Aiden looked up and there, behind the behemoth, was the dog woman, striding toward them, her step long and strong in dusty boots, her legs lean and firm in tight jeans. Her hair was knotted in a messy ponytail at the back of her head and there was a smudge of dirt across one cheek.
“Dr. Mac, nice to see you again.”
She lifted a hand and swiped at the dust on her face.
“He just finished evaluating our baby preparedness,” said Olivia.
A line appeared between Haylee’s eyebrows. She shoved her hands deep into her pockets, her shoulders tight. “We’re not prepared,” she said. “At all.”
“Actually, you’re perfect,” said Aiden. “Two thumbs up.”
“That’s great news, Aiden,” Olivia said. “We’re looking forward to having her here. Aren’t we, Haylee?”
Haylee chewed at the corner of her lip and looked toward the barn door. “Of course.” Aiden watched with interest as she attempted to neutralize her expression. She was lying, he guessed.
“Dr. Mac’s also interested in your dogs.” Olivia laid a gentle hand on Haylee’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “I’ll let you take it from here, Haylee.”
The change in Haylee was immediate.
“You’d like to adopt one?” she asked.
“Maybe.”
“As a pet? Or one with more specialized training?”
He held up her business card. “I don’t know. Someone suggested you and since I was coming out here anyway, I thought I’d look into it.”
“Glad to hear it. Who referred you?”
Aiden followed her to a small room that overlooked the training yard. It had glass on two sides, giving her a view of the boarding kennels that ran along the left side, and the open area they’d just vacated.
One exterior wall showed pink insulation around the window. The other walls were drywalled but unfinished, the seams roughly patched, with clumps of compound begging to be sanded. Painting supplies were half covered by a drop cloth in the corner. In a patch of sunshine by the window lay Haylee’s big brown dog. She lifted her head at their arrival, then got to her feet to greet them, rubbing against his legs and licking his hands with her warm tongue.
“Someone at work.” He massaged the dog’s ears. “You’re a friendly girl, aren’t you?” He had no desire to tell Haylee about his issues. But he couldn’t avoid the fact that she’d already seen him in the grip of a flashback.
“That’s enough, Jewel.” She shooed the dog away and then gestured to her desk, which was actually an old door resting on a pair of short metal filing cabinets, with a rolling chair between them. “We’ll talk first, then visit the kennels. Grab a seat if you can find it.” She rummaged in a box on the floor before coming up with several rolls of utility tape.
He watched her wrap blue and red and green strips around the lengths of white plastic.
“These are jumps for my agility course,” she explained. “The dogs love it. I make most of my own equipment.”
A strand of hair fell across her cheek and she tucked it behind her ear. Her fingers were long, her nails short and unpainted, her movements sure and graceful. He remembered the surprising strength of her grip.
He brought his attention back with an effort. “What’s the tape for?”
“Color contrast so the dogs can see them better. Was it Gayle?”
He looked up in surprise, then relaxed. “I forgot that you know Gayle. Yeah, she’s the one who mentioned you.”
“Was there a specific reason?”
She worked the tape onto the plastic as if precise matching of the edges was the most important thing in her world, the inflection of her voice steady, implacable. Aiden hated being at a disadvantage and since the moment they’d met, Haylee’d had the upper hand.
He was used to being the one in charge, the one with the control, but in their few interactions so far, he’d revealed more than enough weakness.
“I have my suspicions.” He leaned closer and lowered his voice. “I think she’s setting us up.”
Haylee’s lips twitched. She glanced up and blinked once, slowly. “Really. You’re here to hit on me.”
“You intrigue me. Is that so hard to believe?”
“Hm.” She met his eyes then, gazing back as if taking his measure, testing him for authenticity. She pursed her lips, took a deep breath and said, finally, “If it was Olivia or Daphne, I’d guess a set-up. But not Gayle.”
He opened his mouth to protest, but she lifted a finger to shush him and carried on.
“If she sent you here, she must think you have need for the kind of dogs I train.”
He stood up and walked around the side of the desk, crossing his arms to match her posture. “Olivia and Daphne want to set us up? Well, we can’t disappoint them, can we?”
“Cool your jets, lover-boy. I haven’t forgotten that beach episode. What’s going on with you? And, in case you’re wondering, I haven’t mentioned it to anyone. Though maybe I should have.”
Surprise stilled the banter on his tongue. Gratitude warmed his heart.
“Thank you for that, Haylee,” he said. “Not my best moment.”
Her expression softened. “Come on, Aiden. Are you just here to flirt? Or are you actually interested in getting a dog?”
“Can’t it be both?”
“I can’t help you if you aren’t straight with me. And you can bet I won’t go out with you, for the same reason. Why did Gayle suggest you get a therapy dog? What happened? Did you strip naked and start pole dancing on the nursing station? Black out? Run with scissors? Just tell me.”
She’d finished with the pipes now and stood up, facing him, a glint in her blue eyes, her lips pressed together in a mock grimace of apology.
“I got lost after naked pole dancing. What are my choices, again?”
She rolled her eyes and stacked the poles in a corner. “You’re impossible. When you’re ready to talk, let me know. Otherwise, I’ve got chores to do.”
All bantering was gone now. She was dismissing him. For a few moments, he thought they’d had a connection, but he’d ruined it by not taking her seriously. Yes, he was interested in her.
And yes, Gayle had suggested a dog.
He’d come to the coast for a change, hadn’t he? If he left the ranch without at least exploring Gayle’s recommendation, where would he be? Exactly where he’d been for the past few weeks. Stuck.
“Haylee, wait. You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m . . . going through something right now. I’m not myself. It’s not an excuse, but I apologize.”
She paused in the doorway, her eyebrows raised expectantly.
“And Gayle sent you here because. . . .”
Defeated, he pushed the words out before he could change his mind. “I had a case last week. MVA. Mom, two kids. Apparently, according to Gayle at least, I went slightly . . . catatonic. For a moment or two. It’s . . . uh . . . related to some earlier stuff I thought I’d dealt with.”
“Catatonic’s not good. What happened?”
He looked out the window, where a couple of boys barely out of adolescence moved a wheelbarrow across the yard, one pushing, the other balancing the feed bags piled on top. He had one more shot at patching up his own reputation. Gayle said Haylee was discreet, that she dealt with a wide variety of people with sensitivity and understanding.
He really wanted to succeed at Sunset Bay. He wanted to be well, to finally come to terms with Garret’s death and move on. Or at least, start sleeping again. Gayle thought this could help. So what the hell? He felt like he was standing on the precipice of a steep, rocky cliff, about to take that first step.
“She said I froze. And I did. She’s absolutely right.”
“Did you make a mistake?” Haylee’s voice was softer now.
He gave a gentle huff of laughter. “You want the full list?”
“I mean with the case. Did you hurt anyone? Miss anything?”
“My team covered for me.” Humiliation crawled over his s
kin again at the thought.
“Thank you, Aiden. That’s helpful. And it corroborates what Gayle told me.”
His jaw dropped. “You already knew? Why the hell the questions, then?”
“I can’t work with someone I can’t trust. Now, tell me why you want a dog.”
He held out his hands, already regretting talking about it. “Is there an application I can fill out or something? Gayle Chen thinks a dog will help with my nightmares. If you think otherwise, we could both save ourselves the aggravation and time and cut this off right now.”
Haylee tipped her head to one side. “Nightmares?”
Oops. He looked away. “They’re no big deal.”
“Related to car accidents?”
He huffed out a breath. “Would you like a scalpel blade? I’m pretty much wide open here, Haylee. If you want to hear more, how about you agree to have coffee with me? It’s only fair.”
“Fair?” She put her hands on her hips and surveyed him again, amusement warming her eyes. “Dinner would be fair, but only if you’re buying.”
Something inside his chest expanded, as if she really had laid him bare, sliced through the bands of scars constricting him and given him room to breathe. “Are you always this annoying?”
She grinned. “You bring out my special side. Come on. You might as well meet the dogs I’m currently working with. They speak for the program way better than I do. Then, we’ll talk about that dinner.”
Chapter Ten
“Only thing that would have made this perfect is if I could have taken Jewel home with me. Love that dog! Oh, and Daphne’s cinnamon rolls. A million stars for those.”
—SanctuaryRanchFanForLife
As they were leaving the kennel office, Jamie arrived, shaking a sheaf of papers. The Fiori family’s special requests, Haylee guessed. But before she could find out if she was right, Jamie stopped, her boots actually skidding on the rough flooring.
“Well, hell-oh!” she said, giving Aiden a frank once-over. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Jamie Vaughn, meet Aiden McCall.” Haylee barely managed to control her eye rolling. “Jamie’s on staff here and is a die-hard dog lover. The monster you saw me working with earlier is here because of her. Dr. McCall is the new emergency room doc at Sunset Bay Memorial, Jamie.”
“We’ve heard all about the legendary Dr. Mac.” She stuck her hand out, and gave Haylee a very unsubtle wink.
“Pleased to meet you, Jamie.” Aiden tipped his head to read the ink on Jamie’s arm. “Cool tattoo.”
Haylee thumbed her own wrist tattoo, a simple, stylized line drawing of a dog’s profile, elegant and meaningful. Aiden hadn’t noticed that, had he?
Jamie lifted her elbow. “This one? Thanks. It’s my motto.”
“Noli sinere nothos te opprimere,” he read, pointing at Jamie’s tanned, toned arm. “Don’t let the bastards get you down. The line shows up in The Handmaid’s Tale if I recall correctly. I like the key underlining it, too. Any significance?”
“I just liked it. I like you, too.” Jamie nodded her approval, as if Aiden was a prime cut of beef Haylee had brought home from the supermarket.
Haylee’s cheeks felt like they were on fire. She grabbed the papers from the girl’s hand and shoved them onto the desk. “Thank you, Jamie. I’ll get to these shortly. Now, Aiden and I are discussing his potentially adopting a dog from us. So, if you don’t mind.”
But instead of taking the hint, Jamie clapped her hands. “Oh! Hannibal. He should definitely take Hannibal. What a pair. Can you imagine them walking down the street? Too gorgeous for words.”
Haylee took Jamie by her tattooed elbow and ushered her to the door. “Is that Daphne calling? That hospital clerk I told you about is coming for dinner tonight. She probably needs your help. Oh well. See you later.”
“Nice to meet you,” Aiden called as Jamie disappeared.
“Sorry about that.” Haylee searched for words that might help her regain her dignity. “Some people here have no sense of boundaries.”
Aiden smiled broadly. “I like her.”
She just bet he did.
“And you have bionic ears, if you could hear someone calling from the lodge,” he added.
“I’m gifted, what can I say? Now, let’s meet your first candidate.”
“That big handsome fellow?”
She laughed. “Hannibal’s about fifty pounds too much dog for you. Twenty pounds of terrier is more your speed.”
But when she opened the door and called Cleo to them, the little dog rushed around the corner, took one look at Aiden, and pulled up short. A low growl rumbled in her throat and the hair on the back of her neck spiked around her collar.
“Cleo!” said Haylee, shocked. She snapped her fingers to get the dog’s attention, then had her do a few simple tasks to remind her who was boss.
“Sit on the floor,” she instructed Aiden, putting some treats into his hand. “You’re intimidating her.”
“I highly doubt that.” Aiden frowned but lowered himself.
“Look away from her. Toss her a treat but make it look like an accident. These are her favorites.”
Aiden did as she said, but it took several tries before one landed near enough for Cleo to reach out her head and snatch it off the floor. She gave Aiden a baleful look, then dashed out of the room with her prize.
“She’s perfect,” he said. “I’ll take her.”
“Hilarious.” Haylee was mystified and a little embarrassed. There was nothing in Cleo’s file to indicate that she disliked men. She tried to recall if the dog had reacted similarly to Huck or Gideon, but couldn’t be sure she’d even met them. But she’d definitely interacted with Tyler and Duke and neither of the boys had mentioned anything.
“Even my ex-mother-in-law never gave me such death eyes.” Aiden shuddered. “Don’t worry about it, Haylee. No one can bat a hundred all the time. Maybe one of the others will take a shine to me. A bigger one, hopefully.”
Haylee’s mind had gotten stuck on the ex-mother-in-law comment. “You were married?”
“Yeah, once.” He frowned, then countered, “How about you?”
“No, never. How long were you married?”
Sorrow flickered over his face, swift but heavy. “Six years. Too long and not long enough.”
She shouldn’t have pressed him. It was none of her business.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to pry.”
“Liar. You’ve been prying the entire time I’ve known you.” He put his hand on her back as she preceded him through the gate, butterfly-light and fleeting, but she felt it all the way to her toes.
She stepped back, pulling her focus away from the doctor with difficulty. It was as if the very iron in her blood had awakened to the sudden magnetism of his presence and now couldn’t be un-awakened.
She yanked open the large-dog enclosure and called all of them. If Aiden wanted to meet a large dog, he might as well meet the entire crew.
Hannibal bounded over, his long legs putting him in the lead. Jewel waded into the bunch, greeting first a sweet setter-cross, then the Border collie, and a Golden retriever with a limp, both of which she was still getting a feel for. A couple of young mixed-breed dogs raced in circles around them while an older German shepherd barked at them and play-bowed an invitation.
It was pandemonium. And it was just the distraction she needed.
“Whoa, Nelly.” Aiden backed up with his hands in the air. He sat down hard on the seat of the picnic table and Hannibal, predictably, flung his front legs over Aiden’s shin and began humping.
Oh, God.
Haylee averted her eyes, pretending she didn’t see. She knew the big dog’s . . . predilection. She should never have let him out. She moved among the other dogs, greeting and patting, hoping Aiden wouldn’t notice the heat she felt on her cheeks. She risked a glance, then wished she hadn’t. Hannibal was clamped on and going for broke. Jewel looked at the scene the way a parent might look at misbehaving children
who were not her own.
Haylee understood the feeling.
“Um.” Aiden gestured vaguely. “A little help here?”
He didn’t seem nearly as embarrassed as she was.
She hauled on the dog’s collar, pulling him off Aiden, but he wriggled free and immediately jumped back on.
“I feel violated. Shouldn’t he be fixed?” Aiden pulled his legs away but the dog had both front limbs clasped tightly around him.
“Sorry, this is him, fixed.” She pulled on the collar again. “You should have seen him before. Testosterone is a poison.”
Stop talking.
“So I’ve heard.” He eyed the dog. “I’m just not that into you, big guy. Hm. Any chance you have a bucket of cold water handy? Or a fire hose?”
“You could cry,” Haylee suggested. “Or talk about your feelings. That usually deflates things pretty quick.”
She put a hand to her face. She’d never be able to look Aiden in the eye again.
But Aiden laughed. “My money’s on the hose. I’ll have to burn these pants, won’t I?” She caught again, hauled harder, and this time, pulled the dog off, the momentum landing her on her butt, with Hannibal on top of her, belly up, his glorious erection flailing in the sun.
Aiden leaped to his feet, pushed the dog away and knelt at her side. “You okay?”
Haylee took the proffered hand and let him help her to her feet. She took a step away from him and dusted off the seat of her jeans, feeling like an idiot. “Fine. You?”
“Peachy. I’m traumatized in a fresh new way. Gayle will be pleased. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked up an appetite. Any chance you’re free for that dinner now?”
* * *
Aiden surprised himself with his own spontaneity, but as soon as he’d said it, he found himself wondering what he could do to convince Haylee to accept.
“I’ve invited Duane for tonight,” she said. “I should eat here.”
“And leave me, already struggling with critical incident distress, to recover from this eventful afternoon alone? Surely you wouldn’t be so heartless.”
She smiled. “Well. I have to check with Daphne first.”
Sunset Bay Sanctuary Page 12
