Till There Was You (15 page)

“Old man.” Getting out of the car, Linc addressed Tim, nodding his head in greeting.

“How are you, Lily?” Tim asked, ignoring Linc as he leaned in the open window to pet Shade.

“I’m great, Tim. How have you been lately?” Lily asked, trying to prevent a war of words between the two men.

“The old back’s playing up a bit, but that’s to be expected at my age. What are you doing hanging around with this lazy ass? You’re too good for the likes of him.”

“So I keep getting told.” Lily smiled, meeting Linc’s eyes as he shook his head, a smile tilting the corner of his lips.

“You coming inside today?”

“No, just Linc and Shade this time. I’ll wait out here.”

“All right, dear, next time maybe.” He held his hand up to his mouth, as if about to whisper, but Lily felt sure Tim actually raised his voice. “This one here seems to be a lax pet owner, so I’m sure I’ll see you both again.” He gave her a wink as he jabbed a thumb in Linc’s direction, obviously trying to stir him up.

Linc took the bait and bristled. “Listen, old man, I already told you he’s not my pet, he’s my family.”

“Yeah, sure thing, son. You planning on coming in or you going to make me stand around all day. You know it’s cold out here, right?” Tim hobbled toward the door as Linc followed along with Shade. Lily could tell by Tim’s demeanor that he was taking great delight in Linc’s efforts not to strangle him.

“Well, you’re the old coot who’s standing out in the cold in the first place. Why didn’t you wait indoors like a normal person would?”

“You getting the door or what, son?”

“You’ve got hands, open it yourself,” Linc snapped, walking Shade over to the entrance and waiting, deliberately not opening the door in defiance.

Laughing to herself, Lily poked her head out the car window. “Play nice, boys. Besides, Tim is getting old and frail, he just hates to admit he needs the help of a strong young man to open big heavy doors.” Lily had known Tim since she was a small girl and he was always the same—he loved poking fun at people. She remembered a few times when her father had to stop someone from punching him at the bar when he’d taken his teasing a little too far.

“I certainly don’t need his help,” Tim exclaimed, reaching out to push the door open and gesturing for Linc to take Shade in as he threw a cheeky wink Lily’s way.

“Be nice, please,” Lily mouthed to Tim as Linc disappeared inside.

“I know, it’s just fun. No one else around here will spar with me anymore. All that respect the elderly crap just because I was born before them and haven’t died yet. At least with him, he bites back.”

“All right,” she said with a chuckle. “Have your fun, but please don’t give him too hard a time. He was in a good mood when we got here.”

“No promises,” he grumbled, shrugging as he disappeared inside, leaving Lily to watch the door swing slowly closed.

O
nce again, the smell assaulted Linc’s senses the moment he walked inside, tilting his axis and making it harder for him to take the necessary steps forward. The breeze that came in from the open door was a saving grace as he waited for Tim to get inside and do his job. He needed to get out of there.

“You going to stand there all day or are you going to bring your pet in?” Tim said as he shuffled toward the consultation room.

“Listen, old man, any other place and we could do this for hours, but for both our sakes, let’s get this done so I can get out of here. The disinfectant smell is burning my nose.” Linc followed, lifting Shade onto the stainless steel exam table so Tim could better see his cast.

“You feeling all right, son?” Tim asked, running his hands over the dog’s furry coat. Linc couldn’t believe it, but there was no trace of teasing or sarcasm in his tone.

With a groan, Linc frowned and tried to keep his focus on holding Shade still. “Just hate all types of hospitals is all.”

“A common affliction, I’m afraid.” Tim shifted slightly to take hold of a pair of bent looking surgical scissors made for cutting through thick bandages and casts. Linc remembered using something similar in his CFA days.

“So, you like her, huh?” Tim asked in a total topic change.

“Who, Lily?”

“Who the hell else, son? You got more than one girl in your life?”

“Hell no, I’m not that stupid. One woman’s always been more than enough trouble for me.”

Tim chuckled. “Ain’t that the truth.” Finished with his cutting, Tim set the scissors to the side and began working the cast off Shade’s leg. “So, you like her or not?”

“I do,” he admitted, feeling both uncomfortable and happy about saying it out loud.

The cast broke open and Tim set it aside with the scissors as he checked on Shade’s movement. “Lily’s a good girl. Just make sure you do right by her or don’t bother getting involved in the first place. There’s a lot of people who care about that girl around here.”

“You sound like her brother.”

“I sound like every male over the age of thirty in this town. Known her since she was in pigtails. Her granddad and I were the best man at each other’s weddings. Just remember, I’m not above using any manner of these tasteless drugs I have access to to right a wrong.” Tim’s faded blue eyes looked up at him in all seriousness.

“Point taken, old man.” He believed Tim just might actually drug him given proper motivation.

“With that cleared up, let’s get down to business. The leg looks good, no bumps or lumps. It helped that he’s still young and in good condition, which is why I want him to take it slow. Go for a short walk when you get home. He’s going to want to run, but don’t let him go too wild for the first few days. Any troubles, bring him back to see me.”

“Got it.”

“I see you’re no stranger to the healing process yourself,” Tim said, nodding his head toward Linc’s chest where his collar had pulled to the side, showing some of the scars that ran up the side of his neck.

Linc adjusted his sweater. “Battle scars,” he mumbled, giving the excuse he always gave when someone saw them.

“I’ll bet,” Tim said, but Linc felt the old man didn’t quite believe him.

He cleared his throat. “So, is that it? What do I owe you?”

“Nothing. This was a follow up. You paid everything last time.”

“So, I can go?”

“Sure, son. Get out of here, and try not to bring that ugly mug of yours back for a while.”

With a laugh, Linc said, “Thanks, Doc,” then shook Tim’s hand and led Shade back out to where Lily was waiting.

“How’d things go?” The sight of Lily leaning against the truck and the fresh air did a lot to lift Linc’s mood. He smiled as he walked toward her.

“Shade got the all clear, and the old man and I didn’t kill each other. That’s a win in my book.”

Lily laughed, and it sounded musical. “You know he likes you, right?”

“Hate to see how he treats people he doesn’t like.” Opening the truck door for Lily to climb in, Lily glided past him and Linc closed his eyes as he caught the briefest of scents from her. It smelled like spring—she smelled like spring and sunshine.

Closing the door for her, Linc walked Shade around to the passenger’s side, lifted him in, then jumped in himself, repeating the whole safety belt routine.

“So, where to now?” Lily casually enquired.

“If you’re not busy, I have a bunch of seedlings I have to pick up from the hardware store.”

With a smile, she set the truck in gear. “I’ve got nothing but time. The hardware store it is.”

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B
ack at his place, Linc jumped out to open the gate, waving for Lily to park inside for the first time since they had known each other. He watched as Lily pulled to a stop in front of the house, waiting for him to close the gate before helping Shade down.

He walked over to stand with her as they both watched his dog, now free of the restraining cast, run back and forth, enjoying his newfound mobility.

“Tim said to take him for a short walk to test out his leg. So, I’ll put the seedlings in the greenhouse, then we can go.” He was trying to sound casual. They’d spent a while in town, talking to John from the hardware slash nursery slash anything-you-needed store, about gardening techniques. Everything had been so easy with them since their agreement to take things slow, but after a month without her company, Linc wasn’t ready to part yet.

“Are you asking me to go on this walk with you, or is this ‘we’ you and Shade?” Lily wasn’t letting him get away with subtlety. It seemed she was going to make him come right out and say exactly what he wanted.

It had been a long time since he opened his mouth for a woman and gave voice to what he wanted. Spending years keeping all his thoughts and emotions bottled up, Linc became so apt at pushing people away that he felt a nervous sweat prick his skin as he opened his mouth. “I-I’d like you to stay.”

Lily beamed. “Then yes, I’d like to go on this walk with you.”

Helping him unload the truck and tuck the seedlings safely away in their warm home, Lily turned a slow circle as she looked up through the clear ceiling of the greenhouse. “I’m amazed at how warm it is in here,” she said, reaching up to pull her woolen hat from her head. “Is the plan to be self-sufficient?”

“Eventually,” Linc replied, dropping bags of soil in the corner.

“So, you’re staying then?”

He shrugged, his mouth turned down as if he hadn’t really considered it. “I don’t have any other plans, or any other place I need to be, so...”

“Lucky me,” Lily murmured, more to herself, but Linc could hear it and grinned to himself as he stepped outside and whistled for Shade. Lily joined them, closing the greenhouse door behind her before tugging her woolen hat back over her head. “Time for the walk then?”

“Sure is.” Linc smiled as he looked at her. Some stray strands of hair were sticking out the side of her hat at an odd angle. Acting on instinct, Linc reached up to tuck the rebellious strands in place as his fingers traced behind her ears. The simple touch heated his body to the point where he almost felt the need to remove his jacket. Instead, he cleared his throat and stepped back, breaking the spell that ignited in the air whenever they got close. Then he focused on his dog and headed toward the tree line with Lily by his side.

“This is nice,” Lily said after a while, bumping her shoulder into him as she looked around her. “It’s so quiet up here.”

“That’s why I like it,” Linc responded, throwing a thick stick he’d picked up for Shade to chase and retrieve.

“He seems happy to be out of that cast.”

“He looks it,” Lily noted, smiling at the way the husky’s tongue hung out the side of his mouth as he raced back and forth. “You seem happier than normal today, too.”

Linc turned his head to meet her questioning eyes. He knew she was trying to get him to talk about his feelings and the thought made him smile. Rachel was always trying to get him to talk about his feelings too. It was something women were just naturally attuned to, he supposed.

“I’m okay,” he responded, taking the stick from Shade’s mouth and throwing it again. When he released the stick, he realized it was the first time he’d thought about his wife around Lily without the accompanying guilt. He didn’t know if that was a good or bad thing, but wasn’t going to analyze it too harshly.

“So, this self-sufficiency thing, is it something you always wanted to do?”

He shrugged. “Not always. Just the last year or two. I’ve been craving quiet and solitude, so when Ruth offered me the use of her house, it all seemed to go hand in hand.”

“Do you talk to her much?”

“No,” Linc responded softly. “I pay my rent and that’s about as far as it goes.”

“So, you weren’t close to her then?”

Linc didn’t want to answer the question. He knew it would lead into other more personal questions and tried to come up with a diplomatic answer that was close ended. Although, within a beat, Lily’s foot went out from beneath her and he had to reach out and grab her arm, saving him from answering the question at all.

The shock on her face was almost comical as she went from calm and sure footed to wide-eyed and rigid. Linc couldn’t help but chuckle. She looked adorable.

“Careful. It’s slippery out here. I don’t want you to fall and injure yourself. I just got Shade all fixed up, we don’t want your leg broken, too.” He laughed as he gripped her elbow to keep her steady as they continued.

“Thank you for your concern, but I’m a big girl, you know, I can walk on my own.” Her voice had an edge to it as she pulled her elbow free from his hand and surged ahead, following Shade. Linc wondered what he’d said to alter her mood, but after replaying their conversation in his head, couldn’t come up with anything besides the fact he’d laughed when she slipped. So he put her reaction down to embarrassment at nearly falling.

“Lily, come back. I’m sorry for laughing. I didn’t mean it.”

“I’m fine walking with Shade,” she snapped back.

Shaking his head as strolled behind her, Linc tried to enjoy himself in the fresh air and open space, happy to be able to travel the hills again with Shade off his lead.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, Shade bounding through the trees, stopping every now and then to sniff at something that caught his interest. Linc was happy to hang back, watching the way Lily moved, her hips swaying with her long, graceful strides, as if she were trying to prove she didn’t need his warnings about the slippery terrain.