by Hailey North
A gash about as wide as the Corgi gaped in the fence.
He swore and plunged toward the opening. He’d never forgive himself if something had happened to that pesky dog. As annoying as she could be, Flynn realized he’d been smitten by her ever-friendly, tirelessly active personality.
After his brother’s death, he’d thought he’d never want to see a dog again.
And damned if he hadn’t fallen for this Corgi.
Just as he’d fallen for Sami.
Flynn heard his slacks rip as they snagged on a nail, felt the quick sting as the nail opened his skin and even as the pain hit, he admitted to himself that if it hadn’t been for Sami, he wouldn’t feel this way about her pain-in-the-ass dog.
Sami brought him to life.
Sami challenged him to consider possibilities he’d closed off.
Sami made him a better person.
For all these reasons and so much more, he loved Sami. He loved her.
Flynn clapped his hands to his head, looking in every direction, still calling Ruby.
He loved Sami and yet he’d run away from trying to win her.
Car lights rounded a curve in the road and in the arc of illumination, Flynn spotted movement near the edge of the pavement, and heard the piercing Corgi bark.
He plunged across the low growth, shouting Ruby’s name.
The dog ran into the road.
Flynn ran after her.
The last thing he heard as he tripped and fell forward onto the road was the shriek of brakes, metal biting metal, and a wildly barking dog.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Chase paused inside the living room, Sami still in his arms.
“I think I should carry you to your bed,” he said, sounding more practical than amorous.
Sami sighed and agreed. It was easier to agree than to explain. She’d insisted she was fine to walk up the stairs on her own, but he’d overruled her. He moved down the hall and she pointed to the lavender bedroom, where he set her down on top of the covers.
“I was hoping for a different end to our evening,” he said, “but the most important thing is for you to feel better.”
Sami felt another twinge of guilt.
He sat beside her and put an arm around her shoulders. “Promise you’ll call me if you feel worse?”
She nodded.
He brushed a kiss across her forehead, lifted her left hand and kissed her ring finger.
And in that moment Sami knew she had to tell him how she felt. She couldn’t let him go forward. She couldn’t risk him proposing. What if she gave in and said yes, knowing she didn’t feel the way she should—the way she knew in her heart and mind she should feel about the man she would marry?
Even if it meant she never achieved her goal, she had to be herself with Chase, in all her flaws and faults. She couldn’t let Chase go on thinking she felt exactly the way about him that he said he did about her.
She took a deep breath. “There’s something I need to say.”
“Sure,” he said. “I hope you can tell me anything that’s on your mind, at any time.”
“Oh, Chase,” she said, pulling away from his arm and sitting sideways on the bed so she faced him. Then she leaned over and switched on the bedside lamp. She wanted him to be able to see her face clearly. “I understand that these several sentences may come as a bit of a surprise to you and may in fact be not at all welcome, but within the depths of my being I know—“
“Sami, just spit it out.” He said it gently, to her relief.
“You and I are not perfect for each other.” She watched his expression. She could sense he was about to object, so she held up a hand. “Let me talk first.”
He nodded.
“I live and work in New Orleans. You seem to assume the only option for us would be for me to give that up and move here.”
“My practice is here,” he said.
“That’s a statement of your priorities, Chase, not a discussion,” Sami took a deep breath. “Tonight at dinner I realized you feel much more strongly about me than I do about you. I do not want to hurt you or lead you on, but the hints about the family heirloom and the way you keep touching my ring finger, it’s not fair for me not to say something.”
“But we are perfect.” He looked annoyed and hurt. “You’re the woman I’ve been waiting for all my life. All my buddies are married. I’ve been a best man more times than I can count. Then Vonnie tells me about you and bam.” He reached for her hands. “I’m a goner. All I want is to make you happy because you make me very, very happy.”
Sami sighed. What she wouldn’t give to be able to return his feelings. But she couldn’t. And it wasn’t Chase’s fault.
If she hadn’t met Flynn before Vonnie set her up with Chase, she might be sporting Chase’s heirloom ring by the end of the week.
But she had.
And dammit, whether she wanted to admit it or not, Flynn had worked his way into her heart and made it impossible for her to fall in love with Chase.
And if it hadn’t been for Flynn and his cute girl coaching, Chase might not have gone out with her more than once.
And she’d still be Samantha Pepper, queen of the one-date-only franchise.
“Sami?”
“Sorry,” she said. She put her hands over his and turned them palms up. “I think we both had a checklist in our heads, of traits for our perfect mate. I check all the boxes on your list and you check all the boxes on mine.”
“Like I said—" Chase began.
She placed a kiss on one of his palms. “Remember that first night we went to dinner?”
“Of course.”
“And you couldn’t get away fast enough?”
“That’s not true,” he said.
“You may as well admit it,” Sami said with a soft smile. “I almost always scare my dates off. I talk too much. I get tangled up in my sentences and my insecurities and the drilled-in necessity to appear perfect, and it makes me a mess on the outside. You liked me a lot better the other times because I pretended to be cute and bubbly and perfect.”
“I like you period.” He sounded stubborn. Then he pulled his hands free. “There’s someone else, isn’t there?”
“No,” Sami said. She had to be honest with herself. No matter how she felt about Flynn, he wasn’t in her life.
“Then there’s hope for me,” Chase said. He got up from the bed, kissed her cheek and straightened. “I’ll put Mam off. Push back our next dinner with your parents. Give you time to relax into the idea of how perfect we are together.”
Before she could protest, he strode out of the room. She heard the outer door open and close.
And no Corgi barked.
She jumped off the bed. Sure enough, only Rusty and Shelby were in the living room. It wasn’t like Ruby to lag behind the pack, unless, of course, she was with Flynn inside the pool house. Sami drew a determined breath. This wasn’t about her; it was about making sure Ruby was safe. Feeling vaguely duplicitous, she waited until she heard Chase’s car start and drive off, then grabbed a flashlight from the kitchen and marched down the steps, across the yard, over the pool decking, to the pool house. She knocked on the closed door.
No bark.
No answer.
A sense of danger hit her then. Something was wrong. She called Ruby’s name and paused to listen. She ran up the stairs two at a time, found her phone and texted Flynn, and then headed for the path to the woods. They’d probably gone for a walk. One would have to be blind not to have noticed Flynn had bonded with the bark-happy Corgi.
No bark. No return text from Flynn. Sami hurried along the path, continuing to call Ruby for a short way, and then realized she should go back and get Shelby to track the Corgi. As she ran back into the apartment, she realized, despite her concerns for Ruby, how much better she felt that she’d told Chase the truth of her feelings.
When Flynn came to, something wet and sticky was running a determined route over his face, from chin to forehead. He sl
owly opened his eyes.
Ruby was standing on his chest and licking his face.
“Thank God,” Flynn said. He lifted his head. And immediately put it down again.
“He’s awake,” a strange voice said.
“Jesus, have mercy,” another unknown voice said.
Wherever he was, the bed was damn hard. Flynn felt around. Not a bed. Blacktop. “Am I lying in the road?”
“Don’t worry; we’ve got our blinkers on. What made you run out like a deer being chased by a coyote?”
“Looking for this lost dog,” Flynn said. He lifted his arms, which thankfully worked normally, and hugged the Corgi.
“Yeah, well, it almost cost you your life,” the first voice said. “Make a pretty good commercial for these Michelins.”
“Not to mention your brakes,” Flynn said. “Look, I’ll just sit up and get out of the road.”
“Not till the ambulance comes,” said the second voice.
“I don’t need a stinking ambulance.” Flynn wiggled the toes of both feet, raised his head again and flexed his fingers. “Your car is a good inch short of my body. So why’d I hit the ground?”
“I reckon you tripped over the dog.”
Ruby barked and licked Flynn’s face again.
“Did you see the dog?”
“Nope. Saw you. So I reckon you saved the little mutt’s life.”
Flynn rubbed Ruby’s head. “Guess that’s good karma,” he murmured, thinking of the irony of Sean’s death caused by trying not to hit a dog.
Flynn heard a car screech to a halt. A car door opened and slammed shut. A man’s voice called, “I’m a doctor.”
Flynn peered into the darkness. That voice was familiar. Damn familiar. That Guy?
He could swear that was his voice. But why was he here? He was in Sami’s apartment, in Sami’s bed, in Sami’s arms.
“How long have I been lying here?” Flynn asked, blinking against a sudden light as That Guy leaned over him, shining a beam into his eyes.
“Just a few minutes,” the first voice said. “It all happened real fast.”
A few minutes? Flynn frowned. “You didn’t stay with Sami?”
The light switched off. “Oh, it’s you,” That Guy said.
Despite the pain moving his head caused, Flynn struggled to a seated position, keeping one hand tight on Ruby’s collar. “’fraid so,” he said. “Can you answer my question?”
A siren wailed, closer and closer.
“If I do, will you get in the ambulance?”
“After I take Ruby home,” Flynn said.
That Guy kicked at a pebble on the road. “She wasn’t feeling well and needed her rest. Concussions do that, in case you didn’t know.”
“Know more about those than I want to,” Flynn said. But at least That Guy wasn’t with Sami. That thought gave him the strength to start to get up.
Chase put a hand on his shoulder. “Take it easy.”
The ambulance pulled up, lights flashing. The EMTs jumped out.
“Take me back there?” Flynn asked Chase.
“She will appreciate knowing her dog is fine. But I’m happy to take the pooch. You can go straight to the hospital.”
Flynn shook his head and winced. He reached a hand toward Chase. “Help me up.”
“Against my medical advice,” Chase said, but gave him his hand. “And for your information, she told me there’s no one else.”
“I may be crazy,” Flynn said, “but I think the field is tilted in my direction.”
Ruby barked.
“I’m not stepping aside,” Chase said. “She’s perfect for me.”
“I’ve got to be going,” the first voice said. “No harm, no foul, right?”
“Dog’s good. I’m good,” Flynn said. “Thanks for stopping.”
The EMTs were looking from Flynn to Chase. “You two through yakking?”
“I’m Dr. Carpenter,” Chase said. “Follow me in that ambulance and I’ll turn your patient over to you.”
“That’s highly irregular.”
Chase shrugged. “Nothing’s been normal this entire evening.”
Flynn managed to get the Corgi into Chase’s car. Other than a bump on the back of his head that felt about the size of a soccer ball, and a line of blood oozing from where he’d run into the fence nail, he didn’t feel so bad.
Ruby barked as Chase turned the car around.
As a matter of fact, Flynn felt pretty damn good. Sami might never forgive him for running away after they’d made love. Or she might give him a second chance. One could hope. After all, he was still alive. And he wasn’t going down without a fight.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Sami had never tried to track anyone with Shelby, and as it turned out the Labrador was much more interested in a possum it startled from behind a tree than keeping nose to ground until they found Ruby. The darkness was soon so complete Sami could see little beyond the small beam of her flashlight. Almost in tears, she headed back to the garage apartment, hoping that she’d find the Corgi barking at the door, demanding to be let in.
With a surge of optimism, she broke into as fast of a walk-jog as she dared on the path. A second black eye she did not need. As she made her way around to the front of the garage, a car approached, followed by what looked like an ambulance. Sami hurried forward.
The car stopped. Both the driver’s door and the front passenger door opened. Chase and Flynn? In the same car? Then Flynn opened a back door and Ruby, barking at top volume, dashed towards Sami.
Sami dropped to the ground, hugging her dog. Both men were walking toward her. Sami rose, looking from one to the other.
Chase stepped up and put an arm around her. “I knew you would be sick with worry when you realized Ruby was missing.”
“Of course,” Sami said, hugging him back in her relief to have the dog returned. “Thank you!”
Flynn bent down and the Corgi ran to him. Sami thought she heard a groan as Flynn lowered his head.
“Where did you find her?”
“She got through the fence where a tree had smashed it,” Flynn said. “I found her near the road.”
“That’s one way of describing it,” Chase said.
Sami pulled free from his arm. “What does that mean?”
Flynn looked up, a scowl on his face. “It means the dogs need to be on leash until we get the fence repaired.”
“We?” Chase said, an edge in his voice.
“Is there an echo out here?” Flynn said, as he rose slowly to his feet.
A man stepped out of the ambulance. “You ‘bout ready?”
“Why is there an ambulance following you, Chase?”
He shook his head. “Not me. Him.”
“You’re hurt,” Sami said, moving next to Flynn. “I can sense it. I also have a distinct intuitive feeling that neither one of you is telling me the truth of what happened.”
Flynn shrugged. Winced. “I tripped. The doc here insists I have to ride in that overgrown limo with the lights and siren.”
“Oh, what the hell,” Chase said. “He saved your dog’s life.”
“Flynn! I can’t thank you enough.” Sami hugged him. He didn’t move a muscle, certainly didn’t return the gesture.
“It was nothing,” Flynn said, stepping out of her hug.
“Time’s up,” the paramedic said, walking toward Flynn with an air of purpose. “Kiss the lady good-bye and come along. Or kiss the dog. Or both. Just quit flapping your lips.”
“After you,” Flynn said to Chase. “I’m not leaving till you leave.”
“What is wrong with you two?” Sami looked from one to the other. “You’re acting like two dogs snarling over a bone. Flynn, you’re obviously hurt. And Chase, you need to go home.”
“Sami—“
“Out,” Sami said. “Both of you. I appreciate that you have rescued Ruby and returned her to me, and I will appreciate it even more if you will leave me in peace.” She took a deep breath.
“I’ll call you tomorrow, Sami,” Chase said. He hesitated, but to Sami’s relief, he didn’t try to kiss her good-night. Maybe he’d understood she was serious about what she’d told him earlier. Or maybe he didn’t want to be rebuffed in front of Flynn.
“Tell Kyle about the fence,” Flynn said. He turned and walked with the paramedic toward the ambulance. He stumbled and almost fell.
Sami ran forward. “You’re hurt. Really hurt.”
He lifted his eyes and gave her a hint of a smile. “It’s nothing,” he said, then fainted.
The paramedic caught him, opened the back doors and the other EMT dashed around. “We’ll take care of him,” the man said. “He saved your dog’s life. It’s the least we can do to patch him up.”
Sami put a hand against her mouth. Flynn had downplayed his version. Sweet, considerate, thoughtful Flynn. She dashed at her eyes, blinking away tears as the EMTs lifted Flynn into the back of the ambulance, one stayed with him and the driver headed for the front. “We’re taking him to Vanderbilt, if you want to come.”
Sami shook her head. Flynn didn’t want her hovering over him. Flynn didn’t want her in his life. He’d saved her dog out of the goodness of his soul, not to impress her.
She walked slowly toward Chase’s car, where he was standing with the door open.
“I told him to get into the ambulance but he insisted on coming here first,” Chase said. “He has a contusion of at least 1.1 centimeters on the back of his head and blood running down his leg from an incision of unknown origin. Another few seconds and the car would have taken him out upon impact. The dog, too.”
“If the car didn’t hit him, how did he get hurt?”
“Said he tripped over the dog.”
“Oh, my,” Sami said. “I feel responsible.”
“Don’t,” Chase said. “Because you’re not. You should check on the hole in the fence, though.”
