Till There Was You (6 page)

“You the owner?” Tim asked as he hobbled toward Linc.

“Yes, sir,” Linc responded, holding his breath as he waited for the vet’s next words.

The old man thrust his hand forward in greeting. “The name’s Tim.”

“Linc,” he responded, extending his hand to find the old man had a surprisingly firm grip.

After a quick greeting, Tim got straight down to business. “It seems to be a clean break. I’ve sedated him, cleaned the wound, and stitched him up as best I can. But he’s lost some blood and will need an IV to make sure we flush out any sort of nasty infection the wolf could have been carrying.”

“So, he’s going to be okay?”

Tim nodded. “We’ll run a couple of x-rays before we set the bones and keep him overnight. He should heal up just fine.”

Relief flooded through Linc at the news and some of the tension in his face and shoulders faded away.

“Can I see him?”

“Of course, but I need you to fill out some forms first,” Tim told him as he made his way to the counter, grabbed a clipboard with a pen swinging from a short connecting chain, and handed it to Linc. “It’s the standard stuff.”

With the pen in hand, Linc looked at the form, but failed to start filling it out. The first item was the dog’s name.

“Well, what is it, son?” Tim snapped as Linc’s pen wavered.

He felt like crap saying it out loud, but waiting any longer to explain would only make things worse. Like ripping a Band-Aid off, he closed his eyes and blurted out the truth in a rush of mumbled words. “He doesn’t have a name.”

“What’s that?” Tim almost bellowed. “Speak up, son.”

Feeling like a kid caught not doing his homework, Linc shifted on his feet, his hand floating up to grip his neck again. “It’s the question about the pet’s name.”

“Well, that one should be easy. He’s yours, right?”

“Yeah, he’s mine, but...I’ve never given him one. I just call him boy or dog.”

“That’s ridiculous,” the old man scoffed. “How long have you owned him?”

The heat of embarrassment floated up Linc’s neck as he felt the eyes of his audience boring into him from behind. He risked a quick glance at Matt and Lily. Matt appeared highly amused and Lily had that pitying concern in her eyes.

Pressing his lips together, Linc wiped his hand over his beard and took a deep breath. He felt like shit. Any normal person would name their dog straightaway, but like everything, Linc hadn’t wanted to get attached, even though that’s exactly what happened.

“Since he was a pup.” The words condemned him the moment they left his lips.

Three sounds mingled at his response—the sharp bark of Matt’s laughter, a deep sigh of a man who spent most of his life loving animals, and the disappointed sound every woman can make when she thinks a man can be better than he is.

“Leave it blank for now, son. But make sure that dog has a proper name the next time I see you or I’m not going to release him, understand?”

With no room to argue, Linc could do nothing but nod. Six eyes tried to bore into his at the same time, leaving no doubt about their shock and disappointment.

“Who the hell owns a dog for a year without naming it?” Lily’s not so soft voice scolded him.

“It’s complicated,” Linc said in an effort to defend himself, which did nothing to appease Lily’s ire.

“I’ll call after the surgery to let you know how things go,” Tim informed him as he hobbled back through the surgery door.

“Can’t I wait here?”

The door swung shut and a grumbling, “No,” was heard from the other side.

“You two could be related,” Lily commented, the corner of her mouth twitching upward. “You’re both grumpy with a good heart.”

Wondering what she possibly felt she could know about his heart, Linc was about to respond with some sort of rebuttal when Matt stood and announced he’d better go.

“Some people actually have a job to do,” he commented before heading for the door. “Hope your dog is okay.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Linc replied. He moved quickly to catch the closing door before looking over at Lily then holding the door open as she walked through.

Linc closed the door behind him, watching as Lily turned her head toward the sky, letting the sunlight bathe her face as she breathed in the cool air. “Get in the truck. I’ll drop you home and we can talk about names for your pet.”

“I need to finish my run, but, ah...thanks for today,” Linc told her before turning away, ready to run home.

“Really? That’s how it is going to be? You’re just going to leave me standing outside—again? Real nice.”

“I never claimed to be nice, Lily. But I do appreciate the help.”

Linc told himself it was for her benefit as he started to run toward home. He told himself he didn’t need her and she was better off. He knew she was—people around him got hurt. Even animals weren’t safe. His injured dog was a testament to that.

––––––––

S
eriously, what the hell is his problem and why do I even care?
Lily thought to herself as she watched him disappear—again. Before the fight in the bar, he’d been a mysterious figure who showed up in town then disappeared again. In the year he’d been living in Newsham, she hadn’t had cause to interact with him at all—she’d wanted to, but the timing never seemed right. And now that she did...well, she didn’t exactly know what she was doing. She should have just turned around, gone home, and forgot her interest in him completely.

Watching his tall, lean figure running until he was out of her sight, she tried to work out what it was about Linc she found so fascinating and frustrating at the same time. She’d always noticed him, ever since she saw him in the grocery store all those months ago. The fact that he never spoke to anyone beyond what was necessary sent the locals into a chatter about who he was and why he was hiding out on the edges of town. Some came up with wild reasons, like he was in witness protection, or a serial killer who would one day claim us all. But Lily always felt there was more to him than the scary looking façade he tried to put out to keep the world at bay. There was a mystery surrounding him, clinging to him like a second skin, but when Lily got close, she could see a deep sadness hidden in those dark chocolate eyes. She couldn’t help but want to know more.

After staring off in the distance for an unknown amount of time, Lily released a sigh then jumped back into the truck to head to her bar. She still had work to do and fixing the damage from last night was at the top of that list.

The door was already unlocked when Lily tried her key and a brief flash of worry went through her mind before Bec’s head popped up from behind the bar, a tired smile on her pretty face.

“Thought I’d get in early to help you out,” she said, carrying a bag of empty bottles toward the back door to stack with the rest of the mess Lily hadn’t had time to clear away last night.

“Thanks, Bec. This means a lot.”

“It’s the least I can do since it was my fault. I must have been too flirty or something. I didn’t mean it,” Bec mumbled, her eyes downturned as she focused on her task.

“Bec,” Lily said with a sigh as she moved to stand in front of her. She placed her hands on Bec’s shoulders, forcing her to make eye contact before she spoke again.

“What? It’s true,” Bec insisted. “You were defending me, and...” she released her breath, “Lily, they could have really hurt you.”

“That’s absolute crap and you know it. It was not your fault at all. You told those guys no and they didn’t listen. With the time of year and alcohol mixed in...it’s a surprise we haven’t had more trouble before now. But don’t you
ever
blame yourself for the actions of asshole men,” Lily assured her.

Bec still looked a little doubtful, so Lily pulled her in for a big hug to show her everything was all right, only letting go when Bec relaxed and hugged her back.

“I guess we were lucky that big guy was here last night—the hermit one,” Bec stated, obviously referring to Linc.

“Yeah,” Lily responded. “Really lucky.”

“That guy sure can move. The whole town is talking about how fast he knocked those guys out. Did you get much of a chance to speak to him when you went to the station last night?”

Lily turned away and began wiping the already clean countertop. “A little,” she responded in a quiet tone, not feeling sure she even wanted to talk about her interactions with Linc so far. It was all very...complicated.

“So, what’s he like?” Lily could feel her friend’s interested eyes watching her. In the time they’d worked together, they’d become fast friends and Bec was always trying to find a man suitable for Lily to date. She felt it was unnatural for a young woman to spend four years without a boyfriend. But Lily always said she didn’t have time for one.  She could sense Bec was fishing for information to see if Linc could somehow be the guy to break what she had dubbed the ‘dry spell’. “Well?” Bec prompted.

With a shake of her head, she threw the cleaning rag into the basin of warm, soapy water. “He’s...frustrating. All right, I guess, but stubborn and frustrating.”

“You know you used frustrating twice, don’t you?” Bec teased, genuine laughter bubbling up at Lily’s situation.

“What’s so funny?” Lily asked, her eyebrows raised and hands on her hips.

“Hmm, let’s see...you spent most of last night acting as though you weren’t watching him—like you do every time he’s in town. Then he saves you and you walk in here with that faraway look in your eye. I swear, I’ve heard you sigh about five times already.”

“And?”

Bec shrugged. “And I think someone might like her men dark, sexy, and brooding.”

“You think he’s sexy?” she asks, causing her friend to giggle as they both lifted the garbage bags and headed out to the dumpster.

“My god, Lily. I’m inexperienced, not blind. That man is sex on legs. I’ll bet he’s got an amazing body under all that flannel.”

“You’re probably right,” Lily admitted, remembering how hard his chest had felt when she’d put her hand against it that morning. She hadn’t wanted to face it at the time, but her hand was still tingling from the memory. There was no point in denying it; she was definitely interested in Linc and had been for some time.

“I always am,” Bec quipped, grinning as they headed back inside. The two continued to talk while they pulled some old furniture out of the storage cupboard to use in place of the broken items from last night.

“It’s not like I’m crazy about him or anything cheesy like that. I just...I don’t know. I’m interested, I guess.” It was all Lily was willing to admit out loud, and Bec beamed with pride.

“You like him,” she teased.

“Like him? I don’t know about that. Besides helping me last night, he hasn’t been the nicest to me, but there’s something about him. I want to get to know him. I have a feeling there’s a great guy who really does care underneath all that brooding crap. You should have seen him with his dog today, he—”

“Stop right there. You saw him
today
, with his
dog
?”

Her lips curving at the side involuntarily, she nodded, but assured Bec she was simply giving him a ride. “His dog got attacked by a wolf and he was trying to walk to Tim’s. I basically had to force him to get in the truck. But the way he carried that dog and the worry he showed over an animal just goes to show there’s a good heart in there—even if he’s trying to hide it from the rest of the world.”

When she looked up at Bec, she noticed her friend grinning from ear to ear. “What?” she demanded.

“You just got that dreamy look again. This Linc guy is in big trouble if you ask me.” She laughed as she went to get a rag to clean off the old furniture.

“That’s if I can ever manage to have an actual conversation with the man...” She stopped what she was doing and let out her breath. With a wave of her hand, she pushed the comment and accompanying feelings aside. “Anyway, enough about me. How are you and Brad doing?” Lily asked, turning the attention to Bec’s blossoming relationship with a guy who lived on her street.

A sudden blush bloomed to life in Bec’s cheeks as Lily watched. Judging by her reaction, it was clear something had gone very right.

“Spill,” Lily commanded, taking great delight as she watched Bec squirm. “Come on, I’m going grey waiting.”

Bec mumbled incoherently under her breath.

“What was that?” Lily asked, a smile on her face as she cupped her hand around her ear and moved a little closer.

Bec pulled at her lip with her teeth. “He spent the night.”

“Wow, Bec,” Lily responded with a grin and wide eyes.

“I know,” Bec squealed. Then she went on to describe how Brad had heard about what happened at the bar and came to check on her. One thing led to another and now Bec had a very satisfied glow to her cheeks.

Lily smiled and nodded as Bec finished gushing about what a wonderful time they had and how close she felt to him now. She was so happy for her friend, but also felt the need to give some advice. Bec’s mother had left town about five years ago with some random tourist and hadn’t been seen or heard from since. Lily was the most mature woman Bec had contact with.

“Listen, I know you feel all happy and giddy right now, but just make sure it’s at a pace you’re happy with, and it’s nothing that makes you feel uncomfortable. Remember, he is a few years older than you.”

“Thanks, Lil, I will, and don’t worry, I’m being safe. I promise.”

“Good,” she said softly, hugging Bec close.

The shared moment ended as a loud banging on the front door caused both girls to jump and let out their own expletives—Lily’s a bit more un-lady like than Bec’s. Considering it was still early in the day, Lily was not sure who could have just scared the shit out of her. Whoever they were, they were about to feel the sharp edge of her tongue.

Lily stomped over to the door and flung it open only to bite whatever comment she was about to make short when she saw Matt, his face set in firm lines as he held his hat in his hand. It was the expression he used when he had bad news.

“Has something happened?” she asked, her voice coming out as more of a gasp than an actual sound. The last time she saw Matt look like this, he told her their father had died in a car accident. She was petrified to know what news he had this time.