Her Desert Treasure (Entangled Ignite) (3 page)

Her feet kept moving, and so did her brain. On one hand, it unnerved her to be so…unnerved by a man. At least in the way Jake had. On the other, the distraction from her grief was welcome. She owed the handsome stranger an apology and a thank you. If she ever saw him again.

A chill of unease stopped Meg short. Even in the one hundred degree heat, her skin prickled with goose bumps, the sensation of someone watching her crawled up her spine. Turning slowly, she scanned the hillside. Nothing out of place, not even a faint breeze rustled the brush. This was nuts. Her imagination was getting the best of her. Picking up her pace, Meg scolded herself silently. She had too much to do to be obsessing over a man she’d probably never run into after today. No more thinking about Jake.

The cabin came into view, and Meg sighed with melancholy. She was home. The same old boards creaked as she stepped onto the porch. The same sense of peace washed over her as she slipped the key into the lock. Meg pushed her sunglasses up on her head and went inside. It was a little musty from being shut up, but it was fairly clean, and she was pleasantly surprised. She hadn’t seen the place in years, but her grandfather had spent most of his time here after losing Grandma. He’d updated the kitchen with newer appliances. Carpet now covered the old, wood floor in the living room and bedrooms. Even the tiny bathroom was brighter than she remembered. The furniture was still the same. The old sofa bed and Grandpa’s favorite recliner took up one wall, and Gram’s mother’s antique armoire still held the T.V. and radio. Meg felt her grandparents’ presence envelop her like a tight hug. Safe, secure, and loved. She gave herself a minute to take it all in.

When she pulled herself together, she poked around the kitchen and found it stocked with canned and boxed goods. A trip to the market for a few fresh items and she’d be set. While she made a mental list of things to pick up tomorrow, she walked back through the rooms, opening windows to let in some fresh air. Her cell phone chirped, the familiar ringtone making her smile when she answered. “Hi, Gwen.”

“Hey, Meg. Miss me yet?”

Meg laughed, happy to hear her friend’s voice. “So you’re still speaking to me?”

“Oh, you’re not getting off that easily, sister. I’m still pretty mad at you.”

Even though Gwen’s voice held a touch of humor, her words were serious. “I know. I’m sorry. I feel terrible for leaving you high and dry like that.”

“As you should. Work sucks without you. It’s taking three people to manage the work you did by yourself.”

“God, don’t make me feel even guiltier.”

“Ha. I’m counting on your guilty conscience to help me convince you to come back. You know you’re the best assistant I’ve ever had.

“Now you’re laying it on a little thick. I’m the
only
assistant you’ve ever had.”

“That’s beside the point. And it’s not just work. I miss you.”

Damn. Just when she thought she’d stopped crying for today. “I miss you, too, Gwen.” She hadn’t formed very many close relationships in her life, and she treasured what she had with Gwen. Not only had Gwen been her boss, but she was her best friend.

“Believe it or not, I didn’t just call to harass you. Remember the policeman that came to your apartment after the break-in?”

“Officer Davis?”

“That’s right, the gorgeous one. He came by the office this morning to talk to you. He was following up, no new leads to report, but he wanted to make sure you hadn’t had any more trouble.”

“That was nice of him. I didn’t expect to hear anything else, it’s not like it’s a high priority for them.” The invasion and vandalism were what had started her thinking about leaving California.

“Yeah, well, I asked him if he thought there was a connection between the break-in and the hit and run.”

To top off the scare of the break-in, Meg had been shocked when a cop showed up at her office fully prepared to arrest her for a hit and run. Thankfully, she’d been at work at the time and had twenty co-workers as witnesses. It was finally determined that her car had been stolen from the parking lot and abandoned, totaled, after ramming a parked car twenty miles away. Returning to Colorado to take care of Grandpa’s affairs had taken her out of San Diego. The two incidents in California were why she’d chosen to stay.

Meg only wished she’d come home sooner. She would never forgive herself for not being here during her grandfather’s last days. But she was here now, and she could make one of his dreams a reality.

Gwen’s chuckle broke into her thoughts. “Caleb—Officer Davis—said I watch way too much T.V. It was probably just some druggie looking for quick cash. I told him I simply wanted to get his professional opinion. Anyway, we started talking and the next thing I knew, he asked me out! We’re going to dinner tomorrow night.”

“Gwen, that’s great! He was a hotty, wasn’t he?”

“Ooh yes, very hot. Gotta love a man in uniform.” Gwen sighed into the phone. “Now we just have to get a guy for you.”

Meg rolled her eyes. “I’ve been a little busy.” Her traitorous brain conjured the image of her hard-bodied trespasser.

“Come on, you don’t have to get married or anything. All I’m saying is a little action between the sheets with a hot Colorado cowboy wouldn’t kill you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Now she couldn’t get him out of her mind.

“That’s all I ask.”

They both laughed, and Meg wished her friend luck with her date before hanging up. A hot Colorado cowboy, huh? Too bad she’d just run one off.

Chapter Three

Jake loved this time of the day. Every morning brought a sunrise even more awe-inspiring than the day before. He’d never appreciated the beauty of a coming day when he’d lived in the city. Something about the wide expanse of sky, the streaks of color creating a dramatic backdrop for the rock formations, made his breath catch in his chest.

After his morning ride, he brushed out Desi’s coat and fed the other horses. Nikki and the foal were getting along fine. The little filly even treated him to a playful head butt when he changed the water in the trough. The daily routine of feeding and checking his patients at the clinic brought him a peace he wouldn’t have believed possible.

In a couple of days, that peace would be shattered. His parents were coming to visit for a week. An entire week. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his parents. He did. And he missed them. But a week of deflecting not-so-veiled arm twisting to try to get him to move back to Chicago was not his idea of a good time. His only hope was to keep them busy enough to keep their minds off their plan to lure him away from Colorado.

He’d planned to take them out to John’s canyon to show them the wild horses. While his father appreciated the animals for the magnificent beasts they were, his mother, on the other hand, had never understood the fascination. A veterinarian was not the kind of doctor she’d hoped he’d become. She’d always pushed Jake toward following in his father’s footsteps to become an M.D.

Thoughts of the horses brought to mind another magnificent specimen. Jake hadn’t stopped thinking about Meg since last night. Once he’d loaded his gear in his pickup, he’d driven around to the main gate and waited until he saw her safely return to the cabin. He considered staying to keep watch over the property but realized his actions could be misconstrued as stalker-ish. Not a good way to convince Meg he only wanted to make sure she was safe. But he’d been concerned. He hadn’t imagined the way she’d shied away when he raised his hands. Was she afraid of something? Someone?

The memory of her soft curves and hard attitude had kept him awake most of the night. Those long, toned legs led straight to a world-class ass tucked into snug, blue denim. He remembered the subtle scent of vanilla and honey as he’d moved in close to her. The muscles in his abdomen and groin tightened. It took all his will to control the hard-on that was quickly growing in his jeans.
God, get a grip
. He’d barely noticed any of the women he’d come in contact with over the last two years, hadn’t allowed himself to, but after a few minutes in this one’s presence, he was battling urges he’d thought were buried deep. She’d reawakened long dormant feelings of…desire.

Maybe he’d stop by her place to check on her. Just to be neighborly. It couldn’t hurt. She couldn’t like him any less than she already did. Jake showered and inhaled a slice of cold pizza before heading out to open the clinic. The schedule was full, and there were always walk-in patients, as well as folks who dropped by to chat. The phone was already ringing when he unlocked the door. He smiled. Another day in paradise.

…

Meg threw the last of the blankets onto the passenger seat and ticked off another item on her mental to-do list. The day had brought a new optimism, a feeling of promise, and the lead weight of grief in her chest lightened a little. The cabin was clean, the bedding stripped. The physical exertion of scrubbing the little house felt good, and she was energized even though she’d gotten very little sleep last night thanks to a certain sexy stranger and rampant, impure thoughts about him. She locked up the cabin and headed to town.

Traffic was surprisingly heavy again today. Campers and motor homes took up more than their fair share of the narrow road. Meg wanted to get to the Laundromat and bank before she hit the hardware store for a new lock and finally the grocery store. She laughed at the fact that a week ago, her neck would have been knotted with tension at being stuck in traffic. Here, she wasn’t in a hurry. She wasn’t on a schedule, didn’t have a mountain of paperwork to dive into or non-stop ringing phones to answer. Funny how quickly she’d gotten used to the slower pace and stress-free days.

The Laundromat sat on the corner of the next intersection, and Meg eased around a large pickup truck to make the turn into the parking lot. She stepped from the car and had no more than closed the door when screeching brakes and blaring horns filled the air, followed by the distressed yelps of an animal. Meg’s head shot up in time to see a black and white Border Collie limping across the road.

“Oh no, Skip.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she was saying. Of course, it couldn’t be Skip, but the injured dog bore such a resemblance to her childhood pet that she found herself sprinting toward the sound of the whimpers coming from the other side of the road. The freaking traffic was so heavy she lost sight of him for a moment. Darting between two pickups and narrowly avoiding being hit, Meg cringed as the dog stumbled and fell into a heap on the ground. She took a deep breath, held up her hand in front of an oncoming car, and dashed across the road.

She knelt beside the limp body and blew out a relieved sigh when she saw it was breathing and felt the beat of its heart as she gently stroked its fur. There wasn’t any obvious blood, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other injuries. How was she going to get him to her car? Tires crunched over the gravel behind her, and she looked over her shoulder to find an older man climb out of an old sedan. He waved at her. “Can I help?”

Meg smiled at him, grateful for the assistance. “I need to get him to a vet. I’m parked over at the Quik Wash.”

The man bent over and brushed her hands out of the way. “Here, let me take him. You go on ahead.”

Luckily, traffic had slowed a little due to people gawking at the scene on the side of the road, and Meg was able to clear the way for them. She ran ahead and spread out one of the blankets on the seat then stepped back while the man laid the dog down.

“Thank you so much. Do you happen to know if there’s a vet in town?”

“Sure, Doc Matthews’ place is on the other side of town.” He gave her directions while Meg climbed back into the car. “Just follow the signs for Big Rock Animal Hospital. It’s kind of out of the way, but you shouldn’t have any trouble finding it.”

“Thank you again…”

“Ah, think nothing of it. You’d better get going before traffic gets really ugly. Tell Doc that Dean says hey.”

Meg buckled herself in and said, “I will, Dean.” She smiled in appreciation and waved as she pulled back onto the road toward the vet’s office.

It seemed to take forever to get through town, and when she turned off the main road, she saw the sign that said the animal hospital was four miles ahead. Breathing a sigh of relief, she reached over to pet the dog. “Hang on, puppy. Not much longer now.” Pushing the speed limit since there were fewer cars on this stretch of highway, it only took a few minutes to reach the animal hospital. A brick, ranch-style house sat off to the left of the driveway. About a hundred feet separated it from a smaller building, the animal hospital. The corral in front of a large stable held a few horses, and Meg heard dogs barking and howling in the kennels off to the back of the main building. When the car skidded to a stop in front of the clinic, she jumped out, ran through the door, and called for help.

“Hello? Is Dr. Matthews here? I have an injured dog out…” Her voice trailed off at the sight of the man coming out from another room, a look of concern on his face. He stopped suddenly at the sight of her.

…

“
Meg
?” Jake couldn’t believe his eyes. His daydreaming must be out of control if he was seeing the object of his fantasies standing in his waiting room.

“Jake?”

The sound of her voice snapped him to attention. Something was wrong. She was out of breath, her cheeks flushed with color. “What is it?” He quickly covered the space between them and stood before her, gripping her shoulders. “Are you hurt?”

The expression on her face said she thought he was crazy. “What? Not me, the dog. I need the vet.” She shivered in his hands. “Where is Dr. Matthews?”

Jesus, he was confused. “I’m Dr. Matthews.” His gaze darted around the room. “What dog?”

She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door. “He’s out in my car. He’s been hit, and I don’t know how badly he’s hurt. “

The tumblers in his brain finally lined up, and his instincts took over. He dropped her hand and bolted out the door. They rushed outside together, and she opened the car door before stepping out of the way so he could examine the animal. He gently ran his hands over the dog and checked him for any outward injuries. The dog squirmed, and Jake spoke softly, “Easy now, fella. I’m not going to hurt you.” He nodded toward the building. “Let’s get him inside. Stay back since I don’t know how he’ll react to me.” Cautiously sliding his hands under the dog, he lifted him. A weak whimper escaped the animal as he carried it toward the clinic. Meg propped the door open with her hip and followed him through.

“We’ll take him to the exam room so I can have a better look.” In a few purposeful strides, he entered the brightly lit room where he laid the dog on a padded table and resumed the slow process of assessing his injuries. “His right, front leg is broken, and he got banged up a bit, but I can’t be sure of any other injuries until I take some x-rays.” He removed the dog’s collar and handed it to her. “You can wait in the other room.”

Meg stroked the dog’s head. “Okay. You hang in there, buddy. I’ll be right back.

…

Meg dropped into the chair closest to the exam room, her shaking legs threatening to give out. She wasn’t sure if it was the stress of worrying about the dog or the shot of adrenaline that zinged through her body when she’d seen Jake again. The trespassing Sex in a Stetson was the town veterinarian? For some reason, she’d expected ‘Doc Matthews’ to be a mild-mannered, grandfatherly kind of vet with a rounded belly and balding head. Instead, the good doctor turned out to be Adonis in faded Levis.

It wasn’t enough that the man was far too attractive for his own good, but he was also kind. She’d seen his concern for her in his dark chocolate eyes, felt it in the way he’d held her. But his worry for the injured dog touched a spot in her heart that made her go melty all over. Her skin still tingled where he’d touched her. His deep, soothing voice, meant to calm his patient, kick started something inside her that had her fidgeting in her chair. She shook her head.
God, this is crazy
. She’d never felt this drawn to a man before and wasn’t sure what to make of the unfamiliar sensation. Of course, she’d been pretty hung up on Troy in the beginning, but even that didn’t compare to the natural attraction she felt for Jake. Raising her hand to fan herself, she remembered the collar and returned her attention to why she was here. Examining the shiny brass nametag dangling from the collar, she breathed a worried sigh. “Please be okay, Rex.” There was a phone number on the back but no other name or address.

Standing again, she tried to shake off her worry and walked slowly around the waiting room. She smiled at pictures of different animals, she supposed patients, in various shots posted on the walls. Some were Christmas cards. Some were thank you notes, and others were just pictures with the pet’s names written on them, but they were all thanking ‘Doctor Jake’ for his help.

She walked around to the other side of the office where his diploma and license and other credentials hung on the wall. Jacob Ryan Matthews, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Doctor Jake to his patients. “Doctor
Hunk,”
she murmured, smiling. The memory of his muscled arms flexing as he carried Rex had her momentarily forgetting she’d sworn off the opposite sex. What would those strong hands feel like if he examined
her?

“Meg?”

Jake’s voice startled her, and she turned around to face him. Please don’t let her face be as red as it felt. “Is Rex okay? Will he be all right?”

“Rex?”

She held up his collar. “His nametag.”

“Oh, right. Yes, he’s going to be fine. Are
you
okay? You look a little flushed.”

She waved her hand at him. “I’m fine. Just a little adrenaline. So how’s Rex?”