A Perfect Holiday Fling Read online

  Callie rolled her eyes. “It’s been fifteen years, Anita. You can say the word accident around me. I won’t break.”

  In fact, she hardly flinched anymore.

  “That guy must be her brother,” Anita continued. “They look so much alike.”

  And the little boy must be her son. How awful to lose his father at such a young age.

  Callie’s heart constricted as she recalled him hugging the injured cat to his chest, with that solemn, almost haunted look on his face. She knew that look. She’d seen it so many times, staring back at her in the mirror.

  She checked on several patients before making her way to exam room two.

  “And how are we doing in here?” she greeted.

  The little boy, Jacob, was sitting atop the exam table, cradling the cat, who was still wrapped in a towel. His uncle stood just to the right of him, his arms crossed over his chest. His stance highlighted the well-defined muscles of his upper body, his shoulders and arms like solid stones underneath his snug thermal shirt.

  His jaw was rigid, the smooth, light brown skin taut with concern and a hint of aspiration. If she were to take a guess, it would be that he would rather be anywhere but here with their newfound feline friend.

  Callie scooped the cat from the boy’s arm. “Let’s see what we have here.” She hitched her chin toward him. “You mind helping him down, Uncle Stefan?”

  The thick lashes that shadowed his cheeks flew up as if surprised to hear his name. He then effortlessly lifted the boy from the chest high exam table, the movement causing his biceps to bulge even more. Callie pointedly ignored the inappropriate ripple of sensation that cascaded down her spine.

  She set the cat on the exam table and, snapping on a pair of latex gloves, examined the tabby. It looked as if the left ear had seen the inside of another animal’s mouth. She’d put her money on Samson. He’d probably encountered him during his carousing last night.

  The cat whimpered as she cradled it in one hand and turned it over to inspect the belly.

  “It’s okay, sweetie,” Callie murmured. She glanced up at Stefan through the veil of hair that had fallen across her face. “Any idea when this happened?”

  He shook his head. “We only found him about an hour ago.”

  “I found him!” The little boy piped up.

  “Jacob found him.” His uncle stroked his head. “I think he may have snagged himself on a fence or something.”

  “I’m not so sure. It looks to me like this little one got into a fight. Those are teeth marks here. You see?” She pointed out to Jacob, whose eyes widened in awe.

  Callie peered up at Stefan. “And it’s a she, not a he.”

  One brow shifted skyward.

  “Hmm,” he said, his deep voice reverberating across her skin. “I’m usually better at figuring that kind of stuff out.” His mouth hitched in a glimmer of a smile, and Callie had to cough to keep from laughing.

  She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, fighting the sudden need to peel off her lab coat. The temperature seemed to have climbed about twenty degrees.

  She adjusted the arm of the halogen lamp and continued her examination. After thoroughly inspecting the tabby’s coat and looking in its ears with her pen light, Callie pulled the stethoscope from around her neck and did a check of the respiratory system.

  Jacob took a step forward. “Can I listen?”

  Stefan clamped a hand on the little boy’s shoulder, but Callie nodded.

  “It’s fine.” She gestured to the stool in the corner. “Pull up a chair.”

  She surreptitiously studied Stefan’s tall frame as he reached for the stool and set it next to the exam table. He was easily six-foot-two, and an obvious fan of physical fitness. She’d guess military. Everything about him screamed the armed forces—from the severe haircut to the way he carried himself in general.

  Callie waited for Jacob to climb up onto the stool, then she brought the arms of the stethoscope from around her neck and placed them in his ears. She positioned the chest piece just to the right of the cat’s front right limb.

  “Do you hear the heartbeat? It sounds like someone’s hitting a drum really fast, doesn’t it?”

  “I hear it!” the little boy said with a smile that revealed that he was missing a bottom tooth. “Is he scared? My heart goes fast like that when I’m watching a scary movie.”

  “Hmm, maybe you shouldn’t be watching scary movies,” Callie said.

  “Mommy doesn’t let me, but Uncle Stefan said if I don’t tell her he wouldn’t tell either.”

  Guilt flashed across Stefan’s face. This time Callie couldn’t hold in her laugh.

  “Okay,” she said. “I think this girl is going to be okay. I’m going to have my assistant take her to the back and get her cleaned up, and then I’ll put a few stitches on that ear. She should be good as new.”

  “She needs a name,” Jacob said.

  “She probably already has a name,” Stefan replied. “We need to find her family.”

  “But—”

  “Jacob, buddy, we talked about this on the way here.”

  The little boy’s bottom lip poked out so adorably, Callie wanted to pull him in her arms and give him a hug. She buzzed for Evan, who arrived moments later to retrieve the cat.

  “Why don’t we go back into the waiting room?” Callie suggested. “If it’s okay with your uncle, I think Anita may have a lollipop behind the counter just for you.”

  As Jacob walked ahead, Callie caught up to his uncle. Her voice lowered, she said, “Uh, Uncle Stefan, you do realize that the cat probably doesn’t have a family, don’t you?”

  He glanced her way, and she noticed that the almond-colored eyes had streaks of gold.

  Good Lord, that was nice.

  “Yeah, I know,” Stefan said. “I’m just buying myself some time until I can figure out what to do. There has to be an animal control shelter in this town.”

  “It’s full.”

  He stopped short. “You gotta be shitting me.”

  Callie hunched her shoulders sympathetically. “I was there giving rabies shots earlier this morning. Sorry.”

  His head fell forward, and he massaged the back of his neck. Jacob walked up to them. “Uncle Stefan, do you want a lollipop?” He held up a red sucker.

  Callie’s heart melted. Could this little darling be any sweeter?

  And could his uncle really be so cruel as to send his new cat to the animal shelter? The little boy had lost a parent not too long ago. Surely his mother and uncle knew how much having a pet would do to help the healing process.

  But the irritated expression still darkening Stefan’s face did not bode well for the new cat.

  Callie returned to the surgical room and used a local anesthetic to numb the cat’s ear. It took eight stitches to repair the damage.

  She supervised Evan, who had aspirations of studying veterinary medicine, as he cleaned the cuts on the tabby’s underbelly, then followed him out to its owners in the waiting room. Temporary owners, if Stefan had anything to say about it.

  “She’s still shaken up, so she will probably be pretty subdued,” Callie said. “It’s supposed to dip into the low 30’s, so please keep her inside tonight.”

  “Can I keep her in my room?” Jacob asked.

  “The porch,” Stefan said. He looked over at her, and explained, “It’s screened in.” Then he looked back down at his nephew. “And that’s only if we can’t find her family by tonight.”

  “The porch is probably better,” Callie said, knowing full well they wouldn’t find anyone to claim ownership of the poor cat. “She’s used to being outside, so she may not be comfortable in your room.”

  Thank you, Stefan mouthed, that hint of a smile edging his lips again.

  Callie reined in the matching grin that was so close to creeping across her face. She had never had to fight this hard to be professional with a patient’s owner.

  She waited while he settled the bill with Anita, then instru
cted, “If you notice any problems with her, or if she disturbs her stitches, bring her back in.”

  “Thank you,” Jacob said, cradling the tabby in his arms.

  “Yes, thank you, Dr. Webber,” Stefan said before turning to follow his nephew out of the waiting room. He glanced at her over his shoulder, his warm brown eyes creasing at the corners as he held the door open for Jacob.

  That rush of heat once again engulfed her, sending an unanticipated jolt of desire barreling through her veins. Sucking in a deep breath, Callie retreated to the safe sanctuary of her in-house laboratory, and away from temptation.

  Chapter Two

  Stefan pulled his Jeep Liberty up to the curb on Saddleback Road and cut the engine. Hooking his hands over the steering wheel, he glanced in his rearview mirror and expelled a sigh.

  Any progress he’d made in winning Jacob over this past week had been obliterated with the first “Cat Found” poster that had sputtered from his sister’s inkjet printer. He was back at square one.

  “How would you feel if you’d lost your cat and someone had just kept it without ever trying to return it?” Stefan asked.

  Jacob hit him with that same morose expression he’d worn since their return from the vet.

  Running a hand down his face, Stefan popped the automatic door locks and got out of the truck. He unhooked Jacob’s seatbelt and helped him from the backseat, pulling the knit cap more firmly onto his nephew’s head as they walked over to a light pole. Using the industrial stapler he’d picked up at the brand new Home Depot that was still celebrating its grand opening, Stefan stapled a flyer to the wooden pole.

  He had no faith in the flyers leading to them finding an owner. As the lovely Dr. Webber had surmised, the cat, whom Stefan had heard his nephew refer to as Sandy, likely belonged to no one.

  Coming face to face with Maplesville’s incredibly hot vet had been the highlight of his day, probably of his time in town, thus far. Although, it wasn’t as if he’d tried to get to know Maplesville since arriving on Thanksgiving Day.

  Jacob had been invited to spend the holiday at Disney World with his best friend’s family. It had worked out perfectly. His nephew had left for the Happiest Place on Earth the day before his mother flew to Fort Benning so that she could prepare to ship out to one of the shittiest places on earth.

  His twin sister, an ICU nurse, had followed in their father’s footsteps and joined the Army, but had decided not to reenlist after she got married six years ago. Stefan had no idea that she’d remained in the Reserves until she told him that she had been called up for a tour in Afghanistan.

  Stefan met Stefanie in North Carolina, and then flew down to Louisiana. He’d been waiting for Jacob when he’d returned from Disney World on Sunday. Nearly a week later and Stefan was still trying to find his way with his nephew. It scared the hell out of him to think that after everything the kid had been through this year, he was the one responsible for making his nephew’s Christmas a memorable one.

  Stefan had been in some high pressure situations out in the field, but giving Jacob one perfect Christmas just might be his toughest challenge yet.

  A car horn blew.

  “It’s Kennedy!” Jacob said, taking the flyers with him as he ran to the curb where his best friend, Kennedy Jefferson, and his mother, Trina, pulled up in her dark blue minivan.

  Trina rolled down the window.

  “We’re on our way to Dooley’s Fun Park,” Trina said, referring to the amusement park, slash arcade, slash miniature golf monstrosity that sat just off the interstate highway that ran through Maplesville. “How about we take Jacob?”

  “Please, Uncle Stefan.” His nephew’s imploring expression wrenched Stefan’s heart.

  Dammit.

  One of the caveats of keeping the cat around was that Jacob had to help him give her a bath and feed her. What would he be teaching his nephew about responsibility if Stefan allowed him to welch on his chores?

  “You have to help bathe and feed Sandy, remember?” Stefan reminded him.

  “Who’s Sandy?” Trina asked.

  “My new cat.” Jacob held up the flyer.

  “Can’t he do it when he gets back?” Trina suggested.

  Stefan sent her an exasperated look, pissed that the woman would undermine him in front of his nephew. It was bad enough she brought up the fun park without clearing it with Stefan first.

  “No, he can’t,” he gritted out.

  “Sorry.” Trina frowned. “Maybe next time.”

  Stefan felt the muscle in his jaw twitch as the minivan pulled away from the curb. He glanced down at his nephew and bit back a curse.

  Jacob looked upon him as if he was the murderer of all things happy and fun. It didn’t sit well with him. Stefan had always maintained that it was his dad who held the title of Murderer of All Things Happy and Fun. If this was a sign that he was turning into his father, just kill him now.

  He blew out a frustrated sigh. “Let’s finish putting up the flyers.”

  Several hours later, Stefan pulled the Toy Story blanket up to Jacob’s chest, and then took a seat on the edge of the bed. When he’d asked Stefanie how she’d managed to get away with not changing the blanket to SpongeBob SquarePants, she’d told him that the Toy Story blanket was the last thing Brandon had bought for Jacob before his accident. Stefan figured the kid would hold it close to him for the rest of his life.

  “I’m sorry about Dooley’s Fun Park,” Stefan said. “But we’d had a deal, remember?”

  Jacob nodded.

  “We can go once school lets out for Christmas break.”

  Another nod. That’s about all he’d gotten out of him all afternoon.

  Stefan swallowed down the regret wedged in his throat and kissed his nephew’s forehead. He stepped around Sandy, who’d gotten the best end of the deal. As a direct result of Stefan’s guilt, she was spending the night on a pile of blankets in Jacob’s room instead of on the porch.

  After flipping on the nightlight, Stefan made his way to the small office downstairs. It was 9:00 p.m. in Maplesville, which meant it was 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning in Kabul. It had taken him a while to get used to the country’s offset time zones, but he’d spent so much time there that he sometimes felt as if his body was still running on Afghanistan time.

  He turned on Stefanie’s computer and logged into Skype, smiling when he saw the green button indicating that his sister was available.

  “Hey!” Stefanie answered moments later. She was dressed in standard fatigues, with her hair slicked back, away from her face. They were twins, but it was still damn eerie how much they looked alike, especially when Stef was in gender-neutral clothes.

  “Hey yourself,” Stefan said.

  “What are you doing calling so late? It’s past Jacob’s bedtime. You know he has the same bedtime, even on the weekend, right?”

  “Yeah, I know. I just put him down,” Stefan said. “I told him he could Skype with you tomorrow, before our campout.”

  “And why again are you two having a campout on a Sunday night when he has school Monday morning?”

  “We’re going to be in the backyard, Stef. I’ll make sure he’s sleeping by nine and up in plenty enough time to get on the bus Monday morning. Besides, I need to earn back some of my cool points.”

  “Uh, oh.” His sister laughed. “What happened?”

  For the next fifteen minutes, Stefan relayed the story of his day, from the four trout they’d caught that morning, which he’d subsequently rendered unrecognizable, to the discovery of Sandy, the cat, to Trina Jefferson’s pushiness this afternoon when she’d unwittingly made him out to be the bad guy.

  “Trina’s parenting style is a lot different from what we’re used to,” Stefanie said. “But she means well. She and Darren have been a godsend in helping me with Jacob. It’ll get easier with him. I promise.” There was a short pause before his sister continued, “Look, I know I’ve told you how much—”

  “Don’t say it again,” he warned.
br />   “How can I not? Stefan, if you weren’t there, Jacob would have had to leave school and relocate to Baltimore. He would have hated that.”

  “I thought he liked Brandon’s parents?”

  “Of course he does. Every time he sees them they’re showering him with presents, but Kathryn and Roger wouldn’t have been able to handle a five-year-old. And there was no way in hell I was sending him to mom and dad’s.”

  Stefan shuddered at the thought. No kid should be subjected to living with the man who had raised them.

  “Of course, Brandon’s parents will do it if they have to,” Stefanie added.

  Stefanie had known from the beginning that if the news Stefan would receive from the doctor in a few weeks was positive, he could be on his way back to Virginia at the beginning of the New Year. Though, following his near miss on the stairs this morning, Stefan wasn’t feeling nearly as confident about his chances of returning to work than he had just twenty four hours ago.

  “We don’t need to worry about that just yet,” he said. “For now, I need to figure out what to do with this damn cat. You know, it would help if you told him that he couldn’t keep it.”

  “Actually, I promised him that he could get a pet when I got back home.”

  “Great,” Stefan sighed. “I’m stuck with this damn bossy cat.”

  “She’s bossy?”

  “Bossy and loud,” Stefan said, recalling how she wouldn’t stop meowing and rubbing up against his leg until he’d petted her.

  “Sounds as if you have your hands full,” his sister laughed.

  It was good to see the smile on Stefanie’s face, even if it was at his expense.

  She spent several minutes filling him in on the details of her first couple of days in Afghanistan. Just as Stefan was about to ask her what she knew about Maplesville’s resident veterinarian, an incoming emergency to their medical unit cut their conversation short.

  After logging out of Skype, he did a search for Maplesville Animal Clinic. It brought up a whimsical website done in bright, primary colors. In the right hand corner was a picture of Calista Webber, DVM.