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Before she knew it, they were speeding down the highway toward home. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Tyson fell off a ladder.”
“Oh my gosh! Is he badly hurt?” He must be if she judged by the speed Zander was going.
“Twisted his bum knee. Maybe broke it. I need to get him to the hospital.” He did a quick shoulder check and flew out around the semi in front of them.
“What? What about your other brothers? Don’t they drive?” she said sarcastically. “How about your mom. I know she drives. Couldn’t one of them take him to the hospital?”
“He called me. My brother needs me and I’m going.”
“You didn’t answer me,” she snapped. “What’s wrong with the rest of your family. Or an ambulance. Half Moon Bay does have ambulances.”
“He’s my brother. He needs me. I’m going to him.”
This was exactly what she feared would happen when she set down her ground rules. She understood if nobody else was available, and since he refused to state that they were, she suspected that Zander had been Tyson’s first call. She sat and fumed. Maybe she was being over-sensitive, but the man had no boundaries with his family. They called and he ran, no matter what else he was involved in, and no matter how trivial their need. And this after he spent so much of their date on the phone with clients. Hadn’t these people heard of office hours?
He tore past another vehicle coming way to close to an oncoming car.
“Slow down!” she yelled. “You won’t do Tyson any good if you die on the way to play taxi.” She hadn’t meant to say the last part, but Zander didn’t seem to notice it. He slowed down marginally in the area of the border crossing and sped up again once they cleared the checkpoint.
Before she knew it, he was at her curb, car in gear, engine running.
“Thanks for dinner,” she said, not meaning it in the least.
“Ya. Ya. Pick you up at eight tomorrow morning.” He reached over and pulled her door shut and roared away leaving her in a cloud of dust.
“Thanks for the lovely evening, Heather,” she said to herself. “It was wonderful to spend quality time with you.” She flipped the bird toward his retreating car. Jerk.
Chapter 20
By morning Heather had managed to put aside her anger at Zander. Both for going behind her back to ask Derrick if she could have the day off, and for dumping her to rush to his brother’s aid. She knew he was trying to give her a nice date at the concert, and to make it easier by securing time off.
He was worried about his brother’s leg too. If it made him rush to end the date, it was okay. Frustrating, but okay. Besides, she had promised to give him several chances. Though it seemed like he was fast using them up.
The test would start tonight. Could he spend two days with her without abandoning her for his family or clients? He really did need to hire another vet to fill in for him. Surely there were fresh grads looking for work.
She packed an overnight bag and grabbed her jacket. She was downstairs waiting for him at exactly eight. Two minutes later, he pulled up in his shining Camaro. He hopped out and came around to her side of the car.
“Good morning, beautiful. You look lovely.” He wrapped his arms around her and brushed his lips across hers.
“Good morning.” Seeing his smile made the last of her tension slide away.
“Let me get that bag.” He eased it from her fingers and opened her door for her. Once she was inside, he shut the door, and placed her bag in the trunk.
“Smells great in here,” she said once he was inside and buckled up.
“Mocha in the short cup for you. Tall black coffee in the large for me. I didn’t grab any food, I thought we’d stop for breakfast or brunch on the way. Do you still have your passport?”
“I do. Thanks for the coffee.”
He rolled through town and in no time, they were on the highway heading north. The radio played soft jazz. The sun peeked through the clouds pretty and bright but not overly hot yet. Her cup was warm in her hand and her heart soared. Today was going to be a great day.
“How’s Tyson’s leg?” she asked half an hour after they hit the highway.
“Not broken thank heaven. Badly strained and some torn ligaments. He’s pretty lucky.”
“Did you get him to the hospital okay? No issues getting him into the car?”
