Sugar Springs (18 page)

He might have to eventually do a better job of explaining that.

Ignoring Joanie for the moment, he scanned over the rest of the guests. There was Keri—still bursting at the seams, as that baby had yet to come—three people he didn’t recognize, and Buddy Sawyer, the one who’d been spreading any and every rumor he could think of about Cody. Given the fact Cody had busted out his hardware store window on his way out of town before, he probably deserved the animosity. He’d anonymously sent the man a few thousand in product a few years back when he’d finally been able to do something to make up for it. The contribution had soothed his conscience but of course did nothing for the man who, as the girls had informed him, apparently still felt Cody was a “hoodlum.”

The rest of the table consisted of Sam, the girls, Reba, and of course Lee Ann. She sat at the opposite end, separated from him by all the traditional Thanksgiving dishes.

He returned his attention to Joanie and gave her as fake a smile as she wore. “So far so good today, Jo.” He shot her a wink meant to irritate. It probably wasn’t the wisest move to piss off Lee Ann’s confidant, but he didn’t appreciate the attack at the dining room table. He’d quit letting people take advantage of him the day after he’d met Stephanie. “If anyone comes at me with bad news, though, I’ll sic Boss on them. He thinks he’s my protector these days.”

She snorted. “From what I’ve seen, he’s a big baby. Every woman you come into contact with has to stop and pet him while he just sits there lapping it up.”

Some wanted to pet other things, too, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. Nor had he let them. He was in town to do a job...and now to get to know his kids...and that was all. He glanced down the table at Lee Ann and wondered if that would, in fact, be all. Or if he and Lee might have a bit of unfinished
business as well. He couldn’t help but feel like there was still something there.

He took the next dish from Sam and turned his attention away from his libido. “How about you bring Josie in next week, Sam? I’d love to get a look at her. Let her spend the day with me so I can monitor her sugar level and get her the right dosage of insulin.”

He’d learned the sick dog’s name from Keri. The dog had been on shots at one point, but Sam had run out and by the time Keri found out, the dog’s glucose level had risen sharply. They needed to get it back under control before it led to blindness or worse.

“I don’t know,” Sam hedged. Cody wondered if Sam’s hesitation was purely because of him, or if the man was running low on funds. From everything he’d heard, the man loved his dog. Surely he couldn’t stand to see her suffer.

Cody motioned to the other end of the table. “You trust Lee Ann, don’t you? She wouldn’t have invited me over if she didn’t believe I’d changed, grown up. Plus, I could use some help at the clinic. You hang around and keep Josie and my dog, Boss, company between blood tests, and I’ll give you a deal of half price.”

Keri’s eyebrows rose, then she tilted her head slightly in acknowledgment that he’d made the right choice. Cody would ensure the other half of the man’s charge was paid himself—he had no intention of shorting the clinic—but clearly Keri agreed that he’d keyed in on part of the issue with Sam.

Sam leaned forward and squinted down the table at Lee Ann before plopping back in his chair. He gave a half shrug. “Josie has been feeling pretty rough lately. I guess I could
give it a shot.” He pointed his work-roughened finger at Cody. “But I’ll know if you ain’t doing a good job.”

Cody held his hand out. “You’ll see I
am
doing a good job. I’m glad you’re giving me a chance, Sam. Come on by any day next week.”

Sam grudgingly shook his hand, before promptly shoving a bite of roll between his dentures. Buddy Sawyer made an irritated sound. Then silence fell as everyone finished filling their plates and began to eat.

More and more, curious looks were shot in Cody’s direction. Lee Ann tried to start a conversation a couple times, but each one soon died out as those around the table returned to sneaking peeks at the troublemaker they’d found themselves seated with.

“Tell us about your work in LA, Cody,” Keri insisted. “I’ve never known anyone who does doggy plastic surgery.”

His teeth cracked together as everyone swiveled their head in his direction.

“You do plastic surgery on dogs?” Candy asked. At least something had gotten her to speak to him.

“Sometimes.” But it wasn’t as bad as the look on the faces gaping at him indicated. He earned good money and he did a surgery only if the animal truly needed it. “There are instances where a pet’s quality of life would be better with a certain lift or adjustment.”

Keri leaned in as far as her belly would allow and peered over the dishes at him. “How did a general practitioner get involved with doggy face-lifts and nose jobs?”

“It’s all who you know, I guess.” He gave her a genuine smile. They’d already talked about this in the office when she’d asked, but clearly she was trying to help him out instead of
just having everyone sit and gawk at him. He appreciated it. Having something to talk about was always better than being the freak show in center stage.

“A friend from school went into orthopedic veterinary medicine and ended up in Los Angeles with one of the more renowned clinics. As they took on more clients who insisted on less scarring, Crocker, my buddy, remembered that particular talent of mine. The practice eventually grew to handle more than just orthopedics, and I’m one of the surgeons they call on when they need extra hands.” He winked. “I can sew up an animal more precisely than ladies’ maids once tied up corsets.”

Soft chuckles bounced around the table from the men.

Candy scrunched her nose in disgust. “I don’t understand why someone would spend money to make their dog prettier.”

“They have more money than brains,” Lee Ann muttered. The women murmured agreements.

“If I had a dog I would love him just like he was,” Candy declared. “I—”

“I’ve read about it, though,” Kendra piped in. With the interruption, Candy shoved a bite of potatoes in her mouth and Kendra continued. “Sometimes they have so many folds of skin, it’s healthier to have plastic surgery.”

“Exactly.” His daughter might be seriously interested in veterinary medicine if she’d read about plastics.

“Then I wouldn’t—”

“I want to be a vet, too, did you know that?” Kendra interrupted her sister again. “Just like you and Dr. Wright. And I’m already learning. Dr. Wright lets me come to her office sometimes and help out.”

“Is that right?” Cody was impressed. He hadn’t known she’d been helping up at the clinic. He took another look at
the lady vet, noticed her exhaustion, evidenced by the dark circles under her eyes, and couldn’t help but wonder where the father of her child was. Then he got it. Everyone at the table was there because they had no family to share the holiday with.

Everyone except Lee Ann, Candy, Kendra, and Reba. They were the surrogate family for all of these people.

Dr. Wright smiled. “Kendra is a very bright student. I’ve no doubt she’ll make you proud someday.”

He stiffened. That was the first indication that someone other than Lee Ann and Reba knew he was the girls’ father. He glanced around the table, but no one made a big deal of the comment or what it implied. They also had all found something more interesting to look at than him all of a sudden. The Sugar Springs grapevine was seriously amazing.

Kendra glowed at him from her seat. “I want to be a specialist. A neurosurgeon. I’ve read all about it.”

Pride bumped inside his chest. He’d never been proud of anything but his own accomplishments before. “That sounds like a good plan, but don’t stop working with Dr. Wright. You don’t always know what you’ll love best until you’ve gotten some experience.”

“Oh, I don’t intend to let her back out on our agreement.” Keri smiled at Kendra. “As soon as I’m back to work, she promised to come in for two hours a week until school was out, on Saturdays. Then I have her for six hours a week next summer.”

“I’m sure she’ll make a terrific assistant. I might let her help me out as well while you’re out, if you’re okay with that.”

He caught Candy’s sullen expression as she stared down at her plate. Did she want to help out, too?

“That sounds perfect to me,” Keri said. “Now, tell us more about some of the jobs you’ve taken. And how you came to be
someone who travels to different locations instead of working in the same office year-round.” She looked around. “If the others don’t mind, of course.”

After general agreement for him to continue, and another glance at a withdrawn Candy, he detailed several of the locations he’d been to in the last couple of years. “But how I got started in all of this was because of Dr. Hutchinson in Chicago. He passed away before I earned my degree. If it hadn’t been for him, I might never have gone to school.” As well as for Lee Ann, but he would keep that to himself. The group didn’t need to know what she’d meant to him back then. “When I worked for Dr. Hutchinson, I always liked how he would keep an eye out, as he was out driving around, for animals that might need a little help.”

As well as stupid humans like him who had no more sense than to live on the street in the dead of winter.

“After I spent the first year after graduation in a clinic in Baltimore, I decided that I’d do my own version of traveling around looking to help. There are always communities like yours that would be in bad shape if no one were there to care for the animals.” He shrugged. “I like being there for a bit, and then I move on. It’s always suited my lifestyle.”

Only he wasn’t sure how it would suit fatherhood.

One day he’d do more to honor his mentor, too. Specifically in the area of a scholarship. Exactly as Doc had done for him. Cody was convinced that if that man hadn’t come along, not only would his dog have died instead of living to a respectable age, but he would have as well.

Though it had taken him years to accept his living through that night as a good thing, he now believed wholeheartedly
that it was. He may not be the ideal person in all ways, but he did his due diligence to do the right thing these days.

He caught sight of Lee Ann, and his chest swelled. She was watching him across the table with a look of admiration he’d once only dreamed of seeing coming from her. It made him feel like he hadn’t turned out so bad after all.

“I see,” Joanie said, rejoining the conversation, her tone still what he’d call snarky. She pointed her fork at him, eyes glinting. “Not quite the loser you tried to pretend you were in high school, huh? At least not in the education field.”

“Joanie.” Lee Ann spoke softly, clearly trying to keep her friend and the father of her children from sparring. She glanced around at her guests. “Let’s change the subject. Candy, why don’t you ask our guests what they’re thankful for? Start with Sam.”

Cody lowered his silverware and sat back in his chair as Sam Jenkins began listing off his many reasons for being a part of this celebration. A big holiday dinner was not Cody’s idea of a good time, but good time or not, he was glad he was here. The looks the girls kept passing him—even though Candy’s were few and far between, and mostly hostile—along with what little conversation they’d exchanged, had sealed his fate. He had to be in their lives.

And then there was Lee Ann.

He glanced her way, and a gush of heat swirled through him at the sight of her. He was glad he’d come. Something about the homey atmosphere she’d created, which should have scared the devil out of him, made him desire to be closer to her instead. To push and prod and see what was there. Her enthusiasm to give everyone a special day, along with her honest warmth toward her guests, would charm anyone.
Add to that the calm way she’d heralded Buddy back to the table once he’d laid eyes on Cody, and she was one special lady. It reminded him why he’d once fallen so hard for her.

Low giggles pulled his attention to the girls. The laugh had come from Kendra, but Candy was finally looking a little like she was actually enjoying herself. They sat with their heads together, sharing a secret as guests continued extolling the many things they were thankful for, and he couldn’t help being thankful for them. Lee Ann shot the girls a look and they went silent but peeked at their grandmother from under their lashes.

Time with them would be limited once this job was over, but there was always the phone and e-mail. He wondered if staying in touch in either of those fashions would interest them. If asked only last week, he would’ve vehemently denied a desire for anyone to ever get to know him enough to care. Today he knew that to be a lie. Another soft giggle made him try to figure out what was so funny.

He glanced at Reba and caught her wiggling her eyebrows at the girls before giving the slightest of nods toward Lee Ann. Both girls glanced in Lee Ann’s direction, and he followed their gaze. Lee Ann looked down at her plate the instant he made eye contact. She’d been staring at him.

He grinned. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him any more than he could her.

He studied the orange material peeking out between the open buttons over her chest. He had no real place in her family, though, and that’s what she needed. A husband for herself and a father for her kids.

The roll he’d just taken a bite of stuck in his throat. Her kids?
He
was their father. He glanced at them, their smiles so
much like his, and coughed into his hand to clear the bread. He didn’t want some other man being their father.

“What about you...Dad?”

“What?” He jerked his head up and saw that it was Kendra who’d spoken. His heart pounded. Had she called him “Dad”?

“What are you thankful for this year?” This came from Candy.

The entire table grew silent as they waited for his answer. Even though he didn’t know all of them, it was clear from the sparkle in every set of eyes facing him that he should be grateful he’d just learned he had two children.

His gaze shifted back to Candy and Kendra, and he knew he was. Really grateful. He was also terrified out of his mind. “I’m grateful it wasn’t another thirteen years before I learned I fathered two girls.”