Groomed for Love

by Helen R. Myers

  “Technically, one was a parking violation.”

  “I’m still learning how to drive the monster,” Rylie told her uncle and Gage. “Parking is a whole different story.”

  “The last one was an accident,” Noah intoned.

  “A fender bender!” Rylie was determined to protect at least a modicum of her unraveling reputation before it was distorted into something unrecognizable. “And the reason I’m late with paying the tickets is because I paid for the other driver’s paint repair out of my pocket. I didn’t want my insurance company to drop me.”

  “I can say that there was no evidence of intoxication or drug use,” the sheriff pointed out, as if trying to be of help to her—or at least be fair. “But apparently she also got stopped in Arizona for having an expired license.”

  “The officer never wrote me a ticket,” Rylie countered. “I’d explained that I was moving to Texas and was trying to avoid duplicating the procedure. In the midst of that, the officer had another emergency come over the radio and, when I assured him that I would stop at the RV park just ahead and call a friend to finish the drive for me, he let me go with that warning. That’s exactly what I did—you saw yourself that Cliff got me parked here,” she reminded her uncle. “And he told you that he was going to see family in Austin before heading home. That’s the other reason I’m late with paying my fines. I had to buy him a plane ticket back to California.”

  Roy nodded his confirmation to the sheriff. “I saw the young man with my own eyes. Very polite. His sister picked him up the next morning.”

  Although Sheriff Nelson nodded, his expression remained regretful. “It does appear that you’re trying to get your problems resolved, Ms. Quinn, but the authorities in California don’t seem satisfied, what with you operating a vehicle that seems above your abilities to handle.”

  Rylie slid Noah a bitter look. “No doubt confirmed by Assistant District Attorney Prescott, who believes that I’m incapable of walking and breathing at the same time.”

  “Are we supposed to wait until something serious happens here?” Noah asked.

  “But she hasn’t driven anywhere in the RV.” Roy stepped forward to put his arm around her shoulders. “Look, there has to be a good explanation. My niece has always been a conscientious and safe driver.” He gave Rylie’s shoulders a squeeze. “Tell them, honey. You hadn’t had any tickets until this. Lots of kids get two or three before they graduate from a permit to a full license. Not Rylie.”

  “Uncle Roy, it’s okay.” Realizing that she’d run out of time, she turned to him and Gage. “I should have told you both everything from the beginning, but it was important to make you see me as normal first.”

  “Of course you’re normal!” Roy declared, reaching for her again. “What a thing to say.”

  “Well, not exactly,” Rylie admitted, gently resisting his hug. Taking a deep breath, she took hold of his hands and gripped them, relaying her need for him to let her say what she needed. “This is about why I couldn’t continue with vet school, too. It turned out that I discovered I had a tumor behind my right eye, just as I was starting my final year of veterinary school. Long story short, I’m fine now, but...I’ve lost my sight in that eye.”

  Murmurs of shock from the old-timers buzzed behind her, and she saw the sheriff and Gage hang their heads, while Noah suddenly looked positively ill. Rylie stood tall seeing her uncle’s eyes fill with tears. “Hey,” she whispered. “None of that.”

  “But sweetheart...” Roy had to clear his throat to regain his composure. “I can’t believe this. You look—I mean it looks—”

  “Like I can see. It’s okay to say it, Uncle Roy.” Rylie totally understood. Heaven knows she’d spent her share of time—too much time—looking into mirrors wondering if anyone saw the subtle changes that she saw, which she thought belied the doctors’ assurances. Fortunately, or unfortunately—depending on one’s perspective of human nature these days—most people were too preoccupied with their own lives to have noticed.

  “That’s the good news. I’ve retained muscle movement. You probably remember when Sandy Duncan had this happen to her. She’s successfully continued her career in show business. I think all of her high-flying as Peter Pan onstage has been after the fact.”

  Of all people, Sheriff Nelson murmured, “I remember that. My wife took the kids to see the show.”

  “‘After the fact’?” was all Uncle Roy said.

  Giving Gage a “help me here” glance, she continued. “Yes, and that relates to me because you need your peripheral vision when working around larger animals. You can slap all of the extra bubble mirrors on a vehicle to make sure you can see the traffic around you, but you can’t safely manage a horse or cow—any large animal—without two working eyes, any more than you can with a missing limb. Besides, it wouldn’t be right to endanger whoever else is around you, either, or the animals.”

  “It’s a matter of safety, yes,” Gage admitted. He gave her a soul-searching look, and then reached out to squeeze her shoulder. “I’m so sorry. That was a lousy turn of luck.” Hearing her uncle choke, Rylie grimaced and rubbed his back. “He’s remembering how I got the nickname Lucky. Hey, I still am fortunate, Uncle Roy. As I said, cosmetically, nothing’s really changed.”

  “But you’ve wanted to be a veterinarian since you could speak. I was there the day you came home from kindergarten with your first drawing of a dog with half his body bandaged and a big red heart painted on it.”

  Touched by his recollection, Rylie offered a philosophical shrug. “So I couldn’t fulfill that ambition. But I wasn’t going to waste all of that schooling and time. You know that not being around animals isn’t an option for me, so I knew what I had to do.”

  Roy wiped his eyes only to interject, “Wait a minute. Your parents never told me a thing about this.”

  Hoping he would understand, Rylie said, “I had the procedure done near school and recuperated at a friend’s apartment. My folks still don’t know, Uncle Roy.”

  He shook his head, rejecting the possibility. “They were shattered when you dropped out...and disappointed.”

  Remembering too well, Rylie repressed her own misery to explain. “Letting them think I’d let them down was preferable to them convincing themselves that I needed to be nursed and hovered over 24/7 like some invalid.”

  “Are you telling me they believed that you had your heart suddenly set on being a dog groomer?” Roy demanded, incredulous.

  Her uncle was nobody’s fool, and her answering look admitted to him that things didn’t go smoothly between her and her parents for a while. “At least I proved quickly enough that it’s a lucrative market when I sold my truck and bought the RV.”

  For once Roy wasn’t buying her glass-half-full perspective. “This is me, sweetheart. I know you, and I know this business. You had to have about killed yourself after serious surgery to manage the pace that you did to come as far as you have.”

  “The family had high expectations, Uncle Roy. You had high expectations...and I had dreams.”

  “You don’t have to give them up,” Gage said. “You could have discussed the matter with your instructors and professors. You could still specialize in small animals and do routine surgeries.”

  Rylie smiled. “My ego stumbled. That didn’t seem like enough. Then, hearing that I’d have to learn to adapt my balance and everything, I thought a definitive time-out was necessary. Look, I don’t know if I’ll ever be so resolved or stubborn again, but in this case, determination and stubbornness worked for me. I’m fine.”

  Roy, on the other hand, was still having a hard time taking this in. “You should have called me. My God...there was no reason for you to handle this all alone.”

  Hating that this conversation was taking place in front of Noah and Sheriff Nelson, Rylie was starting to feel the months of hard work take their
toll. The news of the warrant still had her shaking, which showed her how emotionally tired she was.

  “You are helping me,” she reminded him. “You have helped, more than I can tell you. As for my parents, who would have gone back into debt for me...Uncle Roy, you know they’ve made a comfortable living for themselves with their antique-and-salvage business, but they’re not wealthy. Even so, with me grown and Dustin off creating his own life, they’re thinking about adopting again or trying foster care.”

  “Adopting—at their age? Why am I the last to hear of any of this?”

  Rylie kissed his cheek. “That’s Dad. Why linger on important details when you can laugh with your big brother on the phone? Uncle Roy, you know he worships you—his veteran-hero brother. The thing is that I didn’t want them to sacrifice something as wonderful—and helpful—as adoption by taking on my financial minefield. Really, it was almost under control until...this.”

  Gage turned to the sheriff. “This is so clearly a case of simple misunderstanding. Can’t we work this out without the flashing lights and handcuffs?”

  Sheriff Nelson looked torn. “Forget the flashing lights nonsense, but, Doc, a warrant is a warrant. I’ll admit that from what she’s said, Ms. Quinn has been an admirable member of society—a little naive about the handling of such a big vehicle, but I admire her independence and conscientiousness. However, I can only act on behalf of the State of California’s edict. I’ll have to take her in, until we can see how California wants to handle this.”

  “That’s nuts,” Roy declared. “I’ll cut you a check for whatever you need right here and now.” He pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. “I always keep a spare check in my wallet. It’s in the safe in the storeroom.”

  “If he can’t cover all of it, I will,” Gage added.

  From the corner of the room, Warren Atwood declared, “You can count on us for whatever you need, sweetheart!”

  Rylie pressed her hand against her chest. “Guys...everybody, stop. You’re going to make me cry.” She struggled to steady her breathing. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Well, I know what I have to say,” Roy told the sheriff. “This is all a joke. You don’t have to take her. It’s not like she’s a flight risk.”

  Sheriff Nelson said, “I agree. But considering how politics are being played on virtually every front page of newspapers these days, I’m not taking any chances. This job is enough challenge without politicians and newspaper editors making it worse. Ms. Quinn, you are going to have to come back to the office with me, but I swear, we’ll get on the phone with California straight away to clear this up. For my part, I’d take your check or whomever’s gladly, but I don’t even know what the total is. So what do you say that we get this resolved?”

  “That would be a relief,” Rylie said, although not at all confident that luck would ever be on her side again.

  “Well, then I’m coming, too!” Roy declared, scowling at Noah. “Why are you in on this? Your mother relies on Rylie’s work. Do you even have a clue as to what will happen if my niece is formally arrested? Gossips don’t care if they have facts straight. It’s all about the adrenaline rush that comes with maybe, could be, possibly. What’s the matter, you can’t stand for her to even have half a dream?”

  Trying to make eye contact with Rylie, but failing, Noah replied, “I had no idea it would come to this. All I did was do some checking online.”

  “What?” she gasped. “You investigated me? On what grounds? Because I annoyed you?”

  Noah’s bowed head told her that she was close enough to the truth not to need an answer. With a sound of disgust, she asked Gage, “Please, watch MG for me in case I don’t get back tonight?” She dug her keys out of her jeans pocket and handed them over to him. “You’ll need these.”

  “You’re coming home,” Roy declared, staring hard at Noah. “I’m following you to Rusk and we’ll get this resolved in no time.”

  “In that case, you’ll be needing my services,” Warren said, rising.

  Both the sheriff and Noah looked uneasy as the former D.A. of Cherokee County joined the group. As the other veterans applauded their friend, Marv Nelson pinched the bridge of his nose. “Folks, we don’t need to make this any harder than it already is.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re the one taking her away from us, Marv. We all served so everyone could have a fair shake at justice,” Stan Walsh, Rylie’s Porthos, declared. “This doesn’t smell like justice to me.”

  “No, it reeks,” Jerry Platt muttered.

  Still anxious, but heartened by this show of support, Rylie extended her hands to the sheriff. “Do you need to cuff me?”

  Sheriff Marv Nelson grimaced and waved away her offer. “Quit that. But you do have to give me your word that you won’t attempt bodily harm to our assistant D.A. here as we drive back to Rusk—not that I would blame you if you tried.”

  “As tempting as the idea is,” Rylie assured him, without sparing Noah so much as a glance, “I have no desire to waste any energy on him.” Rising on tiptoe to give her uncle a last kiss, she led the way out.

  “Don’t worry, baby, we’re right behind you!” Roy called after her.

  In the privacy of her own mind, Rylie hoped so! Because inside she was shaking like a gelatin salad in an earthquake and couldn’t believe she was still able to stand on her own two feet. Discipline had always been her “go to” remedy in times of challenge, but this situation might be too much. Betrayed by the man she’d wanted to—

  To what?

  It didn’t matter now, she decided. Hoping that Noah took note, she went straight to the sheriff’s car, but to the passenger door on the driver’s side, making good her assurance that she wanted no other contact with him. Sheriff Nelson opened the door for her and waited for her to fasten her seat belt before shutting it.

  Once Noah got in on the front passenger side, he turned to speak. Unlike the other department vehicles, this one had no metal grid separating them, which disappointed Rylie. From here on, she wanted all of the distance and barriers from him that she could get.

  “I thought you were acting suspiciously,” he began, sounding more than a little regretful. “The other day when you were in a hurry to get away—I thought you were hiding something. It never crossed my mind that it could be a medical problem.”

  “Please shut up,” she muttered, turning to look out the passenger window. “You’ve caused enough trouble and humiliation to last me a lifetime. To never have to speak to you again would be a gift.” Tears of humiliation blinded her, and all but garbled her words.

  “Rylie, once the authorities in California understood where you were, I had to at least follow through and bring in Sheriff Nelson before this blew up into something we couldn’t keep out of the news.”

  “Why couldn’t you have thought about that beforehand?” She covered her face with her hands. “Oh, my God, there may be reporters? Do you realize you’re going to hurt Doc’s practice, too? He’ll have to fire me just to protect his business!”

  Settling into his seat, the sheriff raised a calming hand to Rylie, but he spoke to Noah. “Call ahead to your people. I already warned mine that no one better notify the press.”

  “They just knew I was out on a call with you, not the reason,” Noah assured him.

  * * *

  That proved to be the first good news for Rylie. More followed, but it was over three hours before she could leave the sheriff’s office a free woman with a clear record. When she did, she was framed by Uncle Roy and Warren. She had never been so relieved in her life!

  The authorities in California had, indeed, been willing to accept payment—with a penalty for their time invested on the case and legal expenses. Before Roy could reach for his check, Noah had his checkbook in hand, scrawled the amount, signed his name and handed it to the sheriff.

 
Although startled at first, Rylie quickly snatched it and ripped it to shreds. “How dare you,” she whispered. “This may clear your conscience, but it doesn’t undo what you did as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Believe me, I understand. But it’s the least I can do.”

  “I think you need to leave,” Roy said, handing his own check over to the sheriff.

  “You might take that under advisement,” Sheriff Nelson told Noah, looking none too pleased with him, either.

  Noah did leave and Roy muttered as he glared after him, “I’m going to get Gage’s permission to make sure that so-and-so never comes to the clinic again.”

  Rylie grabbed his arm. “Uncle Roy, think. Mrs. Prescott is a lovely woman. She probably doesn’t know anything about this.”

  “I hope not. You deserve her business more than ever—and that of her friends.”

  “Well, you’re free to go, Ms. Quinn,” the sheriff told her. He smiled, although he looked almost as tired as she felt. “I guess I don’t have to tell you that I’m as relieved as you are. You’re a brave young woman, and I admire your determination not to inflict expense or worry on your loved ones. You shouldn’t have trouble getting your license, but if there’s anything I can do to help you in the matter, let me know. Just promise me that you won’t be driving that monster RV of yours too much.”

  “No, sir, I know I have plenty of help around if that’s necessary. Uncle Roy has also let me borrow his truck if I need to go somewhere, until I can afford my own, and I always put on extra side-view mirrors.”

  “How come I never saw any?” Roy asked, scratching the back of his head.

  She gave him an impish smile. “Probably because I removed them just before I got back to the clinic.”

  Roy scowled. “Well, just leave them on the thing now so when you need to borrow the truck, it’s ready for you. Wait—you know what’s a better idea? The truck is yours. I’m going to treat myself to a new one.”

  Stunned, Rylie cried, “Uncle Roy, it’s barely two years old.”