Page 97 of Call it Reckless

He grinned. “Yeah, seeing Buddy in the office all day, I kind of felt lonely when I went home. So, I found this little guy.”

Lucy from the front desk came out to see him. “Oh, he’s so cute! Were there more? I’ve been thinking about getting a pup, but I haven’t seen any come through here.”

Griff hesitated. “I got him from some guy a few miles down the mountain. Maybe he went to a different vet.”

“Do you still have his contact info? Maybe I can call him and see if he has any left. If they’re as cute as this little guy, I’ll take one.”

“Sorry, I don’t. I was just going for a drive and came across a sign that said,Pups for Sale. I stopped in, and a few minutes later, I had this guy.”

“You must be my next appointment. Let’s get him checked out, shall we?” Zach said. “Sometimes those old-timers don’t bother with vets. They try to do everything on their own. We’ll assume he needs all his vaccinations. Let’s get a full workup to make sure we’re not dealing with anything potentially harmful.”

“Sounds great,” Griff said, handing over his wiggly bundle to the tech. His blue eyes glanced at me. “Good to see you again.”

“You, too.” I inclined my head at Zach. “Thanks for the time.”

“No problem. Good luck with the mayor. Both of them,” he answered, laughing.

* * *

I fell backonto the covers. Bristol had made good on her promise.

“I’m not sure I can function properly at work the rest of the day,” I confessed to Bristol, my eyes still closed as I came back down to Earth. “I think my brain has been jellied.”

She propped herself up on her elbow. “I think we should spend every lunch break like this. I’m definitely more energized.”

I chuckled and pulled her on top of me, sliding my hands down her back and squeezing her ass. “Sounds good to me.”

My cell vibrated on the table next to her bed. “I better get that,” I said, apologizing with a kiss.

“Braxton,” I answered, still staring at the amazing woman next to me.

A voice I hadn’t heard in too long asked, “Is this the same Reid Braxton who drank too much in college one night and got caught peeing in an alleyway and hauled off to jail for public indecency?”

I sat up in the bed. “Is this the same idiot who thought it would be a good idea to drink the contents of a glow stick to see if his pee would light up?”

Boisterous laughter came through the other end. “Hey, it worked. And it was a lot better than spending a night in jail for apissdemeanor.”

I broke into the same laughter while Bristol looked on in confusion. “The charges were dropped. How are you doing? Long time no hear.” I covered the phone with my hand. “A friend from college,” I whispered to her.

She smiled and got up. I heard the water from the shower turn on.

I spent several minutes catching up with my old friend, Nick, who was in a nearby town and thought to look me up. We were making plans to get together for dinner when Bristol walked back into the room with nothing but a towel wrapped around her. A few water droplets still dripped from her hair, one of which I watched as it slowly slid over her breast. I wanted to chase it with my tongue.

“…maybe about six?” I heard on the other end.

“Um, yeah, hold on. Let me check with my girlfriend.” I once again muted the phone with my hand. “Do you want to get together with my friend tonight?”

She bit her lip. “Sounds like you guys have a lot of catching up to do. Why don’t you guys have a guys’ night, and I’ll have a girls’ night with Lex.”

On second thought, that might be the better choice. Nick had a way of getting a little wild. Not someone I wanted my daughter around. “Are you sure you wouldn’t mind? I promise I won’t make it a late night.”

“We don’t need to spend every minute together. Go. Have fun.”

I unmuted the phone and said, “Six sounds great. Let’s meet at Fergusson’s. You can’t miss it on Market Street.”

Bristol was dressed in her bra and panties and was pulling on her black button-down shirt by the time I hung up. “You’re really something, you know?”

She gave me a saucy smile. Damn, I loved her self-assurance. That was what I wanted for Lexi. I’d been so wrong to think Lexi needed to be soft and delicate like her mom. It didn’t fit her personality, and it took some time for it to sink into my head, but all Abby ever really wanted for Lex was for her to be happy.

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