Page 8 of A Love Like Pumpkin Spice
“Turn left in one mile, then you will reach your destination in 100 feet.”
“We’re almost there, sweetie,” I whisper, glancing down at the cat. Its eyes are closed, and it's shaking in my lap. “Oh, shit.”
A flash of red and blue lights suddenly floods my rearview mirror, and my stomach drops to my knees. “Oh, great,” I mutter, eyes flicking between the cop car behind me and my phone’s GPS. “Ofcoursethis would happen. Heroically saving a cat, only to get arrested. Very on brand.”
I glance down at the lump of fur on my lap. “If I get a ticket, you better make it, whiskers.”
Brakes screeching, I come to a halt in front of the vet clinic, a protesting meow coming from my lap as I unbuckle and turn in my seat to jump out.
“Ma’am—”
“All’s in here!” I shout at the cop without even looking, flinging my wallet onto the roof of my car. “License, registration, my entire life savings. Take your pick—but let me save the cat!”
And without waiting for a reaction, I run into the vet’s office, only glancing over my shoulder once to make sure I’m not getting Tasered. Thank God, the front door is open.
“I need help!” I storm inside frantically, and scan it, but there's no one here. “Hello? Fucking help!”
“Whoa, hey, calm dow—” My head whips around as a man rounds the corner to what I assume are the treatment rooms. “Oh.”
“Don’t ‘oh,’” I snap and run over to him. “Are you the vet?” He nods slowly, clearly confused, and I all but thrust the cat into his arms. “Good. Fantastic. Thensave this cat. Please.”
Without a word, he takes the cat out of my arms, confused frown turning into pure focus right before he turns around and walks away with quick steps.
And I stay where I am, frozen to the spot, watching him disappear into one of the rooms.
It’s only now that everything hits me. I lean my back against the reception desk, crossing my arms in front of my chest, trembling fingers digging into the fabric of my shirt as I try to calm my breaths.
God damn it. My life is giving me fucking whiplash.
“Miss, here’s your wallet.”
I bite the inside of my cheeks. Hell, I completely forgot about the cop already. Taking a deep breath, I straighten my back and turn to him.
“Thank you.” I can’t quite force a smile on my face as I accept him handing me my wallet. But his eyes widen ever so slightly, and with a deep sigh, I slowly run my hand over my face. Right.
“Huh. I was wondering if your ID was fake, but you’re—”
“Yes,” I interrupt him, gaining me a small, unimpressed eyebrow raise. “Sorry. I would prefer we keep that quiet.” I force one of the corners of my mouth upward. “And I’m sorry for speeding; I had to get that little guy here as soon as possible.”
“All right.” He takes a deep breath, and now it’s his turn to cross his muscular arms in front of his chest. Wait, his muscular what?
It’s only now that I take a better look at him. He’s young. Early thirties, I’d estimate, built like a mountain of a man. Seriously, that uniform fits him tighter than a glove. One flex and the seam on his arms might rip and reveal more of his tattoos that I can only catch small glimpses of.
And he’s tall. When my eyes wander up to his face, I notice his knife-sharp jawline hidden by the most subtle scruff. His hair is short but tousled, thick and sandy brown, as if he ran a hand through it and left it that way on purpose. Finally, I meet his green eyes.
“You’re good. Nothing happened, and that’s a valid reason. Just don’t do it again.”
“Thank you, officer—”
“It’s Erik. Everyone here calls me that.”
“Okay then, thank you, Erik.” My smile is turning more genuine as the stress of the past hour slowly rolls off me. “I appreciate it. And so does the cat, although it can’t quite voice it.”
“Are you one of the lake mansion buyers?” He lifts his eyebrow at me curiously while mine scrunch together in confusion. In all the chaos, I hadn’t even realized—
“Wait. Is this Wayward Hollow?” I point at the ground.
“The one and only.”
