“Makes sense,” he said, nodding. “I’ve got two more months of my internship here with you, and then I graduate. Right now, I like this area, and I like your clinic. Quite frankly, I really like working with you, too, Sam. Figure we’ll have the conversation as the time gets closer, but I definitely want to let you know that, as of now, I’ll apply for the full-time veterinary position.”
Smiling her appreciation, they stood at the same time. She clapped him on the back. “You’ve been here as long as I have today. I’ll let you finish the reports on the last neuter you did, and then go ahead and leave. I’ll check with the others, then I’m heading out soon, too.”
She soon sent the others home, locking up after Annette, who was the last to leave. She double-checked the animals that were spending the night after surgery, making sure they were all resting comfortably. She ascertained the back doors were secure and alarmed, flipping off the lights as she moved through the clinic. Walking back through the surgical area, her sharp gaze scanned the room, but, as usual, Susan and Tonya had the space spotless.
She walked into the pharmaceutical closet, again scanning the area, mostly to see that their supplies were well-stocked. Not OCD, she still liked the supplies to be orderly, and Annette kept the shelves neat. Moving to the medical refrigerator, she checked the vaccines, surprised to find that they seemed to be low on canine vaccines, including rabies, distemper, bordetella, and parvo, but remembered Annette saying that they should receive an order soon. Not giving it another thought, she walked out and secured the closet’s metal door.
Setting the final alarm and locking the front door behind her, she headed toward her truck and grinned. Sliding into the driver seat, her hands smoothed over the steering wheel, and her smile widened. She turned the key and the engine rumbled to life. Letting out a breath she’d been holding, she grinned. “Okay, Bessie, let’s get home before you become cantankerous again.”
While she wouldn’t call the drive back to her home pleasurable, her truck made it down the road, no hesitations, no sputtering. Once she’d let Frodo run around and sniff, she brought him inside and fed him dinner. Staring inside her refrigerator, it struck her that a trip to the grocery store needed to be added to her list of things to do. Opening the freezer, she breathed a sigh of relief. One of her clients who’d had trouble paying her bill was so grateful that Samantha had only charged her half-fee and had brought several casseroles to the clinic. She pulled one out and placed it into the microwave. Soon, her home was filled with the scent of spicy chicken enchiladas. Grabbing a beer, she sat at her little table and ate while Frodo kept an eye on her.
It wasn’t late, so she took a chance to see if Jason was still in the shop. He answered on the second ring. “Hey, Jason, it’s Sam. Thanks a lot for getting my truck going again.”
“That old truck still has some life in her.”
“I’m glad… it means a lot to me. I was going to come get it this afternoon so that I could settle my bill. Since Joseph brought it out, I’ll come in tomorrow.” Jason quoted a price, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks. I really appreciate it.”
Disconnecting, she added stopping to pay the mechanic’s bill onto her to-do list for tomorrow, along with finding the time to double-check the clinic’s pharmaceuticals. Moving over to her small sofa, she sat down and Frodo jumped into her lap. She absentmindedly rubbed his head while flipping through channels, but nothing held her interest. At least, not on TV. Her mind was filled with the image of Joseph climbing down from the tow truck, all denim, heavy boots, and gorgeous body. And his smile. And the way her name sounded on his lips. She’d never known how wonderful it was to hear ‘Samantha’ rumbled from deep inside a man’s chest.
Blowing out her breath, she shook her head. I seriously need to pull out my battery-operated boyfriend tonight. But even as the thought went through her mind, she knew it would never be as good as the real thing. Leaning her head back, she sighed. Her life was busy, but the pervasive blanket of loneliness was beginning to settle heavily. Is it so bad to want someone to love?
6
Joseph was in the tow truck almost all day. A car accident on the main highway outside of town. Three stalled cars, one in a parking lot and two still in their owner’s driveways. An overheated engine on the beach road.
By the end of the day, he was hot, tired, and looking forward to a run on the beach, a shower, and maybe dinner at the pub. Walking through the garage office, Jason looked up and waved him over. “Yeah?”
“Don’t forget about the AL meeting tonight.”
He pinched his lips together and nodded, letting his breath out slowly. “Damn, I did forget.”
“Come on… it’s not like you’ve got a hot date waiting on you instead.” A wide grin crossed Jason’s face as he wiggled his eyebrows. “Or do you?”
“Quit being an ass. You know I don’t.”
“Good. Then you can come to the meeting, and we’ll get something to eat at the pub afterward.”
Not having an excuse to skip the meeting, he nodded and headed up to the apartment to shower. Changing into clean jeans and a T-shirt, he glanced into the mirror and swiped his hand through his still-wet hair. Thinking about the meeting, he had to admit he was looking forward to it even if he had forgotten. The American Legion chapter in Baytown served the two-county area and former servicemen and women came religiously. In the couple of meetings that he’d been to, he’d met veterans having served mostly in Vietnam, Korea, and the Middle East, representing a diverse group that ranged from their early twenties to their nineties. The oldest member was in a wheelchair and was ninety-eight years old. He had served in WWII as an eighteen-year-old.
He had thought the AL meetings would be stiff, boring, mostly administrative. But he found that they had a chance to talk, plan new community service projects, and build camaraderie. Hell, he’d never been around so many people since getting out of the Navy.
Walking into the AL meeting room that evening, his gaze scanned the area, recognizing many of the faces. He wandered around to the side, not surprised to find Zac standing next to the table loaded with donuts and coffee.
“How the hell do you stay so fit when you eat like you do?” he asked.
Zac grinned around a large bite before swallowing. “Metabolism. Well, that and running.” He leaned forward and whispered, “But keep this a secret. Madeleine’s on a health kick, and we haven’t had donuts in the house for a while. I figured I’d get my fill of them here.”
At the mention of Zac’s wife, he couldn’t help but grin in return. Zac had grown up in Baytown, and now that Joseph was here, he’d met Zac’s original group of childhood friends and many of the others who’d moved here to settle. Good men and women, all of them, some with roots spreading deep as evidenced by their spouses and parents being part of the AL or auxiliary.
As he and Zac shifted to the side so that others could grab a donut, Jason joined them. “I’m lucky. Rose owns an ice cream shop, and on top of that, she’s pregnant. No strict dieting in our house!”
Joseph glanced to the side, narrowed his gaze, then with a chin lift to his friends, grabbed a water bottle from the table. Walking over to one of the older members sitting by himself, he loosened the top before handing it to the man. “I thought you might like something to drink, sir.”