Rescue Me, page 7
“How are all the dogs?” Beau sat in one of the chairs, his attention alternating between Jessica and Mitchell. Damn, Mitchell was handsome, and more than once Beau’s gaze centered on his jeans-encased butt, which sent a flash of heat running through him. Beau was glad that part of himself wasn’t dead, but he wasn’t sure he was ready for a physical relationship. At least not right away. Damn Gerome and his fists.
“Better than I would have thought. They’re up and about. The flea baths where we could and Frontline treatments did a lot, I think. The poor things were in bad shape and so ill cared for, but they’ll all be okay. Red is going to call today once the paperwork is completed. I’ll feel so much better once I know they’ll never go back to the person who hurt them.” Mitchell checked the cupboards until he found plates, then made them up and brought the food to the table.
Beau got out some juice and glasses and sat back down, his belly rumbling. “You didn’t have to do this, but I’m glad you did. I seem to only have time to reheat things for myself.” He turned to Jessica. “She takes a lot of my time, and when she naps, I try to get some work done.”
“I understand.” Mitchell took a bite of eggs. “I need to change the subject.” His smile faded from his lips. “Have you seen anyone hanging around? I swear when I was walking over here, I felt like I was being watched. I didn’t see anyone. A few times Randi stopped to look around, but I get this feeling that….” His voice trailed off. “Maybe I’m being stupid. I’ve been thinking a lot about Luke lately, and then I feel like I’m being watched. It wigged me out a little, but then it could be my imagination.”
Beau swallowed hard and jumped up. He returned with his laptop. “I got this email last night. I don’t know who it’s from because I don’t recognize the return email address.”
“So someone is watching?” Mitchell said, looking up from the screen. “And they’re watching you, it seems.” He pursed his lips, and his eyes grew stormy for a second.
Beau hated the idea. “It came to my work email address while I was up in the living room just before midnight. So it’s someone who knows me, I think.”
“Your ex?” Mitchell asked.
Beau sighed and forced himself to take another bite. His appetite had flown, but he didn’t want to be rude to Mitchell after he’d gone to all this trouble. “That was my thought. We did see him at the park. He lives in Philadelphia, so it’s safe to assume that he’s either following me or hanging around to watch. The whole thing has me scared. What kind of person does something like that?” He shivered.
Mitchell got up and put his arms around him from behind.
“I mean, I know that Gerome wants to stay in his studio, but being creepy and stalkerish isn’t the way to make that happen.”
Mitchell leaned forward. “You know, this whole thing could be our imaginations. I know the email came in at midnight and all, but it could just be a prank. Did you see anyone around?” They both shrugged at the same time. Beau thought it was cute. “We’ve been talking about our pasts. Maybe we got our imaginations going overtime. As you said, if Gerome wanted something, this isn’t the way to go about it. He must know that.”
Beau sighed and finished eating. “You’re right. I could be making a whole big thing out of a feeling.” Some of the anxiety leached away. “But I’m going to keep an eye out.”
“Me too.”
Jessica giggled, and they both turned to where Randi was licking Jessica’s toes. “Silly dog,” Mitchell said and snapped his fingers. Randi turned toward the sound and then lay on the floor near the baby, watching her.
Mitchell’s phone vibrated with a message, and he picked it up off the table. “Oh my.”
“What is it?”
“It’s from a client. Her dog was hit by a car.” He stood. “I need to get to the clinic to meet them.” He typed out his reply. “I’m sorry to make a mess in your kitchen and run.” He picked up Randi and headed for the door. “Do you have plans for later?”
“No. I was going to spend the day here with Jessica.”
Mitchell hurried back and leaned down. “Can I call you when I’m done?” Beau nodded, and Mitchell kissed him gently. “I’ll talk to you then. And don’t hesitate to call if anything happens.” Then he was gone, taking Randi along with him.
Jessica cried, and Beau picked her up out of the swing. He checked her diaper and then just held her, rocking slightly. She calmed, and soon she was asleep on his shoulder. Beau figured he’d do the dishes later and settled on the sofa for some quiet time with his daughter. But his mind conjured up images of a little one-on-one time with Mitchell. Should he be having those kinds of thoughts while he was holding his daughter?
His phone rang, and he wriggled to get it without disturbing Jessica. He didn’t recognize the number, but he answered it in case it was important.
“Mr. Pfister?” a female voice asked tentatively.
“Yes.” From the tone, he expected a telemarketer, but then again, he wasn’t sure, so he didn’t just hang up.
She sighed. “My name is Helen van der Spoel, and I have been searching for a Beauregard Pfister. It’s taken me a week to track the right person, and I hope you’re him.” She seemed relieved and excited. “This is going to sound a little off the cuff, but are you looking after Amy Weigl’s child?”
He was instantly on his guard. “Ma’am, I don’t know what this is about, but… have you been spying on me?” The past few days and the note came back to him, and a chill ran through him.
“Of course not. I’ve been trying to track you because you have our granddaughter.” Suddenly she sounded really snooty. “My husband and I are the parents of Ronald van der Spoel, the little girl’s father. That makes us her grandparents. We understand that the mother passed away, and Ronald was finally willing to give us the basic information so we could locate our granddaughter.” The tone she used had Beau on edge. Were they going to try to take Jessica from him? Everything about the custody and placement was perfectly legal. Amy’s will had been very specific.
“Ronald signed away his parental rights before Jessica was born. I have copies of the paperwork.” He wanted to get her off the phone.
“Yes, we understand that. But we are still her grandparents, and we would like to see her if that’s possible. You see, she is our only grandchild, and we would like to get to know her and have her in our lives.” This conversation had Beau on edge.
“Ma’am, I don’t know you, and while I understand that Jessica is biologically related to you, she is my daughter, and I was entrusted with her care.” He intended to make his position known.
“She is still related to us by blood.” Man, she was snippy all of a sudden.
“That may be.” He checked his phone. “I’ll have to think about it. Right now things are in a state of flux, and I’m trying to care for Jessica and get us settled in a new home.” And build a whole new life without the husband I thought I would be spending the rest of my life with, thank you very much. “I have your number. Maybe we can arrange something.” Beau just wanted to get her off the phone. He had had enough upheaval—he didn’t need the sudden appearance of grandparents who were complete strangers, especially when he had no idea of their motivations. “Please let me think about it.”
“We would really like to see her,” she persisted. “After all, she is our granddaughter. I know our son gave up his rights, but we did no such thing.” The haughtiness was almost more than he could take. “As I said, my husband and I would very much like to see Jessica.” This woman acted as though he owed her something, which got under Beau’s skin something awful. As far as he was concerned, she and her husband had no rights at all, other than the privileges he might choose to give them. Jessica was his daughter now.
“It seems you’ve made your position clear, so now I’ll do the same with mine. Jessica is my daughter, and I promised to care for her to the very best of my ability when my best friend, Amy, the one your son abandoned and wanted nothing more to do with, passed away. She knew I would care for and love her daughter… and I do. I have been a part of Jessica’s life since she was born… something your son turned away from.” He felt as though he needed to paint a very clear picture. “You may ask to see Jessica, but you can’t demand anything. Now, I have to take care of her, and I don’t have more time to talk. All I can tell you is that I will think about whether you can see her and let you know.” He took a deep breath. Mrs. van der Spoel began talking again, but Beau cut her off. “Thank you for calling. I have your number, Mrs. van der Spoel.”
Beau ended the call and tried to settle his thumping heart, which threatened to jump out of his chest. That was completely unexpected. He found himself wishing that Mitchell were here so he could ask him if he’d done the right thing.
HIS PHONE woke him, and his nerves jangled until he checked the display. Jessica lay sleeping on his chest. Beau answered the phone. “Hi, Mitchell. How did it go?”
The other end of the line was quiet for a few seconds. “Not so well. I had to put the dog to sleep,” he answered quietly. “I hate things like that. It’s always so hard.” He breathed deeply. “The poor thing was deaf and didn’t see very well either. The owner’s husband backed out of the drive and didn’t see her.” He paused. “I’m….”
“Do you want to come over?” Beau thought he would offer in case Mitchell didn’t want to be alone. He wasn’t sure how he dealt with these sorts of things. “If you’d rather be alone, I understand.” Though he needed to see Mitchell too.
“I need to check on the dogs and let them out. I’ll stop by in a little while.” He ended the call, and Beau slowly got Jessica off him so he could move. She woke as soon as he tried to lay her back down. She wasn’t happy, and it took him some time to calm her and get her to take a bottle. By that time it was nearly his lunch hour. Fortunately he was able to buckle her into her swing so that he could get some grilled cheese sandwiches prepped and do the breakfast dishes.
It was hard not to think about Mitchell while he did mundane things. His mind had a few minutes to ruminate, and Mitchell was its favorite subject. His hands in warm water, he closed his eyes, thinking of him, the soap running through his fingers. Damn, what he wouldn’t give to have Mitchell under his soapy hands, water sluicing over them as pressed his hips to Mitchell’s tight butt.
A knock pulled him out of his daydream, and he yanked his hands out of the sink, spilling soapy water all down the front of him. Beau swore, and Jessica fussed as he tried to wipe off his hands and clean himself up. “I’ll be right back, little girl,” he said to try to calm her and hurried to the door.
Randi raced inside with Mitchell behind her. He let her off the leash, and Randi headed right for Jessica.
“What happened to you?” Mitchell’s eyes grew heated, and he smiled. “Not that I’m not enjoying the impromptu wet T-shirt contest.”
“Dishwashing incident.” God, he hoped his cheeks didn’t heat up as he recalled what he’d been thinking about. “Anyway, I have some sandwiches ready to be grilled. I just need to finish the cleanup and get out of this wet shirt.” He led Mitchell back to the kitchen. Randi had her paws on the swing and was wagging her tail as she watched the baby.
“You’re a good sitter, aren’t you?” Mitchell said. Randi explored the room, sniffing all around, probably looking for stray bits of food. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No. I’m almost done here.” He rinsed the last of the dishes and put them in the drainer, then let out the water and rinsed the sink. “Let me get out of this wet T-shirt and I’ll make us some lunch.” Beau hurried away and changed as quickly as he could. For some reason he didn’t want to leave Mitchell alone. “Do you want to talk about it?” He opened the pantry and pulled out a can of tomato soup. “Is this okay? I don’t make it from scratch, but I do doctor it up a little.”
“Of course.” Mitchell seemed preoccupied. “There isn’t much to say. The dog was still alive when they brought her in, but there was nothing I could do. She had so many broken ribs, and her lungs had been damaged. My only choice was to end her suffering.” He placed his hands on the table. “No matter what the circumstances, I keep going over things in my head wondering what more I could have done. Ally had been a patient of mine since I first opened the clinic, and I hate to see her go.”
“I know you did your best. And you said she was in pain.” Beau added some milk and a few dried herbs to the soup to bump up the flavor. Then he put the saucepan on the stove to heat. “There are things that are just out of our control.” God, he knew that was true. So much of his life had seemed outside of what he could influence for way too danged long.
“I know, and this was one of them for me.” Mitchell folded his hands on the table. “I think what bothers me most is the guilt. Not mine, but Georgia’s husband. He’s going to hear that yelp and see Ally’s injuries for a very long time. It wasn’t his fault. Sometimes ugly things just happen. This isn’t the first dog I’ve had to send to across the rainbow bridge, and it won’t be the last.” He swallowed. “At school, they told us it was part of the circle of life and that we couldn’t let it get to us. But it’s hard sometimes.”
Jessica began to fuss, and Beau lifted her out of the swing and handed her to Mitchell. “In my experience, and it’s quite limited, babies are incredibly therapeutic when we’re feeling down.” He smiled when Jessica settled right away, and Beau returned to finishing up their lunch. He had found that was true after the phone call from Jessica’s grandmother. While he worked, he told Mitchell about the call from the rather insistent Mrs. van der Spoel.
“What are you going to do?” Mitchell asked gently. It seemed like they were both on edge.
“I don’t know. I need to think about it. But my initial reaction is to tell her to pound sand. She was pushy. And yet they are Jessica’s grandparents. Maybe they should see her. I don’t know, but I told her I’d think about it.” Part of him felt like he should play nice in case they made trouble. He just wasn’t sure.
Grilled cheese and tomato soup seemed kind of plain, but growing up, it had been comfort food, which Beau needed. Mitchell seemed to enjoy it, even one-handed with Jessica on his lap. “She’s probably going to want a bottle soon,” Mitchell said gently as he looked into Beau’s daughter’s eyes. “You’re adorable, aren’t you?” He took a bite of his sandwich and smiled. It was good to see the gloominess retreat from his features for a little while. “Sometimes I need to remind myself that I need to look on the bright side of my job.”
Beau needed that too. Jessica was certainly the remedy for a lot of life’s difficult moments. He nodded as he sipped his soup. “You help animals every day, and I have no doubt that you did your best. There’s nothing to feel guilty about.”
“Exactly. I know that in my head, but the rest of me is taking a little longer to catch up.” He ate his soup slowly, playing a little with Jessica, and gradually the mood in the room shifted.
“I’ve been thinking of getting a dog,” Beau said. “I don’t know what kind, and I want one that will be good with Jessica. But I spend a lot of time here alone with her, and I think I’d like some companionship.” He looked down at Randi and smiled.
“Then why don’t you keep her?” Mitchell suggested. “Randi loves Jessica and seems to like being around her. I think the three of you would be a good fit.”
“She’s your dog, though,” Beau said.
Mitchell shook his head. “I think Randi is already Jessica’s dog. She’s bonded with her, and as long as she’ll be loved, which I know Randi will, then she should stay here with you. That is, if you want her.”
Beau grinned. “Of course I do.” He reached down, and Randi came right over so he could lift her up. “Do you want to stay here with me and Jessica?” He grinned when Randi licked his face. “Kisses, huh?”
“Yup. She belongs here. Randi likes me, but I think she’s taken with the two of you.” Mitchell took a deep breath. “I’ll bring over her things later today.” It seemed as though it was a done deal, but Beau was serious—he didn’t want to take Mitchell’s dog.
“Are you sure? I mean she’s….”
“I took her in because I liked her and she was special. Randi is adorable, but she really likes you and Jessica, and I believe that dogs pick the people they bond with. Randi obviously has an affinity for your daughter.” Mitchell smiled. “She’ll be happy here, and that’s all I really want for any of my dogs. So please don’t give it a second thought.”
“You’re really sure?” Beau asked, delighted. He liked the little stinker, and he knew Randi would be good with Jessica. It was a win for them, but he was still concerned about Mitchell. “You can see her whenever you like.” He hugged the pup and petted her. “You’re going to be happy here, I know it. We’re going to need to find you a place to sleep. I’ll put out some water and food for you.” He was thrilled. “And you can keep me company when I have to work late.” This was perfect. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. As long as she’s happy, that’s all that really counts.” Mitchell made for the door. “Let me go get her things so she can be comfortable. It’s best if there are things she’s familiar with so there’s continuity.” He left the house, and Beau got ready to put Jessica down for a nap. He figured he might as well let her sleep as long as she wanted.
He headed to Jessica’s room and laid her in her crib. Jessica slept in her infant sack, and Randi came in and jumped into the rocking chair, making herself comfortable. Beau had little doubt that Randi was going to try to sleep in here with his daughter.
MITCHELL RETURNED with Randi’s things, and Beau met him in the living room. “Where is she?”
“With Jessica,” Beau chuckled. “The two of them are fast friends.” He set the dishes Mitchell had brought in the corner of the kitchen. He also set Randi’s bed in a corner of the living room. “Come and sit down. Can I get you anything to drink?”
