Take Your Time

by VK Powell

  She stretched her right leg against the bottom step, and an image of the woman she’d chosen last night emerged—soft, curvy body; red hair that filtered through her fingers like silk; eyes the color of wet moss; and a bubbly personality—a lot like Grace. She froze mid-stretch. No. The woman was a lot like any number of other women in the world. Her choice of sexual partner had nothing to do with Grace. She slumped onto the steps. Had she unconsciously chosen this woman because of the similarities? She hadn’t imagined Grace in place of the woman, whose name escaped her.

  After a second of panic, she decided so what? Nothing wrong with a healthy fantasy. What was harmful was thinking about Grace too often, wondering what being with her was like, or wishing for things that couldn’t happen. Dani was a one-and-done kind of woman, and Grace deserved more. Dani pulled the tail of her T-shirt up and wiped the sweat from her face. What did Grace look like under her drab brown and beige uniform? She jumped from the steps and almost bumped into someone walking toward her.

  “You were seriously gone,” Grace said. “I called you twice.”

  “Sorry. Just finished a run. I zone out sometimes. Did you need something?” Seeing Grace in the flesh after fantasizing about her only seconds before seemed weird and caused her body to heat even more. The fresh scent of recently showered skin and lightly fragranced perfume reached her and she almost moaned aloud. Grace would probably taste as good as she smelled. Stop it, Wingate.

  “On my way to breakfast before my tour.” She paused, possibly giving Dani an opportunity to ask to join her, but she didn’t take the bait. “Anything interesting on your run?”

  “Does hallucinating a purple Siamese cat count?”

  Grace grinned. “Not a hallucination.”

  “Seriously? Who dyes a cat?”

  “Doreen Divine-Dot.”

  Dani shook her head. “Am I suffering heat stroke or are you messing with me? Who has a name like that?”

  “The same person who dyes a cat purple. Doreen Divine is our local florist. She married Bob Dot thirty years ago and insisted on hyphenating her last name. They call their shop the Divine-Dot Florist. Original, huh? She’s a great florist though, if you ever need flowers, and she’s a responsible pet owner. She uses organic food dyes to color Snowball.”

  Dani shook her head. “Only in a small town. Does Snowball come in any other colors?”

  “You’ll have to wait and find out with the rest of us. Doreen bathes and colors her every Saturday so she’ll look good for church on Sunday.”

  “Unbelievable.” Dani started toward the house.

  Grace placed her hand lightly on Dani’s arm. “Would you join me for breakfast?”

  “No time.” Dani’s skin came alive under Grace’s fingers, a physical invitation to stay but an emotional warning to move, quickly.

  “We always make time for the things that matter.”

  Grace was exactly right, but Dani couldn’t afford to let Grace matter to her at this point in her life. Her career and future depended on keeping her eye on her goals. Her physical attraction to Grace was strong but irrelevant. She needed to establish a firm boundary. “Grace, I—”

  “Did you have a good evening? I saw you heading out of town on I-95. Savannah?”

  She couldn’t discuss her personal life with Grace, especially not her sex life. That would open a door that could only lead to pain for both, and while she wanted to keep Grace at a distance, she had no desire to hurt her. “I really have to go. I’m running late, and Trip and I are working together today.” She didn’t wait for Grace to respond but could feel her eyes on her as she climbed the steps. She could easily seduce Grace, but it would be so unfair. Dani only went after women who were at the same place she was, and Grace was definitely not there. A sharp twist in her gut registered her disappointment.

  * * *

  Dani’s tight ass looked yummy in Lycra shorts as she climbed the stairs of the B and B. Her legs were lean but muscular and rippled with definition Grace could never hope to achieve. Dani had lowered her T-shirt and Grace got a whiff of her exercise sweat, a scent track Grace couldn’t help but follow. What was happening to her?

  Why had she asked Dani about her visit to Savannah? She’d crossed a line. Despite Dani’s reluctance to talk about anything personal, Grace sensed protectiveness in her tone instead of rejection. Maybe she should listen to Dani. If you listened, people told you who they were when you first met. Maybe Dani was warning her against getting too close, but why?

  Grace’s body slowly cooled and she joined Mary Jane in the kitchen. “Smells good in here. Need any help? I’ve got a few minutes.”

  Hands covered with lard and flour, Mary Jane glanced up from her biscuit making. “Are you okay?”

  “Sure.” Grace quickly turned and reached for a Diet Coke from the fridge.

  “You’re flushed. Not getting sick, are you? There’s a nasty bug going around.”

  “No, MJ. I’m good.”

  “Wouldn’t have anything to do with our new guest, would it? The one who just came in from a run? The one you were sniffing around on the steps?”

  “I was not sniffing. Don’t get any wrong ideas in your head.”

  Mary Jane kept kneading the biscuit dough. “It’s not me who’s getting a wrong idea. Danielle seems like a nice woman, accomplished, with a decent job, but she’s not staying.”

  “How do you know? Has she said something?”

  “Doesn’t need to. I see the light in her eyes when she talks about her life in the city and her job at the zoo. She can’t wait to leave.”

  Grace clutched the Coke bottle tighter. She’d told herself the same thing, but hearing the words aloud made the situation more real. “I’m aware, MJ.” She gave Mary Jane a hug from behind. “Thanks for worrying about me, but it’s really not necessary. Are the other new guests okay? Jamie and Ms. Hemsworth?”

  “Jamie is settling in nicely, but we’re going to need more air freshener for her room if she stays much longer. Little Petunia has a real problem. I had to ask Jamie to keep her out of the kitchen and dining room during meal times. She’ll put the guests off their food. River checked out yesterday and moved over to Eve’s place until her car is fixed. She’s anxious to get back to her life in the city too.”

  Clay would be sorry to hear that. “Sure I can’t help before I go?”

  “Nope. Everything’s under control, but I got the bank statement yesterday. You could balance the checkbook and pay the bills when you have a chance. You know I hate numbers.”

  “Will do.”

  Mary Jane gave her a quick glance. “And grab a ham biscuit. Can’t work on an empty stomach.”

  Grace lifted one of the ham-stuffed biscuits from the platter, held the flaky delicacy out from her uniform shirt, and bent over to take a bite. She moaned as she savored the chewy, salty, floury goodness. “These are the best biscuits in the county. I don’t care what Bud says.”

  “Where do you think he got his recipe for the diner?” She nudged Grace’s shoulder. “Any news from your parents lately? I just remembered today is their wedding anniversary.”

  “Last I heard they were still in Thailand, working on a building project, doing exactly what they love.”

  “Do you miss them, honey?” Mary Jane stopped working the dough and pierced her with one of her tell-me-the-truth stares.

  “Sometimes. You know how it is. Always miss what you don’t have, but I wouldn’t interfere with them living the life they love any more than they’d interfere with me.”

  “This question may come a little late in the piece, but do you ever wish they’d been more traditional parents, more homebodies?”

  She and Mary Jane had talked about most things through the years but never touched on her folks’ parenting style. She rolled the question over in her mind, checking for flaws in her logic. “I don’t believe so. We traveled the world working in underprivileged areas, and I learned a lot about people, their motivations, and things that really matter
in life. And I always knew my parents loved me. So, I’m good with all that.”

  “I’m glad. You turned out to be quite an exceptional woman.” Mary Jane winked and nodded toward the door. “Now, you better get going. I don’t want the sheriff to fire you.”

  “Right. How about saving future heavy conversations for evening cocktails and not first thing in the morning?” She scarfed up the rest of her biscuit, washed it down with Coke, and then grabbed another before heading for her patrol car. “See you later, MJ.”

  Grace checked in with the sheriff at the station before beginning her rounds with a quiet walk down Main Street. She enjoyed the intimacy of small-town policing where she knew everybody, helped with more quality-of-life issues, and worked few serious crimes. She’d made her way to the center of town in front of the library when she spotted Beetle Bledsoe arguing with the librarian.

  “I’ve told you not to come in here when you’re liquored up, Beetle. Now get out. And go by the shelter for a shower and some clean clothes before you come back. You reek.” The stocky man urged Beetle out the door and onto the steps, but he resisted.

  Beetle shook his fist with his usual drunken flare, emphasizing a point but not really threatening. “You got no cause to shove a man out of the library. I’m seeking knowledge.”

  Grace walked up behind Beetle before he realized she was there. She looked toward the librarian to make sure he was okay and, when he nodded, she focused on Beetle. “Hey, man. What’s going on today?” She lightly touched his elbow and helped him navigate the steps to the sidewalk.

  “Nothing, Grace, ’cept I might be a little tiny bit drunk.” He raised a hand and spaced his thumb and forefinger apart slightly, squinting to get the proportion right.

  “Remember what you asked me to do the next time I saw you drunk in public?”

  He pushed a dirty John Deere tractor cap back on his head and scratched his forehead. “Prob’ly not right this minute.”

  “We’ll talk about it on our walk to the station.”

  Beetle pulled away from her and squared off. “No. I ain’t going to jail.”

  Grace let her hands fall unthreateningly to her side. “You’re not going to jail per se, just taking a break.”

  He shoved Grace backward and wobbled away, but she regained her balance and caught him quickly, careful to steady him when she grabbed his belt and tugged. He swung at her, but she ducked, and folks from the library and other shops along Main gathered to watch the highlight of their day.

  “Stop struggling, Beetle. This doesn’t look good. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  He swung again and connected with her ribs between the panels of her vest. The air gushed out of her lungs, and she took a minute to recover while Beetle staggered off. “That’s it.” She caught up to him, yanked his arms behind his back, and clicked the cuffs in place. “I tried to do this the easy way.” Her car was at the other end of town, and she reached for her walkie-talkie, but before she could make the call, Jamie slid her patrol vehicle up to the sidewalk.

  “Need a lift, boss?”

  Grace handed Beetle off to Jamie and stood back while she carefully searched and placed him in the back seat. “Let him sleep it off. No charges.”

  “But I saw him hit you, Sarge. That’s assault on a government official,” Jamie said.

  “He’d never do that if he wasn’t drunk. When he sobers up, I’ll talk to him.”

  “Okay. You’re the boss.” Jamie made a U-turn on Main and drove toward the station.

  Grace brushed the front of her uniform, and when she looked up, Dani Wingate stood across the street staring at her, a mixture of anger and total disgust on her face. Grace started toward her, but before she could cross the street, Dani got in her fancy car and sped out of town in the direction of the vet clinic.

  Great. She already had an attitude toward cops, and Grace’s manhandling of Beetle probably hadn’t softened her perception.

  * * *

  “Dani, you here?”

  “In the back,” Dani said.

  Trip opened the door to the laboratory where they did everything from nail clipping to anesthetizing for simple surgeries. “Should’ve known. I can follow Michelle’s scent through the whole building.” She stepped back, fanning the air with her hands. “Jeez, Michelle, I told you about wearing a ton of that crap to work. We’ll have lawsuits coming out our backsides for traumatizing the animals. Go wash that mess off, right now.”

  Michelle huffed and rolled her eyes before strutting toward the restroom.

  “Thanks for that,” Dani said. “My eyes were starting to water. I felt bad for the animals.”

  “I like to run a relaxed but professional business. I told that girl when I hired her to leave that odor and her flirting at home. How’s that going?”

  Dani shrugged, unwilling to jeopardize Michelle’s job because of her own discomfort.

  “She obviously didn’t listen to the first part of my advice, so I’m guessing she’s been on the prowl and you just don’t want to say.” Trip patted Dani on the shoulder. “Never figured a Northern girl for tact and diplomacy.”

  “She’s pretty good with clients, and I can handle myself. But that eau de awful perfume she bathes in has to go.” The small Boston whose wound Dani had been checking sneezed in agreement before she lifted him off the table and put him back in his kennel.

  Trip nodded toward the back door. “Let’s take a walk and get some fresh air.” She held the door for Dani, then led them toward the barn where the horses were stabled. “So, how are things going?”

  “Fine.”

  Trip let the silence hang between them, but when Dani didn’t say anything else, Trip prodded. “You’re not much of a talker, are you?”

  “If I have something to say.”

  “And you don’t have anything to say other than fine? I hired you because of your extensive experience and great references. I’m asking you for an evaluation. The large animal part of the practice is my main interest, but the small animal clinic is the moneymaker. Any changes you’d recommend for efficiency and better care in that area? Any other equipment or supplies we need? Do we have enough staff? I value your professional opinion.”

  “Oh…you mean work things.”

  Trip stopped halfway to the barn. “Look, Dani, I like you, but I don’t get involved in my employees’ lives, unless they ask for advice. And it’s obvious you’re not asking. So yes, as a vet, any suggestions?”

  Dani’s shoulders relaxed and she felt less stressed as she answered. “It’s a good clinic. You’ve got plenty of exam rooms in the main building and sufficient stalls in the barn. You could even expand if you wanted. Your equipment is top-of-the-line, and you’re located conveniently to facilities in Savannah if you need a specialist. It’s all good.”

  Trip smiled, nodded toward the barn, and started walking again. “Thanks. Do you have time to help me with a castration before you head out?”

  “Sure.” Dani collected the necessary equipment and followed Trip into the stall.

  When the anesthesia buckled the knees of the six-month-old colt, Trip pushed him over, and Dani shoved the ten-inch surgery pad against his feet from the other side. The smoothly coordinated maneuver felt like they’d been working together for years. The rest of the surgery was quick and equally synchronized. Trip’s technique was efficient and confident, handling this family pet as gently as she’d managed a show horse days before. She never cut corners or lost focus, and Dani admired her professionalism.

  The colt slept soundly on his side, with Dani monitoring his vitals while Trip performed the routine surgery and then fed the medicine into his vein to wake him. Trip stepped back to wait for the moment they’d help the colt to his feet.

  “So, are you going to come?”

  Dani blinked up at her. “Sorry?”

  “My cookout. Tomorrow. It’s an annual thing. Lesbians from two states will be there, along with some of the gay-friendly community.”

  “
I’ll probably go to Savannah. You know, for the clubs and women.”

  “Grace will be at the cookout.” The comment floated like a pleasant aroma waiting to settle. “Jolene at the diner said you two had a nice chat the other day.”

  Dani rolled her eyes. “We sat beside each other at the counter. Only seat in the place.”

  Trip raised her hands in surrender. “I’m just saying, she’ll be there and she’s good people. You couldn’t do better if you’re looking to make friends around here, and I hope you will. I’m only suggesting friendship because she’s a close friend of mine, and I’m protective.”

  “Don’t worry. Grace is safe. I’m not exactly the relationship type.”

  “Your loss, but that’s probably a good decision. You likely see this job as a step in your career, so you wouldn’t be right for her. But come to the cookout anyway. You’ll know at least a few people—me, Grace, and Michelle. There’ll be lots of women, and several of the clinic’s best horse clients I’d like you to meet. Grace and I can introduce you around.”

  Dani shook her head. “Thanks for the offer though.”

  “My cookouts are a huge event. The Savannah crowd will all be here so the clubs are likely to be shy on prospects. Think about it?”

  Dani nodded and started toward the clinic. “I better get back to work.”

  Chapter Seven

  Grace took a quick shower after her shift then walked to the B and B for supper and to work on the books. She’d tried to convince Mary Jane that a B and B only provided bed and breakfast, not supper as well, but she argued cooking for everyone was as easy as cooking for just the two of them. Grace had given up the fight a year ago, and the B and B had been fully booked ever since.