Chapter 24

Ex: Why do you always wear black?

Lark: Just in case you die. I want to be prepared.

-Lark to her ex-husband

Lark

It was my second week at the vet clinic, and my first day without having any other jobs to worry about going to when I first saw him.

I was filling out my college application that would hopefully get me into an online veterinary school and talking with Dr. Castleberry about how I would have to actually go somewhere to perform the hands-on testing that was required with the school, when the door jingled, signaling that a client had walked in.

I continued to do what I was doing since I was on my lunchbreak and I cursed my luck when I looked up and saw him standing there. He was acting for all the world like he was meant to be there and that he was happy to see me.

“Rita, honey.”

Two words, four syllables, nine letters.

They were words that made me hurt down to my soul.

“I’m sorry,” Marissa apologized. “We don’t have a Rita here. Is there something I can help you with?”

Marissa fluttered her eyelashes at Sal, and I wanted to snatch her around by her hair and tell her to run.

I didn’t, though.

That would be an acknowledgment.

I didn’t want to acknowledge him.

I did, however, text my man.

He’d made me promise, on more than one occasion, that if I saw Sal, I’d text or call immediately. So that’s what I did.

I didn’t so much as look at him while I continued to fill out my application.

I ignored the conversation.

I didn’t even twitch when Sal said my name again and pointed at me, I suppose explaining to Dr. Castleberry who I was…and who he was to me.

I stayed right where I was, filled out my real—now married—name, and put down my new address—Baylor’s house.

“She’s on her lunch break,” Dr. Castleberry said. “You’ll have to come back after she gets off. That’s around five.”

I nearly snorted.

I didn’t get off at five. I got off at four. Sometimes three if the day went smoothly.

Five, everything in the entire place would be silent except for the dogs and kitties staying the night in our boarding kennel.

A caretaker—not me thanks to Baylor putting his foot down—came in around eleven at night and stayed with the dogs so they wouldn’t be completely alone. That same person also came in earlier if she was needed for a patient that required around the clock care—which didn’t happen all that often.

“I’ll wait.”

I wanted to bang my head on the desk, and maybe shove the pen that was in my shaking fingers through Sal’s throat.

But other than that, I was cool as a cucumber…until Baylor walked in.

Then I was anything but cool.

“Hey, Baylor. You come to see your woman?”

Dr. Castleberry hadn’t left, even though he’d been properly dismissed by Sal—who was waiting by the door in the most uncomfortable chair that we owned.

I looked up at my man, who’d stopped within four feet of my ex, and smiled.

His eyes were all for me, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of the man that he’d come down here to deal with.

I looked at my watch and realized that it was lunchtime for him, too. Which explained how he got here so quickly.

Baylor wasn’t an office kind of guy, so when he wasn’t home or eating, he was out doing something. Normally that meant picking up the slack where he was needed, letting Travis spend more time in the office doing what he needed to be doing and not picking up repos that nobody else wanted—like when they had to repossess a little old lady’s car or go and deal with Harold.

Which was something that nobody wanted to do.

Not anymore.

I had a feeling that Harold was about to be shit out of luck when it came to his repossessions. There wasn’t anyone in six counties that would touch them at this point, thanks to Travis spreading word that we were phasing out Hostel Bank and Trust.

Starting the beginning of next month, Harold would be on his own, and he knew it.

“You ready for lunch?”

My mouth dropped open a little bit.

“It looks like you started without me,” I pointed out, trying to stay calm.

He grinned, then looked down at his shirt. “It was a snack.”

I snorted.

“Uh-huh.” I started toward him, looking at Dr. Castleberry. “I’ll be back in an hour, okay?”

The old doc winked at me. “Yes, ma’am.”

I shook my head and rounded the counter, walking up to Baylor’s side.

He immediately enfolded me under his arm and brought me close to his chest, offering me silent support.

I could’ve told him that I was actually okay, but I kind of liked where I was. I liked that he was so protective. I loved that he was here.

I knew he would be. Which, in all honestly, was the most special feeling in the world. To know that you had someone who would always be there for you, not to control you but to support you, was quite exhilarating.

Sal didn’t say a word as we passed, but I felt him when he got up and followed us out the door.

He continued to follow us to the parking lot, but in his desire to follow us, he’d had to hurry to his car to follow since Baylor had pulled over near the front door.

We were halfway down the street before he’d pulled out into the road to follow.

“You okay?” he asked.

I bit my lip and nodded. “Surprisingly…yes, I am.”

His smile was fierce. “I fucking love you. I’ll never let anything happen to you.”

I looked down at my hands. “I was going to try to eat a little healthier today, but I’m craving tacos.”

He winked. “I love those curves, anyway. I think I’d cry if they went away.”

I snorted.

Then we walked hand-in-hand to the Taco Shop.

We ate. We studiously ignored the man who followed us inside and was sitting in the corner. The man who was clearly a cyborg because not once did he touch the chips and salsa in front of him.

We ignored. We talked. We enjoyed our meal and each other’s company.

I overcame.

Fifteen minutes into my gorging of chips and hot sauce, I finally caught on that Baylor was doing something that he wasn’t supposed to be doing.

He’d been playing on his phone on and off, texting with Tate and Travis, keeping them updated on what he was doing. Then Tate had said something to him that caused him to furiously start playing with his phone as if he was on a mission.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

Baylor grinned. “Tate got a new thing from Amazon for his wife, and he let me connect to it to help set it up.”

I blinked. “Okay, but what are you doing to it right now?”

He pressed a few buttons, then leaned over so he could show me.

“Playing with the music. He fucking hates rap…guess what I just found? The most gangster rap station on Pandora.”

I started to shake my head, then grinned when I saw Hennessy walk in the door.

She saw us immediately and came to sit down with us, sighing. “Please, save me from stupid people.”

“What happened?” Baylor asked, biting his lip between his teeth and pressing more buttons.

“I have a new patient that’s…let’s just say…colorful.” She snorted. “Seriously, colorful is about all I can come up with for him. He hates me.”

“Think Tate hated you a little bit, too,” Baylor pointed out, still not looking up. “You got him to like you.”

Hennessy snorted and her eyes fell on our chips and salsa. “Can I have some of that?”

I nodded. “You can.”

Then I pushed the basket toward her. “If I eat anymore, I’m not going to finish my lunch.”

She snorted. “You never know how little self-control you have until chips and salsa are set down in front of you. Lord help me if there’s queso.”

That was the truth.

“What is he doing?”

Hennessy indicated Baylor with her head, but before I could answer, her phone rang.

“Hello?” she answered. “Slow down, Tate! Do not, under any circumstances, shoot my Alexa! I love her!”

Heads turned at that.

“No, I don’t know why it’s playing gangster rap, but I swear to God. I will kill you if you do anything to my favorite new toy.”

Baylor started to laugh at that, and I joined right along with him.

Whatever Baylor had been trying to accomplish by making me laugh, he’d done it.

When my head turned in Sal’s direction once I’d regained my composure, it was to find him glaring at all of us with equal amounts of hate.

Fuck. Yeah.

***

I ended up not going back to work, and Dr. Castleberry was completely understanding about it when Baylor and I ran by to gather my college application papers and to give my excuse.

With Sal following our every move, Baylor didn’t feel comfortable leaving me alone.

So, I’d gone back to work with him.

Now, I was sitting in his truck, watching everything.

I loved sunglasses. Why, you ask?

Because I could look at Baylor without anyone knowing.

I could stare at his ass, his tight jeans with the long column of his cock down the front of his jeans…or I could stare at the tree. Nobody would ever know.

At least I thought they wouldn’t.

I should’ve known that Baylor would know.

“Swear to Christ,” Baylor hissed. “If you keep looking at my dick like that, we’re going to go visit the fucking truck.”

My eyes widened.

“H-how…”

“You’re licking your lips and staring at my dick. Those sunglasses don’t hide things as well as you think they do.”