Rescue My Heart (9 page)

“
You make
those?”

“
Yep. Cheaper than buying
them.”

“
They look
good.”

“
Chocolate chip. I’ll zap
them for a few secs in the microwave and melt the chips.” His
stomach growled.

Hack joined Baxter. The pug switched
around, resting his head on Hack’s leg, boosting off the arm with
his feet to get closer. The vet smiled at the little dog. Rory put
the plate and a mug on the coffee table. She then retrieved milk,
sugar, and her own cup. They prepared their hot drinks in silence.
Hack picked up his scone and took a bite. It was the best he had
ever eaten.

“
This is
great.”

“
Thanks. I got the recipe
from Shirley, down the hall.”

Felicia
always orders out. I don’t think she even owns a pot or pan.
Why do I keep comparing? I’m only doing
restitution here. Still. They’re so different. Could I date a girl
like Rory? So unusual, so spontaneous, creative, so unlike my
life?

“
Does Miss Pipe Cleaner
bake?”

Hack shook his head while he chewed
and swallowed.

“
Too bad for you. You like
to eat, eh?”

“
Who doesn’t?” He washed
the scone down with a sip of coffee.

“
Yeah. Me, too. So, I
learned to cook. Shirley’s taught me a lot. She’s the best. She can
make anything.”

“
Didn’t your mother teach
you to cook?”

“
I learned some stuff from
her.” Rory’s cheeks colored. “We’re not close.”

“
Does she live in New
York?”

“
Florida.”

Hack nodded and took another piece of
the melt-in-your-mouth confection. “You could make money selling
these.”

“
I’m a writer. It’s what I
love to do,” she ground out through clenched teeth.

“
Okay, okay. Don’t bite my
head off.”

“
Do you tell Miss String
Bean what to do?”

“
You mean workwise? No.
She’s into fashion.”

“
Oh? A fashionista. I see.
So, can I call her if I have a shoe emergency or my pink scarf
clashes with my jacket?”

Hack burst out laughing. He slapped
his hand over his mouth before he lost the piece of scone he was
munching.

Rory smiled, happy her comment hit its
mark. “I supposed it’s damn easy to dress a straight pin and have
her look good.”

He admired her verbal skill. “Where do
you come up with these names for Felicia?”

“
I’m a writer, remember?
I’m only getting warmed up.”

“
Why did you get so pissed
off when I said you could sell your scones?”

“
People, family…have been
trying to get me to give up writing. But it’s what I love. I’ve
sold a few romance short stories too.”

“
You have?” He shoved the
last piece of scone into his mouth.

“
They
appeared in a magazine,
Today’s
Romance.”

“
That’s pretty good. Why
doesn’t your family support you?”

“
I don’t want to talk
about them. I wish people would stop trying to find new professions
for me. Let’s get back to work.”

“
I meant that your cooking
is good enough to sell. I didn’t mean you should give up writing.
Not if it’s what you love. It was supposed to be a
compliment.”

“
Thanks.”

Hack was
surprised she didn’t have a fancy come-back.
Maybe she doesn’t get a lot of supportive comments. Too
bad.
Downing the last of his coffee, he
brought his dishes to the sink.

Once they were settled, Rory spoke.
“Where were we?”

Hack read the last three paragraphs,
and Rory remembered.

“
Is he gonna screw her in
the closet?”

“
Nope. The bad guys are
going to interrupt them.”

“
Too bad. The guy’s
probably got a hard-on the size of the Empire State
Building.”

Now, it was Rory’s turn to laugh. When
she recovered, she continued to dictate. Hack typed without comment
for another hour. Baxter snored away on the sofa.

“’
Then Gerald took the gun
and clocked Arsen over the head…’”

Hack stopped. “No, wait. He can’t do
that. He lost the gun three scenes ago.”

“
Then, we’ll do…’he pulled
the gun from his boot.’”

“
But it’s summer. He
wouldn’t be wearing boots.”

Rory groaned. “Come on!”

“
You have to keep this on
track, or it won’t make sense.”

“
But I have to have Gerald
knock out Arsen.”

“
Then find something else
for him to use. There are a lot of holes in your plot, you
know.”

“
Did I ask you? This is a
first draft.”

He picked up on her defensive tone.
“That’s a good thing. Because it needs a lot of work.”

Rory’s face got red.

Hack
wasn’t sure if she was going to produce a weapon from the sofa
cushion and shoot him or burst into tears.
Way to go, Roberts. Real tactful and sensitive.
“What I mean is, of course. It’s only a first
draft. Let’s keep going. You can always go back and edit.”
Anything to keep her from hitting me or crying.
Can’t take tears.

“
Right.” Her color
returned to normal. “Let’s keep going. I’ll fix that
later.”

They continued working, breaking at
one for lunch. A small alarm on Hack’s wristwatch went off at
precisely three o’clock. He smiled, stood, and stretched. A quick
glance picked up on Rory staring at him while he pushed his arms
toward the ceiling.

He frowned. “Something wrong? A stain,
a rip?” He examined his shirt.

“
Nothing, nothing.” But
her face turned red.

She was staring at me.
Does that mean she likes me? Nah. Couldn’t be.

“
That’s all for today.
Thanks for coming.”

“
I had no
choice.”

“
Frankly, I didn’t expect
you.”

“
After the hard time
you’ve been giving me?”

“
Yeah, I
guess.”

“
That’s
why you were late getting dressed…again?”
Don’t bother dressing for me. Come to the door
naked.

“
Yeah. Thought you’d give
up, make me have to report you and go through a lot of
crap.”

“
I’m a law-abiding
citizen.”

“
Except when it comes to
traffic lights in the park, right?”

He twisted a napkin in his hand and
ran his finger around his collar.

She put her hand on his arm. “I’m
sorry. That was uncalled for. You’re making up for it.”

He headed for the door.

“
We got a lot done today.
Thanks.” She lowered her eyes. Her long, black lashes fanned out on
her cheeks, a most charming sight.

Hack was mesmerized, stopping in the
doorway. “You’re welcome. ’Till tomorrow?” His gaze locked on her
face, her lips calling to him.

“
Yeah. I’ll try to be
dressed on time.”

“
Don’t dress on my
account.” The minute it was out of his mouth, his heart stopped.
Blood rushed to his face. Flustered, he tried to rectify his
mistake. “What I meant to say…I mean…I meant…”

Rory laughed. “I know what you meant.
No harm, no foul. See you tomorrow.”

Hack left quickly, not catching his
breath until he hit the street. He covered half a block before he
stopped to glance back at her building. When he stepped closer to
the parking lot fence, he could see her window. There she was,
filling a small bird feeder hanging from her sill.

Never met anyone like her.
Tongue like a razorblade. But gentle somewhere inside. Feeds birds.
Rescued her pug. She’s like a wounded bird with a broken wing.
Can’t figure her out. But, she makes me feel so alive.

She looked up, and their gazes
connected for a moment. Embarrassed to be caught spying on her, he
turned away and headed back to his boring life. He tried pushing
images of her out of his brain. He had animals to treat, friends to
join him for a beer, and Felicia to contend with.

No room
in my life for her. She needs me, but only for three months. Fine.
I’ll help. Then, I’m on my way back. Dull beyond belief.
The prospect of his old way of living seemed so
black-and-white compared to the brilliant colors surrounding
Rory.

He sighed and opened the door to the
clinic. “Hi, Mary. Who’s waiting to see me?” He put on his white
coat and washed his hands.

“
Felicia. And she looks
none too happy.”

Chapter Five

Hack took a deep breath before he
entered the examining room where Felicia was waiting.

“
Hi, there.” She smiled at
him and moved closer, placing a brief kiss on his lips.

“
Hey. What’s up? I’m
backed up with patients.” He picked up a stack of four clipboards
with patient charts attached.

“
I missed you at the
luncheon in Bryant Park today.” She ran a hand up his
chest.

“
I told you. With this
court thing, I’m not going to be available during the day for three
months.” He gently removed her fingers and flipped through the
pages.

“
Damn
you, Hack!” Her sweet demeanor cracked and fell away, like a
papier mâche
mask. “Paul
Montgomery was there. I was modeling his new line. I needed you
there.” She paced the small room.

“
Needed me there for what?
To zip a zipper? I’m sure you were fine, Felicia. You know those
fashion things are a waste of my time. All I do is stand around.”
Hack perused the information for the first patient.

“
It’s not that bad.” She
leaned against the examining table, her lips pouty.

“
We’re talking time I
don’t have and won’t for three months.”

“
That little bitch. It’s
all her fault.”

“
Don’t get on her case. I
did it. I hit her and her dog. So, now I have to pay.” He put down
the records for the first animal and picked up the second
set.

“
But you’re a Roberts.
Can’t you buy her off?”

Hack stopped reading, chesting the
documents. “Not everything is about money. Besides, if I’d have
tried, the judge would’ve thrown me in jail.”

“
You still can try.” She
cozied up to him, fiddling with the buttons on his
shirt.

Hack stepped back from her. “And end
up in jail. Then, I won’t be around twenty-four seven. Would you
prefer that?”

She made
a face, sticking out her lower lip.
Wow,
she can be unattractive sometimes.

“
Not everything is about
you, Felicia.”

“
Can I help it if I missed
you?”

I don’t
believe that for a minute.
“Let’s not take
this fake engagement too far, okay?”

“
Why does it have to be
fake? We’ve known each other for years, Hack. I think I can make
you happy.”

“
Are you proposing to me?”
He arched an eyebrow and chuckled.

“
Maybe I am.”

“
Let’s not go there. As
much as I’d love to continue this, I have sick dogs, cats, and a
turtle to check out. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“
Did you have fun today at
that woman’s house?”

“
Yeah, actually, it
wasn’t…” Hack stopped, embarrassed at what he’d
revealed.

Felicia’s lips curled into a sly grin.
“Gotcha! I didn’t think this was all about you atoning for your
sins. Have you got the hots for that chubby little
manipulator?”

“
She’s not chubby. I have
work to do, Felicia. Until tomorrow night, dinner,” he said,
opening the door. She moved away, blowing him a kiss.

Relief
washed over him to have her and her pointed questions gone. He
focused on the charts of his patients and went back to being a
veterinarian.
Do I have the hots for Rory?
How can I? But she’s sexy.
He pushed
thoughts of her luscious body out of his mind and went out to the
waiting room to greet Muffy, the Himalayan cat.

The next morning, as ten o’clock drew
near, Hack put aside his vet duties and prepared to head to Rory’s
apartment. First, he washed up in the private bathroom at the
clinic. After running an electric razor over his face, he splashed
on expensive aftershave. He ripped his T-shirt over his head,
donning a fresh one in its place, then a long-sleeve shirt. He
buttoned it up and straightened the collar, brushed his teeth, and
combed his hair.

When Hack stopped at the front desk,
Mary eyed him up and down before speaking. “Well, well. My, oh my.
Don’t we look pretty,” she said, her eyes twinkling.