Chapter Nine
Zoey couldn’t believe her good luck. Her day had turned from complete shit to, well, not complete shit, with the simple act of kindness from the handsome veterinarian. She’d expect nothing less from someone who cared for animals for a living. Surely they were a nicer breed than the rest of humanity.
It didn’t hurt that he was super easy on the eyes too. His blue eyes seemed to pull her in yet also seemed to be holding secrets, which intrigued her. Plus he was fit, strong, and filled out in all the right places. And for the time being, she’d pretend she hadn’t noticed that he’d started filling out in the right place, when her ass was pressed up to his pelvis. She figured she couldn’t call him out on that because, well, she had been about to punch that obnoxious guy, and the good vet did rescue her before she landed herself in jail for the night. There was no question that his place would beat out the county jail’s cramped cot and cold, hard, stainless steel toilet, hands down.
Although it was a little awkward going back to this man’s house considering she didn’t know him at all. And she’d left a slightly bleeding red mark on his cheek when her ring hit his face by accident. Thank goodness he had that cute puppy along—she was certain no serial killers ever kept a Labrador retriever puppy as a pet, so she knew she’d be safe. How was that for telling yourself what you wanted to believe?
As they walked to his parked car, he was silent. She kept up a running dialogue with the puppy, telling her what a good girl she was and cooing over how cute she was. When they got to his truck, he opened the door for her and offered his hand to help her climb up into the passenger seat. With an assist from her dad, Suki hopped in right onto Zoey’s lap, which made her giggle.
“I feel a little better about letting Snowball loose in my car, seeing that you let your dog do the same,” she said as she scratched the dog’s head.
He shook his head. “Actually I seat belt her in most of the time.” He pointed to a webbed strap that had been tossed on the floor of the truck. “But you were there, so…”
Zoey blushed. Now she was endangering the life of his puppy. “I’m sorry. If you’d rather latch her in?” Which sounded stupid because where would he put her? On the roof rack, where people out here would load up the dead deer after a day of hunting?
“We’re not far from my place. But don’t let me get into any head-on collisions. Or fender benders.” He smiled.
She grinned back at him. “Yeah, I might not be the best person for that, but I’ll do my best.”
The long driveway leading up to his house was lined on either side with cottonwood trees. The property was fragrant with the scent from nearby pine trees, and as they approached a clearing, they passed a field with wildflowers of every color: pink and purple and yellow and blue. Zoey gasped, and he turned to look at her.
“Everything okay?” he asked, tilting his head.
Her eyes were wide open. “More than okay.” She spread her arms out. “This. It’s truly spectacular.”
Not only were there amazing smells and beautiful flora, but his home, a contemporary-looking log cabin that was hardly a cabin, was nestled in a pocket of land surrounded by the jagged, majestic peaks of the Rocky Mountains. The sun cast long shadows and threw shades of tangerine and melon across the landscape as it crept toward the horizon, preparing to go to sleep for the night.
Tanner nodded. “My little slice of heaven.” His mouth turned up in a grin on one side and it took Zoey’s breath away. He was quite a handsome man, what with that tousled blond hair, his sly grin, and those magnetic eyes. She found him to be most intriguing.
“You lived here a long time?” she asked.
“Long enough,” he said.
Okay then.
“How ’bout you?” He pressed the garage door opener. “You from far away?”
“Far enough.” She winked. Two could play that game.
“Fair enough.” He winked back.
He parked the car and got out, coming around to let Suki out and then Zoey and reaching for her suitcase. Tanner followed his pup out into the yard and Zoey trailed after them. Suki found a tennis ball and brought it to Tanner, who threw it for her repeatedly and she brought it back readily.
“She’s a good retriever,” Zoey said.
“It kind of comes with the territory.”
“Well, I had a Lab one time and she would never bring back anything I threw her. So I think the name is deceptive.”
He smiled. “I’ll grant you that. This one”—he pointed at Suki—“she’s a smart dog. Hardly have to teach her anything twice and she follows along.”
Zoey couldn’t help but wonder if she’d been a Labrador, maybe her parents would’ve liked her more. As long as she did whatever they said…
After a vigorous game of fetch, they went inside his sprawling log cabin. The interior was a wide-open space that was warm yet masculine, with buttery leather sofas topped with Turkish kilim pillows in shades of red and orange, all surrounding a large glass-topped oak coffee table.
The living room had a large light fixture suspended from the ceiling that appeared to be made from the cast-iron sign at the entrance of a ranch, with pendant lights hanging from either side. The dining room featured a large farm table that could easily seat ten, paired with armchairs covered in cowhide. Looked gorgeous, if itchy. Above it was a chandelier made of animal horns of some sort—Zoey didn’t want to know what type. One entire wall was a large stone hearth. Two walls were all windows, bringing nature inside, whatever the weather was outside. It looked like his own personal ski lodge.
Scattered throughout were all sorts of puppy toys. Clearly Suki had the run of the place.
“Nice place you have here, Dr. Eliasson.” She nodded as she took in the entirety of the large space. “Thanks again for your generosity.”
He shrugged. “Not a problem. It’s the least I could do, holding your cat hostage and all.”
“Well, I won’t trouble you,” she said. “You can go on about your business and I’ll settle in once you show me to my room.”
He shook his head. “Of course. How could I forget?” He grabbed her bag and led her down a hallway to a cozy room with a queen-sized bed piled high with a fluffy down comforter and plenty of throw pillows. “Once you get settled in, come back to the kitchen and I can get you a drink.”
Zoey took a few minutes to throw water on her face—after a day of traveling she felt grimy and worn out. She brushed her teeth and finger-combed her hair, then returned to the great room, where the doctor stood in nothing but a pair of those outdoor hiking shorts that dry off quickly. She was afraid she might need to tuck her tongue back in her mouth upon seeing his tanned, muscular chest, covered with a smattering of light-colored hair. She wasn’t sure which view she admired more—him or the mountains set against a twilight sky right past him through the wall of windows.
“So rude of me—I forgot to offer—if you’d like to join me in the hot tub—”
“I’d love to, but I don’t have a suit with me.”
He clasped his hands together. “Not a problem. Let me see if I can dig something up for you. Give me a few minutes.” He held up a finger. “In the meantime, you can start on this.” He handed her a glass of white wine.
Things were improving by the minute.
The doctor disappeared down the same hallway where her room was and she decided it was a perfect time to do some snooping. After all, the only thing she knew about the guy was that he was cute and had an adorable puppy. She didn’t even know his first name. She walked toward a built-in bookcase and inspected the spines of books, looking for a clue about this mystery host of hers. Plenty of suspense novels from the usual authors, and a handful of veterinary manuals, but nothing too telling besides that.
Then her eye caught a photo album. Jackpot. She pulled it down from the shelf and opened it, rifling through pages of photographs of what appeared have been a younger Dr. Eliasson in college probably. She flipped back several more pages, until she came to a shot that looked all too familiar to her. That of the infamous boy she’d decked all those years ago. But how weird—why would he have a picture of him too? She looked at the boy’s eyes, the shape of his brow, the clench of his jaw and wondered. She flipped ahead to more contemporary pictures of him and sure enough, it had to have been him.
Holy shit. Could it be possible that she was standing in the house of the Weeping Wimp? What was his name again? Tanner Cox? Impossible. This man here’s last name was Eliasson. Probably a strange coincidence. Maybe he’s a cousin or something.
She heard the floor creaking behind her and suddenly the vet came up right behind her.