Page 1 of Veteran's Second Chance

1

Ivy

Islipped the second overdue bill into the top drawer of my desk. I needed to figure out a solution to come up with nine hundred dollars by the end of the week, or the utility companies would cut the power and water. Both of which I needed to run Happy Paws. The animal hospital had a steady client base and normally more than enough revenue to keep the lights powered and water on.

Except the blackmail I’d paid to my ex-spouse’s bookies had already drained every cent of my savings.

I clicked the QuickBooks icon on my computer and scrolled for one item I wouldn’t need, anything to find the money. I even had to change some of my providers for the pet meds to cheaper options. I’d also not taken a check for the last two months so I could make payroll. Only problem with that was I had to feed my son.

My ex-husband, Brad, had cost me everything I’d worked hard to obtain. I’d tried to find him, so I could inform the loan sharks of his location, but a year of searching and I hadn’t found one trace of him. His bookies, Vinnie and Lance, showed up every Monday at three thirty to collect two thousand dollars.

Small towns gossiped, and this one loved to discuss my failed marriage. The diner would buzz with conversation about the two men who visited my clinic. They thought Vinnie was my boyfriend and I’d left Brad for him. Another rumor circulated that I’d killed him, since nobody had heard from him or seen him in a year. I only wished I’d taken him out just for the insurance money to pay off his loan once I found out about it.

Brad was great at manipulating the world around him. He could charm anyone out of their last dollar. But behind closed doors, he was a narcissistic asshole with a hard fist.

The last time he beat me, I’d contemplated driving to work and grabbing a few syringes of insulin. Then, when he fell asleep, I would inject them into his body along with a sedative. Instead, I went to a doctor in Dallas, had my ribs bandaged up, and proceeded to a divorce lawyer. The sheriff in town was Brad’s friend so I knew he wouldn’t help me. The second we finalized our divorce, Brad skipped town. He didn’t even leave a forwarding address for his son.

When I received the signed copy of the divorce papers, I’d thought it was my chance at a new start.I glanced toward the two-way mirror and caught sight of my gray roots and the bags under my eyes. Even if I wanted to date, nobody in town was worth my time, except—nope, I wouldn’t let myself think about Sam. He’d made himself clear thirty-six years ago, when he jumped on the bus out of town without a call or letter. Lately, I couldn’t get him out of my head. He’d taken what we had, thrown it away, and married my best friend from high school. I hated him, but my damn heart swooned every time he stopped by the clinic, which seemed to be more and more frequent.

The door to my office swung open and my youngest son, Benji, who was almost eighteen, strode in.

“Hey, Mom, your two o’clock is here.” His eyes darted to the envelope of cash. My son was the only reason I paid the assholes each week. I rubbed my hand over the scar on my arm and remembered the last time I told Vinnie I wouldn’t pay Brad’s debt any longer. Lance held me down while Vinnie sliced my arm deep enough I’d had to stitch the wound closed.

Not paying wasn’t an option. I grabbed the money and slipped it into my top drawer.

“What exam room did you put him in?”

“Mom, I really wish you would let me help.”

This wasn’t the first time he’d asked to help when I sent him away each Monday. He was intuitive, but I didn’t want him to have to worry if we’d have enough money. I played off his comment like I didn’t know what he meant.

“I can handle the client by myself.”

“You know that’s not what I was talking about.” Benji’s jaw ticked before he answered. “He’s in room four.”

“Don’t forget you need to be at Martha’s by three-fifteen,” I reminded him.

Martha was Brad’s mother. She hated Brad as much as I did. Besides me, his mother was the only other person his charm didn’t work on. Together, we’d come up with a plan to keep Benji safe from the bookies. She didn’t need us to watch the cat on Mondays, but it was a way to get Benji away from the clinic when Vinnie showed up.

“Grandma’s going to keep me there for hours, and you need help.”

I shook my head. “I got this. You know your grandmother loves these visits. Yesterday she said she was making grilled cheese—your favorite.”

He let out a long sigh. “I’m not five anymore, Mom.”

No, he was close to eighteen. My last son at home. Next year he would head to college, and I would be all alone in my small house.

I couldn’t delay seeing my client any longer. I stood and reminded myself of the months I’d cried after Sam left. At least the appointment was to see the new batch of puppies I could swoon over and not the owner.

I caught my reflection in the mirror again and winced. It didn’t matter. He’d never felt the same for me. My high school best friend, Angie, was the one to tell me she was dating Sam. They’d connected through letters after he joined the Navy. A year after he left, they got married. Before the wedding, she told me he had only been with me to get to her.

I shook my head as I walked toward the exam room and tried to get rid of the memories from my past.

My second chance at love had come and gone. Even if Sam was widowed, he had never showed interest in me since he came back to town.

I grabbed the chart from the clear tray outside the door and pushed my way into the room.

Sam stood with his hip against the exam table. Years later, I still felt like I could melt into a puddle when I saw Samuel Carpenter. His cowboy hat was tilted up, so his green eyes pierced right through me. He chewed on a toothpick. The sleeves of his long flannel shirt were rolled up showing off the black tattoos on his forearm.

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