Evangelina Green (6 page)

"Oh yeah, that’s a good idear. Do ya need
eny help?"

She shivered as he moved
her way and she noticed his blackened teeth and the gaps where
there were
none
.
Then she smelled the liquor on his breath and her fright gave way
to anger.

"Why aren’t you at the house doing your job
and a better question is why have you come to work with booze on
your breath?” She stood taller and squared her shoulders, placing
her feet a little wider for balance just like Grams had taught
her.

B.E.N.T. Grams had said: Balls, Ears, Nose,
Throat. Lina grinned as she saw Grams in her mind’s eye, going
through the moves. Kick in the balls. Slap both ears. Shove the
nose up into their head. Chop the throat. B.E.N.T.

"Well...Ms. Lina, whatcha smilin’ fer?” He
stepped closer. “You glad to see old Pete after all?”

Lina watched him draw closer; judging his
nearness and where her first kick would land if got any closer.

"Not at all, Pete.” she
sneered. "I was just wondering how you were going to pick up
your
last
paycheck, when you’re doubled over in pain.”

Still glaring at him, she rocked from one
foot to the other and opened her palms out to the side.

“
Don’t. Come. Any.
Closer!” each word punctuated hard and clear.

Pete was a big guy, although not very tall
and he was a good 250 plus pounds, but he was flabby and slow. She
knew she could cause him pain, although it would be dulled by his
drunkenness. That inebriation and his desire to “have a go” at the
boss lady combined into his next move, a stumbling lurch and grab
toward her that caught Lina off guard. Her natural instinct was to
catch him but to keep him at arm’s length.

Pete clutched at her shirt
and tore it down with him, landing at her feet. Lina stepped back
but was pinned by him against the fence. Pete looked up and with
that ugly grin. He
pulled her shirt to his
dirty face and sniffed it. Ugh! She was standing there in her bra,
half a shirt and gagging at the image of Pete smelling her shirt
but as she started to move along the fence Pete caught her ankle.
She stopped, knowing he would have her if she fell.

"Pete, I won’t tell you again. Don’t do
this!"

She was pleased at how strong she sounded.
He looked surprised at her bravado but that was short lived. Even
drunk he was formidable. He lunged for her other leg and with a
firm grip on them both. H he pulled with more strength than she’d
allowed him. She fell hard on her back, lost her breath, but kept
her wits.

As soon as he tried to climb onto her prone
body, she brought her knee up into his balls.

"B.” she recited.

Right on target, Pete howled. She slapped
her hands over his ears.

"E."

She heard a popping noise. He pulled away,
grabbing his head and his eyes glared at her through the pain. He
leaned over her again and her defense strategy continued with
Grams’ letters. She slammed the butt of her hand up against his
nose.

"N."

Making him screech over his howls she
watched him and as soon as he pulled his head back to stop his
bleeding nose, she chopped her hand sideways into his throat.

"T.”
she finished.

One of his ears was bleeding, probably a
burst eardrum. He rolled on the ground gasping for air. Lina then
used her last defense. She suddenly knew who she could ask for
help. She didn’t want to waste her gift on Pete, but she had no
idea what he might do when and if he got up so she had no
choice.

She desperately needed help so she sent out
her thoughts to the nearby animals. Packs of dogs came out of the
wood and from the fields. Birds of every color and size landed on
the fence behind her. Large hawks, nasty eyed crows and even tiny
wrens landed on her shoulders and littered the fence. Raccoons were
pacing in the shade and visible at a distance, waiting for their
chance to help. A few deer appeared and although they were all does
with no antlers as weapons, they did have those wicked, sharp
hooves. Snakes began slithering toward them, making the tall grass
undulate and move as if it were the live creature.

Pete was still on the ground slowly
recovering from her beating. He stared wide-eyed as he looked up at
Lina, surrounded by animals and birds and now snakes! Nothing
moved. Not one twitch from any of them. They sat there, silently
watching him. Several mangy dogs sat in a circle around him, not
making a sound. Panting and just watching him with glassy,
unnerving, dangerous stares. Lina stood over him and looked him in
the eye choosing her words carefully.

"You will never come here again. You will
never come near me or mine ever again!”

Suddenly the wind picked up. The sun dimmed
and the temperatures dropped. Pete was trembling now, reacting in
fear not the cooling air. Lina’s eyes took on a green glow bathing
them both and the garden in a green light. Pete was whimpering now,
crab-walking as fast as his bulk would carry him.

"I’ll leave! I promise I’ll go far way!
You’ll never see me again. I swear! Please don’t let them hurt
me!!”

He begged and whimpered again. He quickly
stood and waddled away. She didn't take her eyes off his retreating
back until he was completely out of sight.

The sun slowly came back out. The animals
sauntered back to their respective places in nature. Lina suddenly
fell to her knees gasping for air, her eyes shut tight. She heard a
faint whisper on the wind:

Welcome home, Green.

CHAPTER FOUR

Keaton examined the litter of kittens handed
to him by a serious doe-eyed six-year-old child. Her long blond
curls surrounded a worried face almost completely filled by those
big blue eyes. Huge eyes on such a tiny creature, and they were
brimming with unshed tears. Clothed as she was, he knew she
couldn’t pay for this vet visit. The shirt she wore as a little
dress was many times too big for her boney frame. Probably one of
her older brothers cast offs. She was the only girl, and the
youngest of a brood of kids, nine at last count. Her mom wore a
mask of hope over her tired features. She was a mother out of luck
and funds, but with a deep love for her little girl. The child
stood tall next to her mom.

“
I’m Kim, and these are
mine.”

"Well...let’s see what you have here, Kim.”
He lifted the basket of solid white fur balls, counted five and
looked her in the eye. “Hey! These are really special kitties!”

The little girls face brightened a little,
but she still appeared doubtful. “Really?" She whispered.

"Sure they are! They’re the first kittens
we’ve had all day and that wins the prize!” he smiled.

"They do?" She was finally smiling a little
and seemed somewhat interested.

"Yup, that means they all get a new home
with me—except for one.” He waited to gauge her reaction.

She lost her tentative
smile and looked panicked. "NO! These are
my
kitties!

Her mother looked lost but tried to soothe
her baby.

"Honey, Dr. Keaton is right.” She hugged her
little girl, looking over her head at him for help.

Keaton knelt down to the
girl’s level. "Kim, you don’t understand, you’ll get to keep one
kitty and it will get
free
visits forever. You can come to the new office at
the mansion which is closer to your home and visit the other
kitties we have, any time you want to."

He felt the mother stiffen. "We can’t come
out there…" she whispered to Keaton, "that place is...just not
right. Maybe cursed. Maybe not. But I can’t take chances. Not with
my little girl.”

Keaton nodded at her, watching Kim stroking
the kittens, oblivious to the adults. He understood the people in
this area, so near the Bayous of Louisiana and New Orleans with all
the Cajun influence. They believed what they'd been told was true,
and it took a whole hell of a lot of convincing to change their
minds. Kim had apparently decided to agree to Keaton’s deal. He
prompted her.

"Pick the one you really, really love the
best." Her mother pointed to only one with some black on it body.
"You named this one today, remember?” she nudged. "Now what was
that perfect name? Pepper?"

Kim shook her head, her lower lip jutting
out, but the tears had stopped.

"Pocket? No? Hmmm?
What
was
that
name? Ponder? Powder? Poncho? No, those don’t sound
right...”

The child shook her head at each guess,
beginning to smirk at each attempt.

"I know...it must be Pickles!" Keaton joined
into the game.

Kim smiled her toothless best. "Patches."
She whispered as she stroked the tiny feline.

Keaton smiled and lifted Patches out of the
basket situating himself between Kim and the other kittens, then
nodded to his assistant who quietly took the basket and kittens out
of the exam room. Kim held Patches while Keaton performed the exam.
After the shots and the initial exam, instructions were given on
how to care for Patches and just a short while later, a smiling
mother and happy child thanked him and promised to try and come to
visit. Kim walked out the front talking animatedly to Patches.

He and his assistant cleaned up the exam
room and talked for a while about where she was moving for her new
job. It was nearing lunch and quiet in the front area, so he
decided to get some much needed paperwork done during the lull.
Keaton suddenly seized and dropped to his knees.

PANIC—FRIGHT—ANGER
. They all hit him
in the gut all at the same time. It hit him so quickly and so hard
he doubled over and had difficulty breathing.
Lina!
He scrambled for his cell
phone and dialed Jason hoping he was working at the mansion today,
praying he wasn’t too late.

"Yo! What’s up cuz?”

"Lina! Where is she?" Keaton growled into
the phone. "She’s in trouble! I can feel it!"

"Hold on, K, I haven’t seen boss lady but I
can ask around and see if anyone...”

"NO! Go to the…go…the back
garden—
hurry
!
Call me back, I’m on my way."

Since the practice was closing and
transferring patients to other vets, or simply moving their other
files to the mansion office, the appointments had dwindled. Keaton
ran out, yelled toward his receptionist, “Early lunch." And he was
out of sight before she could even reply.

"Lina, please, baby...I’m coming! Hold on!
Hold on!”

He kept repeating, "Hold on!" as he
flattened out to the right to take a turn on his Harley. He knew he
should slow down, but the feelings—her feelings—were so strong.
Why? He knew the answer but he didn’t want to answer his own query.
He also knew why he felt her emotions so strongly. She really was
his mate. Damn! Upset at the timing, but grinning at the thought of
kissing his sweet Lina, Keaton screeched around the last turn
before the dirt and gravel road to the mansion. He’d traveled the
28 miles in less than ten minutes! Gotta love Harleys!

****

Jason streaked to the back garden sensing
the magic, but unable to identify its source or intention, only to
find Lina face down, unmoving, on the ground. He immediately knelt
down to check for injuries, calling her name softly so as not to
startle her.

"Lina? Boss lady?"

She moaned and tried to roll over and sit
up. Her head was splitting, she was dizzy but as she sat up and
relaxed into Jason’s arms, she felt a bit more coherent.

"Are you hurt?”

"No. At least I don’t think so. And I am
really glad to see you. I’m actually feeling much better now.
Thanks."

Then he noticed his surroundings and saw the
dogs hovering just outside the fence. He stared into the eyes of
the unofficial leader of the pack and managed an understanding of
sorts. He was no threat to her so the dogs backed away into the
surrounding weeds, back into the woods. He was still touching her
in a way she found to be soothing.

"What happened?” Jason asked her when he was
satisfied as to her physical well-being.

"Would you believe I just ran off a drunken
Pete Warren?"

"With you, boss lady, I would just about
believe anything.”

He was smiling to soften the blow. He and a
few others had at one time or another mentioned she was a hard
taskmaster. In truth, she worked herself harder than she ever asked
of them. That, and just being a pretty woman, made her a great boss
to work for. Before she could fully stand, Keaton roared straight
through the garden fence, stopping only a few feet from Lina and
Jason. He was off the bike and lifting her into his arms in a
flash.

****

She’d never seen anyone move so fast and yet
gracefully.

"Slow down, Mr. Wolfe, you’re making me
dizzy again."

"You’ll have to start calling me Keaton, or
I’ll be looking over my shoulder for my dad.”

"Okay,
Keaton
. You can put me down
now."

"Not until you’re safely in the house, and
we’ve checked for injuries.”

He wasn’t watching where he walked, as if he
knew the area intimately. Speaking of intimate, that’s the feeling
Lina had in his arms. As if he was alone with her, seducing her. He
didn’t take his eyes off her face and she felt herself
blushing.

"I’m fine, Keaton, really. Ask Jason. Please
let me go."

"Never.” he whispered in a voice so low she
was sure she misunderstood.

"K! Stop by and see me before you leave?"
Jason asked as he walked back to the work site. Keaton gave him a
nod as he gently put Lina on her feet once they were inside the
torn apart kitchen.