The Leaving Road, page 14
“Hmm…what’s the hold up?”
“She says there’s no way she’s hooking up with a married guy, and if I wanted to be single, I would be. I tried to explain the situation to her, but she just wasn’t having it. She even made a point to bring up that I still wear my ring.”
“She isn’t wrong there.”
“It’s a habit,” he snapped at me.
“Sure, it sounds like it.”
“Sorry, Sloan.” He took a deep breath. “I can’t in good faith give you Magnolia’s number, but I will give you Lexie’s. If she gives it to you, then that’s on her.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, man. Let’s get some beers this week. We will invite Dexter; I think we need it.”
“Sounds good.”
The line disconnected before I could get another word out, but when Jace was done, he was done. It had just been a while since I had seen that side of him, not that I blamed him. I knew exactly what it was like to be stuck in a horrible situation.
A few seconds later, my phone tinged with a message from Jace, giving me Lexie’s number. I wasted no time creating her contact information, and who fucking cares how late it is, I’m texting her.
Me: It’s me Sloan. Jace gave me your number in hopes I could sweettalk you into giving me Magnolia’s number.
The blue dots appeared almost immediately, and I went from laying down in my bed to sitting straight up, unable to contain the nervous energy that was bubbling in anticipation.
Lexie: May the odds be ever in your favor.
Me: How can I tip the scales?
Lexie: Answer one question.
Me: Anything.
Lexie: Did you name your place after her?
The cat was out of the bag now and everyone suspected it. Even if it wasn’t officially confirmed, yeah, I did name it after her. She was never far from my mind when I was building it. Truthfully, she’d never been far from my mind the last eight years, even though I did everything possible to bury it.
The twinkling lights that littered the deck of Yuliana’s reminded me of the glow-in-the-dark stars that splayed across her bedroom ceiling, because even at eighteen, Magnolia hated the dark. The wood-stained bar was the exact color of her hair, with lighter pieces of wood worked through matching it almost to a T. The green oak backdrop of the bar was the exact shade of her eyes. I remember when they showed me the color, and how I immediately knew it was the one. The cozy ambiance I had created, that feeling of home, I’d only ever felt when I was with her. If she would have taken a closer look, the pictures that lined the walls to the restrooms and back offices were black and white portraits of our favorite places.
It had taken me a long time to sort through those feelings and unfortunately, once I did, she was long gone, and I carried a lot of misplaced anger at her for leaving me behind. She took the one road out of town, the leaving road, I had called it bitterly. I was ashamed of myself for not using my common sense, knowing Magnolia would have never just left without a reason.
So, I built my bar in her memory in case she ever changed her mind and used the leaving road to come back home.
Me: Yes.
Lexie: 555-4576
Me: You’re a goddess.
Lexie: Don’t make me regret this.
Me: I promise.
It was time to get my girl.
Chapter 31
Magnolia
The annoying sound of my phone buzzing from somewhere jostled me from my sleep. In my half-awake state, I saw it was 4:32 a.m., and it was Dr. Lewis calling that pulled me from barely awake to wide awake, wondering why he would be calling at this hour. I felt the familiar zing of anxiety start in my gut and work its way throughout my body.
“Dr. Lewis? Is everything okay?”
“Magnolia, I’m sorry to call you so early, it’s just… Well…they found another site they think was used after we found the last one. This time, it’s just dogs. There’s too much for Ben and me to do on our own, and I was wondering if…”
The second I heard the worry in his voice, I was springing from my bed in a mad dash, pulling on my clothes as quickly as I could. “I’ll be right there.”
Since holding my phone was preventing me from getting ready as quickly as possible, I tossed it onto my bed and darted around my room. Once I was fully dressed, I weighed my options: wake up Lexie and tell her where I’d be, or not.
Against my better judgment, I decided to let her sleep and deal with her wrath later. But also, that’s what cell phones are for, right? Before even leaving the house, I shot her a text message.
Me: Emergency at the clinic. Be home later.
I heard her phone down the hall ping with the sound of my text, and no sound of life from her at all, so I snuck out of the house like a teenager hoping their parents wouldn’t wake up.
Walking out of the house and into Maine’s chilly morning air, I stopped dead in my tracks by a familiar truck idling outside, again.
Sloan’s body slid out from the driver’s side door, and unwilling to close the distance between us, I called out to him, “I think we’ve now hit stalking territory, Sloan. It’s not even five in the morning.”
“I was prepared to wait all day. On the bright side, the coffee is warm.”
He held it out to me, and I saw the steam curl from the top of the lid. I groaned and walked toward him. “Bribery will get you nowhere, Montgomery.” I gave him my best peeved face, but in reality, my heart was doing its own circuit, knowing he was here, again.
“Full disclosure?”
“Please.” I took a sip of my coffee, mmm. I swear its warmth was slowly melting away the frostiness I still felt toward him.
“I got your number from Lexie, but I didn’t feel right using it, so…”
“So, you went for the stalking route instead?” I held the coffee cup to my lips to try to hide the small smile I couldn’t contain. On the other hand, I should have absolutely woken Lexie up this morning…
“So, I went the stalking route.”
“It’s barely five a.m..”
He cocked his head at me. “And yet, here you are.”
“Shit.” The reality of why I was awake and headed to my car slammed into me, and I knew I had to go. “I have to head to the clinic; this will have to wait until later.”
Sloan must have detected something in my voice because, for once, he didn’t put up a fight about me leaving. Getting into my car and quickly reversing had me on my way to the clinic before the sun even thought about rising. The headlights in my rear-view mirror informed me that Sloan was following me.
Not having the time to stop and give him a piece of my mind, I continued to my destination, determined to make up the time I lost by being temporarily distracted by Sloan, even if it was just for a few moments.
Pulling into the clinic, it was hard to ignore that Sloan’s truck pulled up next to me. And even though he pulled in after me, he somehow was opening my door for me and offering his hand.
“A bit early for the clinic today.”
I did my best to suppress my eye roll, but failed, only to be crowded by Sloan’s body once again.
“I know you said just friends, Magnolia, but that’s going to be very hard for me. Why are you here so early?”
Trying to keep the drool firmly in my mouth, I swallowed. “Dr. Lewis called me this morning. It’s an emergency.”
He must have heard my urgency bleed through, so he uncaged me from his body and held out his hand again since I had yet to take it.
“Shall we?”
I bit my lower lip, which caused a groan to slip from Sloan’s mouth, and once again I found myself concealing my grin. I put my hand in his and all but ran to the front door with my keys in hand, not caring that Sloan was following me inside.
“Doc? Ben?” I called out.
“We’re back here,” Ben called from the back treatment area.
Walking into the back, a horrified gasp slipped from me as I took in the scene. While there weren’t nearly as many animals this time, the dogs were in such poor condition. Tears pooled at my eyes as I counted the ribs I could clearly see from a nursing mom who was snapping at Ben, who was trying to get close to her and her puppies.
Before I could protest, I saw Sloan crouch next to him and murmured softly to the dog, “Hey, sweet baby, it’s okay. We just want to help.”
She stopped baring her teeth to listen to the sound of his deep voice, though her ears were still plastered down, showing her unease.
“Can we just get a look at you, sweet girl? I promise we won’t hurt you.” Much to my surprise, the snarling didn’t continue and she tilted her head at the hand Sloan had extended toward her. Ben shot a sideways glance to him in warning, but if Sloan saw it, he ignored it.
He slid forward on his knees to get a little bit closer. “It’s okay. Can I pet you, lovely?” His soft voice had my tense body turning to mush.
I was pretty wrapped up in watching Sloan on his knees—on his knees—trying to get close to a suffering animal to help it, and I found myself caving, ever so slightly.
A bump to my hip alerted me to Louise’s presence next to me with her eyebrows almost in her hairline, giving me one of those “you’ve been caught with your hand in the cookie jar,” looks. I found myself blushing from head to toe, and still unable to fully look away from the scene in front of me.
The momma dog had lowered her head and was allowing Sloan closer access. The grin that took over his face caused my heart to stop, and when the dog licked his hand and offered him a small tail wag in return, it started again.
“She’s coming home with me.” He didn’t bother looking at any of us when he made his declaration.
“She’s still nursing the pups….” Ben said in a soothing voice, trying to help convey what an undertaking it would be.
“Okay, let me clarify, she and the puppies are coming home with me.”
He turned to look at us with fire in his eyes, as if daring any of us to interject—and it had me grinning from ear to ear.
“If she lets us look at her, and she and the puppies are healthy enough to go to your home temporarily until we can adopt them out, then that’s fine with me,” Doc said, trying to diffuse any possible tension, but I couldn’t miss the way Sloan’s face had soured at the words temporarily and adopt.
He nodded in agreement, but I could see something behind his eyes.
“Since she’s letting you pet her, Sloan, why don’t you stay here and help Ben while Magnolia and I get started on the others.”
He nodded, not taking his eyes off his task, so I followed Doc to get started on the evaluation and treatment of the other dogs. Every few minutes or so, I found myself seeking out Sloan. Once he and Ben had successfully examined the momma dog and her puppies, they moved on to others.
I shouldn’t have been shocked that Sloan was here helping, but I was. I had heard his phone ring a few times in his back pocket, and after a quick text to whoever, he’d lay it down on the other side. His attention was fully back on doing whatever he could to help, and me. Our eyes kept meeting throughout the day, and each time I found myself blushing, dropping some sort of product, only to be scolded by Louise, or so caught up in the looks he was giving me I was surprised I wasn’t drooling.
“Boo.” His voice sounded from behind me and tickled my ear. I had to actively stop myself from melting into him, and instead turned to face him.
“Thanks for all your help today…” I looked around the clinic. “I don’t think we could have done it without you.”
Well, we could have, it just would have taken us significantly longer.
“Hey, guys, can I get you all over here for a second for a quick update before you all leave for the night?”
Sloan gave me a half shrug as if he was unsure if he should be present for that. I grabbed his hand and led him to where Dr. Lewis was standing, tugging him along behind me, making the decision for us.
“First off, I want to thank you all for coming in today to help out.” He looked over at Sloan and me, clearly signaling to us out. “I was informed by the DNR and sheriff that they think there is some kind of smuggling/animal fighting arena still being held, and they are just moving locations. They told me they have a few suspects in mind, and they should hopefully be making an arrest in the next week or two. However…”
“However, what?” Sloan asked with an edge to his tone.
“However, they told me we need to proceed with extra caution. A decent number of guns they found, all stolen, were found at this latest house. I don’t want anyone going on a farm call or emergency call alone, and you will always bring your registered weapon with you. There will be timely check-ins required, and if need be, we won’t be making any calls outside the clinic unless law enforcement is present. Do I make myself clear?”
I found it hard to find Doc an intimidating figure, but his words sent a chill through me. This was shaping up to be significantly more dangerous than I had anticipated. But I also knew I would never stop trying to help the animals, so I was more than okay with the rules he was setting up to execute.
I felt Sloan’s body tense behind mine, and since I had yet to let go of his hand, I gave it a squeeze before letting it go and turning to him, clocking the fear and possessiveness he tried to hide from me.
I arched my brow at him. “This is going to make the stalking worse, isn’t it?”
“You have no idea, baby… No idea.”
And I don’t think I mind one bit.
Chapter 32
Magnolia
Sloan was checking in one last time on the mom he named Peaches. Once she dropped her guard, she was the sweetest little pit bull mix with a pink fuzzy nose, hence the name Peaches. I heard his low murmurings to her, “Doc says you can get out of this joint tomorrow. Don’t worry, girl, I’m going to get you everything you need. You’ll never spend another night alo—”
“Sloan?” I whispered, trying not to disturb his moment but wanting him to know I was here.
“Oh.” He cleared his throat and stood, unable to hide the redness that was creeping up from his collar to his cheeks. “Didn’t hear you there.” He ran his hand through his hair while keeping his eyes on Peaches. Clearly, it was tearing him up that he had to leave her here.
“Do…do you want to stay here tonight? I can go pick up some pizza, and we can make a night of it.” Before I knew what was happening, I was offering to basically have a sleep over here, with him. The stress and sadness he was unable to hide at leaving Peaches was doing weird things to my soul. I found myself wanting to be where he was and offer any comfort I could.
“You mean that?”
“Sure. I can go pick up some comfy stuff for us to wear while I get the food,” I offered, knowing that Doc wouldn’t care one bit about us staying here with the animals.
“Absolutely not. You’ll stay here, behind a closed, locked door. I’ll pick up some stuff for you from Lexie and grab the food.” He looked at me, waiting for my response.
“Bossy,” I mouthed at him, but I was unable to even pretend I was mad about it.
He kissed my forehead before stopping and having a brief conversation where Doc shook his hand, and he picked up Louise in a hug and kissed her cheek before setting her down. Louise was blushing like a sinner in church on a Sunday, and despite the despair that lingered around for the majority of the day, I couldn’t help the lightness I felt in my heart.
Doc made his way to me while Louise tried to compose herself after Sloan’s outward burst of affection. “Always liked that kid.” His gaze was on Sloan’s back as he made his way out of the clinic.
“Mmm…” I said in a non-committal tone, opting to change the subject. “Say, I told Sloan we could stay here tonight, use the kitchen and break room to keep watch on Peaches.”
“Sure, sure. The couch turns into a bed, and the TV has a Roku stick with Netflix.”
I felt my face pale. I didn’t want him thinking that we needed a bed.
“I didn’t know the couch was a bed, Doc.”
He shrugged. “Had to find a place for the random interns we’d get to sleep. That’s also why we upgraded it to have a full kitchen and a shower in the bathroom.”
I puffed out a breath I didn’t know I was holding in, thanking whoever was listening that he didn’t think I was going to be hooking up at work.
“I’m going to get going, and I’ll be back early. Let me show you how to set the alarm once Sloan gets back. In fact, once we clear out, you should set it until he gets back, anyway.”
“Aye, aye, captain.” I gave him a mock salute and he chuckled while we walked over to the panel on the wall, then showed me how the codes worked. He showed me how to set the system to clock any outside movement, but not inside since we and overnight animals would be here. He then showed me the sensors on the windows, which were open and shatter ones. I thought it was way cool, and I was feeling safer by the second. After a five-minute tutorial, Louise approached, asking if he was ready to go.
Interesting…
The question must have shown on my face because Doc wasted no time clarifying that they carpooled to work most times since they lived next door to each other. Though I didn’t miss the way his words caused Louise to frown.
“Well, goodnight, Magnolia. Thank Sloan again for me.” She stalked away, but I didn’t miss the slightest waver to her normally stern voice.
“Call me if you need anything? You hear?” Doc’s voice shifted my focus from Louise.
“Will do, now go. I’ve got it covered.”
He shrugged off his white coat and grabbed his lighter vest, then made his way to the front door which Louis had just disappeared out of. I decided to busy myself with doing one more check on the animals, and I just couldn’t help myself from double- and triple-checking Peaches and her pups.
Finally giving in and sitting next to her crate so as to not overwhelm her with my nearness, I started talking to her.
“You’re a very lucky lady, Ms. Peaches. Sloan’s going to take the best care of you. I swear he will, or I’ll gut him like a fish. Yes. Yes, I will.” Her happy little tail was pounding on the ground of her kennel while she pushed her fuzzy cold nose toward me and showed me her belly for scratches.
