Page 75 of The Rescuer

“Groggy, but that’s to be expected. I gave him some pain meds to help him through the night, and I’ll go in early to check on him. Thanks for your help in surgery.”

Chuckling, Reece led her to the kitchen, where he poured two glasses of wine and handed her one. “I think I was more fumble fingers than I was a help.”

“No, you were great. And you didn’t pass out in the operating room like the first tech I hired, so big bonus points for you.” She took a sip and let out a satisfied little moan that did funny things to his blood flow.

Without tasting it, he took a quick swallow of his own wine. “You seem awfully happy for someone who’s been on her feet the past twelve hours.”

“I am. Remember how I told you I put info about Mr. Whiskers on my website? Well, I got a call today from someone who said they thought he was their cat. Apparently, it ran off a few weeks ago and the woman who called has been trying to find him ever since. She’s going to stop by tomorrow and see if he’s hers, so is it okay if I take him with me in the morning?”

The thought of not seeing Mr. Whiskers after tomorrow carved a hollow space out of Reece’s chest. He gulped more wine to stuff down his unexpected regret. “You’re working on a Saturday?”

“Well, the dog will be ready to go home …”

“Right. I forgot. Yeah, sure. Take the cat with you.”

“Do you want to come? Not to work—you’ve done plenty of that already this week—but to say good-bye? To meet his maybe parent?”

“No, I’ll pass. I’m helping put up the rest of the lights at the depot so everything’s ready for tomorrow night’s parade.”

The “parade” consisted of the school band leading Sheriff Chesterton down Bowen Street. The sheriff would be dressed up as Santa and riding on a tractor kitted out to look like a train, throwing out tiny candy canesto townsfolk crowding the sidewalk. The lights would all come on as soon as the tractor began its slow roll. There was always a hot chocolate stand, and it wasn’t uncommon for adults to tip liquid from concealed flasks into their steaming cups.

“I love the parade.” Neve’s tone was wistful, distant, as if she were imagining it in her head. “People singing Christmas carols, the lights …” She perched a hand on a hip and tilted her head. “I thought you were done with that project. Are you using the holiday decorations as an excuse so you don’t have to say good-bye to Mr. Whiskers?”

“What? No, of course not.” Christ, was he that easy to read? He had told Charlie he’d help, though Charlie was almost finished and really didn’t need it.

“Uh-huh. You’re a bigger softie than you care to admit, Reece Hunnicutt.”

“Yeah? Well, so are you.”Oh, brilliant comeback. Why he felt like he needed a stellar comeback at all escaped him. This wasNeve, he reminded himself. He’d been reminding himself of that fact alotlately, especially when he lay awake at night knowing she was in the very next room … naked.

“We’ll see which of us is the softest after we wipe the ice with your asses tomorrow,” she chortled.

Both men’s and women’s squads played teams from other towns, and they regularly faced off against each other too. The girls were good, he’d give them that, but they rarely beat the boys, unless they had no goalie minding the net. Where the women excelled was in trash talking, and Neve led the way. They could chirp like pro hockey players. Neve had probably taken a few lessons from Reece’s cousin, Wyatt, whowasa pro hockey player.

“Whoa, easy there, Tex. Does your big sister know you trash-talk?”

“Who do you think taught me?” Neve’s golden eyebrows bounced. “I’m really looking forward to that foot massage.”

“Dream on, Doc.You’dbetter be limbering up your fingers. I have big feet.”

“To match your big head.”

Over dinner, Reece found himself warming to the idea of giving up Mr. Whiskers. “I hope whoever comes to claim him tomorrow is hisrightful owner. Before you got home this evening, I was thinking about what I was going to do with him when I leave, and I was getting nowhere.”

She lifted her eyes to his, distress visible in them, and his heart squeezed. “Are you sure moving to Vermont is the right thing? I mean, you might as well have signed up for a one-way trip to the moon. And I noticed you still haven’t told your family. Does that mean you’re reconsidering?”

He leaned back in his chair. “Nope. It’s a done deal.”

“I’m going to miss you,” she murmured.

I’m going to miss you too.“You’ll still see me—in divorce court,” he quipped. He wanted to reel the last three words back in as the dismay in her expression amplified. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. We were having a nice evening until you brought up the elephant in the room.” Her shoulders sagged, and he cursed at himself. “I don’t want a divorce, Reece.” His heart gave a few extra bumps in his chest. “I just want the whole thing to go away. Whatever route we take, it’s going to be a huge pain, so I vote for the annulment route. I don’t want that big black mark on my record.”

Her words doused the spark he’d felt moments before. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure you don’t get it.”

“Yes, but you’releaving.” She stared at him for a beat. “What do we do with the rings? Leave them here, where we’re closer to the scene of the crime, or should you take them to Vermont and sell them?”

“You hang on to them for now.”

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