Guarded (5 page)

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H
ER SHOES.
F
IGURES
that he’d notice she wasn’t wearing them. Not that it wasn’t a hundred-and-eighty-percent obvious since she was rubbing her aching arch. But yikes. Could she look any more like a dork? Not that Dev had ever treated her like one.

“Just a sec,” Shelley said, putting the Out to Lunch sign in the window. “To make sure we’re not disturbed.”

Dev bent down to stroke Hercules behind the ears. She used the opportunity to let herself really look at her old friend.

He was still huge. At six foot four, he was all powerful muscle and still heart-stoppingly sexy. His expensively tailored—and thanks to Hercules, now ruined—suit draped over his form in the most delicious way.

Most men as muscular as Dev would look beefy in a suit, but he didn’t. No, where most guys worked out in a gym to get that pumped, Dev said a lot of his build came from genetics. She wasn’t sure how true that was, because he also used to say he was the runt of the litter. The man definitely exercised regularly to stay fit. And if that hug he gave her earlier was any indication, he still kept himself in tip-top shape.

His sand-colored hair was slightly long in the front but cut short on the sides and in the back. And those eyes. God, she’d always loved his eyes. So pale blue-gray they were more like the color of storm clouds over the ocean. But from her vantage point, with him bent over, it wasn’t his eyes she ogled. No, it was his model-worthy butt. Those slacks, grimy though they may be, hugged his backside and advertised that God really did dole out perfect bodies to a lucky few.

Dev straightened, then cleared his throat. When she met his gaze, the lazy half grin on his face said he knew what she’d been doing.

Busted! Heat scorched her cheeks.

“My-my shoes, right . . .” she stammered, desperate to discuss anything other than his yummy-looking butt. Because really,
I’ve had this fantasy of banging the headboard with you since freshman year
just didn’t seem appropriate since he’d come to town as a favor for her. Plus, he’d been best friends with both Cam and Shelley. All through college he’d had an insanely jealous girlfriend. And really, what were the odds of him being single today? Given her luck, somewhere in the vicinity of nada.

Although, no ring.

“It’s actually quite logical why I’m not wearing them,” she said, forcing her mind back on topic. She reached beside the door and picked up her discarded shoes. Sliding her foot into one, she held up the other as evidence. “I kicked them off when I realized I needed to run after Hercules. They’re four inches high. There’s no way I could run in those crazy things. Not outside on the cobblestones anyway. And I certainly didn’t think I’d catch him as quickly as I did. Thank you for that.”

Before Dev could respond, both Beau and Jacob burst through the swinging door. Jacob was laughing about something, but the little boy appeared worried. Tiny lines appeared between his narrowed brows, the scrape on his arm, now nearly hidden by the repaired shirt. “I really am sorry, Doc.”

“It’s really fine, Beau. Are you all right?” Shelley jammed her foot into the other shoe, then hurried down the length of the counter to give the boy a hug, but stopped when Beau’s eyes widened.

He pointed to her shirt. “What happened to you, Doc?”

“It’s nothing.” Not wanting to get the child dirty, she ruffled his hair. “Don’t worry about me. Just a little dirt. And don’t worry about Hercules either. My friend here caught him for us. I’d still be chasing Herc down the street, if not for his willingness to throw himself into the line of fire.”

Dev shook his head, smiling. “I don’t know that I intentionally did anything other than act as the human version of a bearskin rug for the big dog. But I’m glad I could help.”

Shelley didn’t miss the way Dev rubbed the back of his neck and didn’t quite meet her gaze when he spoke.

She bit down hard to keep from smiling. At least that hadn’t changed. Dev was as noble and shy as he’d been in college. Amazing, considering he came from money, wore a suit that would have cost her a month’s salary, and was a police detective. If ever there was someone who might be expected to live like the entitled rich, it was he. Yet here he stood, embarrassed from a simple compliment.

Her pulse raced because . . . wow. There was nothing more scintillating than a shy man who looked like a sex god. Even when dirty.

Beau moved closer to her. His big brown eyes luminous behind his now-repaired glasses. “You got railroad tracks in your hose. Mama Margaret says that means pantyhose are ruined when that happens and money’s been lost. Did you mess them up because
I
let Hercules escape?”

His bottom lip quivered and Shelley wondered, not for the first time, why someone like
Mama Margaret
would be allowed to remain a foster parent.

Shelley had already reported Mama Margaret on suspicions of abuse once. CPS was alerted to her. Not that it helped little Beau right now. Schooling her features to show only support and confidence, she squatted in front of him.

“No, it’s fine. I have a spare pair in my desk. But how about you? How’s your arm, little man?” Shelley asked, examining Beau’s injury. Satisfied the boy would be okay, she suggested, “Why don’t you leave Mr. . . . uh, your
friend
here and I’ll drop you at school. You can come by to get him
after
school gets out.”

“Doc, it’s a teacher workday. No school.” Beau’s eyebrows drew together to form one long, wavy brown line.

“I forgot about that. Well, then why don’t I go get your friend for you, and you can take him home?”

“He’s okay?”

“Definitely. He’s completely healthy. Let him finish what’s in his bowl before you refill it and you’ll see he’s eating.” When he didn’t do more than nod, she asked, “Don’t you want to take him home right now?”

And there it was, that light in his eyes that made Beau look ages older than ten. “Nah, he likes it here. I’ll work off the time. Besides, isn’t it the same price if he’s here for a few minutes or all day? I’m not finished bringing in the donations. And Jacob said I could help him in the doggie spa.”

“Beau, that’s very generous of you, but I’ve got to be out of the clinic this afternoon. Plus, you know how crazy Wednesdays are—” she said, but he cut her off.

“You know, Wednesdays aren’t all bad, Doc. I met you on a Wednesday. That was definitely a good day.”

“You’re absolutely right.” A lump formed in Shelley’s throat at the sincerity in Beau’s voice. It would be so easy for her to love this little boy, if he were hers. But that could never happen. She wasn’t ever going to be anyone’s mother.

“Dude!” Jacob called out and Shelley welcomed the interruption. She glanced at her intern who said with badly suppressed laughter, “You’re a total mess. Did Herc do that to you?”

Shelley turned to see Dev futilely brushing at the grit on his suit with his fingers. He only succeeded in coating his hands in the fine black silt.

Wow. Would that come out with dry cleaning?
And how would she pay for it? Between paying for health insurance, car insurance, and student loans, she was barely making rent.

“It’s fine,” Dev said to Jacob. “Doctor . . . ?”

“Sorry. Where are my manners? Dev, meet Jacob Durand and Beau Connors. Beau is our youngest volunteer, and Jacob is our very capable intern who’s going to be a vet before long.”

“Wow, thanks, Dr. Morgan.” Jacob stood a little straighter, his chest puffed with pride.

“You’re welcome, Jacob.” She returned his grin. “Now, I think we’ve made use of the detective as a dogsitter for far too long. Can you please take Hercules to the back?”

Jacob gave an exaggerated sigh and slumped his shoulders. “And it’s back to being the dog groomer. Ah, well.” Jacob winked at her, then eyed the dog warily, patting his head. “Come on, Herc.
Eww
! Gross! You’re filthy.” Sparing a glance at Dev, he added, “What’d you do, roll in the street with him? I’m gonna have to give him another bath.”

The white of the dog’s fur had been tinged gray with dirt and grime. Dev hadn’t faired much better. One of Dev’s pant legs was plastered to him. And come to think of it, Shelley’s blouse was sticking to her belly.

She glanced down. Fabulous! Her top showed off just how much exercise she
didn’t
get. Talk about displaying all the wrong curves. Tugging the wet material away from her now-cold tummy, she added, “Just hurry and do it before Dr. Kessler gets back. We don’t need him to learn his prized baby has been loose. I’d hate to upset him. He’s having such a rough time these days. Although, he still might learn of the escape. I’m not sure if Mrs. Hoffstedder or Mrs. Blaney saw us.”

“The Elizabeths?” Dev asked. When Shelley nodded, he added, “They didn’t. Your secret’s safe.”

“Besides, it’s not like Dr. Kessler’ll remember ten minutes after he’s told anyway. If he doesn’t write it down, it’s forgotten,” Jacob said with a grin, but his smile quickly morphed into open-mouthed, bug-eyed horror. “I’m so sorry, Dr. Morgan. You-you won’t tell him I said that, will you?”

Tempting.

“No, I won’t say anything, if you don’t. Just go and clean up Hercules.” Shelley shooed Jacob toward the back door with her free hand. “I’m leaving the Out to Lunch sign up. Make sure you take it down at one. I’m headed home to clean up, then I’ll be at the zoo this afternoon. Dr. Kessler should be back in the office by two. Think you can get all the guests in the doggie spa handled by then?”

“No prob.” Jacob nodded until his bangs flew into his eyes again. Then he jerked his head sharply to the left to clear the hair from his vision.

“Don’t forget we’ve got a cat scheduled for a grooming this afternoon. Mrs. Blaney’s old orange tabby. Make sure to place Morris in the cat sanctuary and lock that door tight when she drops him off. We don’t need him strolling into the spa again.”

“Gotcha.” Jacob took Hercules’s leash and hurried through the swinging door.

“Doggie spa? Cat sanctuary?” Dev asked at the same time Beau said, “I’ll just finish bringing in the dog food.”

Shelley glanced at the little boy so often forgotten by the town; she didn’t miss the way his stomach rumbled. “Have you had lunch yet? You can go get something. Or I can drop you and your guinea pig at home. You can always come back after.”

“Nah, no good.” Beau grimaced. “Mama Margaret will be mad for sure if she sees you at her house, Doc. You know how upset she got the last time you tried to help me.”

Shelley frowned at the memory. She took an instant dislike to Mama Margaret on their first meeting. Probably because the old bat insisted that Beau call her Mama, all the time reminding Beau how no one wanted him and he was lucky she kept him.

Then Mama Margaret had turned her beady, greedy eyes on Shelley, as if daring Shelley to argue. Oh, she had wanted to, but refrained. Shelley remembered all too well how much uglier life in the foster care system could be when
outsiders
interfered.

That nasty meeting had been on a Wednesday. Another hard truth Shelley had to learn. The whole town had known Beau had been abandoned by his biological mother. That he was probably being neglected at best, emotionally abused at worst, by his foster mother—but no one could do anything about it without proof.

Shelley doubted it was love that kept Beau silent. And he was more than silent. Beau did everything he could to keep his failure of a foster mother from getting into trouble. Even denying allegations of abuse when questioned by the social workers.

But Shelley understood his motive. Having lost her sisters, Hannah and Jules, in that callous machine called the foster care system, Shelley knew how badly the program could fail. Even though she was eventually adopted by a loving couple, she still had nightmares.

So she couldn’t blame Beau for wanting to protect his life, such as it was. After all, a known hell was better than an unknown one.

“Beau, surely Mama Margaret must be okay with you coming to see me here. I mean you’re here all the time . . .” She let her words trail off at Beau’s sideways glance. He chewed on his thumbnail and stared at the portrait of Dr. Kessler hanging over the couch. In the white suit, with that white hair and goatee, the vet looked more like Colonel Sanders than an animal doctor.

Beau’s fascination with the picture was his tell whenever he tried to lie or hide something. A small headache formed behind her right eye. “Oh, dear. She doesn’t
let
you come here, does she?”

“She
does
.” Beau met Shelley’s gaze briefly before shifting his eyes away. “She thinks Dr. Kessler lets me help
him
. That I don’t see you at all. She told me if she found out I was lying, she’d get rid of Mr. Fuzzbutt so I won’t have no reason to come back here. If I tell her it’s you I’ve been helping—”

“I got it.” She raised her hands in submission. And she
did
get it. The poor kid was being forced to choose between lying about spending time with someone who’d shown him an ounce of kindness or facing the harsh truth—and the inevitable cruelty that went with it. The child had chosen lies.

It made her stomach twist into knots. “How about I drop you off down the block? She won’t see my car.”

“I don’t know . . .”

So many people in this town pretended not to see Beau. He probably
could
walk four blocks in tattered clothes and no one would know. Or care.

That sparked a rage inside of her so hot it frightened her. She wasn’t this kid’s mother. She had no claim to him whatsoever. She couldn’t let herself get any more involved than she already was. Taking a mental step back, she pushed down her anger at the town’s dismissal of one of its youngest residents and focused on getting him food.

“Wait one second.” Shelley hurried to her office and returned within seconds, wallet in hand. She pulled out twenty dollars and handed it to the boy. “Go to the diner, buy lunch for you and Jacob. I’m sure he’d appreciate a break. And food. Then you can finish bringing in the donations. Deal?”

Beau’s face lit up, then immediately dimmed. “I can’t take your money, Doc. Ain’t right.”