Read Close To Home (Westen Series) Online

Authors: Suzanne Ferrell

Tags: #Contemporary Romance Novel

Close To Home (Westen Series) (9 page)

A few minutes later the film was ready. Though no veterinarian, even Clint could tell the animal had indeed broken a bone. As he walked into the exam room, he glanced at the clock and wondered if his brother Seth was in his office still. He needed some help on this one.

“Well, guys,” he addressed the boys, picking up the phone and dialing Seth’s number, “looks like Hoppy here is going to get a cast just like you two.”

Both boys grinned at him.

Clint wondered if they’d heard him right. “I bet his paw hurts as much as your hands did,” he explained to them.

The boys continued to grin at him.

Maybe they didn’t understand that an animal could hurt, too, although most children their age sympathized easily with a small animal.

“We know, Doc.” Ben looked at his brother, who nodded. “But if Hoppy has a hurt paw, then mommy will let us keep him.”

“Yeah, he’ll match us,” Brian added.

Finally understanding the two six-year-olds’ logic, Clint laughed into the receiver just as his brother answered the phone. “Hey, Seth. How are things in the state capitol?”

“Not bad, big brother. Sounds like things are pretty good there in farm country. Aren’t you ready to get back in the action and return to the hospital, yet? Or have you found some farmer’s daughter to keep you company?”

“Actually, it’s an old friend of Gwen’s, Emma Lewis, and her two sons.” Clint waited for the silence on the other end of the phone to end.

“Little redheaded Emma?”

Clint rolled his eyes at the astonishment in his brother’s voice. He swore he heard the feet of Seth’s chair hitting the floor all the way from Columbus.

“The one Gwen dragged everywhere with her?”

“The one and the same. Only she isn’t little anymore.”

“Got kids, too?”

“Twins. In fact, that’s why I called.” He hoped to divert his brother with the problem at hand and away from the idea of his interest in Emma. “The boys brought me a patient that’s sort of out of my league. I thought you might be able to help.”

“A patient you need my help on?”

“Seems they found a puppy, probably a runt no one wanted, in a sack on the side of the road. Hoppy has definitely broken his right front paw. I confirmed it with an x-ray.”

“You took an x-ray of a dog?”

His brother’s surprise irritated Clint. “Yes, I did. Now, what I need from you, little brother, is instructions on how to set the damn paw.”

“Why don’t you just take it to a vet? I’ve never known you to be interested in working on animals before. At least none that weren’t human.”

Clint heard the wheels turning in Seth’s brain as the conversation paused. He took a deep breath and waited for his brother to jump to conclusions.

“Oh, ho! Could be you’re interested in little Emma, right? And fixing the boys’ pet will get you in her good graces?”

Clint watched the boys as they petted and stroked their new pet. No, it wasn’t Emma that drew him to the situation, or at least not just her. In a matter of a few minutes a week ago, he’d determined these boys were important to him. The fact that their mother sent hot messages to his body only intensified the situation for him.

“Clint, you still there?”

He swallowed the expletive retort on the tip of his tongue. “Seth, could you do me a couple of favors?”

“Anything, big brother.”

“First, shut up about Emma, and second, tell me how to set this bone.”

Seth laughed. “Okay, I’ll take pity on you. Describe to me the break and we’ll see if we can’t get Hoppy back to normal.”

* * *

Thirty minutes and several yards of wet plaster casting later, Clint picked up the pup and accompanied by the twins walked across the street to the colonial.

“Is your mom asleep, guys?” he asked as they walked onto the porch.

“She and Mama was sittin’ out here when we told her we was comin’ to see you.” Benjamin opened the door.

“Will she be surprised.” Brian literally bounced into his brother.

“What am I going to be surprised about?” Emma stood in the front room’s doorway. She smiled at the threesome. “What have you got there, Doctor?”

Clint stopped in his tracks, trying to still the raging heat surging through him. She resembled a refugee from some fall-out shelter. She had her hair pulled into a ponytail, wisps of it curling softly around her face. Bits of plaster clung to the coppery strands, while a fine layer of dust covered her head and face. The urge to pull her closer and kiss her eyes, nose and cheeks clean of the powder, surged through him.

Instead, he held out the wriggling bundle in his hands. “Seems the boys found a puppy that needed a little patching up.”

“Ah, the poor thing.” Emma walked closer to scratch Hoppy behind the ears. “I thought they were up to something when they asked to come visit you.”

“Can we keep Hoppy, Mommy?” Benjamin asked.

Brian jumped up and down beside him. “Yeah, Mommy. Can we? He has a cast just like we do!”

“Well, I don’t know.”

She hesitated just a bit, but Clint saw the twinkle in her eyes.

“Please, Mommy? We’ll take good care of him. We promise.” Benjamin started bouncing in unison with his brother.

“He needs us, Mommy. Someone just threw him away,” Brian added.

Emma glanced at Clint for an explanation.

“Apparently, the boys found Hoppy here in a bag along the side of the road. My guess is that someone didn’t want to raise the runt of the litter,” he answered her unspoken question.

“And how did he get this cast?” She held the paw in question.

“Doc Clint fixed it just like he did ours, Mommy.”

Brian gazed at Clint with such admiration in his eyes he felt his heart swell with the desire to gather the boy in a fierce hug, which both warmed and frightened him.

“I didn’t know you worked with animals as well as people, Doctor.” Emma drew his attention to her and the puppy.

He paused at her teasing then hurried to explain. “I did have a little help. My brother, Seth, is a veterinarian. I sort of consulted with him on how best to treat Hoppy.” He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. “Here’s a list of things he suggested you’d need if you decided to keep the pup. And a schedule of the shots he’ll need.”

Emma took the paper then looked thoughtfully at her sons. Clint suspected she’d already decided to keep the dog. He admired the way she made the boys believe it wasn’t an easy decision. He understood her motives. Kids who had everything handed to them without a thought by their parents soon became obnoxious, whether rich or poor.

“If we keep this puppy, it will be a big responsibility. You boys will have to take care of him.” Emma studied her sons with a serious expression. They’d finally managed to stop jumping and stand still.

“We can do it, Mommy,” they said in unison.

“This is more than just feeding him and cleaning cages like you do the other pets, boys. Hoppy will need someone to walk him...”

“We can do that.”

“...he’ll need a bath at least twice a month...”

“We’ll wash him.”

“...he has to have food and water every day...”

“We won’t forget, we promise, Mommy,” Benjamin said, his brother nodding in agreement.

“There’s one more thing you’ll have to do for Hoppy. And it’s the most important one.” She glanced from one son to the other, a very solemn expression on her face.

The boys exchanged a serious look of their own.

“Hoppy will need to be loved and played with all the time.”

Her eyes danced and the corners of her lips twitched as she fought to keep her face stern. Both boys stared at her a moment, then hurled themselves at her legs. No longer capable of controlling her happiness, Emma’s face lit up with her smile. She handed the puppy to the boys, receiving giggling hugs in return.

“Be careful not to hurt his paw,” she warned as they headed up stairs, Hoppy’s front half in Benjamin’s hands and his lower half in Brian’s.

As she enjoyed her sons’ pleasure, Clint couldn’t help but stare at the vision she presented him. Her face softened and relaxed. For the first time since he’d met her, she appeared free of worry.

She should look like this all the time
.

The jerk that had gotten her pregnant and left her to raise the boys on her own deserved to get the crap kicked out of him.

“Is there something wrong, Doctor?” Emma stared at him strangely and he realized his face gave away his thoughts.

He shoved his angry thoughts aside and reached out to tuck a stray curl of her hair behind her ear. “You should do that more often.” His hand rested on the side of her face for a moment.

“What?” Her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly.

Clint fought the urge to taste them. “Smile. It becomes you.” When she leaned toward him, it took all of his self-restraint not to gather her up in his arms.

He doubted she’d appreciate an advance like that out of him, when they’d barely called a truce two days before.

“How’s the remodeling coming?” He dropped his hand from her face and changed the subject.

“Um.” It took Emma a moment to answer him. “I’ve just about gotten all the drywall pulled down. Then I’m going to put a coat or two of light varnish on the wood to protect it.”

“That will look nice.” He rubbed his hand across the wood. “It’s going to need sanding first.”

Emma watched him caress the wood, remembering the feel of those fingers on her skin a moment earlier. Then she thought about his rejection of her willingness for more when he stepped away.

Her pride took control. After her divorce, she’d promised herself she’d never again beg for a man’s attentions.

Straightening her shoulders, she walked to the final wall she’d been working on. With a small grunt, she lifted the hammer and gave the wall a fierce blow, tugging on the hammer to pull more of the old wall away.

Just as the section of drywall loosened, Emma lost her balance and tumbled forward. Before she landed beneath the falling debris, she found herself suddenly jerked against Clint’s hard body. He held her in place with one muscular arm, while the other hand protected her nose and mouth from the cloud of dust that whooshed up from the floor.

Emma went completely still. Heat surrounded her. Heat from Clint’s body pressed against her back. Heat from his forearm resting firmly against the lower swells of her breasts. Heat from his clean, warm hand against her skin.

After a moment his hand slid to the side of her face. Yet he continued to hold her to him long after the dust had settled. Emma felt his breath on her neck, felt it quicken, then slow. His free hand stretched to where she still clutched the hammer and took it from her hand.

“Maybe you’d better let me take that,” he said, setting her on her feet and moving away. “I don’t think you need to be in a cast along with your sons and their pet.”

Emma’s temper flared to life. “Believe me, Doctor, I’m more than capable of handling this hammer.” She lunged forward to take it, only to have him hold it beyond her reach. “I’ve been doing this remodeling just fine on my own. And I certainly don’t need your help.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve done it, but...” He lifted the hammer and gave one good blow to the wall. With a quick flick of the hammer, the remaining boards fell to the floor. “I used to be pretty good at demolishing rooms.”

“Oh? During wild parties at the college dorms?” Emma couldn’t resist teasing him. His deftness with the hammer had taken some of starch out of her anger.

“No. I never lived in the dorms.” He handed her back the hammer, then reached for the broom and began sweeping at the rubble on the floor. “Mom couldn’t afford it with four others to put through school after me. My scholarship only paid for classes and books.”

“Then how did you become so familiar with demolishing rooms?” Emma asked, curious now.

“Summers I worked for a home-remodeling company. The first two years I spent on the wrecking crew working out any frustrations I had with school. Could you grab the pan?” He pointed to the extra-large dustpan in the corner.

Emma retrieved it and bent opposite the pile he’d made. “So, what did you do the other years?”

He grinned at her. “For a while I thought Grueber, the foreman, had it in for me with all those demolition jobs. But finally, in the middle of my third summer, he took me aside and handed me a carpenter’s hammer instead of a sledge. I thought he planned to make me tear a wall down with it.”

“That would take forever.” Emma scooped part of the pile, dumped it in the can and knelt for more.

“I thought that too. But he showed me how to measure and build new wall frames. By the end of that summer I was the chief framer for several jobs.” He swept another pile into Emma’s pan.

“Did you learn anything else?”

“Sure. The next year I moved into drywall and ceilings. By the time I finished my first year of med school I became a fairly good cabinet maker.”

“You can build cabinets?” Emma couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice. What she wouldn’t give to have an experienced carpenter, albeit an out-of-practice one, helping her with this remodel. She resisted the urge to sigh. No way was she going to ask for his help.

Clint chuckled. “It’s been a few years, but I imagine the skills are still there.”

Emma’s cheeks filled with heat. God, she hated how easily she blushed. “I didn’t mean to pry. I just never think of doctors as having any other skills than medicine.”

“Oh, like mothers are only mothers?”

If possible, her blush grew hotter. Gathering the last of the rubble, she quickly took it to the bin. “I guess I deserved that.” She left the room before he could stop her.

Emma caught up with him at the front door. She held out several folded dollar bills. “I want to thank you for taking care of the boys’ puppy.”

“Keep your money, Emma. I did it for the boys.”

“But no insurance will pay you...”

“I don’t want your money.” He stepped out onto the porch.

She touched him lightly on the arm, stopping him in his tracks. “I wish you’d let me do something to repay you.”

“Okay, tell you what. Invite me for dinner and we’ll call it even.”

“Dinner?” Emma knew she sounded like a dunce, but his request surprised her.

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