Fly with Me (36 page)

“Right.” The
vet looked around at a sound from a back room. “Ah, Tish is here.”
He carefully gathered Arthur into his arms.

Arthur hissed
but otherwise didn’t move.

“I’ll check in
later, old man,” Simon promised him.

“I need some
details from you,” the vet said. “I’ll just get him out to Tish and
she can start getting him ready.” The sound of a phone ringing made
him wince again. “If you two want to wait in the reception area,
I’ll be right out.”

Unexpectedly,
Elissa reached out and stroked Arthur’s nose, just a light touch.
Arthur didn’t move, just kept his gaze on Simon.

Feeling like a
traitor, Simon followed Elissa from the room. He could swear
Arthur’s eye was burning a hole in his back, but when he glanced
over his shoulder the examination room was empty.

Standing at
the counter, he looked down at Elissa beside him. “All right?”

She looked up
at him, her face still pale. “Are you?”

“I will be
once I know he’s okay,” he replied honestly.

“Same here.”
She nodded.

For the first
time he noticed the smears of blood on her light jumper, the pale
blue dotted with red and dirt. “I’m afraid your jumper needs
washing.”

“I don’t care
about my jumper.” Her voice wobbled. “I care about Arthur.” She
looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “I care about you.”

As worried
about the old cat as he was, Simon could nevertheless feel warmth
wash through him at her words. The concern for him was stamped all
over her - the tears in her eyes, the way she clung to his hand,
the way her other hand kept rubbing his arm in a gesture of
comfort.

Sliding an arm
around her, he pulled her against him, resting his chin on her
head. “I’m all right, Lis. Arthur is in the best of care. And I’m
so glad you found him.”

“Whoever hit
him and then left him should be shot.” She sniffled.

“Totally
agree, sweetheart.” He hugged her closer.

Elissa’s arms
slid around his waist, giving him a hug back. They stayed like that
for several minutes, just drawing comfort from each other until
footsteps sounded from the back room. Simon released Elissa enough
to simply hug her into his side as they both turned to face the
vet.

“Okay, we’re
ready to start running the tests very soon.” The vet looked at the
computer, jiggled the mouse. “Sorry. I’m new to this system and
Tish, my nurse, didn’t really spend a lot of time on the reception
computer. Den’s wife ran the reception and she pretty much ruled
it. Unfortunately, it means that now she’s left we’re battling to
sort things out. I’m hoping to get my own system up and running
shortly.” He glanced up. “I’m Grant.”

“Grant.” Simon
nodded. “I’m Simon and this is Elissa.”

“Right.”
Obviously giving up on the computer, Grant grabbed a sheet of
paper. “I’ll get you to write your details on here and I’ll enter
it into the computer later.” His grin was sudden. “I promise you I
can operate the equipment out back.”

“I’m holding
you to that.” Simon scribbled down his name, address and contact
details.

Grant took it
from him. “I’ll let you know how he’s doing.”

Knowing there
was no reason to linger any longer, Simon reluctantly left the
clinic, holding the door open so Elissa could precede him.

She glanced
back at the clinic over her shoulder before turning her attention
to him. “I’ll come and check on him while you’re at work.”

“I appreciate
that.” He opened the car passenger door. “I know Hank won’t mind me
coming over at lunchtime, but it’ll be nice to know you’re also
checking on him.” He smiled down at her as she slid into the
passenger seat. “Thanks.”

“No worries.”
When he’d settled himself behind the steering wheel she added,
“Grant seems nice.”

“Yeah. He’s
new to town, so I don’t know much about him.” Simon glanced at her.
“Thanks for being there for Arthur, and for me.”

She smiled a
little. “No worries.”

The drive back
to Scott’s home was silent, Elissa seemingly occupied with her own
thoughts as she gazed out the side window of the van. Part of Simon
was wondering at her thoughts, the other part of him back with
Arthur in the clinic hoping like hell he’d be all right. He’d grown
fond of the cantankerous old cat, and the thought that he might die
was, he admitted, painful.

Knowing he
risked running late for work, Simon dropped Elissa off in Scott’s
driveway but didn’t go inside. He watched as she got out, wanting
to ask her if she’d thought anymore of their conversation.

Surprising
him, Elissa walked around to his side of the car, bending over to
look through the open window at him. Curiously, he waited.

“He’s in good
hands,” she said. “He’s in the best place.”

“I know.” He
nodded.

She hesitated,
then surprised him even more by leaning in suddenly, brushing her
lips across his in a light kiss before she drew back with a flush
on her cheeks. “I’ll talk to you later.”

Simon watched
as she hurried across the driveway to the veranda, going up the
steps before she gave him a brief wave before disappearing inside
the house.

“
I’ll talk
to you later.”
So what did that mean? Reversing back onto the
main road, he put the van in gear and drove home, his mind
churning. Did she mean she’d talk to him about their discussion?
Did the kiss she’d given him mean that she’d decided to give them a
chance? Was he reading more into it than she meant? Was she just
giving him more comfort? Did she mean she’d contact him later about
Arthur?

That brought
his thoughts to Arthur. Poor old bugger, he was probably being
x-rayed right now and trying to eat Grant and Tish’s hands at the
same time. They probably had to drug him, but would they risk it
with his injuries? Did Arthur think he’d been abandoned twice now,
the first time by Mrs Tanner, the second time by Simon?

Shit.
Frowning, Simon assured himself that Arthur was in the best place.
Grant was definitely a bit stressed by his computer system and
reception area, but he’d handled Arthur with care and kindness.

Pulling into
the driveway, he had another thought, one a whole lot better. If
Arthur was okay, he’d be coming straight home to Simon’s house.
That fixed the whole having to trap him problem. Simon would just
bring him here and shut him inside until he settled down.

There was a
silver lining in the bloody dark cloud after all.

As long as
Arthur made it.

~*~

Going into the
clinic that evening after work, Simon found Arthur sitting gingerly
in his cage. A bowl of cat food sat beside him, but he was casting
the litter tray scornful looks. As Simon neared, he eyeballed
him.

“Hey, man.”
Simon stuck his finger through the wire, relief filling him when
Arthur sniffed the tip of it before giving a small hiss. “Feeling a
bit better, huh?”

“Not the
friendliest of cats,” Grant observed, leaning against the cage.
“But then cats definitely aren’t like dogs.”

“You can say
that again.” Simon grinned, pleased when Arthur suddenly rubbed the
side of his face along Simon’s finger before hurriedly pulling back
and sniffing the food. “He’s looking better.”

“He’s lucky.
Bruising, a couple of cuts and scrapes and that’s all. The
concussion seems to have left no ill-effects. He vomited a bit this
morning but fine this arvo. No signs of haemorrhage, all tests
clear.” Grant watched Arthur taste test the food. “I’d like to keep
him for the night, make sure he’s okay.”

“You’ll take
him home?”

“I live in the
house out back, so I can check him regularly in here.”

“I appreciate
it.” Simon held his hand out. “Really.”

Grant gave him
a quick handshake and grin. “My pleasure. Nice to see pets whose
owners really care about them. It’s what makes these parts of the
job rewarding. Elissa came in several times today to visit
him.”

“She’s one of
a kind.” Simon smiled.

“I’ll
say.”

There was
something in the vet’s voice that had Simon shooting a sharp glance
at him.

Grant
immediately lifted his hands, palms outwards. “Hey, no offence.
While we were discussing the reception job, she mentioned that she
was your girlfriend.”

“She what?”
Simon stilled, unable to believe what he’d just heard.

“We discussed
the reception job. When she came in to see Arthur, we somehow got
talking about the system on the computer and how I was going to
advertise for a receptionist, and hopefully whoever got the job
would be able to sort out the system. Your girlfriend mentioned
she’d done some casual work for a veterinary clinic a few years
ago. I showed her the system and damned if she hadn’t used the same
one.” Grant shook his head. “I was sure we were buggered, but then
Elissa sat down, sorted out a few things, showed me and Tish enough
to get us by for now. Bugger a full interview. I’m desperate, she
knows some of the system, and what more could someone want than the
fact that she’s the local firie’s girlfriend?” Grant laughed. “Good
enough recommendation for me, I can tell you. I doubt the three
month trial will find me looking for another receptionist. From
what I’ve seen of her, Elissa will do us just fine.”

“You offered
her a job?” Simon was stunned. “And she took it?”

“Yep.” Grant
looked a whole lot happier than he had that morning. “She had to
speak to her friend first, however, because of this wedding thing.
I told her I was happy for her to work just a couple of hours a day
if needed until after the wedding, then come on fulltime. She rang
me back after lunch to let me know she was accepting the job, and
we’re sorting the paperwork out tomorrow.”

Elissa was
going to stay in Gully’s Fall and work? And she’d told Grant that
she was Simon’s
girlfriend
? The warmth in Simon was
jitterbugging with hope. That could only mean…

He looked at
Arthur gazing balefully back at him out of his one eye. Arthur was
on the road to recovery, he was safe here for the night, if all
went well he’d be safely ensconced in Simon’s home tomorrow.

That left him
with Elissa. Oh boy.

Somehow, he
managed to remain calm, spent a few more minutes with Arthur for
which the damned cat didn’t look one ounce grateful, thanked Grant
and managed to walk out to the van without actually running.

It wasn’t far
to Scott’s place, the town was small, but it still felt like the
longest drive of his life.

Pulling into
the driveway, he had only just turned the headlights off and got
out when the front door opened. The light in the hallway
silhouetted the generously curved figure in the doorway briefly
before she stepped out onto the veranda, the door closing behind
her, the old-fashioned carriage lamp lighting up the veranda
softly.

Pushing down
his first instinct to run up the steps and grab Elissa, Simon made
himself walk sedately, easily, crossing the distance and stopping
at the bottom of the steps to look up at her where she leaned
against the veranda post.

She watched
him with a slight air of uncertainty, a little nervously, but also
with a hint of anticipation.

All good.

She looked
down at him in silence and he knew. He just
knew
. Slowly, he
climbed the steps until he stood level with her, his gaze now
searching her eyes.

“I got a job
today,” she said.

“I heard.” He
laid a hand on the veranda post above hers, kept their gazes
locked.

Jesus, she
smelled sweet, all floral and light and so damned yummy he could
lick her all over. “I also heard that you told Grant that you were
my girlfriend.” He leaned a little closer.

There was a
definite blush in those sweet little apple cheeks. Those long
lashes swept down a little. “I might have done.”

Ahhh
.
Pleasure seeped through him. He leaned closer. “Is that right?”

“Possibly.”

Humour danced
inside him, along with a healthy dose of happiness and a very
strong streak of lust and heat combined. Reaching out, he rested
his other hand on the generous curve of her hip. “Might?
Possibly?”

“Mmm.” She
peeked up at him, answering humour on her face but also a hint of
apprehension.

Couldn’t have
that.

His hand on
her hip tugged her closer, his blood surging when she obeyed
instantly, swaying nearer. In turn he shifted forward, their bodies
so close now, their faces just inches apart, their breaths a
mingled warmth between them. “So is that a ‘yes’ to us?”

Elissa met his
gaze unflinchingly. “Yes.”

It was all he
needed. Simon closed the last few inches between them, pressing his
lips lightly to hers, savouring the softness that opened so
welcomingly to him. His hand left the post to grip her other hip,
hauling her up against him, wanting her body as much as her mouth,
all that softness, moistness and warmth.

She tasted as
sweet as she smelled. His kiss deepened, taking control as he
relished the mix of Elissa’s personal bouquet - her taste as she
kissed him deeply in return, her touch as she clung to him, her
scent as she shifted against him, her softness as she leaned into
him. Everything that was her.

He could have
kissed her forever, tasted her for an eternity, held her until the
moon fell, but she braced her hands on his chest and pulled back a
little to break their kiss.

It was good to
know that she was as affected as he, her breathing a touch
ragged.

Simon leaned
his forehead against hers as they both sucked in air. “Jesus,” he
whispered huskily, “you make me burn, Lis.”

Her laugh was
a trifle shaky.

He gave her a
squeeze.

“Simon?” She
lifted her head.