by Amy Lillard
“Hey, I need to know—whoa.”
She pulled herself from JD’s embrace as Travis took off his paint splattered hat and looked at them, one then the other. A huge grin spread across his face.
She tugged on the bottom of her shirt, while JD adjusted the waistband of his jeans. “We just…” she started, but didn’t know how to finish that sentence. She let it trail off into the awkward moment.
“I, uh…I’ll be upstairs painting. But I won’t go into the attic. If you want to…uh…I’ll just be uh, going.” He slapped his hat across his thigh, his grin widening as he backed out of the room.
“I’m not sure how to respond to that.” Why did she feel like she had been caught necking in the backseat of the car. She turned to JD.
He stood with his head down, his hand pressed against the bridge of his nose. She had no idea how he felt, until she saw his shoulders start to shake.
“You think this is funny?”
He wiped his eyes. “Yeah, I do.”
She pressed her lips together. “I don’t see what’s so funny about it.”
He swung her into his arms and deposited her on the kitchen counter. She was compliant in her surprise, and before she knew it, he was nestled between her thighs and kissing her once again. “Are you worried Travis will tell your mama?” he teased.
She shook her head, her protests lost in his kiss.
“You wanna go to the attic?”
“Be serious, JD.”
“I am being serious.” He kissed her again.
“Not with Travis in the house.”
“I’ll go fire him.” He started away from her, but Elizabeth grabbed a handful of his shirt and pulled him back. “How about we just wait until he goes home?”
“Or we could do that.” He laughed, then planted another kiss on her lips.
And Elizabeth began the countdown until when they could sneak away to the attic.
****
Elizabeth stared out the window at the storm clouds rolling in. It wasn’t raining yet, but that was only a matter of time.
As she gazed out over the yard, the stray dog sauntered into view. At least she wasn’t as wet this time and not as skittish, allowing Elizabeth to get a better look at her. The pooch seemed healthy enough, though it was hard to tell with the amount of fur she had. Maybe Elizabeth wasn’t the only one in the neighborhood slipping food to the stray.
She smiled at the black and white dog, then went back into the kitchen and grabbed the cold hamburger from the night before and a paper plate off the stack on the cabinet.
“Hey, pretty baby,” Elizabeth crooned, easing out onto the porch.
The dog lifted her nose and sniffed, obviously catching wind of the food Elizabeth carried.
She set it on the white rock walk that led from the house to the mailbox and backed away to sit on the porch. The dog took a few hesitant steps toward the meal, pausing every couple or so to warily look at Elizabeth.
Two feet away and hunger overtook her mistrust. She wolfed down the left-over burger as if it were a grand meal. Elizabeth supposed to the mutt it was.
“You’re going to need some water.” She rose from her seat, and the dog tucked tail and ran almost to the street, before turning around to see what Elizabeth had planned.
She found an old metal bowl under the sink. She rinsed it and filled it with water.
The first fat raindrops started to fall as Elizabeth set the water near the empty plate. She gave the dejected dog one last look before returning to the house. With any luck, the dog would come onto the porch for shelter, but Elizabeth knew she would have to be gone before that would happen.
As the screen door slammed behind her, her cell phone chimed. It was probably Nate. She had texted him earlier to let him know that she’d be in Texas for a while longer. She hadn’t told him why, but he was a smart man and could figure that out on his own.
“Hello?” she answered without bothering to check the ID screen.
“Is it raining over there?”
JD.
“It just started.” She ignored the tingles his voice sent through her. He was like a fever.
“I checked the forecast. Tomorrow’s looking clear.”
“Good. Much more rain and this paint is never going to dry.”
“I’ve got to check on another job in the morning. I should be there about noon. Want me to bring you some lunch?”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“That wasn’t the question, Bethie Grace.”
“Lunch would be great. Whatever you want is fine.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. JD cleared his throat. “I’ll see ya tomorrow.”
****
Elizabeth watched as JD pulled his truck into the drive just after noon. As promised he carried a paper sack from a local sandwich shop along with a familiar green and white sack from Cupcakes.
“I hope that’s part of Ginger’s new lunch menu and not coffeecake.”
JD smiled, and Elizabeth felt it all the way to her toes. “I wish Cupcakes served lunch. No, what we have here is lunch and cookies.”
He loped up the steps like he belonged there and set the sacks on the table that crouched between the two willow rockers. “You want to eat out here?”
“Sure.” Elizabeth sat down, opening the sack containing their drinks.
“I got us both iced tea. There’s sweetener down in there somewhere.” He fished around until he found the wax paper envelope containing the packets of sweetener and sugar.
Elizabeth unwrapped a straw and punched it through the milky plastic lid.
“I wasn’t sure what kind of sandwich you’d want. The girl there suggested the low-fat tuna salad with bean sprouts.” He handed her the sandwich.
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
And it did sound good, but when he pulled out his meal, her mouth watered. “What is that?”
“Italian sub.”
“Tell me,” Elizabeth asked around a bite of tuna. “Why did you get me the healthy sandwich while you got the salami and pepperoni?”
“You girls are always worried about your weight and stuff. I figured you’d want something light.”
“That’s a very sexist view.”
JD held out his sandwich toward her. “You want to trade?”
She shook her head.
He smirked.
“You think you’re smart, huh?”
“Smart enough to not survive off bean sprouts.”
She didn’t have a comeback for that, so she took a big bite to avoid looking stumped. Not that she was fooling him any. JD chuckled, shaking his head with another flash of a smile.
It was the truth. There was no way a man’s man like JD Carmichael could survive off of LA fare. He was steak and potatoes while she was an odd mixture of quiche and barbeque.
An unfamiliar sound captured her attention. “Did you hear that?”
JD shook his head.
“Shh…There it is again.” She crept down the stairs, careful to make as little noise as possible.
“I hear it.” JD stood and balled up his wrapper before tossing it into one of the sacks. “It sounds like a baby.”
Elizabeth knelt down at the front of the porch where a loose board led to the crawlspace under the house. “Or a puppy.” She looked to JD and couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face. “I think there’re puppies under here.”
“Whose puppies?”
“Hey, girl,” she crooned, tearing a piece off her sandwich and offering it into the darkness of the crawlspace. The mama dog whined and inched her way to the opening. It was the same black and white dog Elizabeth had seen before. At the time she had thought the dog healthy for a stray, now she realized the weight had come in the form of puppies.
JD came down the stairs, and the mama’s eyes turned down into a doggie frown of worry.
“Should we leave her under there?”
“I don’t see as we have much choice.” He crou
ched down next to Elizabeth. The mama dog growled a low warning.
“It’s okay, girl. You’re safe here.” He reached out a hand to let the dog smell him.
The canine reacted with lightning speed.
She struck JD and retreated, whining and growling while JD was left cradling his hand in his lap.
“Did she bite you?”
He nodded, slowly holding his arm up and inspecting the damage.
“JD,” Elizabeth gasped. Blood covered his hand. A jagged bite tore his thumb and the fleshy part of his palm.
He winced. “She’s a very protective mother.”
“We have to get you to the hospital.”
She took off the bandana she had wound over her hair that morning and tied it around his arm like a tourniquet.
“Bethie Grace, I’m not dying.”
“That looks bad.”
JD scoffed. “I’ve cut myself worse shaving.”
“Quit being a tough manly man. That needs stitches.”
He looked down at the bleeding tear and nodded, albeit reluctantly. “Maybe.”
“Maybe, my foot.”
Just then Travis pulled his truck alongside the curb in front of the house and parked.
“Travis.” Elizabeth took JD by the elbow and steered him toward his truck. “There’s a stray under the porch. She just bit JD.”
Trav whistled low and under his breath. “Want me to call Ethan?”
“Who’s Ethan? Ethan Jacobs?”
JD shook his head. “There’s no need to call the sheriff.”
“Ethan Jacobs is the sheriff?” Elizabeth looked from one of them to the other.
Travis nodded.
Will the wonders of the world ever cease to amaze? Ethan Jacobs was the preacher’s son and wilder than the wind when they were in school. The fact that he was not incarcerated was a miracle in itself, but that he was actually in charge of the jail was nothing short of divine intervention.
“I’m sure she’s fine. She was protecting her pups,” JD explained.
“Then why didn’t she snap at me?” Elizabeth asked.
“She’s probably been abused by a man. Just steer clear of her for now, Trav. We’ll get to the bottom of it later.”
Travis nodded.
“What if she has rabies?” Elizabeth protested.
JD laughed, then sucked in a breath. “Yeow, that hurts.”
“Let’s get you to the hospital.” She gently tugged on his arm.
But JD dug in his heels. “You don’t honestly think I’m going to let you drive my truck?”
“Keys, please.” She held out a hand, palm up.
He balked.
“Your truck is blocking my car, and you’re bleeding. Stop being such a guy and give me the keys.”
His mouth twisted into a frown. Elizabeth wondered which pain was worse: the dog bite or the fact that she was about to drive his precious truck.
With a sigh, he pressed his right hand to his chest and used his left to dig into his pocket and fish out the keys. It took a few extra seconds as they were in the right pocket, and he was rummaging around with his opposite hand. Or maybe he was stalling the inevitable.
Finally she heard the metallic jingle, and the keys landed in her palm. “Be careful,” JD grumbled and walked around to the passenger’s side of the truck.
JD’s truck definitely felt bigger while driving than it did when she was riding. Extended cab, large tires, regular sized bed…she might have had an easier time driving a bus. Plus she was trying to err to caution and yet rush him to the tiny clinic at the opposite side of Loveless. But with the luck she was having today, she hit every red light on the way through town.
“You okay?” She chanced a look at JD as they waited for the light at Fifth and Main.
“Fine. Though my ego’s a little bruised.” He waved to Chester who sat in front of the barbershop and kept a keen eye on the town as it rode back and forth each day. “I’ve always considered myself a ladies man.” He laughed.
Elizabeth frowned. “It’s not funny. She could have taken your hand off.”
He shook his head. “You’re being overly dramatic. She surprised me, and I jerked back. It was as much my fault as it was hers.”
“Still.” Elizabeth sniffed, training her eyes on the road and doing her best not to creep into the opposite lane.
They rode in silence and sat through two more red lights, before JD spoke again. “I guess when we get back home…to your grandmother’s house, we should call Ethan and see about having her moved.”
“Not to the pound.”
He shook his head. “You’re leaving so there won’t be anyone to feed her.”
She nodded, ignoring the pang at the thought of leaving. “Maybe Mrs. Waters can come over and check on her.”
“Probably need to check Craig’s List to see if she’s missing.”
“I suppose.”
“She looked like a Border Collie,” JD said as Elizabeth swung the truck into the parking lot of the tiny emergency clinic. “She may be someone’s cow dog.”
She hadn’t thought of that. Someone might be looking for the poor beast.
She pulled the truck into one of the lined spots and tugged the key from the ignition. With a worried frown pulling at the corners of her mouth, she eyed the beige painted cinderblock building. “Maybe I should take you to Fredericksburg.”
He grunted an unintelligible response and opened the door, sliding to the ground with a slight wince as his booted feet touched the pavement.
Elizabeth hurried around the back of the truck and supported his elbow.
JD chuckled. “Bethie Grace, I’m not that hurt.”
“Oh.” She pulled away from him, unsure of what to do with her hands. Touching him, walking beside him, her hand on his arm just felt so…natural. Like breathing and blinking.
She shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. The doors swooshed open, and they entered the closest thing to chaos Loveless had ever seen.
High school kids milled around, most of them holding wet rags to their faces as they grumbled and fussed. All of them had tears streaming down their cheeks, eyes red and swollen, noses red and running. Several adults held clipboards and filled out information while others talked into their cell phones despite the signs posted that asked for them to be turned off.
Elizabeth pushed her way to the registration desk and pointed back at JD. “He was bitten by a dog, and he’s bleeding badly.”
The blond haired woman in mint green scrubs smiled. “Hey, JD.”
“Hi, Steph.”
She popped her gum and continued to grin at JD totally ignoring Elizabeth. “You okay?”
He held up his right hand. “Got bit by a stray.”
Elizabeth crossed her arms in a huff as Steph studied JD’s wound. “I’ll find you a room. Someone set off a pepper bomb in the field house at the football field.” She shook her head. “Crazy kids. I’ll be glad when school’s out.”
“Anyone hurt?”
She shook her head, motioning him to follow her. “They’ll heal. You want me to send Ethan out after that dog?”
JD shook his head. “She was protecting her pups.”
Steph nodded.
Elizabeth reached out a hand toward the woman as they entered the exam room. “Hi, I’m Bethie Grace McGee.” Now where had that come from? The jealousy, annoyance, and referring to herself as Bethie Grace.
“Stephanie Jacobs.”
“Ethan’s wife?”
“Ethan’s sister.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. “Little Stephanie?”
The blonde nodded. “I just go by Steph these days.”
“Oh, of course.” Elizabeth nodded like an idiot, hoping her cheeks weren’t as red as they felt like they were turning. She used one hand to fan herself. “Is it hot in here?”
“Feels okay to me,” JD said as he eased onto the paper covered table.
“Can you fill this out?” Steph held up the admittanc
e forms secured to a clipboard.
He looked down at his injured hand. “Bethie Grace?” His dark blue eyes asked for help.
“Sure.” She took the pen and paper and sat down on the wheeled stool intended for the doctor.
“It’s something else to see the two of you together again,” Stephanie said, then she let herself out of the room.
Elizabeth chose not to dwell on those last words and turned her attention to the clipboard she held. With an ease that was almost second nature, she started to fill out the questions. Name: John David Carmichael, Jr. She filled in his address, then stumbled, not knowing his current phone number, any new allergies, height, weight, and a host of other facts that had changed over the last fifteen years. Just another piece of evidence that showed how much stood between them.
“Did you have surgery on your shoulder?”
He frowned, apparently perplexed with her question, but nodded. “Three of them.”
She made note on the admission paper. No wonder the hit ended his football career. Not many could come back from an injury like that.
“Phone number?” She hated that her voice sounded stiff and strained, like it was being forced through a constriction.
He rattled off his number, and she recorded it on the designated line.
“Religious affiliation?”
“Yes.”
She dropped her hand into her lap. “Would you be serious?”
“I am being serious.” He nodded, then his expression changed to one of unease. “It’s Wednesday.”
“All day.”
“I forgot that school was letting out early today.”
“O-kay.”
“I need to get Mallory.” He hopped down from the table. As if on cue, his cell phone rang. He used his left hand to dig it out of his pocket, his movements marked with an unnatural awkwardness. “I’m sorry, baby girl. Can you catch a ride?” His eyes met hers, and he nodded. “Okay. I’ll be right there.”
He turned off the phone and started for the door.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“To get my daughter.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” She held up his keys.
He reached for them, but she moved them out of range.
“I’ll be right back,” he protested.
“No.”
“There are so many patients here, they won’t even miss me.”
