Key West Wild (The Florida Keys Series) (25 page)

He sighed. “I’m sorry, bro. I shouldn’t have called. It’s just that I had to get out of the office, things were getting too heavy in there.”

“Something happen? Jon, you sure you don’t want me to swing by? I can stop by in a few?”

“No, forget it.” Jon paced back and forth on the brick porch.

“Jon, you having women issues? Is that what’s going on? Is Cari down there bothering you again?”

“No Jake. Cari is the least of my worries. I was getting ready to close up and this crazy looking gal, dressed like Pippi Longstocking, remember her? Well, she came into the office with a dog that caught its leg in a trap.”

He heard Jake whistle through the phone. “I’m not gonna laugh, brother. But, Pippi Longstocking is not that hot.”

“This one is! In fact, I did the unethical tonight. Something happened and she came towards me like she wanted to eat me up and I practically threw her against the wall and, well I did!”

Jake’s laughter rang out through the earpiece. “Jon, listen. Nothing wrong with that if she came on to you. I really don’t see a problem here.”

Jon grunted. “Of course not. But my license is on the line here if anyone finds out I made out with a customer. It’s strictly against any policy we have, I’m sure.”

“I doubt you’re worried about that, bro. I think it’s more that you got caught up in some pretty heavy stuff and now you don’t know what to do. Let me give you some advice. Just roll with it and see where it takes you. You really need to chill and have a bit of fun.”

Jon heard the phone shuffle, he heard a female voice and the next thing he knew Jake’s girl was on the other line. “Jon, it’s Maggie. You come by any time to talk, okay? Remember, I’m an expert in romance. Just know we love you and can’t wait to meet her.”

Jon shook his head. “Meet her! All I did was kiss her like it was the last kiss I’d ever have on this earth. I’m lucky to have gotten away when I did! Meet her, that’s not even in the concept of my thoughts!”

“Wow, bro. That’s how it starts.” Jake was back on the line.

“You serious?”

“Yep. Think about it. You’ve been messing around with Cari for months, maybe longer. She is one of the worst girlfriends you have ever had. No love there, you know she never cared about you and you feel the same about her. There are no intentions for any future, and now all of a sudden someone walks into your life and you begin to act like a teenager. Yep, I see where this is heading.”

Jon groaned. “You’re not helping me here, man.”

Jake laughed. “Sorry bro, but you’ll figure it out. Call me soon, we need to get together about our wedding and all that biz.”

Jon hung up. He took a few deep breaths, turned and tried to open the front door. It wouldn’t budge. He shook the door knob, trying to force it open then pounded on the thick, wooden door to no avail. The red head would never hear him out front, she was in the exam room in the back of the building. He was hoping he could avoid her by calling in someone else to take over, but realized he was the on call doctor tonight. There was no one else except him.

Frustrated, Jon stepped off the porch and headed to the back of the building, cursing to himself with each step. He made up his mind not to look at her, to only treat her as the professional doctor that he had worked hard to become.

Jon stepped onto the brick porch, turned the knob and went inside. There she was, leaning over Penny, hugging the dog, her backside facing him and he couldn’t look away! What was it about this woman, this red-head, that made him so flustered he couldn’t even think. The crazy clothes she wore, the big painted on freckles on her nose and cheeks hadn’t deferred him from seeing that she was beautiful. He took a deep breath as she turned to him.

“Oh, there you are.” She dropped a smile on him that made the pulse in his neck start to pound. How would he get through this because he had never, ever been this out of sorts before?

He kept his distance. “Penny seems to be settling down some,” he said because he couldn’t think of anything else. He couldn’t think at all, that was the problem.

She nodded and took a deep breath herself. He watched her closely. Her hands clasped together in front of her and he could see the tension building. “Look Doc, I’m sorry about what happened. Well, I’m not sorry I kissed you, that was one of the best kisses ever, I really am certain. But, well, I’m sorry that I jumped your bones the way I did. I really did not mean to get out of hand.”

He watched her, incredulous. Who would admit to that, he wondered and then smiled at her because he realized she was amazing. He just hoped he could keep his hands off of her. He nodded. “Let’s keep it professional from now on, agreed?”

She nodded and gave him a sheepish smile. Was that disappointed on her face, he wondered. Her sweet, innocent and yet inviting smile worked on him. He had to leave the room. “I plan to give the local vet a call to see if we can have Penny moved tonight to their facility. I’ll let you know.” With those words, Jon headed towards the door and out of the exam room, away from the red head who made him feel as if she were the only thing in the world he ever wanted.

<>

The moment the doc left the room, Abby let out a deep breath. She gritted her teeth and then puckered full lips. Her hands covered her face and she tried to contain herself from laughing out loud hysterically. What a night! Knowing that Penny was safe was such a relief and she felt secure that the dog would pull through. But, the lust she felt for the doctor was a feeling that she never had experienced before. The thing was, she just knew the doc felt the same way. He had flung her against that wall as if he were about to devour her. He made her feel as if she were the most inviting woman on the face of the earth. These raw emotions were so new to her, how would she ever get through the night!

Abby was not the kind of lady who went after men at all. She really had no experience, except for the promise she made to herself to live her life like as free as possible. She was not going to let anything stop her from enjoying every single feeling and emotion on her journey in this world. Her parents taught her that. They were free spirits, a product of the 70’s who lived on the road while they experienced the back roads and trenches of the southern state of Florida. They taught her to be the same way. She never knew any other life, wandering from place to place along the Florida coasts and the Keys until Jacob Earl came into their lives and they finally settled down a bit. She would always be grateful to Mr. Earl for what he did for all of them.

In the days when she was homeless, the only thoughts she had in her mind was to finish her schooling, which consisted of the school of hard knocks and some material her mother made sure she completed every single day to give her an education. She muddled through it, but when her parents both passed on and Mr. Earl took her into his own home, he had an extensive library that she used to learn even more. She devoured books and took some on-line courses, but the fact was, in the end, all that never really mattered. She could have gone to college, Mr. Earl would have paid for it. She could have basically done whatever she wanted to do, because he left her a large amount of money and a home. He had no one else to give it to. After his wife died in the 90’s, he lived alone until she came along and he took her in.

She missed Mr. Earl almost as much as she missed her parents. She started to take in stray animals because they tugged at her heart, she knew what it was like to be homeless. There was plenty of strays in the Keys and they loved her. She hired a homeless couple living in a small cottage on the property, helping her to take care of the animals when she was not there to do it herself. They didn’t talk much, mostly worked and spent time alone in their little cottage so she just didn’t really have another human to relate to. No girlfriends, no close friends at all. She wasn’t sure if she missed that or not, because she never had it to begin with.

Once or twice a week, Abby went to the local hospice center with one of her pets to help put some smiles on sick patient’s faces. She loved taking the animals there and came up with the idea of dressing as Pippi Longstocking one day, which everyone, young and old alike, just loved. Of course, today just happened to be the day she had come home from the hospice center dressed in her Pippi garb when she heard Penny crying and whimpering for help.

Just then, Jon opened the door and popped his head around the corner. “I have the animal hospital on the phone. They want to know if you have any idea how long she was in the trap?”

Abby shrugged. “I’m just not sure. I left the house maybe around ten, and she usually goes with me. But today I was running late and I left her at home. I returned around six and that’s when I heard her crying. As a matter of fact, I can’t believe the Millers never heard her cries. Do you think she was in the trap that long?”

Jon shrugged and spoke on the phone. He hung up and stuffed his cell in his pocket, still not entering the room, his body half in and half out of the door frame. Abby almost smiled but refrained. She knew why he wasn’t getting close to her.

“Since we have her stable here and she’s getting an IV drip, they said to keep her sedated and let her rest tonight for a few hours. First thing in the morning, they’ll send their van down to pick her up.”

Abby nodded. It was going to be a long night in the urgent care center. “Do you have any coffee?” she asked. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She heard Jon sigh. “I’ll get a pot started. If you want any, there will be some in the lobby shortly.” With that he shut the door a bit harder than normal. Abby was smiling and then she giggled to herself. She never, ever had a man stay that far from her because he was afraid of getting too close.

It was a powerful feeling.

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