Touch Me (2 page)

Mary leaned against the doorjamb and studied Hannah. “What has you out of sorts?”

“Paddy had me worried,” she said as she grabbed up her purse and searched for her sunglasses.

“It was more than that.”

“Hm,” she said, as she tried to remember where she set her glasses down. The mood she was in, she could just drive home without them. Her body already screamed for the relief of her bed.

“Hannah Nicole Richmond.”

She blinked and looked up at her assistant. “What?”

“Quit avoiding the topic.”

She had been and largely because Mary thought her too preoccupied with the neighbor.

“Nothing much. That Marine thinks Hercules sat on his pansies or something.”

“Oh?”

“Which he probably did, but I didn’t have time to deal with him and well…he was kind of in less clothing.”

Mary let one eyebrow rise slowly. “Oh? As in naked?”

She wished.

“No.” But it did look like he’d just rolled out of bed. Only men looked sexy when they rolled out of bed. It was rude if you asked her.

“Earth to Hannah.”

She shook her head. “Anyway, he was all upset over the pansies and ranting about Hercules.”

“You don’t think he would try and have Hercules taken away?”

“No, so I give him props for that. I can’t explain to him that Hercules is just a big old bear. He doesn’t understand boundaries. I actually think he has a crush on the Marine.”

Hercules had been owned by one of her clients who got orders to Afghanistan three years before—right after she’d opened her practice. Unfortunately, the young sergeant didn’t make it back alive. She always thought Hercules missed that sense of order and male camaraderie the young man had given him. When the Marine moved in, Hercules became attached almost immediately.

“Hannah!”

She looked up at Mary, who was holding her sunglasses.

“I called your name three times. Take your glasses, get something to eat and go to sleep. I’ll call you if there are any issues.”

*  *  *  *

Jack watered the almost dead flowers as he looked over at his neighbor's house. She hadn't been back and it was close to four in the afternoon. That was odd. She usually tried to make it home sometime in the day to deal with that damned dog. Or, take him with her.

He couldn't fight the smile as he bent over to turn off the water. Seeing that dog with his massive black head out the window as she drove along the street was kind of funny. And, basically, the animal really was a good dog, if only he would stay out of Jack's garden.

Before he could make it into the house, Hannah pulled into her driveway. She didn't notice him so he felt free to study her. He'd been doing a little bit too much of that recently. For some reason, the vet fascinated him. She was small, only about five-four or so, with delicate bones. Of course, that didn’t mean she was delicate. She could handle a dog the size of Hercules, so she didn’t have issues with strength. He'd even heard her talk about working in a ranching community before this and dealing with horses.

She was halfway to the door before he caught up with her.

"Ms. Richmond."

She stopped and turned around to face him. "Is there something you needed Captain?"

She sounded tired. Really tired. As in about to fall asleep on her feet tired. "Are you okay?"

"Just a long morning with a surgery, and then I forgot to eat. And, now, I just realized I forgot to pick something up."

Hannah muttered something under her breath, but he couldn't quite figure it out.

"Did the animal survive?"

She smiled at him and, for a second, the breath clogged up his throat and he couldn't seem to think. He hadn’t seen that smile in a long time. Not since that first day they met before he started to complain about her dog. It left him feeling slightly light-headed.

"Yes. He should be just fine."

He didn't have the heart to ruin the warm feeling opening between them, so he said, "I'll let you get something to eat and get some rest."

"I hear a peanut butter sandwich calling my name."

He nodded and let her go but, as she unlocked the door, Hercules barreled out and toward him. Jack wasn't a small man, but Hercules lived up to his name. He jumped on him, placing his front paws on Jack's shoulders.

"Hercules," she admonished as she tugged at his collar. "I'm so sorry about that."

Jack stumbled back and was ready to fall when she pulled Hercules away.

"What is it about that damned dog?"

"His last owner was a man. I think he misses having a guy around." Hannah looked down at the massive dog she controlled with a death grip. He was a mutt in the truest form. Mainly black, with patches of white here and there, he looked to be a mix between St Bernard and elephant. He was big, at least one hundred pounds, and reached Hannah’s mid-thigh when he stood on all fours. "Let's go, big boy. You need some yard time."

She turned again to leave but for some reason, Jack didn't want to end the encounter. "We need to talk about the pansies."

She nodded. "Just not now. I'm too tired. Give me a couple hours and I'll be up to fighting form."

Then she slipped into her house abandoning him. Why did it feel as if she had taken away his entertainment for the day? Okay, so maybe he might have been looking forward to fighting with the woman a little bit too much, but that didn't matter. Did it? No, definitely nothing to do with her and everything to do with the dog.

As he walked back to the house, he looked at his petunias. "SBR. They’ll never revive themselves.”

The loud knocking was the first thing Hannah heard. Then, the doorbell rang what must have been ten million times. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up. Her body protested.  She wanted nothing more than to float down into oblivion, but the knocking wouldn’t stop. On top of that, she didn’t hear Hercules barking. That meant he wasn’t around and that had her sitting up so fast her head started to spin. She blinked trying to get her bearings before she stood. Glancing at the clock, she realized three hours had passed since she’d lain down.

She pulled herself up off the couch and stumbled to the door. Without looking to see who it was, she opened it.

Captain Jack Johnson was there on her porch again.

"Oh."

He didn’t say anything for a second, then his gaze moved down her body and back up to her face again. Most men would get a talking to about that kind of look. When the Marine did it to her, it made her hot. Then, she realized she was just wearing a thin t-shirt and shorts.

Great.

“What do you want?” When she realized how rude that was, she said, “I’m sorry. Is there something you needed?”

He blinked then seemed to come back to his senses. “Hercules is in my yard and won’t leave.”

“What?”

“Your dog is sitting in the middle of my backyard and won’t leave.”

She sighed, then whistled. Hercules came scampering around the corner. “I’m sorry. I fell asleep with the doggie door open.”

“They make ones big enough for him?”

Hercules came to a halt beside Jack. After giving the Marine a look of disdain for telling on him, the dog brushed past both of them and wandered down the hall. She laughed. “Yeah.”

Then, nothing. Jack just kept staring at her as if he waited for something. In the few seconds of silence, her stomach growled.  Of course it did. Because she wasn’t embarrassed enough standing there barely dressed. Her appetite had to let him know that she still hadn’t eaten—and in the most mortifying way. The day just kept getting worse and worse as it went on.

She decided to save herself further embarrassment. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to get something to eat and call into the office.”

“You haven’t eaten yet?”

She shook her head.

“Do you like burgers? I’m about to throw some on the grill.”

“I don’t want to put you to any trouble.”

He shook his head. “No worries. I grill a few of them up at one time so I can warm them up at work.”

“With cheese?” she asked.

“Is cheddar okay?”

Her mouth was already watering. “Yes.”

“And I was going to make some fries with it, but I can think of something healthier.”

“Why would you do that?”

He smiled and it reached his eyes. Oh, holy smokes. The man had been sexy before, but when he smiled, he was drop dead gorgeous. Blue eyes with dark, dark lashes around them. Dreamy eyes. Bedroom eyes.

Oh, wait, he was talking.

“Most women want to eat healthy.”

“Not me. At least not today. I’m hungry and it’s been a bad day and I just want a hunk of meat.”

He said nothing for a second then his smile widened. She realized what she said.

“What I mean is that I need some kind of red meat to get me through the night.”

Oh, Lord, that was worse. “Never mind. I’ll be over as soon as I die of embarrassment.”

He chuckled. “Just come around back.”

He turned to leave and Hercules went running after him.

“Hercules!” she yelled. If that dog ruined her chances at a burger, she was going to make him sleep on the floor.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

He gave her another smile over his shoulder. “Do I have a choice with Hercules?”

Without waiting for an answer, he started on his way again. She shut the door and leaned back against it. She decided it was just a weird day and go on from there. She’d eat her burger then come home. It wasn’t a date or anything.

Then why was her heart fluttering with excitement at the prospect of sharing a meal with the captain?

Because he was hot as hell, that’s why. He was out of her league and she didn’t have the time for entanglements. She’d promised herself years ago that she wouldn’t involve someone else in her crazy life. Not after the trial.

With a sigh, she decided to call the office, check on her patient, then get dressed to go eat. Worrying about what could never happen wasn’t going to give her anything but a headache and there was a burger waiting for her with her name on it.

*  *  *  *

Jack set the burgers on the grill one by one as he kept an eye on the demon dog. He was sitting on the grass just off the patio watching Jack’s every move.

“You know, I’m not cooking this for you.”

He didn’t know why he invited Hannah over. Other than the fact that she looked so cute dressed like a sorority girl, not to mention the way she blushed when she realized what he was looking at, she had been too much to resist.

Add to that the factor of her seeming like a Mac truck had hit her. The woman had worked hard that day. He assumed she had no local family and no significant other. He knew too well what it was like to live without close family or friends nearby. At least he had his military family.

It wasn’t as if it were a date. Not really. She wasn’t his usual type. He went for women who knew the score. His military career would always come first. He had decided a long time ago that marriage and military would not work for him.

She also wasn’t his normal body type. Athletic and tall had always attracted to him. But for some reason, her curvy physique seemed to appeal to him on some level.

He shook his head as he took a swig of his beer. He didn’t want to think too much about his attraction or the woman herself. He’d been doing that a lot. Too much. Like, when he would wake up, sweaty and half-hard from a dream that featured her naked.

His phone rang with MJ’s ring. Damn. His sister always had the worst timing.

If he ignored it, she would just keep calling, then she would freak out and start bugging other people to call.

“Hey, there, MJ.”

“Hey, yourself. How’s your day going?”

“Pretty good, since this is the second family call I have had today.”

“Really? Who called?”

“I talked to Zoe and Jesse this morning.”

“Ah. I thought maybe Dad called you.”

That made him stop. “What?”

“It’s just something I think you should worry about. He seems to be making the rounds.”

“Crap. I don’t need that.”

He loved his father, but his concern and prodding would lead to an argument. It always did. Then they wouldn’t talk for weeks. Jack hated the silences and the brooding that accompanied them.

“Just be nice. He seems to be going through something.”

“Oh, Lord, I can’t deal with his issues. My brain is broken.”

There was a small beat of silence.

“You can laugh,” he said.

“Oh, Jack, do you think it’s something to laugh at?”

“I think if I can be normal about it and deal with it, I will be much better. So stop tiptoeing around it.”

“Okay, if you say so.”

“I do. Normal is the key.” Or at least, that’s what his therapist had said. “I don’t want you to think you can’t say anything. But, it also means you can’t act like I am going off the reservation.”

“Agreed. So, any more encounters with the dog?”

“Hercules?” he asked as the massive hound’s ears twitched. “We’ve sort of called a truce for now. I’m cooking for his owner.”

“Oh? How did that happen?”

“Long day at work for her and I was already making dinner so I invited her.”

“Well, that’s interesting.”

Great. He heard the tone in his sister’s voice. She would have the entire family thinking he and Hannah were dating. “Don’t. Just being friendly while we work out the issues with her dog.”

“Sure, sure.”

There was a loud shout in the background from his brother-in-law Leo.

“Oh, that didn’t sound good,” he said, trying to ease his way out of the conversation.

“He can handle it,” MJ said. “Or he should. Anyway, on another note. There’s a Santini in your area.”

“Good Lord, there’s more of them?”

She laughed. “They do like to procreate. This is their cousin and he’s a captain like you. He might look you up.”

There was a male grumbling in the background.

“Leo says he has something to do with First Marine Division. He has your number just so you know.”

“Thanks for the head’s up,” he said, not even trying to hide his sarcasm.