “Did I mess up?”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Chaz said shyly and sat down at the table to eat his salad.

  “You didn’t have to eat rabbit food just because I do,” I said playfully.

  “I ate a huge lunch with Mere and Josh today, so a salad sounded perfect to me.” Chaz bit his lip like he wanted to say something but wasn’t sure he should.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  “Did you know that the U.S. Marshals Service thinks that Gabe’s life is in danger?” Chaz asked.

  “What?” I asked in disbelief. Of course, I knew about the problems Gabe had with his former partner before we moved to Blissville, but I thought that was all behind him. I was stunned when Chaz told me what he learned from Josh that morning. “Holy shit,” I said.

  “Yeah, of course, I made things worse when I started rambling about how Jimmy would kill Josh if he really wanted to punish Gabe,” Chaz said. I was certain my eyebrows had reached my hairline, but Chaz didn’t seem to notice my bug-eyed appearance. “I was actually plotting the book I’m writing out loud, which was just as rude as telling Josh a guy was going to gun him down before his wedding. Josh is baring his soul to me, and I shift my focus to what comes next for Jamie and Gideon.”

  “Book? Jamie and Gideon?”

  “Uh, um…”

  “Did you say that you’re writing a book?” I asked.

  Chaz blinked several times like he might be in shock. I thought I might have to shake or kiss him to snap him out of his trance. “Yes,” he said after a long pause.

  “Wow, that’s amazing,” I said when Chaz didn’t look too thrilled that he accidentally spilled his secret. “Would you like me to share a secret with you? It’s something that I haven’t told another living soul. It’s extremely nerdy.”

  Chaz sat up straighter in his seat, looking hopeful. “Did you say dirty?”

  I laughed when he wagged his eyebrows playfully. “Actually, I said nerdy, but now I’m thinking I need to invent something dirty.”

  “Actually, Doc, I think nerdy is pretty awesome. Let’s see what you got,” Chaz told me.

  “Follow me,” I said as I stood from my chair.

  I didn’t think about the fact that I just invited Chaz Hamilton to my bedroom. I only cared about showing him something that I never shared with anyone else. I opened my closet and pulled down a filing box where I kept my treasures.

  “I’m really going to be pissed if this is a collection of ears or fingers,” Chaz said, slowly backing away from the box I set on my rumpled covers.

  “You truly do have an active imagination,” I admonished playfully. “Nothing sinister about the contents in this box, but it might change the way you look at me.”

  Chaz snorted and said, “Doubt it.” I pulled off the lid and tossed it on the bed. I didn’t put on the gloves I kept inside the box because I wasn’t pulling my treasures out of their protective plastic sleeves. “Is that…”

  “The Uncanny X-Men comic book from nineteen sixty-three,” I told him.

  “Holy shit!” Chaz exclaimed. “Could you be any more fucking perfect?”

  “You don’t think it’s too nerdy?” I asked.

  Chaz looked at me then with an unreadable expression on his face. “You’re like every perfect book boyfriend rolled into one sexy package. You can’t be real.”

  I gently tucked my comic book back into its designated slot in my filing system and returned it to my closet. I planned to show Chaz just how real I was and didn’t want to get my realness over my rare comic books in the process.

  I recognized the look in Kyle’s eyes from the hotel room. He was about to pin me to the mattress and fuck me stupid, and I was going to encourage him no matter how wrong it was. I’d have an easier time severing my finger with a dull, rusty knife than resisting Kyle Vaughn’s charms.

  Instead of confessing my secret, I asked, “You don’t happen to own a pair of geeky glasses, do you?”

  Kyle’s smile widened as he gestured to a pair on his bedside table. “I use them for reading. You want me to put them on for you?” Kyle asked playfully.

  “Yes, I do.”

  Kyle’s rectangular, black frames emphasized the squareness of his jaw, giving him the appearance of a superhero. His mischievous smile made his chin and cheek dimples more prominent. I wanted him, and nothing was going to stop me from having him. I launched myself at him for a kiss when I couldn’t resist his sexy geekiness another second. Kyle’s mouth eagerly opened to my seeking tongue, and he lifted me to straddle him like I weighed nothing at all.

  Kyle sat on the edge of his bed with me on his lap, and I wasted no
time grinding my eager body against his until I worried I would come too soon. There were too many things I still wanted to do to him, so I tore my lips away while I still could. I whipped Kyle’s polo shirt off so fast it knocked his glasses crooked. I placed both hands on his chest and pushed until he lay flat against the bed. Then I took my time learning the contours of his chest and enjoying the rasp of his crisp chest hair beneath my palm. Kyle Vaughn was a masculine feast that I wanted to gorge myself on until I couldn’t take another bite.

  I trailed my fingers through the line of hair that bisected his tight abs. I had no idea how much time it took to develop and maintain his physique, but I wanted to give his body the attention it deserved. I smiled when I felt Kyle’s muscles tremble beneath my touch and saw goose bumps popping up all over his gorgeous skin. The physical reaction I felt with his body and the emotional one I saw in his eyes were like a drug racing through my system, urging me to devour him. I didn’t listen though. Instead, I leaned forward and slid down so I could take the same journey with my mouth and tongue that my hands had experienced.

  I flicked my tongue over Kyle’s pebbled nipple before I sucked it hard into my mouth. The groans I elicited from his throat nearly shattered my conviction to sip instead of gulp. I licked a path down his abdomen until I reached his navel. I took my time licking and nipping the sensitive skin there while he pushed his erection against me looking for relief. Instead of unbuckling his belt and opening his pants, I scooted further down his body and teased his cock through the fabric, not caring if I got them wet.

  “Chaz,” Kyle growled while he fisted my hair and pushed his dick harder against my tongue. I glanced up his body and saw that his glasses were still skewed. I removed his specs and set them on the table so they wouldn’t get damaged. Kyle caught my hands when I reached for his belt, He whipped my T-shirt over my head and rolled me to my back.