Private Property: a Contemporary Romance Novella (4 page)

“How are you feeling?”  He asked, touching her tattered arm lightly.

“Sore.”  She managed a smile for him, although she knew it went nowhere near her eyes.

“Think you’re up for a drive?”  He was already coming to stand behind her wheelchair.  “I thought I could drive you in
to
town to use the phone and get a tow truck out for your car.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.  I have no money to pay a mechanic and there’s really no one to call.”  Of course, she’d have to call her parents, again, but she wasn’t looking forward to it. 
The
familiar
sound of resignati
on as she begged
rescue, and then of course the look
of utter disappointment on her father’s face, the sorrow in her mother’s eyes because she felt
her daughter
’s failures were somehow all her fault
, were
more than Tabitha could bear
.  How was she going to live th
rough this again?  Tabitha realized
she’d have to move home and begin the long process of allowing her dream to die.

“I know a guy in town who owes me a favor.  And you’ll have to at least call the job you were supposed to be at to tell them you aren’t going to make it.  In fact, allow me to call – I’ve got that doctor voice down pat.”  He was humoring her, not at all conducive with last night’s behavior.

She nodded, not
wanting to deal with the
mess, but knowing she’d better get it over with.  He picked her up at the front door and trudged through the rain and mud to a
Range Rover
parked alongside the house.  After depositing her in the passenger seat and securing the belt across her, he threw a blanket over her lap.

“I
really
don’t want you on that leg for seven days.  If you tear the muscle fibers in that calf while they are healing you’ll have hell to pay later on with scar tissue.”  He jumped in and fired the engine up.

They bumped along the driveway in silence.  As she stared out at the murky scenery, she caught him casting looks her way every so often.

“Tabitha.  What’s your last name?”  His voice was much less gruff than it had been the night before.

“Afraid I won’t pay the doctor’s bill?”  Her touch at humor was light.  “It’s MacLean.”

“
Well, Tabitha, I’m officially
Dr. Jared Larsen
.  But Jared is fine.”  He shifted in his seat as they hit the highway.  “Now, where’s that car of yours?”

She reached across him and pointed out his window to the decrepit looking Toyota sitting at an awkward angle on the side of the road.

“Hmmm.  Doesn’t look good, I’m afraid.  It would have been better off if you hadn’t decided to try and plow down that rather large telephone pole.”

S
he burst out laughing
, not knowing what else to do
.  He shared her humor, smiling broadly with a stunning show of bright white teeth and an easiness that actually reached his eyes for a change. 
In the light of day, h
is hair
s
howed to be a light brown in color with gold highlights.  It hung loosely about his square jaw, giving a bit of a roguish look to his handsome countenance.  He was roughly beautiful – tall, sculpted but
lean, with a golden skin color and
an almost American Indian look about him.

Tabitha has been aware that
Jared was certainly attractive but
n
ow, she found that he was just good looking and personable enough to make her uneasy.  The realization ceased her laughter.  Her giggles tapered off and she went back to brooding over her current drab situation.

Staring at the car made her wonder just how much it would cost to fix the damage.  The hood had been bent into an odd-shaped W thanks to the impact of the pole and she was quite certain the axle had been bent with the blowout.
The repairs
would be more money than she could hope to make in a year’s time, much less be able to fork out today
.
She only carried liability on the car and even if insurance did total it, it wouldn’t be enough to buy anything else.
  Rough luck.  That’s what she had.

Jared steered the
vehicle
onto the h
ighway and headed into town.  Giddings
was a quiet little town that had obviously seen many years.  Quaint storefronts lined the road and people bustled about even though it was barely nine in the morning and the rain was still
coming down
.  Jared turned into an auto service driveway and stepped out.  “I’ll be right back.”

A large cowboy sauntered out
to the opening
of the garage and at the sight of the doctor, clapped him hard on the back.  The two shared a few words, through which the cowboy would glance at her from time to time and nod.  Tabitha felt as though she were an article in a store window – completely exposed and on display.  God only knew what Jared was saying to the man about the poor
stray
he’d managed to rescue the night before.

Jared stepped away from the man and back into the vehicle.  “That’s settled.  Travis will drop by this afternoon and take a look at it, if the rain lets up.  Until then, why don’t we call your boss?”  He withdrew a cell phone from the middle console, checked for service, and waited for the phone number.

She recited the digits, not really sure this was a good idea, but the pain pills she had taken
with breakfast
had started taking effect and she leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes.  She tried to focus on what Jared was saying.

“G
ood morning.  This is Dr.
Larsen
calling in regards to Tabitha McLean.  I have been made aware that she was to report to you this morning; however, Ms. McLean suffered s
ome
injuries
after
a car accident last night and will not be able to arrive as scheduled.  I have put her on
bed rest
for the upcoming week.”

There was a pause.

“Yes, she will be fine, but
her injuries involve
several different points of the body and
I believe
she
will not be in a position to be
fully
active for a couple of weeks.”  Another pause.  “Yes, I’ll relay the message.  Thank you.”  He ended the call and replaced the phone.

Tabitha was reluctant to hear what had been said.  She waited for him to tell her she’d lost her job.  A job she hadn’t even started yet.

“You’re a
Camp Guide?”  He sounded skeptical.

“Counselor.  I was going to be the youth counselor at
a
R
opes
academy.”

“What is Ropes
?”

“It’s an es
teem building course for kids, u
sually middle school and high school kids.
Under strict adult guidance, it’s designed to
teach children how to climb trees, free-fall, scale cliffs, etc
.
all the while instilling goo
d values and thinking skills.” This
was all she’d ever wanted – to work with adolescents in a healthy environment to help them better themselves.

“That’s very interesting.”  He headed back towards the farmhouse.  “Well, the gentleman I spoke with said they would hold the position for you and wished you a speedy recovery.”

That straightened her back.  She’d managed to keep her job.  It wasn’t much, but it was that small strand of hope she was looking for.  She sent up a silent thank you and squeezed her eyes shut to regain control of her emotions.

“So, how long have you been working with kids?”

“I haven’t yet.”  She didn’t really want to talk about it with this man; the A-1 over-achiever would certainly judge her harshly.

“This was to have been your first time working with kids?”  He sounded skeptical and surprised.

“Yes.  Well, for money at least.”  She drew in a deep breath and decided that she owed him way more than some simple answers to his questions.  As long as it wasn’t too personal, she could oblige him a response or two.  “I’ve been volunteering with children since I graduated high school.”

“Did you attend college?”  He had slowed the
Range Rover
down and was creeping along the highway.

“No.  I wanted to go to
university, but I couldn’t afford it.”  The memories of defeat were still painful after so many years and it brought about an irritation in her.  Why was he crawling down the freeway?  It was like he had her trapped in the passenger seat, grilling her.  All that was missing was the bright white light in her eyes.  “I do have
an Associates
.”  She added lamely.

“Why don’t you go back now?”  He cocked an expectant glare at her.

“Money.  I’m in serious debt and I can’t get a loan.  I don’t make the money nece
ssary to self-pay.  It’s a sick
circle, isn’t it?”  Tabitha tried for a smile, but it wilted.

“You can do anything you set your mind to.”  His smile was genuine.

“You think so?”  She knew it sounded like a
challenge, but get real.  What did this guy really know about her?

“You were out driving in the middle of the worst storm we’ve seen all year, in the dead of night no less.  You saw a warning sign and still trudged up my driveway, didn’t you?  You were pummeling my dog, well on your way to winning the fight when I broke the two of you up, weren’t you?”  He nodded once.  “Yes, I’d definitely say you’re a fighter.  Why give up now?”  He pulled to a jerky stop in front of the house.  “Stay put.”

Like her own personal valet, Jared slid her into his arms and finagled his way through the locked front door. 
He deposited her in the guest room
for a much needed bit of rest.

Jared
peered in at her,
as Tabitha
was
just waking from her
doze. 
“What about some lunch?”

“I’m not hungry.”  She mumbled, plucking at her shirt.

“Well, I’m the doctor here and I say you eat.  What about some fruit and cheese?  That’s nice and light.”  He had
picked her up again and deposited her on the couch,
making his way to the kitchen.

“Can I help?”  If she could just be of some use to someone, maybe she’d feel a little better.

“What preparation needs to be done with fruit and cheese?”  His voice held a bit of mockery in the tone.

“Oh.”  She wasn’t trying for pity or attention, but at her defeated sound he turned around.  He seemed to assess her for a moment before changing direction and coming to get her, plopping her down in the wheelchair in front of the table.  “What are you doing?”  She sputtered as he pushed her gut into the edge of the table.  She pushed back a little for some breathing room and craned her neck to look at him.

“We should slice the fruit.  I figure you can do that while I toast some French bread and get the cheese.”  He moved into the kitchen, buried his head in the fridge.  “Did you prepare the night
tellow
?”

“Did I do what?”  Tabitha had no idea what a
‘
tellow
’
was and why she had to prepare the night one.  It was the middle of the day.  The pain pills were probably fogging up her mental processes.

“Did you do what?”  His head came back into view, his arms laden with jars and cheese.

“What?”  She was now completely lost.  “What did you ask me?”

“When?”

“Huh?”  She waved a hand.  “Forget it, I’m loopy.”

“I asked
,
‘do you prefer white or yellow?
’”

She looked at him to see if he was jesting.  He wasn’t.  She burst out laughing.  She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed this much, whether she was on drugs or not.

“What’s so funny?”  Her humor was contagious, but she could tell Jared had no idea why he’d begun to chuckle.

“I thought you had asked me if I had prepared the night
tellow
.”

“What’s a night
tellow
?”  Jared dumped the contents of his arms on the table.

“That’s what I was trying to figure out.”  She smiled at him and grabbed at a runaway orange h
eading for the edge
.

Lunch was pleasurable, surprising her.  Even with her friends, lately Tabitha felt removed from every conversation.  But, maybe because she felt she owed Jared or maybe because it was just the two of them…well, and that damned dog. 
Where was that dog anyway?
  Tabitha looked around but couldn’t see him.  Hopefully he was hiding.

It really was sad to her.  She loved animals and animals usually loved her, but because this beautiful but deadly dog had attacked her, she didn’t feel as though she would ever be comfortable around him.  And Jared loved him so much.