A Perfect Holiday Fling (4 page)

John had immediately waged an all-out campaign to convince her to join his growing practice in Baton Rouge, tempting her with promises of more money, a smaller caseload, and less overall chaos.

It did sound tempting, but not because of John’s selling points.

What made his offer as enticing as a gooey chocolate cake that magically had zero calories was the idea of starting fresh. More and more lately, Callie had been feeling the need for a change.

Other than the years she’d spent in Baton Rouge for undergrad and medical school, she’d lived in Maplesville. Even when she’d interned at an animal clinic in New Orleans, Callie had suffered through the hour long commute to the Crescent City. She’d never pictured herself living anywhere but her beloved hometown.

That is, until she’d become everyone’s favorite person to pity, thanks to her husband of five years—Adrian Broussard, the Jackass—very publically announcing at the annual community food drive where they both worked as volunteers that he and his new girlfriend were expecting a baby and he was leaving.

Callie had already spent more than a decade having the town look upon her with pity after the horrific automobile accident that killed her parents during her freshman year of college. After Adrian’s humiliating departure, she’d gone right back to being poor Callie Webber. But now she was poor, divorced, and unable to keep a man Callie Webber.

Her memories in Maplesville were definitely a mixed bag.

But did that mean she should just pack up and leave?

A sickening weight instantly settled in the pit of her stomach.

Callie absently rubbed her belly, as if she could wipe away the growing ache. She wished she’d never opened that damn email. It was Sunday, the only day she truly had to herself. She didn’t want to cloud her brain with anything work-related.

Besides, the lease on her clinic wasn’t up until the end of February, so she still had several months to make up her mind regarding John’s offer. Although he’d started a new tactic with this latest email, claiming to have made an offer to another vet from Lake Charles who was expressing much interest in landing a coveted spot in John’s very lucrative group.

Her stomach emitted a deep, almost animalistic growl.

“I agree,” Callie said.

She flagged the email as important and pushed away from her computer. Before she did anything else, she needed to put some food in her belly.

One problem…she needed food in the house in order to have any to put in her belly.

“Great.” Callie sighed as she stared at the refrigerator’s woefully empty shelves.

She grabbed one of the protein milk shakes that she kept in case she needed a quick breakfast on the go, and then she unhooked her favorite slim, fleece, zip-up hoodie from the coat hook in the kitchen, and grabbed her purse.

Callie stopped to straighten the framed photograph of she and her parents at her high school graduation that hung in the hallway. The two of them stood behind her, each with a hand on her shoulder and huge smiles on their faces.

They had been gone fifteen years, but she could still remember the last day she’d seen them both together as if it were yesterday. She’d made a surprise trip home from LSU to celebrate her mother’s birthday. A tractor trailer hit them head-on as they were driving home from church the very next day.

Callie willed her heart not to constrict with grief. She’d moved past the pain. Finally.

But could she really leave this place? Leave them?

No, she wouldn’t be leaving her parents. Their memories, their spirit, would be with her wherever she went. The biggest question was, why did she
really
want to leave? What was she hoping to find somewhere else?

“Not thinking about this right now,” she said to the empty house.

She locked up the house and headed for her Ruby Red Lincoln MKX.

The leaves on the numerous maple trees that lined the street were bursting with the colors of autumn: deep red, brilliant orange and bright yellow. The swamp red maple was the only one native to the area. The other varieties had been brought in over the years to diversify the town’s landscape.

Callie pulled into the parking lot of the sleek, modern, redbrick grocery store, feeling the twinge of guilt that pinged her chest whenever she shopped here. Robichaux’s Super Market had been an institution in Maplesville for over seventy years before this national chain had forced the family-owned grocer out of business. Callie loved the bigger selection, but she missed the warm, friendly service the Robichaux family had prided themselves on.

She walked through the automatic sliding doors and grabbed a handheld basket. As she strolled up and down the aisles, cursing herself for not making a shopping list, Callie was stopped every other minute by someone wanting to say hello, or ask her about an ailment their pet was having. Of course, she also suffered through the obligatory matchmaking attempts. God, when would it stop?

She was squeezing an avocado when she heard a shy voice say, “It’s the animal doctor.”

Callie looked up to find Stefan Sutherland and his nephew stopping just in front of her. Stefan was pushing a grocery basket, with Jacob close at his side.

“Hello there,” she greeted.

“Guess what?” The little boy’s eyes were wide with excitement, yet his voice was still soft and timid. “Uncle Stefan let me sleep with Sandy last night.”

“He did?” Callie’s mouth twitched with amusement. “And it sounds as if he let you name her, too.”

The boy nodded. “I named her Sandy, like the squirrel on SpongeBob. Because she’s a girl.”

“I like that name,” Callie said, fighting back a smile at the sardonic look on Stefan’s face. Apparently, he wasn’t a huge fan of the name, or was that just the cat in general? “So, how is Sandy doing?”

“Making herself right at home,” Stefan answered. “And hello to you, Dr. Webber.” His deep, warm voice shot a ripple of awareness through her.

“Hello,” she returned. “And when I’m not in my white coat the name is Callie.” She gestured to their basket, which contained wieners, marshmallows, corn on the cob and trail mix. “If I’m not mistaken, it looks as if someone is getting ready for a camping trip.”

Jacob nodded excitedly. It was the most animated Callie had ever seen the little boy. “Me and Uncle Stefan are camping in the backyard tonight. And he said Sandy can come, too.”

Just like that Callie’s heart melted into a puddle as gooey as those marshmallows were sure to be when they roasted them tonight. It had been more than obvious yesterday that Stefan wasn’t fond of the cat, but he was willing to tolerate her for his nephew’s sake. Callie had a hard time recalling the last time she’d heard anything so sweet.

“That sounds like so much fun.” She smiled down at Jacob.

“He finished all of his homework, cleaned his room, and gave Sandy a bath. He earned his reward.”

“Uncle Stefan, can I pick out the bananas?” Jacob asked.

Stefan nodded and the little boy took off for the banana display.

“It’s very sweet of you to include the cat in your campout,” Callie said.

His shoulder hitched in a nonchalant shrug. “I’m a sweet guy.” He peered into the shopping basket that hung from her arm. “Only one steak? Is your husband a vegetarian?”

He couldn’t be more obvious in his attempt to fish for information, but that didn’t stop a tingle of sensation from traveling along her skin. Maybe it was that low, almost melodic voice.

“No, he loves red meat,” Callie answered. “I’m sure his new wife cooks it for him all the time.”

A slow smile drew across Stefan’s lips, causing those tingles on her skin to multiply.

“So, is his former wife interested in cooking for more than one?”

His blatant come-on caught her totally off-guard. Thankfully, Jacob saved her from having to come up with an answer, because Callie wasn’t sure how she should respond.

“I got the bananas, and carrots, too,” the little boy said, adding his haul to their basket.

Stefan frowned. “Why the carrots?”

“In case bunny rabbits come to the tent tonight,” Jacob answered, as if it should have been obvious.

“Of course,” Stefan said. He turned his attention back to her, his eyes twinkling with mirth. “It was nice running into you, Dr. Webber. I mean Callie. If you’re up for S’mores, hot dogs on a stick, or carrots, you’re more than welcome to join us.”

“Please!” Jacob piped up.

“For the kid?” Stefan said, covering Jacob’s shoulders with both hands.

They both stared at her with their heads tilted to the side, and imploring, puppy dog expressions on their faces.

This man was no regular flirt. Anyone who would be so bold as to engage in such flagrant teasing, in the middle of the produce section and with his young nephew right there, was an
accomplished
flirt.

“I’ve…I’ve got work to do tonight,” she said, her forehead creasing with censure.

The sexy, lazy smile that drew up the corners of his mouth made it difficult to maintain her reproachful look. “That’s too bad,” Stefan said. “I roast a mean marshmallow. Maybe next time?”

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing. It had been way too long since she’d flirted with anyone, especially a pro. If she didn’t get away soon, Callie knew her face would be as red as the garden tomatoes stacked in a pyramid across from them.

Hoisting her grocery basket more firmly onto her arm, she said, “I should go. My ice cream is melting.”

Stefan shook his head, the smile reaching his eyes. “You don’t have any ice cream in your basket.”

“Then I need to get some,” Callie answered. Her face felt so hot she was sure it would set the collar of her hoodie on fire at any minute. “You two have fun tonight.”

“Sandy, too,” Jacob reminder her.

“Yes, Sandy, too. Take good care of her,” Callie said.

She marched out of the produce section on shaky legs. Just before she turned the corner, she glanced over her shoulder to find Stefan staring at her with that one sexy dimple indenting the corner of his mouth.

“Good Lord,” Callie said underneath her breath, crossing one arm over her chest just in case her rock hard nipples were showing despite both layers of clothing covering them. It was preposterous—yet understandable, Callie reasoned—that she could allow herself to get so worked up over one, albeit ridiculously sexy, man.

She hadn’t become a total recluse after her divorce. Her two best friends, Jada and Kiera, had both set her up on dates—despite the fact that they, too, were going through their own man crises. But those couple of dates had ended in nothing more than a good night kiss.

At Anita’s urging, Callie had attempted a random hookup with a fellow attendee at the veterinary conference over the summer, but chickened out when the handsome vet from Chicago knocked on her hotel room door later that night. She’d spent the last two days of the conference avoiding him.

Now she had Stefan Sutherland and his penetrating gaze causing her face—and other unmentionable parts—to heat up like a furnace.

Callie considered bypassing the freezer section all together and heading straight for the checkout, but then thought better of it. Despite the chilly November day, she could use the ice cream to cool herself down. Grabbing a pint of butter pecan, she quickly made it through the checkout line and to her car.

And away from Stefan and his dangerously sexy dimple.

Chapter Three

Stefan rested his elbows against the gleaming wood bar while he listened to fellow ex-Navy pilot, Dustin Patrick, prattle on about the treasures to be found working in the civilian world. The two had served two tours together in Afghanistan a few years ago. Dustin had left before he could get called up on a third, and from the look of things, he didn’t regret it one bit.

“I’m telling you, man, there’s money to be made. Getting out when I did was the best decision I ever made.”

“There’s a big difference between our situations. You left on your own. They’re probably going to kick me out,” Stefan reminded him.

“An honorable discharge is nothing to hang your head about,” Dustin said as he slurped up a raw oyster from the fresh platter the bartender had just set before them.

“It’s a nice way of saying you’re not good enough for us anymore.”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “Look, I didn’t ask you to meet me here so I could listen to your candy ass bitch and moan like a school girl.” He may have been away from the Navy for a few years, but he still had full command of the language. “I have a proposition for you.”

Stefan’s brow rose a fraction as he brought his beer bottle to his lips.

“I’m expanding to the Gulf South region. And, with that expansion, I’m going to need a lot of new pilots.”

Dustin had parlayed his skills as a naval pilot into a lucrative shuttling business for the oil and gas industry. He owned a fleet of helicopters that transported workers to remote locations in Alaska and Canada.

“If my eyes aren’t good enough to fly for the Navy, they won’t be good enough to fly for anyone,” Stefan reasoned, trying to ignore the pang of sorrow that gripped his chest at the thought.