by Cyndi Raye
As the cart got closer to the property, his trained eye saw a form lying across the back seat. Without thinking, he put down the water and went out the back door as the golf cart came to a screeching halt inches from where he stood.
“What’s going on here?”
“Just help me get her inside, she’s hurt bad!”
Jon hurried to the back of the cart to see what he could do to help. He didn’t hesitate, just took over like he always did in an emergency. He needed to assess the body before he moved the person under the blanket. The form was small, it looked like a child. Pulling the edge back from the cover, his eyes widened, then he drew his brows together. “What the....this isn’t a person, it’s an animal! I don’t fix animals here!”
“Are you a doctor or not?” she cried out in a voice filled with desperation. When he nodded his head, she continued, “The closest vet is too far away. Please, I need help!” She started to gather the animal in her arms.
Jon reached out, blocking her attempt to lift the body. “Don’t move it. Let me take a look first.” He pulled the blanket off the dog and immediately saw its foot caught in a trap. The dried blood indicated the animal was stuck in it for some time. He checked vitals signs and realized the poor dog was probably going into shock. It looked like there was a lot of blood loss, as the deadly contraption was intended to do. Jon took action. He picked it up as gently as he could and trying to steady the trap on the dog’s leg, he moved as fast as lightning as he brought the injured animal into the urgent care center through the back door.
Jon carried the German Shepherd to an exam room and placed it on the table. The red-head was right there, almost on top of him. He turned to her. “Everyone is gone for the day so you will need to help me. Can you do that?”
“Yes, yes, of course! Just tell me what to do!”
Jon needed to get the trap free from the animal’s leg. Exhaustion engulfed the poor animal as it lay there, unmoving. Anger filled up his heart at the fact someone was using traps to hurt innocent animals. “Does she have a name?”
“Her name is Penny.” She smiled sadly at the dog and brushed her hands over its head, gently caressing her. Penny was not responding. “You have to save her, she’s been my best friend since I found her as a pup.”
Jon hesitated for a moment, watching the woman’s emotions crumble in front of him. “I’ll do my best,” he offered. He wanted to touch her face, reassure her that it would be all right, but there was no way he could do that. He had no idea what the outcome would be, the dog was in a sad state.
The woman was near to panic, but Jon looked into her eyes and demanded her attention. “Listen to me, and do what I tell you. The trap must come off right away. Penny has lost too much blood. I’m going to have to squeeze the jaws together and place the safety lock on so the pressure comes off from her leg.”
“Just tell me what to do.” He noticed her bottom lip tremble a bit before he turned away.
Jon worked for a few moments, preparing the work area and getting supplies to treat the injury. He looked at her. “Take a deep breath, now,” he ordered and nodded when she did so. “I’m going to squeeze the spring on the first side and I’ll have to use both hands. What I need you to do is pick up the safety lock and put it over the arm of the spring, like this.” He showed her what part she needed to move. “We need to do it to both sides. Can you do that?”
He looked at her intently and watched her nod. He saw the determination in her face. He also saw the fat, dark freckles covering both cheeks. Jon blinked, thinking he was seeing things, but when he opened his eyes, those big freckles were still dotted across a perky nose and cute face.
“What are you staring at, please, just help Penny!” Jon shook himself, she was beautiful. He almost felt awkward, as if he were back in med school as his hands fumbled with the trap. Then, he did what he told her to do and took a deep breath. His hands moved expertly across the trap and in a few seconds, squeezed the springs with his hands. It was hard to hold.
“Ok, now take the lock and do what I said, put it over the arm quickly.” His hands began to shake, it was hard to hold the trap, even with both hands. She did as told and had the lock secure. “Now, the other one,” he guided her gently as they repeated the same thing on the other side of the trap. The injured leg was suddenly free!
They both released air from their lungs at the same time. Jon looked into her eyes. Baby blues, filled with fear stared back at him. “Thank you,” she whispered, reaching out her arm as if she wanted to touch him and then snatched it back to her side just as quickly.
“Penny isn’t out of the woods yet. I need to take a look at her leg.” Jon checked for broken bones but it didn’t feel like there was damage. An x-ray would show if something were seriously wrong. He focused on his work at hand, cleaning the site and stitching it up as best he could. He was not a vet, but he could at least close the wound until they could get Penny proper care. “You need to sit down,” he told the owner of the dog when he glanced up to see her rock back and forth. “Pull up a stool.”
Jon figured that she would do as told and find a place to sit. He always issued orders to those he worked with and had trust that they would follow them. Sometimes it was a matter of life or death so he demanded everyone around him to do their best. He set about hooking up an IV to give fluids to the dehydrated Penny and didn’t think about the red head again until he heard a loud thump.
Jon looked up to find her sprawled out on the floor beside the exam table. He bent down to check to make sure she didn’t hit her head. “This day is turning just a big thrill,” he mumbled to himself before he gathered her in his arms and picked her up off the floor. At least there were no pressing plans this evening, guess that was a good thing, he thought to himself. Now, he had a dog in a coma on his exam table and a woman dressed like a circus clown passed out in his office.
<>
Abby knew someone was staring at her, she could feel it. She lay on the hard surface, her eyes closed not trusting herself to open them. She was afraid to open them to find herself staring into the face of the hot doctor who saved her dog. It had been a long time since she was drawn to a man like him. Actually, she had never in her 26 years been drawn to anyone like him before. He had short dark hair and yet there were some waves that were left untamed a and kind of drifted across his brow when he examined Penny. It made her want to reach out and move those dark locks away. When he looked into her eyes earlier, she felt as if she became mesmerized by that dark, dreamy stare. He looked so sure of himself and the confidence just oozed out of him.
Just being in the room with him made Abby feel safe. She didn’t know how she came to that conclusion, but she did. She knew without a doubt that Penny was in good hands, even if the doctor did give her a bit of a hassle at first. Fear stabbed at her heart. If anything happened to Penny now, she would just die. She didn’t know how to go on without her faithful friend.
Penny was just a pup when Abby found her along the property where she lived, alone and abandoned. Someone left her there, probably to die. But she wrapped the pup in her arms and took it home with her nine years ago. She had been just a skinny little thing and as they got to know each other, they became fast friends. Penny was the comforting angel when her parent’s died suddenly one night. At seventeen, if it hadn’t been for Penny, for the comfort of her best friend, Abby honestly didn’t know how she would have survived, because Abigail was all alone in the world with just her precious Penny and a piece of property willed to her by an old man who had become her adopted parent and friend.
Mentally, Abby was exhausted. At seventeen, her parents died in a terrible car wreck and she was truly lost, not knowing what she would do next when Jacob Earl reached out and helped get her back on track. She would never forget his kindness. After that, she made it her mission in life to save any animals without a home. She worked hard every day to do so. People thought she was eccentric living alone on the big property, with just animals to keep her c
ompany. But, she didn’t care, she was serving a bigger purpose in life. She knew homeless and what that felt like.
Someone cleared their throat. Abby blinked and slowly peeked out from her closed lids to indeed find the doctor watching her closely. She was certain he was just being kind and caring, doing his job like he was trained to do, but she had the feeling that he was as attracted to her as she was to him. There was this little bit of electricity between them when they looked at each other.
“Do you feel it too?” she whispered. Abby had always been outspoken, saying what she thought. She knew no other way.
He raised his brows, then smiled and nodded. “Yeah, but I’m not supposed to.” He looked away and checked her head. “No worries, I doubt you hurt your head when you fell. Do you remember that?” He tried to sound so professional but she wondered just what he was really feeling. She knew this wasn’t just her. Electricity had to have two points of contact.
Abby looked around and then laughed aloud, relieved when she saw Penny resting quietly on the table, a set of glazed eyes warily watching the doctor. Abby tried to get up, but the doctor placed both hands on her shoulders.
“Not yet, I need to make sure you’re ok from the fall.” Strong fingers pressed around her head and neck, then slid towards her shoulders and arms. Then he slid his hands over her legs, pressing softly on her limbs to make sure there was no sudden pain.
Abby felt his warm hands sliding over her and held her breath. She closed her eyes and actually pushed herself against them without thinking. When she realized what she had done, she sat up quickly and the movement stopped as suddenly as it began. “I’m fine, no worries,” she told him, embarrassed to have reacted that way to his touch. He was a doctor, just doing his job! Why couldn’t she just remember that? It would be much safer if he were an ugly, middle-aged doctor with a squeaky voice.
There were fires burning in the middle of the Florida Keys in a medical building that Abby did not know if she could put out! Did she even want to?
He helped her off the table and she made her way over to her best friend. Penny’s tail thumped on the litter as she got closer and Abby hugged her with the love only a pet lover would understand. “I’m so glad you’re alright, Penny. I promise I’ll find out who put that trap out there.”
“I’ve called the proper authorities on this. Someone from the animal protection will be in contact with you. I’ll need some personal information so they can get in touch,” Jon told her.
“You want my phone number?” Abby asked.
“Definitely,” Jon said, his eyes burning into hers.
“Because of Penny, I mean.”
“Yes, I know. That’s what I mean too.”
Abby continued stroking the soft fur on Penny’s back. She kept looking into the doctor’s eyes, which were still burning for her, she just knew it, could feel the intensity in the room. She could not bring herself to look away, didn’t want to. This was hot. She really should stop this madness. He was the cause of her burning need to throw caution to the wind. She never did that! She was independent, Abby always decided the next step in her life. No man had ever, ever held her attention like this one was doing with just a look.
She continued to stare into those dark, stormy eyes. She brazenly slid her own over him, from the top of his dark, short hair with the lock that fell recklessly over his brow, making him look just a bit rough for a doctor. He wore no white coat, his button down shirt hugging every single stitch of a well-muscled chest and stomach. He was a doctor, but much more. He was a man and Abby was feeling the need to see just how far this would go.
She braced herself. She reasoned with herself for only a pitiful moment. She said out loud,” If I don’t do this, I may miss this opportunity before me.” She took a step forward and then walked briskly over to him, grabbed his face and planted a soul-searching kiss on his mouth.
He groaned. She felt his arms embrace her and he began to kiss her back, turning her and backing her into the wall. It was electrifying the moment his lips touched hers and the kiss would have gone deeper and longer if Penny hadn’t chose that moment to try to get up from the table.
Jon let her go in one swift movement and she pushed herself away from his embrace. She practically ran over to Penny before the dog jumped from the exam table. “It’s all right Penny, calm down.” Abby was talking to the dog, but herself as well. She chanced a look back at the doctor, who was taking in deep breaths of air. He leaned against the wall, his forehead barely touching the wallpaper, looking as if he were trying to contain himself. His arms and hands sprawled against the wall, almost fist like, his chest heaving.
He turned. “This won’t work. I can’t be in the same room with you.” At that, Dr. Jon Hatfield walked out of the exam room and closed the door.
Abby heard the sound of silence, except for Penny’s short breaths and tail thumping on the mat. Brightness from the fluorescent ceiling lights bounced off the metal rails of the exam table where she leaned against. She hung on to Penny, taking deep breaths herself and hoping that she would not embarrass herself any more. What had gotten into her? She had become so brazen, unladylike, coming on to the doctor like that. But his reaction was the same. He wanted her just as badly, she could feel it in every inch of her body as it clung to his. Who does that, she wondered, then smiled sheepishly as she realized that this was the first time she ever threw herself at a man, but she never expected for it to get out of control!
Abby gave Penny a big hug, burrowing her face into the soft fur. Over the years Abby had decided she was going to live life, that life would not live her. If she wanted something, she was going to go for it. If people thought she was strange, she didn’t care. If she found a hot doctor who needed kissed, she’d go for it. How was she to know that just one kiss would leave her wanting more, that it would never be enough?
Abigail was in deep trouble.
<>
Jon paced back and forth in the hallway leading to the front entrance. What had gotten into him? He slid a hand in his back pocket and pulled out his cell. His brother would either help him or laugh at him, he wasn’t sure which. He hesitated for a moment before punching in the numbers.
Jake answered on the first ring, not giving any time for Jon to think of what he was going to say. “Hey, what’s up, bro?”
Jon swallowed. “Hey.”
It was as if his twin knew he was in trouble. “Jon, you okay?”
Jon grunted. He opened the entrance door of the urgent care facility and walked out on the porch just as the sun went down, darkening the world around him. “I’m not sure. I just had to talk to someone, you know. I don’t know. Oh man!”
“Want me to come over?” He knew his brother would be here in a heartbeat. That was how they were. Jake lived on No Name Key, just a few miles away. Over the years they learned to rely on each other when needed, but Jake just fell in love with his new girl Maggie, so Jon didn’t want to take him away from her now.
He sighed. “I’m sorry, bro. I shouldn’t have called. It’s just that I had to get out of the office, things were getting too heavy in there.”
“Something happen? Jon, you sure you don’t want me to swing by? I can stop by in a few?”
“No, forget it.” Jon paced back and forth on the brick porch.
“Jon, you having women issues? Is that what’s going on? Is Cari down there bothering you again?”
“No Jake. Cari is the least of my worries. I was getting ready to close up and this crazy looking gal, dressed like Pippi Longstocking, remember her? Well, she came into the office with a dog that caught its leg in a trap.”
He heard Jake whistle through the phone. “I’m not gonna laugh, brother. But, Pippi Longstocking is not that hot.”
“This one is! In fact, I did the unethical tonight. Something happened and she came towards me like she wanted to eat me up and I practically threw her against the wall and, well I did!”
Jake’s laughter rang out through the earpiece. “
Jon, listen. Nothing wrong with that if she came on to you. I really don’t see a problem here.”
Jon grunted. “Of course not. But my license is on the line here if anyone finds out I made out with a customer. It’s strictly against any policy we have, I’m sure.”
“I doubt you’re worried about that, bro. I think it’s more that you got caught up in some pretty heavy stuff and now you don’t know what to do. Let me give you some advice. Just roll with it and see where it takes you. You really need to chill and have a bit of fun.”
Jon heard the phone shuffle, he heard a female voice and the next thing he knew Jake’s girl was on the other line. “Jon, it’s Maggie. You come by any time to talk, okay? Remember, I’m an expert in romance. Just know we love you and can’t wait to meet her.”
Jon shook his head. “Meet her! All I did was kiss her like it was the last kiss I’d ever have on this earth. I’m lucky to have gotten away when I did! Meet her, that’s not even in the concept of my thoughts!”
“Wow, bro. That’s how it starts.” Jake was back on the line.
“You serious?”
“Yep. Think about it. You’ve been messing around with Cari for months, maybe longer. She is one of the worst girlfriends you have ever had. No love there, you know she never cared about you and you feel the same about her. There are no intentions for any future, and now all of a sudden someone walks into your life and you begin to act like a teenager. Yep, I see where this is heading.”
Jon groaned. “You’re not helping me here, man.”
Jake laughed. “Sorry bro, but you’ll figure it out. Call me soon, we need to get together about our wedding and all that biz.”
Jon hung up. He took a few deep breaths, turned and tried to open the front door. It wouldn’t budge. He shook the door knob, trying to force it open then pounded on the thick, wooden door to no avail. The red head would never hear him out front, she was in the exam room in the back of the building. He was hoping he could avoid her by calling in someone else to take over, but realized he was the on call doctor tonight. There was no one else except him.
