Page 71 of The Rescuer

“Sure. I can always use a kitchen bitch.”

“Haha.” He lifted the covers and began to maneuver out of bed.Whoops. “Turn your head.”

“Why?”

“Okay, don’t turn your head. But don’t forget how I sleep. I don’t have a stitch on.”

That pretty blush of hers colored her face a deeper shape of rose. “Oh, right.” She turned her body so she faced away from him, but she didn’t leave the room—which should have been odd but somehow wasn’t.

He slid out from under the covers and looked around. “Uh, do you know where my clothes are?”

“I unpacked them and put them in the dresser.” Neve chuckled. “We’re like an old married couple already. Next you’re going to ask me where the ketchup is.”

“What’s ketchup have to do with the fact that you hid my clothes?” With a grin tugging his mouth, he dove for a drawer and yanked on a pair of boxers. “Okay. You can turn around now.”

Not only did she turn around, but her eyes went straight to his crotch.Fuck! I forgot about the hard-on.He dropped his hands in front of his dick, only bringingmoreattention to his stiffie state and deepening his embarrassment. Seeming completely nonplussed, she sprinted past him and threw herself on the bed, stomach first.

Giggling like the high schooler she used to be, she rolled over, fluffed the pillows, and lay back, her blond hair spread across the snow-white pillowcase like a golden fan. “I’m still trying to figure out who jumped higher in Vegas.” Neve was … gorgeous, even in an odd assortment of tanks and no makeup. This was not helping the problem in his underwear.

He worked his dry throat. “Pretty sure it was me. I always beat you. You should know this by now.” He hurried to the bathroom, her lilting laugh following him the entire way.

Was she taunting him about Pinocchio’s profile in his boxers? No, Neve didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She teased, she talked tough, but she never taunted maliciously—even something as ridiculous as the sight he must have been.

Once inside the bathroom, he caught his reflection. “Dude, you need to knock it off before you make another boneheaded mistake you will live to regret.” Still in his boxers, he turned the shower on cold. The blast had him sucking in air, but he finally reined in his libido.

Over breakfast, Neve informed him their rings were locked away in a wall safe inside her bathroom. “Where the medicine cabinet’s supposed to go. That way they’ll be safe if and when we can return them, and you can get your money back.” Then she gave him the combination so he could retrieve them, in case “something happened” to her.

He didn’t bother reminding her that the engraving eliminated any chance at a refund. She seemed way more upset about the outlay than he was. To be sure, it was a hell of a lot of money, but the reality had yet to ruffle a single one of his feathers.

Shane had texted her that they hadn’t lifted any fingerprints that didn’t belong there, but she had the all-clear to do what she needed to do at the clinic, so she and Reece promptly drove over in Reece’s truck. He had loaded it with tools and was ready to go to work, but Charlie had beaten them there with his electrician. While those two worked on the panel, Reece helped Neve clean up the mess. Tunes, chatter, and coffee made the time speed by. What they talked about, he hadn’t a clue. He only registered that it was as pleasant as it was easy.

Hours after they’d started, they had the clinic back to a presentable state, a full list of missing or damaged items, and they also had power. And heat. The electrician was tidying up loose ends, and Charlie left to pack forhis and Joy’s departure the following morning. The place was quiet, almost peaceful.

Hands on hips, Neve looked around her space with a satisfied smile that strummed warm chords deep inside him. That smile slid from her face, though, when her phone rang.

“Lauren? How was your Thanksgiving?” Neve kept her eyes fastened on Reece while she listened. Her eyebrows gave away her emotions as they danced to her hairline and crashed down. “This is kind of short notice. Why so sudden?” She ambled toward the reception counter. “But …” Now she propped up her elbow and dropped her forehead in her palm. “That’s it? No changing your mind?” A pause. “I’ll send you your final check on Monday.” So low only Reece could hear, she added, “Thanks for nothing.”

She ended the call on a sigh and turned to him. “Lauren just quit. She’s decided to stay in Iowa. Didn’t give much of a reason, except to say she needed to be closer to her family. This is a family she found so smothering she moved to Colorado seven years ago. A family she hadn’t visited for holidays until now. Doesn’t this seem like something a guilty person would do? Or someone dating a criminal would do?”

“You think she trashed your place?”

“I didn’t think so before—and that’s what I told Shane—but now? It’s not passing my smell test.”

“Maybe she realized she really missed her family,” he offered lamely. “Whether it’s true or not, I’d let Shane know about her sudden change of plans.”

“What am I going to do, Reece?” Neve’s voice quivered, nearly gutting him. He couldn’t think what else to say or do other than what hewantedto do—but wouldn’t—which was to pull her against him and wrap her up in his arms.

“I’ve got my hands more full than ever,” she wailed. “I can’t run the front desk, be a vet tech, and take care of people’s pets at the same time. It was hard enough finding her, and she was okay, but she didn’t exactly light the world on fire. She left plenty of slack for me to pick up.”

An idea struck, and he stroked his beard to buy himself time while he tumbled said idea in his head for a few beats.

“Here’s a thought,” he said at last. She drilled into him with her denim blues. “I’ve got time on my hands. Why don’t I fill in for Lauren until youcan find a replacement? I bet I can figure out how to be useful.” Hopefully, Neve would find her next employeebeforehe left Fall River.

“So you live at my houseandyou work at my clinic?” There went her eyebrows again, knotting with either horror or skepticism; he couldn’t decide which.

“Too much togetherness?”

“Ya think?”

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