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“You look kind of freaked out.”
“Maybe I’m a little bit stressed.”
“Because I’m meeting your ex, or Dylan? Don’t be. I can handle Scott and I’ll do whatever it takes to win your son’s approval.”
How had she managed to snag this amazing man, even temporarily? “I have no doubt about either of those things.”
“Good.” He smiled, and the room got brighter.
“And I’ll try to relax.” While she was at it, she’d try not to think about making babies and playing house.
“Even better.” A kiss followed the smile, one that made her lightheaded to the point of almost tipping out of the chair. “I think you’d better finish those eggs before you pass out.” He offered her the empty fork, taunting her by pulling it back when she reached for it. “Unless you’d rather I show youmyexcellent spoon-feeding abilities.”
“No.” She snatched the utensil.Hereggs couldn’t take that kind of demonstration.
* * *
ANDIE
She swept an arm across the other side of the bed Wednesday morning. Empty. And cold. As the sleepy fog dissipated, her memory returned. Mason’s pager going off at an ungodly hour, his irritated cursing as he fumbled around in the dark for his phone. Then a softer curse as he slid out of bed to head for the clinic. An emergency call. Never a happy thing.
That had been around two-thirty in the morning. According to the clock finally coming into focus, nearly four hours had passed since then. He was probably exhausted and starving. Not much she could do about the first issue. The second problem, though—she was all over that one.
The city was still asleep—save for a random car here and there—making her drive across town a quick one. Mason’s truck stood alone in front of the clinic. Normally, he parked out back. The clients with the emergency must’ve been waiting when he pulled in. And now they were gone.
The front door was unlocked, its overhead buzzer chirping when she pushed through it. But Mason didn’t appear. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead, the sole noise in the building. No water running or equipment operating, no footsteps. Most notably, no animal sounds. More than a little foreboding. Her feet wanted to turn around and walk out the door.
The feet didn’t win, she forced them to make their way to his office instead. The blinds were closed and the lights off. Only the glow from the computer screen lit the room. Mason’s chair faced the monitor, but he wasn’t working. He sat in a reclined position, arms folded behind his head, eyes closed.
Good thing she hadn’t called out to him from the reception area. She set the bag of food on the edge of his desk, cringing at the too-loud, synthetic crinkle. Right now, he needed sleep more than breakfast.
“Don’t go.” His voice stopped her withdrawal from the room as effectively as a physical restraint.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you.”
“You didn’t.” Slowly, he swiveled to face her and patted his lap. “C’mere. I need you.”
That kind of invitation usually worked like a match to dynamite, setting off one giant charge between her legs. Something about his tone made this different. The overwhelming pull was the same, just focused higher. She went to him. Eased onto his knee, only to be pulled higher, closer. Tighter, enough to make breathing difficult—and she let him.
He spoke with his face buried in her hair. “I wanted to call you so bad.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“You need your sleep.”
“I need you more. Mason, I—” The words spilled out, evading her guard. An automatic response to his raw emotional state. But she reined her tongue before the last two words escaped. “I’m here for you, always.”
“It was fucking horrible.”
Anything that upset him this much, she didn’t want to know. But for him, she was willing to hear it. “You want to talk about it?”
“I’ve seen a lot of cruelty, working at the shelters. Beatings, stabbings, worse shit than you could imagine. Never inmypractice, though.”
“Somebody hurt their pet then brought it in for treatment?”
“No, nothing like that. This was a calculated attack. Somebody coaxed their dog to ingest…objects. Probably fed them to her wrapped in pieces of meat or cheese. The x-ray was,” he shook his head against her neck, “horrible. There was too much internal damage. Fuck.Fuck.”
Andie’s mouth went dry. The picture Mason painted stung the backs of her eyes as though she’d been right there to witness it firsthand. “What kind of monster would do such a thing?”
