I love you and everything, but there are things I could use a man for. Like… reaching the dishes on the top shelf, changing light bulbs, and to give Raphael a break once in a while.”
Risa covered her face and laughed. “I don’t want to hear about your battery-operated friend.” She got up and let the pups out again, then stood by the door watching them play in the yard. “At least you have one.”
“Hey, I told you I’d take you shopping, since you’re too chicken to walk into an adult novelty store by yourself.”
“Thanks, but I’m still going to pass.”
“You know they have online stores—”
“Just shoot me now.” She caught Fiona’s giant smile, shook her head, and signaled for Fee to follow her outside. “Can we please change the subject?”
“Fine. You don’t want to talk about the hot guy—and yes, I know he was hot, or you wouldn’t have noticed him. I don’t have a love life to talk about. Dylan is fabulous.” She leaned against the rabbit cage as Risa checked their water and refilled their food dishes. “What did you mean by take care of your parents? Is there something going on that I don’t know about?”
Risa took out Buggsy first and cuddled him. “No, healthy and happy. Mum’s thrilled that school is gearing back up. She does love molding college minds, and Dad got a promotion not long ago, but they’re getting up there. Pretty soon they’re going to retire, and what if something happens to one of them?”
“Nothing is going to happen to them. They’re still young.”
“Dad doesn’t know how to do more than make a fried egg sandwich, and Mum can’t balance the checkbook to save her life.”
She buried her nose in Buggsy’s fur before putting him back and lifting out Lolita. Thinking about her parents in their golden years unsettled her. If they got ill, how would she take care of them? Her place was too small, and they didn’t have the acreage for her animals at her childhood home.
Plus, they drove her utterly mad after five minutes.
“I think he knows more than he lets on, and your mom can use computer software that will figure out all the details for her, so stop worrying.” Fee’s tone, along with the eye-roll, pursed lips, and bored sighed, told her it was time to change the subject.
“Hey, did I tell you I’m going to adopt a mini?”
“A mini-what?”
“Horse.” Risa put Lolita back in her pen and secured the top to make sure her babies were safe from any wild predators. “Maybe Dylan would like to give me a hand on the weekends once I bring her home. It’s a great introduction for him.”
“Oh, like in that commercial where all the other horses shunned the poor little guy, so the woman put in a doggy door and the horse could come into the house?”
“Right, except I’m going to build her a barn.”
“Can you ride them? They’re kind of small.”
“Hence the word ‘mini.’ So no.”
“Then what on earth are you going to do with it?”
Risa sighed loudly. She loved Fee, who was a great friend, but totally didn’t get her love of animals. “I’m going to train her to be a service animal like I did with the dogs, and if that doesn’t work, she’ll be a companion for the next horse I adopt.”
Fee laughed and shook her head. “Adopt away. The more animals you have, the less likely you’ll fall for some sweet-talking sailor and leave me.”
“No worries there. You know I have a strict no-dating-military-guys rule.” Which was almost a shame, because Jax had been nearly perfect—tall, good-looking with a quiet, commanding presence, those mesmerizing hazel eyes, and a devotion to his dog. What more could a woman want?
Not much, if only that woman wasn’t Risa.
* * * *
Risa had just rounded the corner after leaving Bella in her kennel when she collided and tripped over a bag of dog food. The floor rose up. She reached out and grabbed ahold of the desk and… Oh dear Lord, Jackson’s pants.
More precisely, the area below the waist and way above the knees.
Quickly as if her hand were on fire—or groping his privates—she let go. She went down and would have face planted if Jax hadn’t grabbed her elbow and helped her up.
Way to start the day.
“Good morning, Doc. Were you looking for me?” His southern drawl was like melted caramel over ice cream—sweet and smooth.
He had a towel wrapped around his neck and wore a green T-shirt and military working pants. Droplets of water trickled down his face from his damp hair, and he smelled like… wet dog. Or maybe that was the dogs? She stepped closer and took a quick whiff of pure male and clean soap.
“How’s my girl this morning?” Jax’s greenish-blue eyes twinkled with flecks of gold and brown.
His girl. She liked the sound of that, even though she shouldn’t. And what a strange thing for him to say since they’d just met. Clearly he could tell she wasn’t married, with the bare ring finger, but maybe she had...oh. It took a moment for the warm fuzzies fogging her brain to clear and realize he was talking about Bella.
“Good. She’s good.” She needed her focus on work and not on Jax’s impressive biceps. “Quiet. Do you know if she’s had her morning pain medication?”
“She hasn’t. I wanted to wait about an hour after she ate so she wouldn’t be too groggy to take care of her business. I gave her the last dose eight hours ago.”
Risa glanced at her watch. That meant Bella would have been medicated at eleven p.m.. Plenty of time for the effects to wear off. “Is it possible that whomever was on duty already gave it to her, before you got here this morning?”
He shook his head. “No one has gone near my girl, except me.”
“But what about last night when you went home?”
“I haven’t left her side until ten minutes ago to wash up.”
Risa’s jaw dropped. “You spent the night here?”
“Slept on the cot over there.” He nodded to his right. “Or tried to. Bella whined a lot, like she was in pain. She would only go to sleep when I was with her.”
“You should have called me.”
“No point in both of us losing sleep.”
“She seems okay right now, but if you find a half-tablet isn’t managing her pain, you can give her the entire pill.” Risa stepped away to leave, then stopped. “I’ll be back to check on her this afternoon. If you want, I could stay with her tonight. That way your wife doesn’t get mad.”
Why the heck had she said that? It was none of her business if he was married. Plus, he was on her “not-happening”
