Her Desert Treasure (Entangled Ignite) (15 page)

“Morning.” Meg smiled back. “I’m an early riser. I guess that comes from growing up on a farm. We always had a lot to do in the morning. Coffee?”

She started to rise, but Linda put a hand on her shoulder. “You sit, I’ll get it.”

Bob sat in the chair next to Meg. “That’s right, you said you grew up around here.”

“Well, our farm was about two hundred miles from Big Rock, near Gunnison, but my family had property here, too, where we spent time in the summer. My grandparents had planned to retire here.”

“So that’s the property we heard you and Jake talking about?” Bob accepted the mug that Linda offered him.

“Yes. I’ve decided to build a house there, like my grandparents wanted.”

“I think that’s wonderful.” Linda sat on the other side of Meg with her own cup of coffee. “What is it you said you did for a living, dear? Surely you don’t just help Jake at the clinic.”

“I’m hoping to find a teaching position in the fall—” Meg’s voice faltered when Jake walked in the room looking sexy as hell in his worn jeans and snug, navy blue T-shirt. His hair was still damp, and he smelled so good, Meg wondered what his parents would think if she jumped up and ripped his clothes off right here and now. He must have seen something in her eyes, because he winked at her as he walked to the coffee pot.

“Meg’s been a great help to me since Loretta retired. She’s even offered to stay and help until her teaching job comes through. It’s working out really well. Wouldn’t you say, Meg?”

“Um…right. It’s a good arrangement for both of us.” Meg tore her eyes from his and sipped her coffee.

“Jacob, why is it every time we ask Meg a question, you answer it for her?” His mother gave him an inquisitive stare.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t realize I was doing that.” He shrugged innocently. “Hey, I thought we could go to Sadie’s for breakfast. You guys always like that place.”

“That would be great, son.” Bob stood up and took his cup to the sink.

Linda agreed and stood, as well. “What about Kristen? I don’t think she’s awake yet.”

“I don’t imagine she is. When Meg picked her up at the bar last night, she was pretty out of it. She’ll probably sleep for quite a while. We’ll leave her a note.” Jake reached for the note pad and pen he kept by his phone.

Linda’s eyes grew wide. “You picked her up at a bar?”

“Yeah. Well, Meg did. Kristen took your car to town last night and got trashed. You didn’t know she left?”

“No, we turned in early last night. Did you hear her leave, Bob?”

“No. I must have left the keys out here. She’s all right?”

“She was really drunk and needs to sleep it off. We won’t be gone long, and we can pick up your car on the way home.”

Wanting to be sure Kristen was really okay, Bob stopped by her room to check on her. He agreed with Jake’s assessment. “We’ll let her sleep it off.”

Meg nodded with relief. “Good. I’m glad it’s not something more serious.”

“She’ll be fine. Hopefully a little wiser, too.”

Sadie’s Diner was packed with tourists and locals alike. There were probably fifteen tables in the dining room and also a bar with ten stools. It was rustic inside with light, pine paneling accented with dark, forest green chairs and tabletops. One of the waitresses recognized Jake and got them a table right away, in spite of the line forming at the door. In typical girlfriend fashion, Meg arched a questioning brow at him.

He smiled and shrugged. “It’s good to be the vet.” Breakfast was a relaxed and happy meal. Jake’s parents really were a lot of fun to be around, and soon Meg found herself laughing and joining in their easy banter. The food was great, and Meg’s mood lightened as the meal progressed. For the first time in her life, she had a feeling of what it might be like to be part of a large family. She liked it.

…

Monty sat quietly at the bar, sipping coffee and listening to the foursome at the table behind him. He’d risen early and gone out to the vet’s office to watch and wait for Meg. Keeping his eye on her had become his primary job. He’d even slept in his car one night where he’d parked up the road from the animal hospital to nose around, but the damned animals had nearly given him away. It was clear that Meg was staying with the good doctor, but for how long? Was she planning to stay until the estate was settled?

Laughter from her table caught his attention. What a happy little bunch they were. Seemed like Miss Perfect had latched onto yet another family.

Family. Hah.
The whole concept left him cold.

Yeah, he could admit there had been times he missed his father, but the feeling never lasted long. He’d had some good times with his dad when he was a kid—at least until his mother did something to ruin it. The guy was a pushover. She was the one who’d ruled the roost, and the old man had let her.

But then he’d died, and Monty was left to fend for himself with the old bitch. He didn’t think about her much anymore. Yeah, he missed her money, but never
her
. She hadn’t liked him much anyway. Would have been a lot happier with a sweet, little girl. Someone she could have played dress-up with. Someone who wouldn’t get in trouble at school or come home dirty.

Little Miss Perfect Meg was the old lady’s wet dream, and while Monty wouldn’t have cared too much about sharing his mother’s attention, he damned sure wasn’t going to share her money. Jesus, to think his mother had wanted him to play big brother to that little bitch.

Unfortunately for her, that hadn’t worked out. Of course, his plans hadn’t quite worked out for him after she died—after he’d killed her—either. Three years in juvie had given him lots of time to think. And plan. And now all these years later, it was finally coming together. The thought made him smile. He wanted Meg to struggle. How many years had he thought about taking back what he was due? How many times had he dreamed of the look on her face when she realized who he was and what he’d come for? He was finally going to see it in her eyes.

Right before he killed her.

Chapter Fifteen

Jake didn’t recognize the big red SUV parked in front of the clinic, or the people that piled out of it when they saw him pull in. By the time he parked near the house and shut off the engine, a man, woman, and two kids were running toward him. He’d barely stepped out of the car when they started the rapid fire questions.

“Are you Dr. Matthews?”

“Is Rex here?”

“Where’s Rex?”

They were all talking at once, so Jake raised his hand. “Whoa. Calm down. Yes, I’m Dr. Matthews, and you must be the Taylors?”

The man walked forward and extended his hand. “Mike Taylor. Glad to meet you, Doctor. This is my wife, Cindy, and our kids, Michael and Molly.” He indicated each one with his free hand. “I’m sorry to surprise you like this, but we just got the message you left about Rex and we came right out.”

Jake smiled and nodded as Mike kept shaking his hand. By this time, Meg had gotten out of the car and stood behind him. Bob and Linda had also arrived in the rental they’d picked up from the bar.

“We’ve been looking for Rex for a couple of days. We didn’t want to leave the campground in case he came back, but we had to come closer to town to get phone service. That’s when we checked our home machine and got your message.”

Jake finally retrieved his hand and motioned to the clinic. “Well, let’s go get Rex. He’ll sure be excited to see you.” He reached back and grabbed Meg’s hand and pulled her along.

“We can’t thank you enough for taking care of him, doctor. We were frantic when we realized he’d wandered off. He usually stays right with us. I don’t know why he took off.”

“He might have been chasing a rabbit or something. But don’t just thank me. Thank Meg. She’s the one who found him and brought him to me.” All eyes turned to her as Jake unlocked the door and ushered them inside. “He’s in the kennel room. I’ll go get him.”

Cindy Taylor stopped in front of Meg. “Really? You found Rex? What happened?”

“He’d wandered into the road, and a pickup hit him. I brought him here, and Jake took care of him. I’m so happy you got Jake’s message. We were really hoping Rex’s family would find him.”

“We can’t thank you enough…Meg, is it?”

She nodded. “But Jake’s the one who fixed Rex up.”

When he came through the door with Rex on a leash, the four Taylors ran across the room, whooping and crying, hugging the dog and ruffling his fur. Rex barked excitedly and wagged his tail giving doggie kisses to them all. Jake walked over and put his arm around Meg’s waist, pulling her close to his side.

“You all right?” He whispered in her ear.

Eyes stinging, she sniffed and nodded, not sure she could get any words out without blubbering.

He gave her a gentle squeeze. “I know you got pretty attached to him.”

She took a deep breath. “I did. But look how happy he is. How happy they all are.”

Mike came over to the counter where Meg and Jake stood, a wide smile on his face. “I don’t know how we can ever thank you for taking such good care of him. I know his leg is broken, but there were no other injuries? We can take him home now?”

“You sure can. His cast will have to come off in about four weeks. Your family vet can do that. Otherwise, just try to keep him from running and jumping around a lot until it heals.”

He walked around the counter so Mike could take care of the business of settling the bill. Meg walked over to Rex and his family and, kneeling in front of the dog, gave him a big hug and scratched his ears.

“You be a good boy, Rex. And drop us a line to let us know how you’re doing.”

She stood up when Mike came back over to them. The kids were on either side of Rex, and Cindy took the leash. The five of them walked out the door together, and Mike picked him up to put him in the back seat. They all climbed in and waved as they drove away. Meg realized that Jake’s parents had been in the waiting room the whole time. His mother eyed them both suspiciously as they walked out the door.

“Jacob, didn’t you say that the two of you met when Meg brought an injured animal to you?”

Jake shot a glance at Meg before answering. “That’s right, Mom. That’s how we met.”

“And, Meg, didn’t I hear Jake tell the Taylors that you were the one who brought Rex here?”

Now Meg looked at Jake and swallowed. Turning back to Linda she said, “Yes, I saw him get hit, and I brought him here to Jake.”

Linda nodded slowly and pursed her lips as if she were trying to solve a difficult puzzle. Beside her, Robert nearly choked trying to hold back his laughter.

“And Rex has been here for what…a few days?” Linda asked.

She sent Jake a silent plea for guidance. He dropped a quick kiss to her nose and faced his mother. “Okay, Mom, what are you getting at?”

“I was just wondering if Meg rescues a lot of animals for the clinic. It does seem like quite a coincidence, doesn’t it?”

“No, it’s not a coincidence at all. We met when Meg brought Rex to me last week. Does that answer your question?”

“So you admit you’ve only known each other for
three days
?”

Jake grinned. “Five, counting today. Is that a problem?”

Heart pounding and with the heat of a blush creeping up her neck, Meg tried to hide behind Jake.
Great, his parents think I’m a slut now
.

He reached behind and pulled her around to stand beside him. “Oh no, you don’t,” he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “Don’t show fear.”

Bolstered by his nearness, Meg stood her ground. She didn’t know what she was going to say, but Jake was right. No hiding.

Linda shook her head again and said almost to herself, “And here I was feeling guilty for butting into his love life. He didn’t even
have
a love life when I invited Kristen along.”

“Shouldn’t we just tell them?” Meg asked. “We’re all adults here. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“Understand what, dear?”

Jake let out a long breath. “Okay. It was just a crazy chain of events that even brought me and Meg together. We really hit it off, though, and after spending some time together, I asked her if she would hang around this weekend to…you know…give you a little taste of your own medicine.”

By now Bob couldn’t hold back any longer and burst out laughing. “What a pair you two are,” he told his wife and son, “Trying to out-sneak each other. Priceless!”

“So this was all an act?” Linda asked.

Jake took Meg’s hand. “It might have started out that way but…now…”

“But what?”

“We’re not pretending anymore.” He brought Meg’s hand to his lips and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “Are we?”

Meg smiled up into his warm, brown eyes. “No. We’re not pretending.”

Bob put his arm around his wife. “Okay super sleuth, now that we have everything out in the open, can you two agree that you’ll stop this nonsense so we can enjoy the rest of our visit?”

Jake hugged his mom tight. “Sorry I lied to you about Meg. But I’m definitely not sorry about how it’s turned out.” He turned to Meg. “And I’m sorry that I dragged you into the middle of this.”

Linda squeezed her son back. “And I’m sorry that I butted into your business and tried to force Kristen on you.”

Kristen. At once, they all remembered leaving her home alone.

“Oh, dear. I almost forgot.” Linda put her hand to her chest.

Bob started out the door, tugging her behind him. “Yeah, we’d better go check on her. You two coming?”

Jake nodded. “Let me lock up and we’re right behind you.”

The house was quiet when Jake and Meg entered. The hushed voices of his parents drew them down the hall. Robert came toward them with an impish grin on his face.

“Wow, she really tied one on.”

“But she’s okay?” Meg’s concern was obvious, and Jake felt a little guilty at his lack of worry. Kristen was a big girl, and she’d gone to the bar on her own. Something Meg had said smacked him upside the head. It was Kristen’s choice to put herself in that position. Just as it had been Carolyn’s. Even though Jake would never wish bad things on anyone, he couldn’t save them from themselves.

“She’s fine,” Bob reassured her. “Linda gave her some aspirin, and Kristen’s going to take a shower. She said she was doing shots with some locals last night, and they don’t water down the drinks here like they do in her regular night clubs. She’ll feel better once she’s had some coffee and something to eat.”

Meg sighed with relief and turned to go to the kitchen. “I’ll start the coffee.”

Jake started to tell her that he would do it, but his father stopped him. “Wait a second, son. When we were talking to Kristen before, she said something about wanting to leave today.”

Jake’s head jerked up in surprise. “What was that?” He thought maybe it was just wishful thinking that had him hallucinating.

“Kristen said she called the airline and can get a flight out this afternoon.”

Jake shook his head in disbelief. “I didn’t figure on that happening.”

“Well, don’t get too happy just yet. She said she wants to talk to you first.”

A little leery about what Kristen might have to say, Jake nodded. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

Thirty minutes later, Kristen slunk into the kitchen where Jake and Meg sat with his parents. They’d been talking about going into town for some of the Summer Festival activities and were looking at a list of things to do there. Conversation halted when Kristen groaned as she made her way to the coffee pot.

“Are you all right, dear?” Linda asked with a worried frown.

Kristen raised her fingertips to her temples and snapped, “Not so loud.”

“Here, let me pour you some coffee. You sit down.” Linda ushered her to a chair and went back for the coffee.

Kristen sat in the chair and rubbed her forehead. She accepted the cup Linda offered her and took a cautious sip. “Thank you.”

“Can I get you anything else, something to eat maybe?” Meg rose and went to the refrigerator.

“No, nothing. I would like to speak to Jake in private, though. Do you mind?”

Meg exchanged looks with Jake’s parents and nodded.

Jake grabbed her hand to stop her exit. “Meg, you don’t have to leave.”

“It’s all right, Jake. I don’t mind,” she said, echoing Kristen, and followed his parents out of the room.

Jake turned to Kristen, the look on his face leaving no doubt that he wasn’t happy. “What do you want, Kristen?”

“Well, you don’t have to be so cranky. I’m the one with the killer headache.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Okay, stop. Look, I don’t think I can take much more of this wilderness crap any more than you want me to be here. I can get a flight out this afternoon.”

Jake leaned forward with his forearms on the table. “Kristen, I’m sorry my mother brought you out here with the impression that I was interested. She didn’t know about Meg when she invited you. I apologize that you’ve had such a bad time.”

“Frankly, I was shocked she even asked me. But we haven’t seen each other for so long, I thought it would be fun to surprise you like that.”

Ambush me like that.
“Well, no matter now. What time is your flight?”

“I haven’t booked it yet. There’s something I want you to do for me.”

He viewed her wryly. “Of course there is. And that would be?”

“I want you to drive me to the airport. By yourself.”

Shit.
The airport was over a hundred miles away, and the highway there was really a secondary road, so the drive took more than two hours. That meant if he left now, he wouldn’t be back until late this afternoon. Another whole day without Meg.

Of course, he couldn’t expect his parents to make the drive, and he did want Kristen gone. “Right. When do we leave?”

“You’re very agreeable. If I can get the two o’clock flight, we’ll need to leave soon so I can be there an hour early.”

“Fine. You get your ticket, and I’ll load your things. I can be ready to leave in ten minutes.”

“I’ll make the call.”

Jake returned to the living room, caught hold of Meg. “I have to drive Kristen to the airport, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. Why don’t you go into town with my folks and enjoy the festival for a while? Then we can all meet up for dinner when I get back.”

Meg nodded. “Do you need me to do anything?”

Jake brushed a kiss across her lips. “Just be here when I get home.”

Meg kissed him back. “I’ll be here.”