Читать книгу It Started With A Pregnancy - Christy Jeffries - Страница 12

Chapter Three

Rebekah had never been so relieved to see someone as when Bunny Whitaker had walked into her office five minutes ago. Sure, she’d had to paste a calm smile on her face while awkwardly reaching behind her blindly in order to shove the bottle of prenatal vitamins into the tote bag sitting on top of her desk.

Still, the older woman’s fortunate arrival got Rebekah away from facing more of Grant’s potential follow-up questions. Questions Rebekah didn’t have all the answers for yet.

Speaking of the man, his flip-flops smacked against the flat gravel as he caught up with them in the parking lot. Rebekah’s jaw clenched as he approached behind her. She had to swallow several times and take deep breaths in through her nose—not so much from annoyance at the man for always appearing at the worst times, but from the fact that her stomach was still doing somersaults and she was afraid that the morning-sickness fairy was currently paying her a visit.

“Hey, Aunt Bunny, what happened to the logo that my graphic designer sent you?” Grant asked from behind Rebekah’s shoulder. Rebekah’s eyes shot to the five-foot piece of painted aluminum tilted between two men wearing Signs 4 Less T-shirts.

Oh, no. Rebekah ignored the tiny rocks flicking between her toes and the soles of her wedge sandals as she strode across the parking lot to make sure she wasn’t reading the sign wrong. She could hear her boss’s voice as Bunny and Grant caught up to her.

“Well, the owner of Signs 4 Less felt real bad about not taking our advice to get his dog spayed, so when we found foster homes for all of her puppies, he offered to give us a great price if we just used standard lettering with no artwork.”

“But I’d already negotiated a deal with the sign company out of Raleigh,” Rebekah said. “I left the contract on your desk last week so you could approve it and sign it.”

“I know, honey, but poor Marv had really bonded with those sweet pups and he was just an absolute wreck when he had to say goodbye to them. He started crying right there in the foster intake area and told me that his wife was moving out and his company wasn’t doing so hot.” Bunny shrugged her shoulders. “Plus, he gave us a nice discount if we cut out the logo and used fewer letters. I meant to tell you, but it must’ve slipped my mind.”

Rebekah knew the woman and her sister were incredibly smart when it came to animal care, but when it came to business matters, they tended to follow their hearts instead of their heads. It was why they’d hired a director in the first place. It was also why they’d hired an attorney earlier this year to look into quite a bit of money that had gone missing. Unfortunately, they didn’t always follow Rebekah’s or the attorney’s recommendations.

Worse than that, they tended to rely on the wrong people. They’d entrusted their money to their brother Gator—Grant’s uncle—and it looked like he might have embezzled from them. And they’d entrusted this sign to Marv and...well...

Rebekah shot a pleading look at Grant and once she caught his attention, she pointed her chin first at the sign and then at his aunt. She wanted to tell him that this wasn’t her fault, but first she needed to make sure he was seeing the same thing she was.

“Poor Marv, huh?” Grant nodded toward the sign that the workers were trying to hang between the wooden posts. “Let’s just hope his return policy is better than his screen-printing skills.”

In bright red letters were the words F-EVER PAWS, however the hyphen between the F and the E was so minuscule, that from far away it appeared to say, FEVER PAWS.

“I’m not sure if he has a return policy.” Bunny pushed a strand of white hair back into her messy bun. “I think we should just leave it for a few days. I’m sure it’ll grow on us.”

Grant groaned and Rebekah experienced an unfamiliar tug of solidarity at his frustration. “Aunt Bunny, it says Fever Paws. Customers are going to think all the animals here are sick.”

“Grant, we don’t have customers.” Bunny waved another hand at him. “We have prospective adopters looking for family companions.”

“Well, your prospective adopters are going to drive right by when they see that sign,” Grant replied.

“I guess you’re right.” His aunt sighed. “Well, we’ll just have to call it a loss. I don’t want Marv to be out any expense.”

“Aunt Bunny.” Grant gently rested his hand on the older woman’s shoulder. “Your heart is bigger than your current bank account. The shelter really can’t afford to take a loss like this. I’m going to tell the guys to take the sign back and re-do it.”

Rebekah’s heart softened at the way he gently, yet effectively steered his aunt back to reality. Really, it was her job to keep Furever Paws on a budget and, as the director, she should’ve been the one talking to the Signs 4 Less guys, not Grant. But she had plenty of other headaches to look forward to today, and if it got the man out of her hair for a few more minutes, she’d take whatever breaks she could get at this point.

Turning on her heel, she headed toward the shelter’s entrance and thought about the cool air-conditioning and chocolate croissant waiting for her in her office. But a movement in the oak trees near the street caught her eye.

Bunny must’ve seen the streak of gray fur, too, because her boss let out a squeak before announcing, “Everyone stay completely still.”

Rebekah knew that most of the staff at the shelter, as well as a few people in downtown Spring Forest, had reported sightings of the elusive gray dog that always seemed to outsmart them. She held her breath as Bunny slowly walked toward the stray, one of the treats she always carried in the front pocket of her faded overalls now outstretched in the palm of her hand.

Unfortunately, before Bunny could get within ten feet of the animal, one of the installation guys dropped his end of the FEVER PAWS sign and the sound of the aluminum clanking against the gravel burst out with a gong-like echo. The scruffy dog took off on its short legs, running directly toward the oncoming cars traveling in both directions on Little Creek Road.

Without looking, Bunny took off after the creature and only stopped when the horn of a big rig blasted through the air seconds before its huge chrome bumper nearly clipped the older woman. Grant caught up to his aunt first, and when Rebekah made it to the shoulder of the road, she could hear his admonishment about Bunny getting herself killed. His words fell on deaf ears as the woman craned her neck, watching the dog dart into the copse of trees on the other side of the street.

“I can’t believe he got away again.” Bunny shook her head as a mail delivery truck drove past, leaving a heavy gust of wind in its wake.

“Come on, Aunt Bunny,” Grant said as he led his aunt toward the building. “If that dog wants to be caught, he’ll come back.”

“What do you mean if it wants to be caught? He’s a stray, running from place to place. Why wouldn’t he want a real home?” Rebekah heard the words coming out of her mouth and tried not to flinch at her accusatory tone.

Grant shrugged. “I mean not every animal should be domesticated. Some things are meant to be wild and untamed.”

Some things? Or some people? Rebekah bit the inside of her cheek to keep from asking Grant if he was referring to himself. He’d better not be implying that her getting pregnant was any sort of attempt to domesticate him. Not that she’d ever want to, but even if she’d been willing to try, she knew she’d have better luck taming a tidal wave than taming the unpredictable force that was Grant Whitaker.

She took several calming breaths and commanded her legs to walk confidently back inside the building despite the tiny pieces of gravel that were now digging into the arches of her feet.

She refused to give him a second glance as she stormed ahead of him. The man had absolutely nothing to worry about. She wasn’t about to force anyone to be anything they weren’t.

* * *

The following Thursday, Grant was still kicking himself for not getting the address of Rebekah’s doctor before he drove into Spring Forest. He’d had to take a red-eye flight from San Francisco with a layover in Chicago to make it to Raleigh before ten this morning. After landing, he’d barely had time to splash some water on his face and brush his teeth in the airport bathroom before racing to Furever Paws. If she’d called him, or offered her own phone number, he could’ve driven straight to the appointment and met her there with nobody being the wiser.

As it stood, they now risked having his aunts and everyone who worked at the shelter see them leave together. But at least he was pretty sure she’d be spending the morning at work since she’d scheduled the doctor’s appointment during her lunch hour.

Grant checked the clock on the dash of his rental car right before pulling into the parking lot at the animal shelter, then felt his chest ease the second he spied Rebekah’s blue car. She hadn’t left yet.

Just as he turned off the engine, one of the double glass doors opened and a very beautiful Rebekah strode out wearing a sleeveless dress that hugged her waist before floating down to her knees. Again, she was wearing heels and the sight of her long, shapely legs made his lungs constrict.

By the time he’d exited his rental, she already had the back of her sporty little European car open and was wrestling the giant tote bag she always carried off her shoulder.

There were several other vehicles in the lot, but nobody else was outside. Still, Grant kept his voice low when he strode over to her. “Hey, looks like I’m just in time.”

Rebekah jumped back, hitting her head on the corner of the rear hatch. Grant winced at the impact and sympathetically reached out to cradle her scalp in his palm. But her own hand had already beaten him to it and he ended up resting his fingers over hers. “Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded then took a step back, her eyes darting around the lot as though she was making sure there weren’t any witnesses to their interaction.

“Nobody’s outside,” he said as he followed her around to the driver’s side of the vehicle.

Rebekah cleared her throat, but her gaze was firmly fixed on the glass double doors when she asked, “What are you doing here?”

Grant tilted his head. “You’re seeing the doctor today, remember?”

“Of course I remember my appointment. I just didn’t really expect you to show up.”

The implication stung, but Grant forced himself to shrug it off. “I would’ve met you there, but I wasn’t sure if your doctor’s office is here in town or if you have a practitioner in Raleigh.”

Back when he was a kid, visiting his aunts along with his family, there’d only been a few established doctors in Spring Forest. They hadn’t needed medical services much during their trips, but he recalled one summer when his aunt Birdie had driven him to a small clinic in the older part of town for rabies shots after he’d gotten too close to a protective mother raccoon who didn’t appreciate a nine-year-old Grant wanting to hold one of her babies. He knew there was now a new medical practice located in a building off Spring Forest Boulevard, but he doubted that Rebekah would use a local obstetrician and risk running into someone from town.

The muscles in her neck moved as she gulped. “Like I said last week, you don’t need to go to the actual appointment with me. I can meet you at Whole Bean Coffee afterward and fill you in.”

She must’ve thought Grant was an idiot if she believed he would fall for that. Rebekah didn’t even want to be seen in the parking lot of Furever Paws with him. No way was she going to share a coffee in public with him where anyone they knew could walk by and overhear them discussing her pregnancy. If she was going to try and outplay him, then he’d just double down on his challenge.

“Lunch sounds great. We can grab a bite to eat after we go to your appointment. Together.” He held up his keys. “Should we take your car or mine?”

She did that sexy thing where she lowered her chin and tugged a corner of her lip between her teeth. Her hand gripped the driver’s door handle, looking as if she was ready to yank it open and jump inside to speed away. “Why don’t you just follow me?”

“And risk having you ditch me at one of the intersections?” He gave her a wink before shaking his head. “No way.”

“Fine.” She sighed then clicked a button on her keyless remote, electronically shutting the rear hatch of her car. “But get in quick and duck down so nobody can see you.”

Grant tried not to smirk as he jogged around the front of the car to the passenger side. It was impossible for his six-foot-two frame to sink very low without jamming his knees into the glove box. Not that he would’ve actually hidden anyway. He understood that she didn’t want anyone knowing her personal business, but he’d be damned if he was going to continue playing the role of her dirty little secret. He said as much when she tore out of the parking lot, shooting up gravel as she fishtailed onto Little Creek Road.

Rebekah made a slight chuckling sound. “That’d be a first.”

“What would be?” Grant asked, finally getting his seat belt locked in.

“You being my dirty little secret,” Rebekah said, the engine revving as she gained speed. “I would’ve thought it would be the other way around.”

Something tingled along the edges of Grant’s nostrils and he tried not to sniff. “Why would you be the secret?”

“Oh, come on, Grant. You’re the golden boy of the Whitaker family. I just work here.”

Well, the fact that she worked for his aunts wasn’t the real problem bothering her right now. No, Grant heard what she wasn’t saying aloud—that he might not feel comfortable going public with their...fling? Relationship? He wasn’t really sure what to call their situation, but that wasn’t the issue. His only concern was her feelings and assuring her that he heard her. It didn’t matter how beautiful, intelligent or accomplished Rebekah was. There were always going to be some people who thought they shouldn’t be together because they were different. While he couldn’t deny that Rebekah’s feelings were likely the result of her own experiences, he also wanted her to know that he’d always been proud to be with her. “For the record, I have never thought of you as the hired help. In fact, I’m not the one who’s embarrassed to have people finding out about us.”

“It’s not that I’m embarrassed about you.” Rebekah flicked her eyes at him before turning on her signal and pulling onto Spring Forest Boulevard. “It’s that I’ve worked really hard to become the director of an organization that does amazing things in the community. As a nonprofit, we’re governed by a different set of rules than regular corporations. That makes my job fall under more scrutiny when it comes to ensuring that everything stays aboveboard.”

“So you’re saying dating me wouldn’t be aboveboard?”

“First of all, we’re not dating.” Rebekah turned to him as her car idled at an intersection. Grant tried to ignore the pang of disappointment at her words, despite the fact that he’d been telling himself exactly the same thing these past several weeks, ever since their night together. “Second of all, as you know, there’s currently an attorney looking into some of your family’s past investments and I don’t want to risk any appearance of impropriety or otherwise suggest that there might be any conflicts of interest.”

Ouch. He especially didn’t like the reminder that there were potentially some financial issues going on right now with his uncle Gator.

The man had always been a financial whiz. That was why Birdie and Bunny had trusted him to manage the investments used to support their living expenses and the shelter’s overhead. Gator always seemed to know just how to deal with every shift in the market, using his intelligence and intuition to help his sisters and also to build his own personal fortune. But then something had gone wrong. Suddenly money wasn’t where it was supposed to be. When the storm hit Spring Forest and the shelter took heavy damage, the aunts discovered that Gator had let their insurance lapse and couldn’t provide a good explanation for where the money for the premiums had gone.

The situation had seemed to get more tangled by the day, until the aunts had had no choice but to hire people to look into it. Now, Gator was nowhere to be found and some people in town were suggesting that Grant’s favorite uncle had gone missing to avoid being questioned about his alleged mismanagement.

“Okay, obviously we’re not dating,” he readily agreed, trying to ignore the fact that there was a sour, mildew-type odor in this car that easily overpowered the scent of Rebekah’s flowery lotion. “I think we both made it pretty clear that night that we weren’t in the market for a serious relationship.”

He certainly wasn’t—especially with someone who lived a two-hour flight away. The light turned green and Rebekah barely got out a nod before pulling forward, allowing Grant to continue.

“However, with circumstances being what they are...” he glanced down to her still-flat stomach behind the seat belt “...don’t you think people are going to eventually find out that you’re pregnant?”

She held up a finger. “If I am, in fact, pregnant. Remember, the doctor hasn’t officially confirmed it.”

“Is there any reason to think you’re not?”

The muscles in Rebekah’s toned arms stiffened as she gripped the wheel tighter. She opened her mouth as though to say something, then made a sniffing sound. “I’m not the only one who smells that, right?”

The stench that had been slowly building inside the car was becoming unbearable, and Grant finally gave in and cracked a window. “Yes, I’ve been smelling it for the past five minutes but was hoping it was coming from outside.”

She hit a switch and both of their windows whirred all the way down. Grant inhaled the fresh, warm air filtering in as Rebekah’s corkscrew curls whipped around her face. While lowering the windows improved things slightly, the scent still lingered.

“It’s definitely coming from inside the car,” Rebekah said, pinching her nose as she slowed for a four-way stop. “What could it be?”

“It reminds me of the time one of Aunt Birdie’s goats got into the henhouse and stomped on all the eggs before rolling around in chicken poop.”

“But twenty times worse,” Rebekah said right before making a gagging sound.

Just then a loud yip came from somewhere in the back of the car. Grant and Rebekah nearly butted foreheads as they whipped their necks around. A mangy animal with long gray fur covering its eyes poked its head up from the storage area in the very rear of the car. The thing growled low and deep, revealing tiny yellowed teeth, and its front legs were perched on the back seat as if it was about to leap over and attack. Grant held himself perfectly still and lowered his voice. “What in the hell kind of animal is that?”

“I think it’s that stray dog that everyone has been trying to catch. Remember the one from last week that your aunt chased into the street? I’ve never seen it this close up, though, so I can’t be sure.”

“What’s it doing in your car?” Grant asked.

“How should I know? It must’ve jumped in when I left the back hatch open to argue with you in the parking lot.”

“Okay, where is your extra leash?”

Rebekah was also holding herself very still, which made her raised eyebrow even more prominent. “My extra what?”

“My aunts always keep an extra leash and a few lengths of rope in their pickup truck for this exact reason. They say they never know when they’re going to come across an animal that needs help.”

“Grant, just because I work at a pet rescue doesn’t mean I go driving around town looking for actual pets to rescue.”

The dog growled again and made a snapping motion, as if it was about to lunge at them. “Well, we probably shouldn’t stay in here with him. Or her. Let’s get out slowly and then I’ll call an animal control officer to come take him.”

Rebekah nodded. “On the count of three, we’ll both get out at the same time.”

Grant began the count. “One, two—” He didn’t make it to three because Rebekah was already out her door.

“Oh, hell,” Grant said, following suit.

Unfortunately, neither one of them realized that they’d left the windows down until the scruffy mutt launched himself over the back seat and leaped through the driver’s-side window. It made a strangled yelp as it landed awkwardly on its left hind leg before it began limping across the street.

“Oh, no,” Rebekah took off after the dog, calling out over her shoulder. “The poor thing is hurt.”

The animal must’ve been more afraid than injured because when it realized Rebekah was following, it hobbled even faster, past an iron gate that had been propped open and into the yard of one of the older stately homes on Second Street.

Well, the home might’ve been stately at one time. It currently needed quite a bit of work involving a weed whacker, a few gallons of fresh paint and, Grant noted as he got closer, a new roof. Just as Rebekah was closing in on the scruffy pup, it found a hole in the base of the rotting porch and scurried underneath.

Grant dropped to his knees in the dried-out hydrangea bush near the hole, but it was too dark to see how far back the crawl space went. He brushed the dirt off his hands as he looked up to Rebekah. “Do you have anything we can use to bribe him out?”

Her eyes opened wider and she jogged back to the car without so much of a hint as to what she had planned.

Grant swallowed his groan. The woman certainly had a habit of doing whatever she wanted and then filling him in on the details later.