More Than a Touch (Snowberry Creek #2) (22 page)

That lurching feeling was back in Zoe’s chest, but it was time to face the music—and the man who had haunted both her daylight hours and her midnight dreams for far too long. Putting off the encounter even another few seconds would serve no purpose other than to stir up more acid in her stomach.

She marched down the hall with Leif’s chart that contained Isaac’s latest report on his progress. A couple of other patients on their way out passed her and smiled. Zoe knew them both and normally would’ve stopped to chat. Not today. She needed to keep moving; she wasn’t sure she could get started again if she stopped now.

After rapping on the door of the examination room, she paused to listen for Leif’s response. It wasn’t long in coming.

“I’m here.”

Taking a deep breath, Zoe stepped into the room. How had she never noticed it was barely bigger than a closet? Of course, maybe that had more to do with the size of the man standing in the center of the floor, taking up far more space than he should have.

“Leif.”

“Zoe.”

Okay, this shouldn’t have to be this awkward. She tried again. Motioning to the bench behind him. “Why don’t you have a seat?”

When he got settled, she pulled her stool toward the opposite wall and sat down as well. “So, how are you feeling today? How’s the leg?”

“Fine.”

Yeah, right. If that was true, why the dark circles under his eyes, not to mention the gray cast to his skin? He’d also phoned in a request a few days ago for a refill on his pain meds. She called him on the lie.

“Leif, we’ve already established that I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

He smiled softly and shook his head. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Leif leaned forward to rest his elbows on his thighs and pinched his nose as if his head hurt. He stared down at the floor for the longest time. Rather than press him for an immediate answer, Zoe waited him out, giving him all the time he needed. Besides, with Leif, pushing him too hard would likely give her the opposite result of what she wanted.

Finally, he leaned back and stared at her, his eyes hooded and dull. “Okay, yeah, I hurt. At least a seven on your scale, so why don’t we start with you telling me what you think of Isaac’s report?”

There was no use in trying to sugarcoat it for him. Straight-up honesty would go a lot further with Leif. “The numbers aren’t worse, but certainly not a lot better.”

“So I’m screwed.”

“How so?”

“Because I’ve done the exercises until I’m blue in the face. Every morning. Every night. And for all that effort, I get nothing.”

Zoe hated seeing him look so defeated. It made her want to hug the man and tell him it would all be okay. But she knew the last thing he wanted right now was to be coddled and told a pack of lies.

“Okay, you’ve told me what you’ve been doing right. What have you been doing wrong?”

He jerked back as if she’d hit him with a pitcher of ice water. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said. What else have you been doing that might have aggravated the injury?”

His reaction was immediate and furious. “You mean other than having wild monkey sex with you?”

At least he kept his voice down to an angry growl. She supposed she should be grateful for even that much. She hated the fact that she was blushing, but she would power through this somehow. “Yes, Leif, other than that. Any more episodes like that one? If so, what were you doing that might have triggered it?”

“Yes, I’ve had several smaller episodes and a couple of bigger ones, but none as bad as what happened that night when I . . . when we were . . . Hell, you know what I mean.”

Yeah, she did. Her cheeks were flaming now, but she did her best to sound more in control than she felt. “And what did you do when it happened?”

“I was able to walk it off like you would any other charley horse.”

Then he smirked just a little. “And although you didn’t ask, I wasn’t having wild monkey sex at the time. That only happened with you. The next bad cramp hit when I’d been watching television and went to get up because I needed to take a leak.”

Zoe kept writing without looking up. If he’d expected to shock her with his comments, he was bound to be disappointed. She hoped he couldn’t tell how relieved she was. They’d agreed not to see each other again. That didn’t mean she was ready to hear that he’d already charmed his way into someone else’s bed.

“And the second time?”

“I’d been vacuuming the downstairs of the house. I was using one of those lightweight models. I hardly worked up a sweat pushing it around.”

She pulled out the physical therapy report and quickly reviewed it again. Isaac’s remarks had ended with the comment that he thought maybe Leif would benefit from a consultation with either an orthopedic doctor or a neurologist. She agreed with her friend’s assessment. She stared at the paper, wishing like heck she had something more positive to offer Leif.

“Come on, Zoe, tell me. Not knowing is a helluva lot worse than hearing the bad news. Give it to me straight up. I can handle it.”

She hoped so. Her decision made, she set his chart aside and rolled her stool closer to him. “Isaac suggested, and I agree, that we should have a couple of specialists evaluate your case.”

His eyes flared wide. “Two different doctors? Is it that bad?”

“Not necessarily. One is a bone specialist and the other is a nerve specialist, so they approach this kind of case from different perspectives. I’m hoping the combination of their input will give us a clearer picture of what’s going on.”

Leif sighed, but nodded. “God, I hate doctors. No offense.”

“None taken. Besides, I’m not a doctor, which is another reason I think this is a good idea. I could ask Dr. Tenberg to review your case, but he’s a family practitioner.”

There was so much more she wanted to ask him. Did he hurt as much as she did? Yet now wasn’t the time. “With your permission, I’ll have Brandi set you up with someone local.”

“What choice do I have? I can’t hang out here in Snowberry Creek forever.”

Did he have to sound so darn anxious to leave? Not that she’d given him any real reason to stay. She realized he was still talking. “I’m sorry, Leif. I didn’t catch that last part.”

“I asked if I should keep seeing Isaac until I can get in to see the doctors?”

“It couldn’t hurt. Despite the lack of improvement in flexibility, your leg did improve in strength.”

“That’s something, I guess.”

When she reached to open the door, he asked, “What about you? How have you been doing? You know, since we last saw each other?”

What did he want her to say? What good would it do either of them for her to admit how much she hurt, how much she missed him?

“Fine.”

Leif actually laughed. When she glanced back at him, there was a devilish twinkle in his dark eyes. “You know, as a wise woman once told me, I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s wrong.”

If she was drawn to Leif when he was hurting, he was even more irresistible when he was being charming. “On scale of one to ten, I’m a five.”

He called her on it. “Liar. Tell me I’m not the only one with big-time regrets.”

“Okay, Leif, I have regrets, but nothing has changed. You want out of Snowberry Creek, and I don’t want to be anywhere else. My days of being somebody’s good time on R&R are long over. I’ve got more pride than that.”

Oops. Wrong thing to say.
Leif was up and heading right for her, his dark eyes blazing with fury. She quickly pushed the door closed and braced herself against it.

Leif crowded close enough that she could feel the heat radiating off his big body even through all the layers of clothing between them. He was breathing as hard as if he’d hiked a mile to reach her.

“Don’t you dare insult what we had, Zoe. I’ve never once acted as if you were just a good time on Saturday night. It meant more to me than that. If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t be hurting like this.”

He was right. “I’m sorry, Leif. You’re right. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Damn straight.” He leaned in closer. “To make up for it, have dinner with me.”

God, she wanted to say yes. Maybe even open the door and shout it loud enough for everyone in the clinic to hear. “Leif, we’ve already agreed—”

He shut her up with a finger across her lips. “You’re turning my case over to the specialists. From there, who knows where they’ll send me? They might ship my ass back east to the doctors who did the last surgery on my leg. We both know my time here is limited, and I hated—HATED—the way our last time ended. I wanted another chance with you. Besides, we’re both miserable apart. We might as well be miserable together.”

Then he replaced his finger with his lips, reminding her even more clearly how much she loved the way he kissed. “Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

“One question.”

“One, and then you have to answer mine.”

“Is ‘Hey, baby, let’s be miserable together’ the best pickup line you have? Because if that’s your best shot, soldier, it’s no wonder you’re lonely.”

He twirled a strand of her hair around a finger. “Maybe over the course of three deployments my flirting skills have gotten rusty. If you let me practice on you, I might come up with something better.”

“Well, I guess I have to have dinner with you, then. Not for my own selfish reasons, of course, but for the sake of all the women in the world who deserve better than an offer to get miserable with you.”

He kissed her again, keeping it light and easy, but maybe with a promise of more to come.

“To be clear, Leif: No strings. No promises. Just two people enjoying each other for the short term. That’s the deal. It has to be.”

Because he needed to get his life back on track, and she still carried too much baggage from her past.

His smile faded briefly, but then he slowly nodded. “Deal.”

She ignored the niggling feeling that she was letting something precious slip right through her fingers. Rather than dwell on it, she made a determined effort to keep the moment light.

“Now back off, big guy, so I can find Brandi and get her to make those calls for you.”

He obliged her. “I’ll pick you up at six thirty tomorrow evening. Wear something”—he paused to give her a slow once-over—“slinky, and we’ll go someplace special in Seattle. I’m in the mood for a good steak and maybe a little dancing afterward.”

Her eyes automatically went to his cane, but for once he didn’t get mad. Instead, he gave her a wicked smile and said, “Slow dancing, the kind where we’re all tangled up together on the dance floor, moving slow and holding on tight, because I’m definitely up for that.”

She suspected he wasn’t talking about the effect dancing might have on his leg, but she didn’t dare ask or look for herself. Instead, she bolted out the door. Out in the hall, she stumbled to a halt after only a few steps. That damn man had her so twisted up in knots she couldn’t remember what she needed to do next.

A movement down by the receptionist’s desk caught her attention. Brandi was chatting with one of the other medical assistants. As soon as she spotted Zoe, she headed right for her.

“Did you need something?”

“Yes, I want Corporal Brevik to see these two doctors.”

She handed over the chart. “Tell them that we need the appointments as soon as possible. If there’s a problem getting him in, let me know. I’ll do some serious arm-twisting if I have to.”

“Will do. Your next patient is in room one.”

“Thanks, Brandi.”

“No problem, but before you go in there, you might want to fix your lipstick. It’s a bit smeared.”

She leaned in close to add, “If I didn’t know better, I would think you’ve been making out with a patient.”

Busted.
There was no use in denying it. Brandi wouldn’t believe her anyway. “Thanks for the advice. Now go make those calls.”

Brandi executed a salute and snapped her heels together. “Yes, ma’am. And I promise not to notice if Corporal Brevik is wearing the same shade of red.”

“Brat!”

“Yes, ma’am, I am.”

Feeling better than she had all day, Zoe only laughed and dutifully headed into the restroom, already reaching for her new lipstick.

C
hapter 23

O
n the drive back home, Leif’s mood bounced all over the place. Having to see specialists meant both Isaac and Zoe were concerned about his lack of progress. That made three of them. It was a bitch living in limbo and pretending to both his friends and himself that his leg was improving. He hated the lies and not knowing from one minute to the next if his leg would support him, not to mention the crippling pain.

It was getting worse, too. If Zoe thought the two specialists would be able to give him some definitive answers, he’d drag himself to see them. Maybe Callie would go with him, although he hated to give her something else to worry about.

Brandi had managed to pull some strings and gotten him in to see both specialists on Monday, one in the morning and the other late in the afternoon. It would make for one long, crappy day, but at least it was progress. He’d been afraid that he would have to wait weeks just to get an appointment. As much as he dreaded hearing what they had to say, he still had to find out for certain what was going on with his ankle and leg.

Finally, he tried concentrating on happier thoughts, like his dinner date with Zoe tomorrow night.

When he pulled into the driveway, the first thing he noticed was that Austin’s truck was missing. Normally that would be no biggie, but they had plans to meet Mitch for a burger at the Creek Café before heading for the bar and a few games of pool.

Maybe Austin had left him a note. Leif walked into the kitchen and looked around. Nothing. Had he missed a call from him? No, no message. Perhaps Callie knew something. Too restless to sit down, Leif limped the length of the kitchen and back while he waited for her to answer.

“Hey, Callie, I was wondering if you’d seen Austin today.”

“No, I haven’t.” She sounded more puzzled than worried. “Is there a problem?”

Not that he could prove. “No, I just thought he and I were supposed to meet up after my appointment at the clinic. We probably got our wires crossed.”

There was a brief silence from the other end of the conversation. “How did it go with your checkup? And don’t bother denying you were expecting bad news.”

Okay, so he hadn’t done as good a job of hiding his worry from her as he’d hoped. “Zoe is sending me to see a couple of specialists on Monday. It’s not a big deal. She just wants their opinion on my progress, since this kind of injury isn’t her specialty.”

That much was true. The bit about it being no big deal, not so much.

“I’m going with you, Leif, and no arguments. Got that?”

He surrendered without a fight. “I’d appreciate the company. I do have to warn you that it will be a long day.”

“Not a problem.” After giving her the times, he added, “Now I’d better go. Thanks, Callie.”

“No so fast, mister. Let me know if there’s a problem with Austin.”

Damn, the woman was a bloodhound when it came to picking up on potential trouble. “I will. Like I said, it’s probably just a misunderstanding.”

“Did you try calling him?”

Well, duh, now that would’ve been a smart idea. “That’s next on my list. It should’ve been first.”

There was one more thing. “And, Callie, when you talk to Nick, don’t tell him about the appointments on Monday. There’s no use in worrying him until I know more. Okay?”

“Yeah, but don’t keep him out of the loop for long. I don’t like hiding things from him.”

“I promise to tell him, but not until I know something definite. Talk to you later.”

After he disconnected the call, he immediately hit Austin’s number on speed dial. Maybe he was overreacting, but he trusted his gut feeling that something wasn’t right. It rang several times before Austin picked up.

“Hey, kid, what’s going on? I thought we had plans.”

There was a brief silence. When Austin finally spoke, there was an odd note in his voice. “Sorry, Leif. I meant to call. I won’t be able to go with you tonight. Something’s come up.”

His tone was careful, as if he were hoping to sound far calmer than he actually was. What the hell was going on?

“What kind of something? And don’t try to bullshit me, Austin. It won’t work. Just lay it out plain.”

Nothing but silence, which set off major alarms in Leif’s head.

“Tell me where you are, kid. I’ll come.”

“No, don’t. You shouldn’t get mixed up in this, Leif.” His voice wasn’t much more than a rough whisper.

Son of a bitch. He needed to find the kid so they could sort out whatever mess he’d gotten himself into.

“Damn it, I said I’m coming, and I meant it, Austin. Don’t make me call Gage Logan to hunt you down. If you can’t come here, then let me come to you.”

More silence but at least he hadn’t hung up. That was something. Finally, Austin spoke again.

“I’ll try to meet you at that place where I had coffee while you talked to my landlord. If I’m not there in an hour, forget you ever met me. Maybe you should anyway.”

When the line went dead, Leif hustled his ass back out to the truck and tore out of the driveway in a spray of gravel. What the hell had that fool kid gotten himself caught up in this time? If there’d been any sign of something worrying him, Leif had clearly missed it. And why hadn’t Austin come to him in the first place?

That was easy. Austin had had to scrape and scramble for what little he had, and even then his own father had stolen half of it. Even though Gage, Callie, Leif, and even the judge had reached out to help him, trust wouldn’t come easy to the kid.

On the way through town, Leif passed the police department. Should he stop long enough to talk to Gage? No, not until he knew what was going on and how bad it was. Knowing the police chief, he’d insist on riding shotgun. And Austin would probably bolt the second he saw him. He would also see it as a betrayal on Leif’s part. If Leif wanted Austin to trust him at all, he had to go alone.

On the other hand, depending on what kind of trouble Austin was in, they might need Gage’s help in a hurry. Damn, he hated situations where there was no clear path. All he could do was march forward and hope for the best.

He drove into the parking lot next to the coffee shop, but there was no sign of the kid or his truck. At least if Austin did show, he’d know going in that Leif had made good on his promise to come running. That had to count for something.

Inside, Leif ordered a tall drip for himself and a second one for Austin. He added in three sandwiches in case Austin hadn’t eaten, either. After staking out a table in the back corner, Leif ate his sandwich and sipped his coffee. As the time dragged on, he began to seriously regret not calling Gage.

The deadline came and went. He’d give Austin another fifteen minutes and then call in the cavalry. And while he was thinking about it, he also needed to call Mitch to cancel.

Just after he hung up, the door of the coffee shop opened. Leif breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized Austin. He waved to get his attention. It spoke volumes that the kid looked both surprised and relieved to see that Leif was still there.

It had started raining outside, and Austin’s clothes were dripping wet. Where had he left his truck? There was no way he’d have gotten that soaked just crossing the parking lot. He looked younger than ever as he shuffled toward the table with his hands shoved in his front pockets and his shoulders slumped. The ragged sweatshirt he was wearing was two sizes too big for his slender frame, and he had the hood up and cinched down around his face. Clearly he didn’t want to be recognized.

Who the hell was Austin hiding from? Leif cradled his coffee with both hands and waited, but right now he wanted to track down whoever put that defeated look in Austin’s eyes and put some serious hurt on them.

Austin slid into the other side of the booth. Before he could say a word, Leif shoved the two remaining sandwiches across the table. “Eat. Then we’ll talk.”

From the way Austin wolfed down the first sandwich, Leif had been right to buy two. At the rate he was working on the second one, maybe he should’ve given all three to the kid. Austin finally slowed down and washed down one final bite with the last of his coffee. He gave Austin a few seconds for his meal to settle and then launched his opening salvo.

“Okay, lay it all out for me. Start at the beginning and finish with you walking in that door over there. I want details, not excuses. When you’re done talking, we’ll figure out where to go from here.”

He did his best to sound like Nick when he was dealing with raw recruits who’d managed to screw up big-time. No anger, but at the same time making it clear that no bullshit would be tolerated.

Austin stared out through the window rather than looking Leif in the eye, his body twitching just enough to make Leif think he might bolt at any second. The only thing that was probably keeping him rooted to the spot was that he was more afraid of someone out there than he was of Leif.

“Come on, Austin. It’s just the two of us. Talk.”

Slowly some of the tension drained out of Austin’s body as he sagged against the back of the booth. “It’s my dad. He’s got himself in big trouble. If I don’t do what he wants, they’ll come after him.”

That figured. The old bastard had his hooks into Austin good and solid. “Tell me more.”

“He got in too deep with a local loan shark.”

For the first time, Austin looked as disgusted as Leif felt about the situation. “I told him all along that we’d never get rich off of Spence, but my old man has a real talent for spinning a good story. Evidently, he borrowed money from the wrong guy and promised to pay it back when Spence’s estate was settled.”

He averted his gaze. “I swear, Leif, I never knew anything about this. I just knew my old man kept pressuring me to steal more and more stuff from the house. I thought he wanted money for liquor, but apparently he was using every penny to keep these guys off his back. Now, because that source of money has dried up, he’s in big trouble.”

“What is it he wants you to do?”

“Dad said they’d back off for a while if I start making regular payments on his debt. But I don’t make enough to make a dent in how much he owes. He claims I need to make one big score off the stuff in Spence’s house and then the two of us can leave town for good.

“I signed my truck over to him to sell to buy us some time, but it won’t hold them off for long.” Austin picked up a napkin and began tearing it into little pieces. “Dad put me on the phone with the guy. He said I could make some quick cash running drugs for a friend of his.”

Austin gave his old man his truck? How the hell did the kid think he’d get around now? And dollars to dimes, the old man would pocket the cash with no intention of using it for anything other than cheap booze and cigarettes.

Leif already knew the answer to his next question, but he asked it anyway. “Did it occur to you to let your old man take care of his own problems? You almost went to prison once because of this kind of crap. You get caught running drugs, and you won’t breathe fresh air until you’re old and gray.”

Austin’s voice cracked as he pounded his fist on the table. “I know that, but at least I’d live long enough to walk out of prison. If my old man got busted for selling drugs, he’d die in there.”

There was no denying the truth in that, but there had to be another option. “I want you to call Gage Logan and tell him what’s going on. I promise I’ll stand beside you every inch of the way, but he’s the only one who has a chance in hell of helping you now.”

Austin was already shaking his head, but Leif wasn’t going to lose this fight. Not now. Not ever. This kid was worth saving.

“One way or another, you know the cops are going to get involved. Better that it’s a time of your own choosing.”

He pushed his cell phone across the table to Austin. “His number is ten on speed dial.”

When Austin picked it up, Leif crossed his fingers and prayed Gage could come through for them one more time.

•   •   •

Three hours later it was all over. Gage had enlisted the help of the police in the town where Vince lived. Together, they’d come down hard on him and rattled his cage but good. It hadn’t taken much to have him admitting that he’d made up the whole story about the loan shark. He’d slipped an old drinking buddy of his a twenty to sound threatening on the phone, hoping that would scare Austin into robbing Spence’s house one last time.

The old man was currently cooling his heels in the county jail. Leif didn’t know what they’d charge the bastard with, and he didn’t give a rip. He was worried about Austin, though. The kid hadn’t spoken more than a handful of words since they got back to the house.

Leif poured each of them a shot of whiskey, figuring the occasion called for something stronger than his usual root beer. He handed Austin one and then eased himself down in the chair and propped his leg up on the ottoman. He sipped the whiskey and enjoyed the slow burn as it slid down his throat.

To his surprise, Austin started to take a drink, but then firmly set the small glass on the coffee table. He leaned back and closed his eyes briefly, all the while softly stroking Mooch’s fur. “Thanks for the drink, but considering my family history, it’s best I stay away from the stuff permanently.”