encountered a warm, fuzzy companion. Lee bolted awake but all Jose did was yawn and curl into a tighter ball.
Weird.
The next morning before he left for work Lee called and called for the animal, but the cat was nowhere to be found. He figured Jose’d found a cozy place to sleep and didn’t fret. Instead he filled up his food bowl and gave him fresh water. That evening he still couldn’t find the animal. What was he supposed to do with the medicine? The directions on the bottle gave clear instructions and now the damn cat was missing two doses.
Panic had him considering calling Candy when he still couldn’t locate the cat the next morning, but what could she possibly do about it? What if Jose’d gotten out again? Jesus, what was he going to tell Marisol? The next time someone asked him to pet sit he’d run far, far away. He couldn’t take this kind of stress.
He was doubled over looking under his bed when his cell phone rang and scared the crap out of him.
“Bennett,” he answered.
“Hi. It’s Candace. I’m wondering if you have time in your schedule to meet today. I have some questions about the new clinic.”
There was a ton of noise in the background. Where the hell was she? A rock concert?
“When did you have in mind?” he asked, the sound muffled while he held the phone to his head with his shoulder.
She hesitated. “Now? I’m at the site.”
“Actually, you calling right when you did is perfect because I desperately need you. Can you come to my house first? There’s a problem with Jose.”
“Of course, but I don’t have a car at the moment.”
He was desperate and worried about the stupid animal. He really couldn’t face his friend if anything worse happened. “I’ll come get you. Be there in ten minutes.”
* * *
Candace tucked her phone back into the armband designed to hold it while she was running. He didn’t tell her what he was so worried about, said he’d explain on the way. He’d sounded on the verge of frantic, so much so she didn’t even consider asking him to bring the animal to the clinic instead.
It was going to be hot today. She plunked herself down on an old bucket in the shade to wait. Too bad she didn’t have an iced coffee. There was a place down the street and she wondered if she had enough time to walk down there and back before Lee arrived. Probably not. Running by the construction site had been decided upon on a whim that morning, and she’d enjoyed the deviation from her regular route, even though it added about a half mile longer than she usually ran.
When Lee’s big blue truck pulled into the lot, she stood up and plucked at her leggings self-consciously.
Get over yourself.
“Hey,” he called, stepping out of the cab and slamming the door with effortless sexiness. A T-shirt molded over the peaks and valleys of his shoulders and pectoral muscles. Biceps honed from hard work stretched the short sleeves. He raised his hand to wave and—sweet Jesus—the hem of the material rode up exposing a tan strip of taut skin above his belt buckle.
She felt the flush of heat wash over her. He was too far away to actually see the line of soft hair that dusted his skin and traveled down below his waistband, but she knew it was there. The memory rushed over her and caught her by surprise.
The skin disappeared back under the shirt, but now she found herself staring at the way his jeans cupped him in the front. She wrenched her gaze away and followed the denim down strong thighs, down until the pants bunched where they met heavy work boots.
“What’s up with Jose?”
He opened the passenger door for her. “I don’t really know. I haven’t actually seen him for a day or so. When you called this morning, I was hunting for him all over my house.”
This was real cause for worry. Cats were notorious for disappearing when they were in distress. Unless an owner knew a cat very well, they often didn’t even know a cat was ill. “Could he have gotten outside do
Weird.
The next morning before he left for work Lee called and called for the animal, but the cat was nowhere to be found. He figured Jose’d found a cozy place to sleep and didn’t fret. Instead he filled up his food bowl and gave him fresh water. That evening he still couldn’t find the animal. What was he supposed to do with the medicine? The directions on the bottle gave clear instructions and now the damn cat was missing two doses.
Panic had him considering calling Candy when he still couldn’t locate the cat the next morning, but what could she possibly do about it? What if Jose’d gotten out again? Jesus, what was he going to tell Marisol? The next time someone asked him to pet sit he’d run far, far away. He couldn’t take this kind of stress.
He was doubled over looking under his bed when his cell phone rang and scared the crap out of him.
“Bennett,” he answered.
“Hi. It’s Candace. I’m wondering if you have time in your schedule to meet today. I have some questions about the new clinic.”
There was a ton of noise in the background. Where the hell was she? A rock concert?
“When did you have in mind?” he asked, the sound muffled while he held the phone to his head with his shoulder.
She hesitated. “Now? I’m at the site.”
“Actually, you calling right when you did is perfect because I desperately need you. Can you come to my house first? There’s a problem with Jose.”
“Of course, but I don’t have a car at the moment.”
He was desperate and worried about the stupid animal. He really couldn’t face his friend if anything worse happened. “I’ll come get you. Be there in ten minutes.”
* * *
Candace tucked her phone back into the armband designed to hold it while she was running. He didn’t tell her what he was so worried about, said he’d explain on the way. He’d sounded on the verge of frantic, so much so she didn’t even consider asking him to bring the animal to the clinic instead.
It was going to be hot today. She plunked herself down on an old bucket in the shade to wait. Too bad she didn’t have an iced coffee. There was a place down the street and she wondered if she had enough time to walk down there and back before Lee arrived. Probably not. Running by the construction site had been decided upon on a whim that morning, and she’d enjoyed the deviation from her regular route, even though it added about a half mile longer than she usually ran.
When Lee’s big blue truck pulled into the lot, she stood up and plucked at her leggings self-consciously.
Get over yourself.
“Hey,” he called, stepping out of the cab and slamming the door with effortless sexiness. A T-shirt molded over the peaks and valleys of his shoulders and pectoral muscles. Biceps honed from hard work stretched the short sleeves. He raised his hand to wave and—sweet Jesus—the hem of the material rode up exposing a tan strip of taut skin above his belt buckle.
She felt the flush of heat wash over her. He was too far away to actually see the line of soft hair that dusted his skin and traveled down below his waistband, but she knew it was there. The memory rushed over her and caught her by surprise.
The skin disappeared back under the shirt, but now she found herself staring at the way his jeans cupped him in the front. She wrenched her gaze away and followed the denim down strong thighs, down until the pants bunched where they met heavy work boots.
“What’s up with Jose?”
He opened the passenger door for her. “I don’t really know. I haven’t actually seen him for a day or so. When you called this morning, I was hunting for him all over my house.”
This was real cause for worry. Cats were notorious for disappearing when they were in distress. Unless an owner knew a cat very well, they often didn’t even know a cat was ill. “Could he have gotten outside do
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