That Thing You Do (A Crystal Lake Novel Book 2) Page 9

  “We’ll just take the barrel,” Nate said, bending behind it and grabbing hold.

  The two of them managed to lift it and very carefully moved the dog to the back of Molly’s truck. She climbed on board and sat beside it while Nate got behind the wheel.

  Less than an hour after the entire operation started, they had the barrel inside the clinic, and while Molly made ready a whelping bed inside a pen, Nate finally managed to get the dog out. She collapsed onto the bed, panting as another contraction seized up her belly.

  “It won’t be long now,” Molly murmured, sliding her hand across the poor girl’s head. “You’re such a trouper.”

  Molly did an initial examination and could tell the dog was young, between one and two years of age. She was in good health and so trusting that her sweetness brought tears to Molly’s eyes. Why would someone dump her when she was in such a vulnerable state? Why not bring her to the clinic instead? There was an emergency number, so it being after clinic hours wasn’t an excuse.

  “I can’t believe this poor dog was left out there,” Nate said quietly. “Who would do that?”

  “It happens more than you know.”

  “Well, that’s just wrong.”

  “Yeah.” Molly shrugged. “People suck.”

  And then it started. Nate knelt beside her, and several hours later, by the time the birthing was done, the young mother had produced six pups, four dark like the mother with shepherd markings, and two golden with white spots.

  Nate helped her clean up, and while the pups nursed from their exhausted mother, she and Nate sat back and watched.

  “This is pretty incredible,” Nate said, nudging her knee with his own.

  She nodded. “It is. It never gets old.”

  “When did you know you wanted to be a vet? Because from what I remember, you wanted to play pro hockey or football or basketball.”

  Molly leaned back against the wall.

  “Do you remember that summer we all went to sleepaway camp across the lake?”

  Nate nodded. “We were like, nine? Ten?”

  “I was miserable and so upset because they wouldn’t let me sleep in the boy’s cabin, understandably so, but a nine-year-old doesn’t get shit like that. All I knew was that I was stuck in a cabin with a bunch of girls who didn’t get me or like me, and they were all weird about you guys being my best friends. It made me a target, or at least made the bull’s-eye on my back a lot bigger.” She gave Nate a side-eye. “One of them was Chess Somers.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  “You should be.”

  “So what happened? What was the big revelation?”

  “You guys went on a hike with your camp leader, and I was stuck with the girls for the afternoon, and I was having none of that. Not after one of them put a dead frog in my bed. I didn’t want to go swimming with the group, so I played sick, and when they left, I went to the barn instead. Mr. Waters was in there. Misty, one of the horses, was foaling.” She smiled at the memory. “He let me watch, and I saw everything as it happened. When that little filly got up on those four spindly legs and took her first steps, I knew that I wanted to work with animals. When she fed from her mother, I felt like I witnessed a miracle, and it was a miracle I wanted to see over and over again.” She shrugged. “When I got back from sleepaway camp, I told my dad I was going to be a vet one day and I’d take over his practice.”

  “I’m sure that wasn’t surprising.”

  “Oh, it was. He told me I’d have to get over my aversion to blood.”

  “Well, I guess you did.”

  “Barely.”

  Nate leaned close, and all of a sudden, Molly was hyperaware of him. “Just so you know, it was me who left that dead frog. Zach dared me to.”

  Molly turned to him, mouth open to give him proper hell, but she didn’t get the chance. Nate slid his mouth over hers, and she forgot about the dog and sleepaway camp and the frog. She didn’t think about the fact that they were sitting on the floor in her clinic, or that she’d told herself only hours earlier she wouldn’t do this again.

  The world shrank until there was just Nate. And his mouth. And that ache deep inside her, the one that spread from her core and breathed fire into her veins. It was an ache she feared would never go away—and that thought should have scared her.

  But how could she think of such things when his hands made her whimper? When Nate’s mouth practiced the kind of magic she’d read about? The kind that Richard Gere used on Julia Roberts? Who could resist it? With a groan, Molly gave up trying, because apparently, it wasn’t her.

  They kissed until her head spun. Until her insides melted and spread across the floor. Until she thought she would die because she couldn’t breathe. Until her heart broke apart and warning bells rang inside her head.

  “Stop,” she said, tearing her mouth from Nate’s. She stared into his eyes as she struggled to catch her breath. “What are we doing, Nate?”

  He seemed just as affected as her and jumped to his feet, hands shoved into the front pockets of his pants as if he didn’t trust himself.

  “I’m sorry, I… This is too fast.” Molly managed to say, getting up and moving away from him. Silence filled the room, and she didn’t move because her knees shook.

  “I get that. I really do, but, Moll, there’s something here between us.”

  “But what is it?” Dumb question on her part. She knew exactly what it was, for her, at least, and she waited, breath locked at the back of her throat, for him to answer.

  He exhaled and ran his hands through the mess of hair at his nape and shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’d sure like to find out. I mean, we can take our time and see what happens.” A heartbeat passed. “Can’t we?”

  This was the moment Molly could stop this thing in its tracks, and if she were smart, it was exactly what she’d do. She knew there was no future between her and Nathan. Hell, the guy had a life in New York City, and from what he told everyone, it was pretty damn exciting. He was going back to it in a week, and her life was here. He’d said goodbye to Crystal Lake as soon as he could, and he’d say goodbye to it again.

  But there was that thought at the back of her mind, the one that said she’d be a fool not to take that one small slice of something special and taste it, savor it, enjoy the hell out of it for as long as she could. There were people on this planet who never got a chance to feel the way she did right now. So why would she turn her back on it? Even if it was only for a little while.

  “Maybe,” she whispered, though for her, the decision was already made. “But not tonight.”

  “Okay,” he answered slowly. “The ball’s in your court, Moll.”

  The question was, what the hell did she do with the ball? Knock it out of the park and forget the whole thing? Or put the ball in play even if it was only for a small moment in time. She looked at him, at his dark eyes, square jaw, lips that kissed like a king, and she knew she wanted to play ball. She’d be smart about it. She had to prepare and come up with a plan to protect her heart from further damage, figure out a way to hide her true feelings. Because, as confused as she was about a lot of things, one of them was crystal clear.

  Nathan Jacobs could never know she was in love with him.

  Chapter Ten

  Nate spent Tuesday working from the impressive backyard of the Manchester house. Surrounded by the kind of nature only found in this corner of the world, he relaxed on the back deck that overlooked the lake and answered emails and made phone calls. With school back in and the last long weekend of the summer over, the lake looked empty. A few boats zipped across the water, but the spark that made summer special was gone.

  Link was still holed up here, though he hadn’t been forthcoming with the real reason he’d taken leave from the league. The guy definitely had no injury that Nate could see, but something was off, and he decided it was better to give the man some space to figure things out. The footballer spent the majority of his time hiking around the lake, so Nate had
the place to himself, which was why he’d packed up his laptop and come out here. He had to get out from under his mother’s eye.

  She hadn’t said a word about his disappearing act from the Malone’s fish fry and didn’t look twice when he strolled through the door late Sunday afternoon. He’d spent all that time with Molly and the dog and her pups. They did nothing but talk and laugh, and he’d tried like hell to ignore the thing between them, though he wasn’t entirely successful. More than once, he’d moved closer, his intent clear, but the look in her eye kept him at arm’s length.

  He’d have to heed his own words and go slow with her.

  He glanced down and swore as another email landed in his inbox. All hell had broken loose over the weekend when he’d had his phone shut off. One of his top clients had decided to go vegan in a big way by tweeting and Instagramming one hundred and one reasons why he’d given up meat. Normally, Nate wouldn’t give a damn. What did he care what his clients shoved down their throats? But when the NBA star had been paid millions to hawk the biggest chain of steak houses in the country, when his face was in the middle of Times Square smiling at the hunk of meat on his fork, it became a big problem, and he’d been dealing with the fallout all morning.

  He answered the email and tossed his phone. He was restless and couldn’t stop thinking about Molly. She’d been ignoring him since Sunday, and he was just about done with that.

  He worked for a couple more hours and had just packed things up when Link strode onto the deck and parked his butt in one of the loungers that faced the water.

  “Thought you’d be gone by now.”

  Nate sat back and steepled his fingers. “We need to talk, Link.”

  Link stared out across the water and slowly nodded. “Yeah, I supposed we do, mate.” He glanced over. “I suppose you want to know whether I’m signing with your agency or not.”

  “At the moment, I’m more concerned about the fact you’ve manufactured some sort of injury that’s kept you from playing the game you love.”

  “But that’s just it, Jacobs. That’s the crux of the matter right there. I don’t love the game. Not the way I should.”

  His words shocked Nathan, but he sat back and let the Brit have his say.

  “I played because I was damn good at it. Because I was the best. Because no none could touch me. I played for the fans because I knew when we won, it made them happy. I played for my mates because they counted on me to score and to help the team win.” His face hardened. “I played because I wanted my father to see me on the telly, to see me in the papers. I wanted to be the man his friends and colleagues chatted about and wagered on. I played for everyone else except the one person I should be playing for, and I’m done.”

  Nathan was shocked. He’d figured Link was going through some kind of personal crisis, but not this. The guy wasn’t just the best in the league, if he kept on his game he could very well become the best player ever. His talent was uncanny. His speed and accuracy unparalleled. He was a demon on the field, and watching him play was like watching a damn miracle unfold in front of your eyes. It was something hard to believe or describe.

  “You probably think I’m crazy or ungrateful or just fucking stupid.” Link’s face was hard, his jaw and fists clenched.

  Nate was silent for a good minute or so, and then he shook his head. “No. I don’t think you’re crazy. I know what it’s like to be in it. To be so wrapped up in a game you can’t see anything else. I made pro. Did you know that?”

  “No.”

  “My grandmother tells folks I was born with a hockey stick in my hand. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to play in the NHL. I’d spend hours in the driveway shooting at the net, playing road hockey with the guys, running drills with Molly. I was damn good at it. I was fast. Big. My hands were soft, and I could see the entire ice surface.” He looked out over the water. There was still a part of him that hurt to think about what could have been. “I worked my ass off, and the biggest day of my life was the day I got drafted. But my third game in, I got injured, a bad check from behind that I had no way to prepare for. I hit the boards wrong, knee first, and that was it. Career done and over before it’d barely begun. I went through hell for a long time. I was depressed and had no direction. I was mad at the whole damn world. I’ve never experienced anything like it, and it’s not a place I hope to ever revisit. All those emotions and all that anger and self-pity. I know every situation is unique, just like every athlete is. I know there’s a ton of pressure, mental and physical, because I’ve lived it. I’ve hurt and given blood and sweat for it. The game. I can’t imagine doing all that without the love for it. I can’t imagine doing all that for someone else. Some man on a hill looking down at me. If you’re playing for all the wrong reasons, then you’ve got a decision to make. A big one. And I’ll help you navigate it, but you have to be one hundred and fifty percent sure it’s what you want.”

  “That’s why I’m here, mate.”

  “Take as long as you need.” Nate got up from the table and grabbed his laptop.

  “Where you headed off to?”

  “Tuxedo fitting with the boys.”

  “What about Molly?”

  “Pretty sure she’s not wearing a tux to the wedding.”

  Link gave him a long look. “Pretty sure she could wear a burlap bag to the wedding and look hot as hell.”

  Nate looked up sharply, and Link held up his hands. “A bloke can look, can’t he?” Link hopped up and followed Nate into the house. “I was thinking of asking her out for dinner.”

  Nate turned around. “That’s not going to happen.”

  “And why’s that exactly?”

  “You’re not her type.”

  “How do you know what her type is?” he replied sharply.

  Okay. Nate was riding that line between losing his shit and walking away from what had to be the most ridiculous conversation he’d had in years. As if Molly would be interested in a tattooed, muscle-bound footballer.

  “Just messing with you, mate.” Link chuckled and headed for the fridge. “Any idiot can see there’s something between you two.” He grabbed a beer and leaned against the counter. “Thing is, I’ve only known her for a few days, but even I can tell she’s the kind of girl who gives one hundred and fifty percent of herself to everything she does.” Link looked Nate straight in the eye. “You might want to think about that.”

  The warning wasn’t exactly subtle, and it pissed Nate off. Who the hell did he think he was, getting up in Nate’s business?

  “Don’t get your knickers in a knot, Jacobs. I’m just saying that she’s not the kind of girl you mess around with. She’s the real deal.”

  “Yeah, well, I’ve known Molly my entire life, and I don’t need our relationship psychoanalyzed by a guy who blew into town less than a week ago.”

  “But that’s my point. You’ve known her your whole life, so what’s different now?”

  Nate opened his mouth to respond and then stopped because the question made him think. What was different? Was it time or place? Loneliness or need? Was he looking to fill some void he never knew he had?

  No. Not with Molly. This situation had been cooking for a while now. He was just too stupid to see it, or, the more likely version, he was too damn scared to act on it…for a whole lot of reasons, but mainly because if he screwed up, it changed things between them forever.

  “I’ve wanted her since Vegas,” he murmured.

  “What was that?”

  “I gotta go.” He strode toward the door, anxious to get the final tux fittings over so he could go see Molly. He was done with the silent treatment. He had some things to say. He just hoped she was in the mood to listen.

  As it turned out, the fittings went long. The seamstress was late because she’d been stuck in traffic across the lake, and damn Mike and his love of beer and Cheetos. He’d had to be completely remeasured and pinned. His waist alone had to be let out a couple inches, and it was too late to get a new pair of pants, so he�
��d be stuck with panels sewn in special. By the time all the guys were done, it was nearly seven, and when Zach suggested a beer at the Coach House, Nate could hardly say no. This was his best friend, after all, and the countdown was on. He wasn’t staying long, but he’d go for a beer.

  “You look like you’re thinking too hard.” They were bellied up to the bar, and Zach passed him a shot of tequila.

  “Do I?” Nate accepted the shot and tossed it back with the rest of them. He felt the fire burn its way down his throat and settle in his belly.

  “Everything okay?” Zach asked the question lightly, but Nate could tell from the look in his eye, he wasn’t asking casually.

  “I’m good.”

  “Seen Molly since Saturday?”

  The fact that Zach hadn’t mentioned his disappearing act spoke volumes. He knew Nate had been with Molly, and it was obvious he was fishing for something. On one hand, Nate got it. She was his sister, and he was looking out for her. On the other hand, though, Nate was tired of defending himself and his actions, of being warned away from the one person on the planet he’d never hurt.

  Nate finished the beer in front of him and set the bottle down on the bar. It was nearly eight o’clock, and he’d put in his time. He was done here.

  “I’m headed to her place now. Did you need me to pass along anything?”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing is all.”

  “Moll’s a big girl,” he answered lightly.

  Zach slapped him on the shoulder and took a step back. “I watched the two of you real close on Saturday before you pulled your disappearing act.” A slow grin began to spread across his friend’s face. “It’s not Molly I’m worried about. You’re used to being in control when it came to women and relationships. Hell, they’ve been falling at your feet ever since we were twelve. Molly’s not that girl. She never was. She’s not the kind of woman you can control or confine or put in a little box.”

  “Why in hell would I want to do that?”