Burn Out (15 page)

“Five. His
previous owner passed away, and none of the family members were able to take
him.”

“That’s so sad,”
she said, scratching the dog’s chin. “But it looks like you might be getting a
second chance, buddy.”

As soon as she
said that, Evan knew this was the dog he wanted to take home. He wanted to give
Skipper a new lease on life, the same way he prayed Erika would give him
another chance. He watched her examine the dog’s ears, nose, and throat. “Is
there a problem?”

She proceeded with
her examination until she seemed satisfied. “Everything looks good to me, Evan.
There aren’t any specific health problems unique to the breed, but you do need
to be aware of a few things. They tend to be high strung, so they need an
outlet for that energy. They’re hunting dogs, so they need the opportunity to
follow those instincts, but the proper training is really important. They’re
not a highly intelligent breed…”

She frowned when
he laughed at the last point she made. “What’s so funny?”

He patted the dog
on the back. “If that’s the case, you and I should be the perfect pair, buddy.”
He offered a hand to help her to her feet.

“What’s that
supposed to mean?” she asked, slipping her hand into his.

His gaze lingered
on her lips for a second before he said, “Sometimes I think I’m not nearly as
smart as people seem to think I am.”

***

Erika held her
breath, waiting to see if he would lean in and kiss her. She tried to convince
herself she was relieved when he withdrew and turned his attention back to the
dog. “Well, if you’re confident this is the dog you want, we may as well tell
Violet. Are you sure you don’t want me to have a look at the other two you had
your eye on?”

“That’s the thing
about me,” he said, looking at her over his shoulder. “Once I make up my mind
about what I want, I rarely change it.”

Clearly she was
the exception to that rule, since he’d once claimed he wanted her and now he
seemed totally indifferent. She told herself spending time in his company
without worrying about him making a play for her was relieving, but she had to
admit denying her attraction to him was difficult. No matter their history, she
knew she would always be drawn to him. Because of that, she knew she should
suggest he make alternative arrangements for his dog, but she sensed poor
Skipper still missed the beloved owner he lost. She didn’t want to deny him the
opportunity to be a part of their little canine family at the clinic.

“Okay, so let’s
tell Violet the good news.” She led the way out of the office and tried to step
aside as he dealt with the final paperwork and payment.

Skipper looked up
at her with big, dark eyes, looking so hopeful and uncertain it broke her
heart. She knew getting too attached to Evan’s dog would be a mistake, but her
soft spot for animals made it impossible for her not to love a dog who’d
endured a tragedy that turned his life upside down. He no doubt went from wide
open spaces, being loyal to an owner that loved him and relied on him for
constant companionship, to the loneliness and desolation of a small room with
limited human contact.

“It’s okay,” she
whispered. “Evan’s a good guy. He’ll take good care of you, and when he can’t
be with you, I promise you’ll love it at my clinic. I have a feeling you and my
Chloe are going to be the best of friends.”

Evan smiled when
he caught her talking to the dog. “Are you ready to go or do you two need
another minute?”

She blushed as she
got to her feet. “Ready when you are.” She waved to Violet before making her
way to the door. Grateful for the blast of air that cooled her flaming cheeks,
she said, “Why don’t you get the dog settled first?” She watched with horror as
he reached in to the trunk and grabbed
the
blanket.

“Is there a
problem?” he asked, looking at the plush brown blanket.

“Uh no, of course
not,” she said, reaching for the door handle. How could he not remember they’d
made love on that blanket out by the lake two years ago on the fourth of July?
She knew it was the same one because it had a beige monogram in the corner.

After getting the
dog settled, he climbed in to the driver’s seat. He shot her a curious look out
of the corner of his eye. “You sure you’re okay?”

Erika fastened her
seatbelt and folded her arms. She knew it was silly to get upset just because
he didn’t remember the last time they’d used that blanket, but she couldn’t
help but feel the sting. She hadn’t forgotten a single moment of their time
together, yet he seemed to be able to put it out of his mind so easily. That
night was the last time she’d felt truly connected to him. It was the summer
before he took over as President of Titan and their relationship began its
downward spiral.

They drove a few
miles and the dog seemed content to settle in to the back seat and rest. “Are
you sure nothing’s botherin’ you?” he asked when they eased to a stop at a
traffic light.

Biting her tongue,
she held out as long as she could. “You don’t remember the last time we used
that blanket, do you?”

He frowned as he
pressed the button to reduce the volume on the country music station they’d
been listening to. “Uh, I’m not sure what you’re talkin’ about. You wanna fill
me in?”

She hooked her
thumb over her shoulder as she looked out the window. “I’m talkin’ about the
blanket the dog’s sleepin’ on. That’s the same blanket we took out to the lake
on the 4
^th
.”

“You don’t think I
know that?”

Erika sucked in a
breath. She hadn’t expected him to remember and if he did, she didn’t expect
him to come clean.

“You thought I’d
forget?” He shook his head. “I haven’t forgotten a damn thing, Erika.” He
looked angry when he said, “There are days when I wish I could. Days when I
curse the memories goin’ round and round in my head.”

She knew the
feeling. “I just thought…” She shrugged.

“I know what you
thought. You thought you were the only one goin’ through hell towards the end
of our relationship, but trust me, you weren’t. I may have spent every wakin’
moment at the office, puttin’ out one fire after another, but there’s nowhere
else I would’ve rather been than at home makin’ love to you.”

Erika’s body
responded to his words instantly as her mind conjured up images of those rare
stolen moments when he reached for her in the middle of night.

He pulled in to
the parking lot of her clinic and put the car in park before turning to face
her. “I know I shut down. I stopped talkin’ to you because I felt like I was
just makin’ excuses and I hated to see the disappointment in your eyes. I felt
like I was failin’ you and I didn’t know how to make things better between us.
I wanted to. God, you have no idea how much I wanted to, but I didn’t know how.
Walkin’ away from Titan wasn’t any more of an option than walkin’ away from
you.”

She knew it was
difficult for a man like Evan to admit weakness, but perhaps if he’d said those
things to her back then, they could have navigated the course together instead
of drifting further apart.

“There’s no point
talking about this now. What’s done is done.” She reached for the door handle.
“I’m pretty tired. I think I’m just gonna pick up Chloe and head home.” She
glanced in the backseat. The dog was resting, but his eyes followed her
movements. “Are you guys gonna be okay?”

“I think so.” Evan
reached in to the back seat to pet the dog’s head. “So, it’s okay if I bring
him by while I’m at work tomorrow?”

“Sure, just keep
in mind that the day hours are only eight ‘til eight. If you plan to work any
later than that-”

“Don’t worry, that
won’t be a problem. I’ll pick him up around six.”

She frowned.
“Since when do you leave the office by six?”

He winked. “I told
you I’m makin’ some changes. This is one of many.”

“If you say so,”
she said, stepping out of the car.

“Hey,” he said,
reaching for her arm. “Thanks for comin’ with me. I think Skip and I are gonna
be life-long buddies.”

Erika smiled at
his genuine enthusiasm as she was reminded of the man she fell in love with.
“I’m sure you will. See you tomorrow, Ev.”

“You can count on
it, Doc.”

Evan walked into
the clinic at promptly eight o’clock the next morning with Skipper walking
obediently on a leash at his side. He was surprised to learn the dog already
seemed to be well trained, but he still intended to sign up for classes. Any
opportunity to spend more time at the clinic…

“Well, good
morning,” Erika said, smiling at Skipper. “How was your first night in your new
home, buddy?”

“Should I be
offended that you didn’t even seem to notice there was a person at the other
end of this leash?”

She chuckled.
“Sorry about that. You know I’m better with animals than I am with people,
Spencer.”

“Oh, I don’t know
about that.” A salacious look crossed his face as he looked her up and down.

“Stop it,” she
said, looking behind her to make sure no one overheard his comment. “This is my
place of business.”

He laughed in the
face of her mock outrage. “You look great.” She wore slim black dress pants, a
black turtleneck, and high heeled black boots.

“Thanks,” she
said. “I’m not usually crazy enough to wear black to work, but I’m speaking at
a Chamber of Commerce meeting this morning and I wanted to look decent.”

“I’d say you
surpassed decent,” he said, letting his eyes roam over her taut body at a
leisurely pace. “You look incredible.”

She cleared her
throat. “I don’t have a patient for a few minutes. Why don’t I walk you over
and introduce you to the girls in the day care and grooming facility?”

“Speaking of
grooming,” he said, following her through the pass way between the retail store
and veterinary clinic. “I should book an appointment for him. I know they do
their best at the shelter, but it probably wouldn’t hurt.”

“Good idea,” she
said, leading him through the store. She waved to an employee stocking shelves
as she made her way to the tall counter at the back of the store. A sign
advertised the grooming, day care, and boarding services they provided.

“How was your
first night with Skipper?” she asked, propping her elbow on the counter as she
waited for one of her employees to appear.

“It was great,”
Evan said, patting the dog’s head. “I got him a nice big cushion and he slept
right beside my bed.”

Erika smiled when
she noticed the dog practically drooling over the packaged doggie treats on a
high shelf. “Would you like a treat?” she asked, reaching in to a large glass
bowl on the counter. “Do you mind?” she asked Evan.

“Of course not.”

She stood directly
in front of the dog with her closed hand containing the treat just above his
head. “Sit,” she instructed firmly. When he did as she asked, she said, “Good
boy,” enthusiastically and offered him the treat.

“It looks like he’s
already had some basic obedience training. That’s not surprising, given his
age. I hope you don’t mind, but I called the shelter when I got in the car last
night. I needed Skipper’s file since he was going to attend day care. We needed
to make sure he was up to date on all of his shots. The shelter always takes
care of that, but we also had to make sure there weren’t any behavioral issues
we needed to be aware of.”

“No, I don’t mind
at all. Did everything check out?”

“It did,” she
said, patting the dog’s head when he started sniffing the hand that had
contained the treat. “In fact, they had the dog’s medical file. The family
signed a release when they surrendered the dog so his next vet would have a
copy of the dog’s history.” She hesitated. “You didn’t say if you’d like me to
be Skipper’s vet…”

He chuckled. “I
thought that would be pretty obvious.”

There was still
some lingering discomfort as they tried to define the parameters of their new
relationship, but Evan was confident that would get easier with every passing
day. As soon as she saw the changes he’d already implemented, she’d be forced
to acknowledge that he wasn’t the same man she’d walked out on.

“In that case, why
don’t you set up an appointment with my receptionist? I’d like to give him a
thorough examination to make sure we haven’t overlooked anything. The vet at
the shelter, Dr. Roberts, is excellent, but I know how busy he is. He doesn’t
have the time or financial resources to address every little issue.”

“Whatever you
think Skip needs. You’re the boss.”

Before Erika could
respond, a middle aged woman wearing pink scrubs came out of the back. “Oh, I’m
so sorry to keep you waiting, Dr. Carlton. Jessica called in sick and we’re a
bit short staffed.”

Erika smiled.
“It’s no problem, Bernice. We weren’t waiting long.” She raised her hand. “This
is my…” her eyes locked with Evan’s, “
friend
, Evan Spencer, and his new
dog, Skipper. Evan works long hours, so Skip’s going to spend his days here
with us.”