“Call Mandy,” Maryann said as they skipped down the steps and strode toward the house next door. “Get her techie husband on Noah’s case. Surely he didn’t pay for everything with cash, and Zeke has a great record of tracking people down.”
“I’m not asking my boss’s husband to track down a man who clearly doesn’t want me to know where he is.”
“She’s your friend and your boss.” She started the car. “To the clinic?”
“Yes, the clinic.”
“If you don’t call Mandy, I will.”
“You’re good at that,” Abby said.
“We care about you,” Maryann said without missing a beat. “I’ll call whoever I have to in order to help you, Abs. You’re like my sister, and I can tell that Noah—”
“Maryann, please don’t.”
“No, I’m driving, and it’s my car, and I get to talk.” She took a big breath, and Abby wished the clinic was closer so she didn’t have to endure this lecture. “Even though you only knew him for a few days, I could tell he made you happy. Happier than you’d been in a long time.”
“Can this car go any faster?”
“She’s old.” Maryann slipped her a look. “This is as fast as she goes.”
Abby knew that wasn’t true, as she’d driven this car twice this fast. Frustration sat on the back of her tongue as Maryann brought the car to a full stop and checked both ways, twice.
“Do you want Doctor Hanks to sell the clinic to someone else?” Abby demanded.
“I want you to admit you have real feelings for Noah.”
Abby pressed her lips together. “He was here for three days.”
“So what? I didn’t even own a motorcycle when I met Shane. And yet somehow I needed to go into his shop several times a week.” She finally turned onto the main road that would lead them into town and to the clinic.
Abby felt like her skin wasn’t an adequate barrier to the world around her. Surely her cells would explode out of their containment before they arrived at the clinic.
“Just admit you like him.” Maryann actually slowed down.
Abby could play this game. Was really good at pretending she was enjoying something when she wasn’t. But she’d had six days to really examine her feelings, examine every minute of the three days she’d had with Noah, and she hadn’t pretended with him. Not once.
“I like him,” she whispered.
“What was that?” Maryann actually cupped her palm around her ear.
Abby couldn’t help the smile that graced her face. “I like him.”
“How much do you like him?”
“About fifty miles-per-hour worth of like.” She certainly felt like she’d been on a roller coaster going seventy miles-per-hour since the moment she’d met Noah. She’d done things for him and with him that she hadn’t done with anyone ever before. And they’d felt right.
Maryann accelerated, and Abby pulled out her phone and hesitated. She’d called Noah twice right after he’d left and then decided to simply let him do what he needed to do. He’d said he’d be back, and she’d wanted to honor and trust that.
Her definition of “a few” was different than his, obviously. She called him, hoping he’d please, please answer.
“Abby, please don’t say anything,” he said by way of hello. Pure relief rushed through her. “I haven’t called for a reason, but I’m almost back to Mimosa Key.”
“Good,” she said, her voice with more bite and bark than anything else. “Because someone else is about to buy your clinic, and I need you to get there as fast as you can.”
Maryann pulled into the clinic, and this early in the morning, there shouldn’t have been any cars. But there was a very shiny, very expensive-looking Cadillac. “That’s not good,” she said as she sized up the building.
“There’s no one else here,” Abby said. “Look, he’s still sitting in his car.” She reached for the door handle, but paused.
“Abby, what’s going on?” Noah asked.
“There’s a lawyer here, Noah. He said he just needs one final signature to buy the animal clinic.”
“But my lawyer—” He swore, and Abby thought she could hear the roar of an engine as he pressed on the gas pedal. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Don’t let Albert sign anything.” The call ended, and while it wasn’t exactly the first conversation Abby wanted to have with Noah, at least he was coming back.
The lawyer got out of his car, a thin binder in his hand.
“What’s the play?” Maryann asked.
Abby sized up the lawyer. She’d encountered men like him before. “Let’s go,” she said, opening the door and straightening. “Noah needs ten minutes, and I can give him that.”
“Right with you, Abby.”
She faced the clinic and then looked at her friend. “Thanks, Maryann. For everything.”
“I just want you to be happy.”
“I know.” Abby wanted that too, and she knew being a maid wasn’t her ticket to bliss. Maybe Noah and this clinic weren’t either, but she wasn’t going to let either of them go without a fight.
10
Noah cursed himself for getting caught up in the Appalachians. But he hadn’t been able to resist the siren’s call of Mount Mitchell, the tallest peak east of the Mississippi River. He’d climbed the peak with his dogs over the course of two days—with a foot of snow on the ground.
He’d driven to Asheville, North Carolina in one day on his flight away from Mimosa Key, but he’d taken it slower coming back and stopped in Jacksonville. He wanted everything to click right into place for him and Abby when he returned, and he’d anticipated having to deliver some hefty explanations of his own.
He skipped stopping at the four-way stop upon entering town, and the SUV’s tires spit gravel as he pulled into the animal clinic’s parking lot. There was a black Cadillac and another sedan, but he couldn’t see any people.
“Come on, guys.” He kept scanning the area, thinking he should be able to hear some barking, a cat’s meow, something. But the morning was eerily quiet, and the air carried the scent of salt and flowers with the hint of animals in the background.
Lord Pawton barked and raced toward the fence on the side of the house. Barksdale, in his usual fashion, waited for Noah to lift him to the ground before he trotted after the black lab.
“Hello?” Noah called, something not sitting quite right in his gut. Where was Abby? Whose car was that?
Another car turned into the parking lot, this one containing Albert Hanks. He parked next to Noah and got out. “Noah? What are you doing here?” He took in the other cars and a blip of concern crossed his expression. “Is there an emergency?”
Barksdale came over and licked Albert’s hand. “Hey, boy.” The veterinarian laughed, cutting the sound off quickly. “I didn’t think you’d have the paperwork for another few days.”
“I’m not here with paperwork,” Noah said, his nerves still buzzing. Had Abby lied—he cut the horrible thought to its wick. He was done second-guessing her. Done wondering if she’d been truthful with him. While he’d been out on the trail, his head had been so clear. She had been so real. His feelings for her, though still new, were real.
“Abby said someone else was here with paperwork.” Noah glanced around, hoping she’d appear so he could soak in her spirit. “Our deal is still on, right?”
Before he could answer, Lord Pawton went nuts, barking and growling and leaping away from the fence. Albert exchanged a glance with Noah, and both men started walking toward the dog.
“Pawton,” Noah called, but the dog didn’t even twitch toward him.
“Noah!”
He paused, trying to locate the sound of his name. Had it come from behind the fence? He definitely thought it was Abby’s voice.
“Nope, this one is locked too,” a woman said in a very loud voice. Not Abby.
“Abby?” he called.
“Oh, the doctor must be here,” she practically yelled from behind the fence. He looked a
t Albert, who had questions written in his eyes. “I have no idea what’s going on, but let’s go find out. Do you have a key to that fence?”
“Of course, but that’s where we keep our boarded dogs.” Albert stepped toward the fence, and Pawton finally calmed when the older gentleman approached. “Go on, bud,” he said, and the dog settled right down and sat. Noah marveled at the dog’s behavior, and he hoped to have that kind of calm control when he was a vet.
“Are there any animals near the gate?” he called.
“No,” Abby said.
He unlocked the gate, and there she was in all her tall, blonde glory. Noah’s breath caught in the back of his throat, and he knew in that moment that he’d taken the first step toward falling in love with her.
“I am so embarrassed,” she said, her eyes wide and trying to communicate something to both Albert and Noah. “I can’t believe I left my keys at home on the day the lawyer was coming with the final papers. I swear I would’ve had him wait in your office, Doctor Hanks.” She took a deep breath and wiped her hand across her forehead.
“I didn’t know a lawyer was coming today,” Albert said. “But why don’t we go inside and figure this all out?” He turned toward the front of the clinic, and Abby went with him, casting a shy look at Noah and tucking her hair as if she had any to tuck. A second woman with dark hair followed her, a wealth of knowledge in her eyes.
“You must be Noah,” she said.
“I am.” He wasn’t sure what she’d heard about him, but with the knowing look, he hoped it was something good.
“Noah Benson?” A man followed the women. Tall, with a head full of dark hair and glasses, he was definitely the lawyer who drove the Cadillac.
Noah narrowed his eyes at him. “Who’s asking?”
“Merrick Noble, on behalf of Jules Rust.”
The words knocked Noah back a couple of steps. “Jules Rust?”
“I just need your signature.”
Nothing made sense, and Noah frowned as everyone else rounded the front corner of the building, leaving him alone with the lawyer. “You’re not here to buy this animal clinic?”
Merrick blinked, clearly surprised by Noah’s question. “Why would Jules want an animal clinic in Florida?”
“Great question.”
The lawyer shook his head. “I feel like we’re having two separate conversations. I’m here to get your signature. For the Lions Creek Lodge. Jules is selling it to you.”
Noah didn’t follow them into the clinic, and Abby had finished her explanation for why she’d gone traipsing all over the property. “And we were just trying to stall him.”
At least Dr. Hanks had rolled with the bizarre situation. “As long as the animals are okay.”
“They are one-hundred percent okay,” Maryann said, flashing him a bright smile. Abby was so glad she’d come along. “So you don’t know about another offer on the clinic?”
“There is no other offer,” Dr. Hanks said. “I’m not sure what’s going on.” He glanced toward the doorway. “Where’s Noah?”
Ah, the question of the hour. Of the last six days, actually.
“Let’s just see what he has to say when he comes in,” Maryann said.
The resulting silence felt charged and awkward, only intensifying when Dr. Hanks leaned forward and asked, “So, Abby, is your aunt seeing anyone?”
Abby choked, so caught off-guard by the question that she couldn’t breathe.
“Aunt Macey?” Maryann asked. “Oh, heavens, no. She hasn’t dated since her husband passed five years ago.”
Dr. Hanks switched his attention to Maryann. “Do you, uh, think she’d be interested in a retired veterinarian who has a soft spot for photography?”
Abby honestly couldn’t imagine Aunt Macey doing more than making tea and knitting, but as she thought about it, she realized her aunt wasn’t really that old. She certainly still had several good years ahead of her, and maybe Dr. Hanks was exactly who she needed to get her out of the house and living again.
She exchanged a glance with Maryann but couldn’t answer Dr. Hanks before Noah finally made an appearance.
Abby tried not to find him so darn attractive, but it was impossible. He’d pulled his hair into a ponytail and his whole presence filled the office as he entered. His dark eyes caught on her, but he didn’t smile. He looked a little out of it.
“Noah, did you figure out who that was?” Dr. Hanks asked. “Is he coming in?”
“He left.” Noah looked down at the same binder the lawyer had been holding. “He wasn’t here for you, Albert.” He met the vet’s eye. “He was here for me. Apparently Jules—my ex—didn’t know exactly where to find me, but she tracked me down through the legal documents I had prepared to buy this clinic, and sent her lawyer to get in touch with me here.”
Abby couldn’t help herself. She stood and edged a bit closer to him, that magnetic attraction between them as strong as ever. She had so much to say to him, and none of it could be said in front of Maryann and Dr. Hanks.
“Why did she need to get in touch with you?” she asked, her heart pulsing in little blips instead of a full beat.
He finally looked at her, right at her, and she dove into the depths of his dark eyes. The spark was still in his eyes too, and she tracked the movement in his throat as he swallowed, her fingertips tingling for when she could trace his jaw, touch his hair.
“She wants to sell me Lions Creek Lodge.” He tacked a chuckle onto the end of the statement, but Abby didn’t find anything funny about what he’d said.
Numbness spread through her. Her mouth worked but no sound came out. She was aware of Maryann saying something, but she didn’t comprehend what. All she knew was that a hand landed on her shoulder and pushed her out of the office and down the hall.
The morning air hit her when she stepped out of the clinic, and everything rushed forward again.
“The lodge in Jackson Hole?” she asked.
“Okay, you go with him and figure things out,” Maryann said. “I’m going to go see how your aunt feels about dating a retired veterinarian.” Just like that, she left. Left Abby alone with Noah, who was still gripping that binder like it was the most important thing he owned.
A fire started in her stomach. A fire that had everything to do with Noah’s touch that she hadn’t experienced in six days. A fire that was fed with anger at his muteness.
“So I guess you’ll be going back to Jackson Hole,” she said, unwilling to play games. She lifted her chin and dared him to lie to her. “Oh, and ‘a few’ days is three or four. You’ve been gone for six.”
“Are you engaged to Marcus Malone?”
“Not anymore. Not since the day you stole my car and left Florida.”
“I wrote a note about the car.” He gave her a sexy smile that nearly undid the last six days of frustration and fury. “And how do you know I left Florida?”
Abby shifted her feet. So maybe she’d called Mandy and had asked if Zeke could help find Noah. And he did use credit and debit cards—in Asheville, North Carolina and Jacksonville, Florida.
“Abby,” he said, his voice like a warm blanket she wanted to wrap herself in. “I just needed some time to…get unengaged myself.” He took a step toward her but fell back before touching her. “Jules never gave me my ring back either, but my mom said it arrived at her place yesterday.”
“That’s great,” she said, her voice a little too high.
“And I love the mountains,” he said, looking at the binder. “I Googled you, and I went hiking, and…” His words faded into silence, leaving only I Googled you.
A sob tore through her throat. She should’ve known better than to think she could outrun the Internet. Once something was online, it never went away, and now he knew who she really was.
She fled as fast as her feet would carry her, not bothering to stop when Noah called after her. He caught her after a few seconds anyway, putting both of his strong hands on her shoulders and holding her in place.
“I didn’t read anything, Abby,” he said. “I realized it didn’t matter to me who you were in LA. All that matters is who you are now.”
She gulped at the air, trying to get enough, trying to understand what he’d said.
“I don’t think you look better with long hair.” He stroked his hand over her hair and down the side of her face. “I like it short. It looks like you.” He smiled at her softly. “I had all these plans for how I’d explain everything to you, and standing out in front of our animal clinic wasn’t anywhere in there.” He chuckled, the sound nervous.
Our animal clinic rang in her ears.
“Anyway, I turned off the laptop without reading a single thing, and I hiked Mount Mitchell, and I planned how we were going to both stay on the island, and maybe fall in love, and have lots of dogs and babies, and well, what do you think of that idea?”
Abby could only stare at him. “You’re not going to buy the lodge?”
“I only have enough money to buy the clinic or the lodge. Not both.”
“You never did tell me how you have so much money.”
“No, I never did.” And he wasn’t volunteering the information now, either. “You always did like a mystery.” His fingers trailed over her shoulder, sending a cascade of shivers across her skin.
“You promised me you wouldn’t Google me.” She couldn’t keep the hurt from her voice.
“It’s the only promise I’ll ever break,” he whispered, dipping his head so his lips brushed her ear. “You didn’t answer my question about the island, and the shelter, and the dogs, and the babies.”
Warmth bloomed in her heart and spread through her whole body as he trailed his mouth along her throat. “I was going to tell you about Marcus,” she said, maintaining her composure though everything inside her wanted to kiss him immediately. “I was going to tell you at dinner, I swear.”
He drew back and gazed down on her, a look of love in his eyes. “I know you were, Abby.”
She blew out her breath as the last of her frustrations fled, replaced by a desire to have everything out in the open between them. Cocking her head, she said, “I can’t believe your mom won the lottery.”