Love's Taming (The Love's Series) (2 page)

She had painted the walls in a soft cream color, desperate to make the apartment appear bigger than it really was. Family pictures adorned the walls, as well as some throw pillows, gave the room splashes of color.
Well, it’s mine and it’s home,
she thought as she pushed herself off of the sofa.

“All right, guys. Time for momma to head out. I’ve got to get donuts for the gang, so I’ll see you later,” she said with affection to the three cats. All three raised their heads, large eyes staring at her, but with the sunspot-coma coming on none of them moved.

This is my life. Talking to my cats.
She wondered if she would eventually be found mummified in this old apartment, littered with cat food cans outside of the door. Shaking her head as she washed her cereal bowl and left it in the sink, she pushed back the morbid thoughts.
I’m
young. I’m a professional. I own my own veterinary practice. I’m successful.
Unfortunately, those thoughts were crowded with others, less positive.
I’m single with no social life in the foreseeable future. No fiancé to plan a future with. No boyfriend to hang out with on weekends. No friend-with-benefits, therefore giving my battery boyfriend all my business. Hell, no one-night stands. I live in a tiny-ass apartment because it’s all I can afford while I pay off vet school loans. I work from sun-up to beyond sun-down. And…I talk to cats. Yep, I’m a real winner.

Looking at the clock one more time, Annie realized she needed to hustle to get the donuts before opening the clinic. Grabbing her keys and purse, she locked the door behind her and jogged down the stairs.

“Annie!” came the familiar call as she walked briskly down the street toward the bakery.

Looking across the street, she smiled and waved. “Mr. Machelli – good morning.”

“Your turn to get the goodies?” he called as he continued to sweep the sidewalk in front of his butcher shop. “Give Mrs. Greenwald my greetings.”

She smiled in return. Mrs. Greenwald owned the bakery down the street and had been a widow for over two years. It was a well-known fact in the neighborhood that Mr. Machelli was interested, but he always said he didn’t want to move too quickly in a courtship. She thought that secretly he was just afraid that Mrs. Greenwald would turn him down if he asked her out. Knowing her, he might just be right in playing it safe. She could be a fire-cracker and no one knew what would come out of her mouth.

Waving her response, she continued into the bakery. Hit with the smells of homemade breads and pastries, her stomach rumbled as she pushed her way through the crowd up to the counter. Mrs. Greenwald came from the back waving a bag of pastries in her hand. “You’re late. You’re never late. Why are you late?” she huffed while shoving the bag into Annie’s hand. “Here. Take this too. You’re too skinny,” she added while handing Annie an enormous loaf of bread.

Knowing that no answer was expected, she took the offerings, smiling her thanks. “By the way, Mrs. Greenwald. Mr. Machelli sends his usual morning greetings,” she said with a wink.

“Bah! That man moves too slow for me. One day, I will find a man who loves my food and won’t waste time asking me out!”

Laughing, Annie quickly paid the young man at the counter, then jogged back down the block to her clinic. As she approached, her eyes caught the sign hanging above the door.

Cranston and Donavan Veterinary Clinic

Her mind drifted back to Dr. Cranston and her interview when he had been looking for a young vet to mentor. He asked her the normal questions about her experience and background, then he sat behind his old wooden desk piled high with records and peered at her silently. His silence began to make her nervous, but she held his gaze. Finally, he asked her one more question.

“What would you be if you couldn’t be a veterinarian?”

She didn’t hesitate, answering him in a clear voice. “Nothing.”

At his raised eyebrows, she continued, “Dr. Cranston, being a veterinarian is all I’ve ever wanted to be. It’s not what I do. It’s who I am. If it were taken from me, it would take my reason for getting up each morning. I’ve never considered another job, another career. It’s everything to me.”

A slow smile crept across his face as he stood and leaned over his desk with his hand held out. “Good answer, Dr. Donavan. Welcome to my practice.”

Annie’s mind drifted over to him and the two years he mentored her as a young vet. One day, she had come to work and a new sign was being hung over the door. Instead of just Cranston’s Veterinary Clinic, her name was now proudly displayed. She didn’t realize it at the time, but he knew. The cancer was eating away at him and in the end he gave his most-valuable possession to the woman that he often said he considered his daughter. When he died six months later, she was stunned to find that he left the entire practice, including the apartment above the clinic, to her.

The sign still had his name on it, swinging proudly above the door. She simply could not stand the idea of having a new sign with just her name. Somehow it seemed disloyal.

Pushing open the door to the clinic, she was greeted with exuberance.

“Finally! I thought I was going to have to send out the cavalry for the fucking pastries!”

Leon reached over the counter, grabbing the bag from her hand and popped a donut into his mouth before she could react.

“Leon! Do you treat Shirley this way when she brings you donuts?” Annie asked, glaring at him.

“Doc, my woman greets me at the door with her bodacious booty, and when I give her the business, I never have to wait on my donuts.”

Annie threw her hand up in his face, laughing as she walked toward the back. “Too much information. I do not need that image in my mind.”

“Well, doc, if you were getting some of the business yourself it wouldn’t seem like too much information!”

“I don’t have time to get anyone to give me the business.”

“What about that nice doctor over at the emergency vet clinic? He was interested,” Leon added, following her through the hall toward the back of the clinic.

Annie’s nose wrinkled as she thought about her date with Dr. Ketchum several months ago. She could tell he was interested, but between his schedule and hers there hadn’t been time for more dates. “Leon, I told you. We didn’t have enough time to see if there could have been interest.”

“Girl, when the sparks are flyin’ you don’t need time to figure that out. It’s either there or it isn’t.”

“I think Shirley has been reading her romance novels to you at night,” Annie laughed. “Anyway, I just don’t have time in my life for a man right now.”

“If you don’t make time, doc, it’ll pass you by. Be spontaneous. Be daring, doc. Damn, learn to have time for some fun!”

Leon winked as she walked by, then handed the bag to Suzanne as she came toward the reception area.

Annie turned and looked at her two employees. Suzanne was taller than she, with her long black hair pulled away from her face in a tight ponytail and blue eyes that belied her Irish heritage. Drop dead gorgeous, Annie knew Suzanne had men panting after her, but she rarely dated and no long term boyfriends were on the horizon. Annie wondered if anyone would ever take that title. Whereas she wished she had time for a man, she knew that Suzanne avoided the dating scene. But for whatever reason, she never asked, and Suzanne never talked about it. Suzanne was a vet tech student, a hard worker who also served as her receptionist, and Annie valued her friendship as well as her skills in the clinic.

Tall, dark, with ebony skin and gorgeous eyes, Leon was her vet tech and assistant when needed. Shirley, his long-time girlfriend, was not-so-patiently waiting on him to pop the question so she could plan their wedding. Annie feared that Leon was waiting until his salary increased and guiltily, she had no idea when she would be able to pay Leon or Suzanne more. Leon may joke about Shirley, but the honest truth was that he would do anything for her…and she for him.

One day, maybe for me. After I build the business. After I pay the bills. After I…yeah right. Looks like crazy cat lady may be my only title after all.

Taking a deep breath, she turned and walked toward the back surgical area, calling out, “Okay, folks, let’s get ready for the day.”

Suzanne and Leon watched Annie’s back as she left the reception area then turned their eyes to each other.

“Lordy, I wish that woman could find herself some fun. And a man. Hell, fun with a man,” Leon exclaimed loudly. As usual whatever came into his mind, came out of his mouth.

Suzanne, quieter, just nodded before adding, “But she doesn’t need just any man and fun. She needs the right man and fun.”

“Can’t argue with that, but if she doesn’t ever go out, how is she going to meet the right man? It’s not like Mr. Right is going to drop into her clinic out of nowhere.”

Shrugging, Suzanne finished her pastry as she headed to the reception area as the door opened and their first customer came in.

“Mrs. Rosini! How nice to see you and Zoey. Now please tell me you did not give Zoey any treats this morning!”

T
he last client
was checking out with Leon, so Annie went around gathering the trash.

“Dr. Donavan, I told you I’d get the trash,” Suzanne called from the back room. “I’ve just got to finish sweeping out the exam rooms.”

Smiling, Annie knew that Suzanne would do everything if she could. Hardworking, diligent, caring…and worked cheap.
Thank goodness for that.
Veterinary school loans and then taking over the small animal practice in downtown Richland was taking a toll on her finances. Yelling back she answered, “It’s okay. I’ve got it.” Pulling her long hair back up in a messy bun, she grabbed the last of the trash and piled it near the back alley door.

Popping around the corner Suzanne looked at Annie with irritation. “Dr. Donavan you should have waited. You work too hard as it is.”

Annie looked at her young vet tech with affection. Suzanne had only been working for her for about six months, but the two of them had become friends. Physically, they could not have been more opposite in height and coloring.
Oh, to be twenty and gorgeous,
Annie thought, feeling much older than her twenty-eight years. Petite, with her ginger hair and green eyes, she sometimes felt frumpy next to the young beauty.

“And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Annie?”

Laughing, Suzanne admitted, “I know, but I call you Dr. Donavan all during the day in front of clients. It’s hard to switch.”

“Well, we’re finished here. Hopefully, as soon as you finish your vet tech program in a couple of months, I can pay both of you to be techs and hire someone else to be the receptionist. Then neither of you will have to pull double duty.” Looking around to make sure everything was done for the evening, Annie put her arm around Suzanne and steered her toward the front door. “Leon, are you ready? I’ll have you watch Suzanne get in her car tonight, and I’ll toss the trash out. See you guys on Monday morning.”

Waving goodbye, Suzanne and Leon headed out of the door and Annie watched as they drove off. Looking around the neighborhood for a moment, Annie sighed.
Fresh air. Green grass. Room for a dog to run.
That had been her ideal setting when she graduated from vet school, but jobs were not as plentiful as she had hoped. When Dr. Cranston was looking for a young doctor to help with his inner-city practice that came with a small apartment over it, she jumped at the chance to start paying off the loans.

The old neighborhood, filled with tall brick dwellings, a few homeless people shuffling down the street, and some rough looking characters driving by in a car had her shutting and locking the front door securely.
One day maybe. A vet clinic in the country.

Annie headed towards the back door, grabbing the trash bags on her way out. Stepping into the alley, she tossed the bags into the dumpster behind her building.

The alley was quiet, almost eerily so. Turning to go back inside, a large body was standing right in front of her. Screaming, she jumped back stumbling over her feet. A hand snapped out of the darkness, grabbing her arm. Heart pounding, chest heaving, she stared up at the tall figure in front of her.
Oh Jesus. I’m going to be murdered. I’m going to be raped. I’m going to be…

“Doctor. Are you all right?” a deep voice resonated from the shadowed figure.

All right? Do murderers ask if you are all right?
Still in shock, Annie just stared at the man.

“Doctor. Are. You. All. Right?” He enunciated each word as though she did not understand him the first time.

“Y…yes,” she answered tentatively, slowly finding her voice.

“I need your help.” Stepping from the shadows into the dim light, she saw his features instead of just a shape.
Oh my, he’s big.
Her fear at an all-time high, she looked into his shadowed face. Broad shoulders that tapered to a slimmer waist, he was wearing a dark, opened jacket that allowed her to see his tattooed chest. Twisting as he knelt down, she noticed his large thighs in old, faded, slightly torn blue jeans. He picked up a large blanketed object from behind the dumpster.

Annie heard a whimper, her fear immediately replaced by concern. Stepping forward she pulled the blanket back slightly seeing the face of a German shepherd. Its eyes were closed and its nose was warm. “What did you do to it?” she asked sharply placing her hands on its head.

Sucking in a quick breath, the man growled, “What makes you think I did this? I’m here for help, doc.”

Pulling her lips in, she looked back at his face, but it was still too much in the shadows for her to see clearly.

“What happened?”

“I found him like this when I got home. I think he musta’ eaten somethin’ he shouldn’t. Been throwin’ up. Don’t know what’s wrong, but I know he needs help. I don’t want him to die.”

Hesitating for just a moment trying to decide if she should trust the stranger, she knew she couldn’t let the dog suffer. Skirting around him, she called out as she walked back in the office, “Come on. Bring him in.”