Chapter 17

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Raid couldn’t relax. Things were too good. And when life seemed to be trucking along nicely, there always seemed to be a huge bump in the road coming.

Ever since the confrontation in the square, Jason and Scott Mather had disappeared. Raid was sure they were still out there, plotting and planning and seriously pissed off, but for now they were the least of his worries.

There had been no trace of Pablo Garcia. And even though he and his friends had called in as many markers as they could and used all their connections, no one had been able to find hide nor hair of the man. Which didn’t exactly make Raid feel all warm and fuzzy.

He was planning something, he knew it without having to think twice. But what the drug dealer was planning…that was the question.

And Raid hated not knowing. Hated being on edge. He wanted to be able to relax and enjoy being with Khloe. She was still snarky, and he still loved picking on her, but now that they’d admitted their feelings for each other, their nitpicking had a different tone. More teasing. More playful. And he loved it.

Not only that, but he was making an effort to be more social with their friends. He and Khloe ate at On the Rocks regularly, sometimes with the others, sometimes alone. He also took the occasional day off to hang out with Rocky on some of his worksites. Not that Raid was all that much help, but he did what he could, and he enjoyed hanging out with the former SEAL. Ever since Rocky talked him off the ledge, and Raid had confessed about his last Coast Guard mission, they’d gotten a lot closer.

He hung out with the rest of the guys more often too, although their get-togethers usually involved the women, which Raid didn’t mind at all. It felt as if he was in a completely different world, watching and listening to the giggling and conversations in a nearby room as he and his friends played poker or simply sat around and talked.

Khloe’s vet practice was doing extremely well. More and more clients were begging her to open up for more routine matters for their pets. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do that yet, in deference to Ziegler, but Raid had a feeling it was only a matter of time.

He was in his office in the library, and Khloe had just arrived after getting some sleep. She’d been called into the office because a pug was having a hard time giving birth to her puppies. It had taken hours, and eventually Khloe had to cut the puppies out. They’d all made it, and now it was a waiting game to see how they did.

Khloe was sitting with Tony at a table in the kids’ area of the library, and they were discussing the book Watership Down, which he was currently reading. It was a long book, and while on Tony’s reading level grade-wise, typically it was more of interest for older kids. But he’d taken to it right away, and Khloe loved talking to him about the deeper meanings of social allegories, repression, and the dangers of not thinking for yourself and giving in to peer pressure.

Raid was concentrating on the budget spreadsheet in front of him when he heard some sort of commotion in the library. Which was unusual because, well…library. It was generally a quiet space. Raised voices were an anomaly.

But with everything going on in recent months, he was on the move before it registered who was causing the commotion.

Raymond Ziegler was standing next to the table where Tony and Khloe were sitting, letting Khloe know in no uncertain terms what he thought of her.

“You have no right to come here and steal my clients! It’s unprofessional and unethical and I’m going to turn you into the Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine! I’m sure they’ll be very interested to know what you’re doing. That a vet who was accused of malpractice has gone back into business.”

Raid opened his mouth to tell Ziegler to get the fuck out of the library, but Khloe stood abruptly, her chair hitting the floor behind her. She didn’t back down from the furious man, instead actually stepped closer, literally going head-to-head with him.

“I have every right to open a business here in Fallport. There’s nothing wrong with competition. And go ahead and notify the board, I haven’t done anything illegal. Nothing. And the key word in your rant was ‘accused’. I was accused, but through Mather’s trial, it was proven that I did nothing wrong. That there was no way to save his dog because of the injuries she’d sustained prior to arriving at the clinic.”

Ziegler scowled. “Your reputation is that of a dog killer.”

“Wrong,” Khloe fired back. “My reputation is that of a vet who does whatever it takes to save all of the animals in her care. No matter what time it is. No matter what my plans are. I drop everything to do what I can to help. Can you say the same?”

If possible, Ziegler’s face got even redder.

Raid stepped in. He didn’t want to give Raymond a chance to do something he’d regret…or that would physically hurt Khloe. “Step back, Ziegler,” he said in as calm a voice as he could manage.

The man acted as if he didn’t even hear the warning. “You’ve been spreading rumors about me, and I won’t have it!” Ziegler told Khloe.

“What rumors?” she asked.

“You know what. That I’m a crappy vet and I don’t care about animals.”

Khloe laughed. It probably wasn’t the smartest reaction to his accusation, but then again, Khloe was as authentic a person as Raid had ever met. She wasn’t one to sugarcoat anything. “I haven’t said a word to anyone. If rumors are going around, it’s because of your own actions, not anything I’ve said,” she told him.

“Bullshit! I didn’t have any issue before you got here,” Ziegler said.

“That’s because the citizens of Fallport didn’t have a choice of vet unless they wanted to drive thirty minutes or more.” Khloe took a deep breath. “Look, my intention isn’t to run you out of business. Not at all. It’s too difficult being the only one in a town who offers a certain service. I’m currently operating as an emergency vet only, open during the hours that you aren’t. That way, I can take care of the after-hours stuff and you can continue your daytime hours.”

“Don’t lie!” Ziegler boomed. “I’ve heard people talk. You’re looking to hire someone else to handle the emergency shit and you’re going to be open during the day too!”

Raid couldn’t help but be impressed by the way information spread in this small town. Ziegler wasn’t wrong. So many people had begged Khloe to treat infections, clean teeth, and give normal checkups that she’d be stupid to not consider expanding her hours and business. But as far as he knew, she hadn’t made that decision yet. It looked like the good people of Fallport decided it was as good as done though.

“You’re right,” Khloe said calmly, taking a step back from the angry man. “I am looking into hiring more help. There’s enough business for both of us here in Fallport, but I’m thinking if you want to stay in business, you’ll have to make some changes to how you do things.”

Raid reacted a split-second after Ziegler. When the man stepped toward Khloe, Raid was there to block his attempt to put his hands on her.

“Don’t even think about it,” he growled as he shoved the man backward not too gently. “You’ve said what you came here to say, it’s time for you to go.”

“Fuck you, Walker! I’m not done.”

“Yes, you are,” Raid countered. “This is a library. Look around you, do you see anyone else yelling and carrying on? No. And there are kids present. Get a hold of yourself, Ziegler.”

“I don’t give a shit who’s here. She’s stealing my clients!” he roared.

“No, she isn’t,” a woman said from several tables away. She was sitting with her young daughter, who had a pair of headphones on and was playing some sort of educational game on the tablet in front of her. “She opened her emergency clinic specifically so she wouldn’t be competing with you. Even though the entire town wants her to open during the day as well, myself included.”

She stood, staring down Ziegler. “A couple of months ago, I brought our new kitten to see you. You barely looked at her and said I was overreacting and there was nothing wrong with her. I wanted a second opinion because you didn’t even examine her. I had to drive all the way to Christiansburg, and they confirmed she had feline leukemia. You refused to even run the tests to see what might be wrong.”

“Right,” a man chimed in. “And my dog was running with a stick in his mouth and it got jammed into his jaw. He was in a great deal of pain, there was blood everywhere…but when I called to get help—during business hours, I might add—I was told your schedule was full and I’d have to make an appointment for two days later! You actually expected my dog to wait two days to be seen when he had a freaking hole in his cheek from that stick!”

“I called Dr. Watts half an hour after she closed last week, because you weren’t open yet and I was desperate,” another woman said. “My dog was pregnant, and something was going wrong with the delivery. Dr. Watts not only told me to come in right away even though she was closed, she worked on my Muffy for hours and saved not only her, but the puppies as well. She worked four hours past closing and didn’t even charge me extra for it.”

“Seems to me you’re doing a good job of driving your clients away all by yourself,” Raid said. “Khloe’s not doing a damn thing other than the job she loves.”

“Fuck you,” Ziegler spat at Raid. Then he turned to Khloe. “And fuck you too! You aren’t the paragon everyone thinks you are. You’d better watch your damn back.” Then he turned around and stomped out of the library.

“That’s so going on social media,” a teenager said from a table nearby.

Glancing over, Raid saw her fiddling on her cell phone and guessed she’d videoed the entire encounter. Ziegler really was an idiot. He wasn’t doing himself any favors.

“I really could have gone without someone else threatening me,” Khloe said with a sigh.

Raid turned, ready to reassure her that Raymond fucking Ziegler wasn’t going to touch a hair on her head—but she was grinning.

“This isn’t funny,” he told her.

She sobered. “I know it’s not. It’s sad, really. I meant what I said. We could’ve really worked together. But it’s obvious he’s gotten too used to being able to do whatever he wants and getting away with it because the people here didn’t have any other option. Whatever happens is on him. I haven’t badmouthed him to anyone since I opened my clinic.”

“Why is he so mean?” Tony asked, looking up from his seat at the table.

“I have no idea,” Khloe said, ruffling his hair.

“Well, when we get a dog, I’m telling Mom to bring it to you for stuff. Not him.”

“As if I’d let you take it anywhere else,” Khloe said, smiling at him.

Raid still wasn’t happy. He was sick and tired of people threatening those he loved. He pulled Khloe against him then turned to the patrons who were still watching. “Show’s over. Go back to what you were doing…quietly, please. This is the library.”

Several people chuckled, but to his relief, they turned their attentions away from him and Khloe. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew what happened here would spread far and wide, and not only because of the girl who was probably even now posting the video online. Ziegler would find more clients than ever before canceling their appointments because of his latest outburst.

He pulled Khloe a little ways from the table to give them a bit of privacy. “You okay?” he asked quietly.

She turned into him and hugged him hard before nodding. “Yes. Are you?”

“No.”

She shook her head. “I’m not surprised he lost it,” she told him. “Some of the people I’ve talked to, or who’ve begged me to open during the day, have been telling me how grumpy Raymond’s been getting. He’s jealous and upset that I’ve disrupted the good thing he had going here. But he’s a jerk. And if anyone should be contacting the veterinary board, it’s me.”

“But you won’t,” Raid said.

“Nope. He’s doing an excellent job of sabotaging his business all by himself. He doesn’t need my help.”

“If he leaves, you’re gonna have more clients than you can handle,” Raid warned.

“I know,” she said with a shrug. “If it happens, I’ve got some friends around the state that I’ve gotten to know from conferences and consultations. I’ll put out the word about how awesome Fallport is, and that there’s an amazing business opportunity for someone to open up another clinic here. Or maybe I could expand my hours and hire a couple of colleagues to work here with me.”

Raid was as proud as he could be of Khloe. She was a smart businesswoman, compassionate, and a hell of a vet to boot. “This goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway,” he warned. “You need to be careful. Ziegler’s pissed as hell and there’s no telling what he’ll do.”

Khloe sighed. “I know. But you and the others are already watching me like a hawk. He’s not going to get a chance to get me by myself.”

She wasn’t wrong. Raid couldn’t think of many times she’d been alone in the last couple months. She was either with him, one of their friends, or surrounded by the good people of Fallport. “I’m just saying, he’s losing control and desperate people do desperate things.”

“I know, Raiden. I’m not happy I’m the recipient of another batshit-crazy person’s attention, but it is what it is. What’s the alternative? I close up my clinic and let him win?”

“No,” Raid said succinctly.

“Exactly. So we’ll do what we’ve been doing. Watching our backs and not letting assholes get to us. Now, can I get back to Hazel and Fiver?”

“Who?” Raid asked.

Khloe grinned. “The rabbits from Watership Down.”

He chuckled. “Right. Yes. After you kiss me. And not one of your ‘I really liked that third orgasm you just gave me’ kisses, but an ‘I love you and we’re in public’ kiss.”

She snort-laughed at that. “Right,” she said before going up on her tiptoes.

Raid still had to lean down so she could reach his lips, and he still had to pinch himself that this was his life. That he, Raiden Walker, had somehow caught the attention of someone like Khloe.

He could feel her smile against his lips and he was relieved the encounter with Ziegler hadn’t dimmed her positive outlook.

As if she could read his mind, when the kiss was over, she looked up at him and said, “I’m happy, Raid. And nothing is going to change that. I’m doing not one, but two jobs I love, enjoying the friendships I’ve made, and reveling in being with a man who not only loves me, but lets me be exactly who I am.”

“Never change,” he told her.

“Same goes for you. Speaking of which…we’re playing D&D tomorrow night, right?”

“Yes.” She’d joined him and his friends for their weekly D&D nights and the game was even more fun. She’d embraced Anise, the character he’d made with her in mind, and he’d never laughed as much as he had with her by his side on those Friday nights.

“Cool,” she said and squeezed his arm. She started back toward the table, but stopped and turned. “By the way…thanks for stepping in with Raymond. I noticed and it was appreciated.” Then she smiled and went back to Tony’s side.

Raid scanned the library once more to make sure all was well, and when he was reassured that there wasn’t anyone else lurking nearby to jump out and threaten to do him or Khloe harm, he went back to his office.

* * *

The next week, Khloe was sitting in Bristol and Rocky’s living room with the rest of the girls. Lilly had arranged for a paint-and-sip party. Khloe had never heard of them before, but now that she was here, she had to say she was enjoying it very much.

Lilly had taken family pictures for the high school art teacher and they’d gotten to talking about how these paint-and-sip parties were all the rage, and Lilly asked if the woman had ever hosted any. The conversation had led to her and her friends sitting at Bristol’s dining table in front of easels, with a massive plastic sheet under their feet and paintbrushes and jars of paint all around them.

Every other square inch of the table was packed with snacks and drinks…non-alcoholic choices for the pregnant ladies and wine and moonshine for everyone else. Their men, along with Tony and Marissa, were outside playing in the barn and throwing a football, generally doing their best to stay out of the women’s hair.

Khloe had been reluctant to do this painting thing, because she didn’t have a creative bone in her body. But she’d said yes because she wanted to spend time with her friends. And since she was working more, she’d been kind of slacking in that department. After her secrets came out, she’d made the decision to do what she could to hang out with the women who’d never given up on her and accepted her just as she was…closed off, moody, and kind of grumpy.

She was pleasantly surprised when she arrived to see the art teacher had actually outlined what they were going to be painting—a moose standing by a lake with Christmas lights tangled in his antlers—which would make it much easier not to make a fool of herself by painting something that looked like it came from the imagination of a two-year-old.

Their paintings were three quarters of the way done and Khloe was pleasantly buzzed from the glasses of wine she’d consumed. Their teacher would suggest doing something like using broad strokes to paint the trees, and when they second-guessed themselves, she encouraged them to take a drink. So a few of them had followed her advice to the letter.

Now, Bristol, Caryn, and Khloe were drunk. Heather didn’t like the taste of wine, but she’d taken a few shots of the moonshine Caryn had brought. Elsie and Finley were drinking Sprite out of wine glasses.

Khloe stopped mid-dabbing colorful paint for the lights on her moose’s antlers when something occurred to her. She looked down the table at Lilly, then exclaimed, “Lilly’s drinking Sprite!”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and their heads turned in unison to the end of the table, where Lilly was sitting.

“Lilly…are you…” Elsie whispered.

“No. But it’s that time of the month. And I don’t want to do anything that might make it harder for me to conceive,” she said with a shrug. “And I know there’s no correlation between drinking and getting pregnant, hell, a lot of women get knocked up when they’re hammered, but I’m paranoid and don’t want to take any chances.”

Paintings forgotten, everyone leaped out of their seats and crowded around Lilly, arguing over who got to hug her first. They were just as excited as if she’d announced she was already pregnant.

Laughing, she shooed them all away. “You guys are crazy! Go sit down. Jeez.”

“You’re gonna tell us the second you pee on a stick and it’s positive, right?” Caryn asked.

Lilly rolled her eyes. “No.”

“What? Why not?” Elsie pouted.

“Because you’ll all go overboard. You’ll treat me as if I’m made out of glass. You’ll be as bad as Ethan,” Lilly told them.

“So?” Finley asked. “Would that really bother you?”

“As if you aren’t going to treat yourself like you’re made of glass,” Bristol argued.

Lilly gave them a sheepish smile. “True. I just…I don’t want to jinx anything.”

“Studies show that most women can go on to have babies after a miscarriage,” Finley said gently.

“I know. But until I get far enough along, I’m going to be paranoid,” Lilly said with a shrug.

“Right, so…I’m thinking we need to get these paintings done so our Lilly can go home and make her husband impregnate her!” Caryn announced, her words slurring a bit.

Khloe couldn’t stop grinning. She wasn’t sure why, although the alcohol running in her veins probably had something to do with it. But she was just so happy. She had no doubt Lilly would get pregnant again. Elsie and Finley were practically glowing, and it wouldn’t be long before their babies were born, Heather was fitting in as if she’d always been a part of their group and hadn’t been hidden away in the forest for most of her life, and Khloe felt as if she was truly part of a close-knit family for the first time since losing her dad.

“So…I heard that asshole Ziegler came into the library and lost his shit,” Caryn said as they all worked on finishing up their moose paintings.

“I saw the video. He’s so done in this town,” Elsie said.

“Wait, there’s a video?” Lilly asked. “I didn’t know that!” She put down her paintbrush and picked up her phone.

“No! You aren’t allowed to stop,” Caryn ordered, pointing her paintbrush at Lilly. “Put down the phone and paint. You’ve got a baby to make and that can’t happen until that moose is done!”

Everyone giggled.

“I’ll find it for you,” Heather volunteered as she took her own phone out of her pocket.

“Look on the Fallport Community Page,” Elsie said. “That’s where I saw it.”

Within seconds, Heather stood up and took her phone over to where Lilly was sitting. Everyone was quiet as they listened to Raymond rant and rave at Khloe. When it got to the part where he told Khloe to fuck off, everyone gasped.

Then Caryn said, “He’s toast!”

“And we should toast!” Finley announced. “To Khloe’s expanding business!”

Everyone raised their glasses, even the art teacher, who’d mostly been watching and listening to the chatter.

“To Khloe!” Bristol announced.

“To Ziegler going out of business!” Elsie added.

“To Fallport finally being able to have a vet who gives a shit!” Finley added.

“To friends,” Heather said after retaking her seat.

All of a sudden, Khloe felt tears pool in her eyes. She blinked quickly, trying to hold them back, with no luck.

“No crying!” Elsie said frantically. “If you start, with my hormones, I’m going to lose it!”

“Too late!” Finley said with a sniffle.

It felt weird to be laughing and crying at the same time, but somehow Khloe managed it. “Thank all of you for not giving up on me. I know I wasn’t the nicest person over the last year or so.”

“Whatever,” Caryn said, waving her hand. “If someone had tried to kill me, I would’ve been the same way.”

“Someone did try to kill you,” Lilly reminded her.

Caryn shrugged. “Stupid shit tried to burn a firefighter to death. Not smart.”

Khloe definitely didn’t want to rehash what happened to her friend and didn’t want to dwell on what happened to her either. “From this point on…there will be nothing but good things for all of us. Babies, sex, parties, small-town parades, and our businesses prospering!”

“I’ll drink to that!” Caryn exclaimed.

“You’ll drink to anything,” Bristol said with a laugh.

It didn’t take them long to finish up their paintings, especially since they wanted Lilly to head home with Ethan to hopefully get knocked up. The party broke up not too long after she left. Everyone said their goodbyes and before she knew it, Khloe was sitting next to Raid in his Expedition.

She rested her head against the back of the seat and stared at him as he drove them to his house.

“Is it weird that I’m living with you?” she blurted.

“No,” he said without hesitation.

“Is it just because of the Mathers? And that drug guy? And now Ziegler?”

“No,” he repeated.

Khloe frowned. “It’s not?” She knew she was tipsy and chattier than usual, but Raid didn’t seem to mind.

“Nope,” he said with a shrug. “It’s because I love you and with you around, I feel like the man I’ve always wanted to be.”

Khloe didn’t know how to take that, but Raid being Raid, he went on to explain without her having to ask.

“You let me be me. You accept me as I am.”

“I love who you are,” she told him.

“But that’s not the main reason it’s not weird that you’re living with me,” he said with a small smile. He continued before she could ask what he meant. “It’s because I can’t stand not being with you. When you’re not with me, all I can think about is what you’re doing. Thinking. I want to be with you all the time. At work, at home, running errands. Even when I’m with Duke in the woods, I’m thinking about you.”

Khloe practically melted in her seat. That was the most romantic thing anyone had ever said to her before. “I…me too,” she said, knowing her words were lame and didn’t express everything she was feeling.

But Raid simply smiled at her, then reached over to take hold of her hand.

They drove like that, holding hands for a few seconds, before Raid said, “I haven’t done this in the past.”

“This?” Khloe asked, confused.

“Held hands with women. It’s nice.”

Khloe felt sad for him, even as a feeling of possessiveness surged through her. She was the only woman he’d ever held hands with. He’d never played D&D with any other girlfriends. And she was fairly certain many of the things they’d done in the bedroom had been firsts for him as well. They sure were for her.

This man was hers—and she wanted to experience many more firsts with him.

“You ever made love to a drunk woman before?”

He smirked but didn’t take his eyes from the road. “Can’t say that I have. Is it any different from making love to a woman when she isn’t drunk?”

“Guess you’ll have to find out,” Khloe teased.

He looked over at her then. “When we get home, go straight to bed. I’ll let Duke out and be in after. I want you naked and waiting for me.”

Khloe shivered. “Okay,” she told him.

Yes, it was safe to say she was happier than she’d ever been.

“Raid?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for being awesome.”

A slight flush formed on his cheeks. Her man never took a compliment very well, but it was a part of his charm.

He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back gently.

The rest of the short trip to his house was done in silence, but with every pass of his thumb over the back of her hand, Khloe’s lust ramped up. She was Raid’s. Anything he wanted, she’d bend over backward to do. Although he wouldn’t ask; that wasn’t who he was. Which made her want to please him even more.

Their future was uncertain—with Jason and Scott still out there, probably waiting for a chance to strike, Raid’s past lurking in the shadows as well, and Khloe having to figure out her new business model—but she was sure of one thing…whatever happened, she and Raid would face it together.

* * *

The man stared through his binoculars at the house in the distance. He’d parked at a hiking area half a mile away or so and walked through the woods to where he was currently lying in the grass. He made certain no one saw him…because that would ruin everything.

He’d been watching the couple for a while now, learning their routine and collecting information. He could be patient, as timing was extremely important. His actions had to be perfect. If he moved too quickly or got too cocky, all of this would be for nothing. The last thing he wanted was to give either Raiden Walker or Khloe Watts a heads-up that they were being watched. He needed them to be blissfully unaware.

A couple of ideas were coming into focus, but whatever he decided, it would need to be executed carefully. Tourists were flooding the area, which helped him blend in. But reconnaissance in a small town was still a pain in his ass. Everyone was nosy as hell and they were prone to calling the police if someone so much as farted in their direction.

But that just made this more of a challenge. Which he liked.

“That’s it,” he said softly as he watched the silhouettes of his targets pass by a window. “Enjoy your time while you can, because soon you’ll learn what happens when you piss off the wrong person.”

With a grin, the man lowered the binoculars and got up off the ground. He made the walk back to the parking area without incident. He picked up a burner phone he’d stashed in his vehicle and made a phone call to report what he’d seen, and to discuss one of the plans forming in his mind.