start the day.
“Good morning, Doc. Were you looking for me?” His southern drawl was like melted caramel over ice cream—sweet and smooth.
He had a towel wrapped around his neck and wore a green T-shirt and military working pants. Droplets of water trickled down his face from his damp hair, and he smelled like… wet dog. Or maybe that was the dogs? She stepped closer and took a quick whiff of pure male and clean soap.
“How’s my girl this morning?” Jax’s greenish-blue eyes twinkled with flecks of gold and brown.
His girl. She liked the sound of that, even though she shouldn’t. And what a strange thing for him to say since they’d just met. Clearly he could tell she wasn’t married, with the bare ring finger, but maybe she had...oh. It took a moment for the warm fuzzies fogging her brain to clear and realize he was talking about Bella.
“Good. She’s good.” She needed her focus on work and not on Jax’s impressive biceps. “Quiet. Do you know if she’s had her morning pain medication?”
“She hasn’t. I wanted to wait about an hour after she ate so she wouldn’t be too groggy to take care of her business. I gave her the last dose eight hours ago.”
Risa glanced at her watch. That meant Bella would have been medicated at eleven p.m.. Plenty of time for the effects to wear off. “Is it possible that whomever was on duty already gave it to her, before you got here this morning?”
He shook his head. “No one has gone near my girl, except me.”
“But what about last night when you went home?”
“I haven’t left her side until ten minutes ago to wash up.”
Risa’s jaw dropped. “You spent the night here?”
“Slept on the cot over there.” He nodded to his right. “Or tried to. Bella whined a lot, like she was in pain. She would only go to sleep when I was with her.”
“You should have called me.”
“No point in both of us losing sleep.”
“She seems okay right now, but if you find a half-tablet isn’t managing her pain, you can give her the entire pill.” Risa stepped away to leave, then stopped. “I’ll be back to check on her this afternoon. If you want, I could stay with her tonight. That way your wife doesn’t get mad.”
Why the heck had she said that? It was none of her business if he was married. Plus, he was on her “not-happening” list. The last thing she needed was to fall for some guy who would just get transferred and break her heart.
“No worries, Doc. I’ve got no one pulling my strings and telling me when I need to be home. One of my best handlers will be watching Bella while I’m at work today, and then I’ll be back here after my shift. If anything happens, we’ll call.”
His gaze slid down and landed on her mouth. Risa fought every instinct in her not to lick her lips.
“Besides, I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble with anyone at home, either.”
“That’s not a problem. I mean, Morpheus can be a little demanding, but he’s used to being left alone.”
Jax raised his eyebrows. “Your husband’s name is Morpheus? As in the Roman God of Dreams?”
“Cat, and yes, he thinks he’s a god.” She sucked in one corner of her lip to keep from smiling. “Although Athena and Eir keep him grounded.”
He grinned. “More cats or dogs?”
Here it is. If he was interested before, he won’t be now.all right
“Dogs. Athena is an Afghan hound and Eir is a Staffordshire terrier. There’s also Lolita and Buggsy… and I haven’t come up with a name for the mini-horse I’m adopting.”
His smile grew. “Sounds like you’ve got your hands full with two goddesses, a god, a couple of bunnies, and with more on the way.”
She smiled back. It was hard not to, with a man who loved dogs and knew mythology. She wondered what else Jackson Faraday hid behind those striking hazel eyes and panty-dropping smile. Yes, he was off-limits and this was work, but she also had an odd need to explain.
“I found Athena chained to a tree in the woods. She’d been left there to die with no food, water, or shelter. Whoever left her almost got their wish. Another animal had attacked her, but I found her in time, and she fought to survive. Eir had been left at a shelter and was going to be euthanized, and some jerk driving down the interstate threw Morph out the window.”
“What about the rabbits?”
“Neighbor got them for her son. Turns out he’s allergic not only to bunnies, but to their hay as well.”
“So you saved them.”
“It’s what I do. I’m a vet.”
“You’re more than that, Doc. You’re a hero.”
It wasn’t the response she’d been expecting and, coming from him—a man who signed on to defend his country with his life if needed—it humbled her. His words made her almost wish he wasn’t on her “not-happening” list.
* * * *
Jackson scanned his e-mail as he waited for Senior Chief Mike Dunning to finish reading the SITREP on Bella’s accident. He ran his hand through his freshly buzzed hair and blew out a breath of pure frustration. Still no word from NCIS.
It had been three months since he’d turned in the application and attended a prescreen interview with one of the local guys, which he’d thought had gone extremely well. Based on the lack of response, it appeared he was wrong. It was time for him to make a decision: Stay or go. With this being shore duty, if he stayed in, he’d be shipped off to the fleet or sent back to the sandbox.
Get out and then what?
He pulled up the local job listings. Not a lot of positions to select from. There were a couple of entry-level openings for police officers and campus security, along with one security investigator at a nearby casino.
Awesome choices. He shuddered at the thought of living paycheck to paycheck and eating instant noodles.
Problem was, he loved working in law enforcement and living in New England. They actually had four seasons, unlike the south, which had two—hot and hotter than Hades. Not to mention it was a good thousand miles away from his family. He loved them, but his mom and sister’s nagging drove him crazy. As for his dad… he missed him, most of the time.
He also liked to eat, and sleeping in the back of his pick-up didn’t sound appealing. Most of the jobs listed didn’t even come close to what he made now. Maybe it was time to expand his list, look into other federal agencies like Homeland Security or the National Security Agency?
Neither was what he really wanted, but then again, you didn’t always get what you wanted in life.
“You said the vet checked on Bella this morning?” Mike’s question brought Jax back to earth. “Did she think Bella would have any trouble with the leg once it heals?”
“Dr. Reynolds seemed to think she’d be fine in a couple of weeks. I just need to keep Bella quiet and off her leg as much as possible.” Jax scratched the back of his neck as he thought about how he’d manage.
“What you need to do is let her new handler take care of her so she can bond with him. I’ve heard reports that she’s not responding and has been lethargic lately.”
“Nah, she just didn’t feel like working. Probably the heat, and can’t say I blame her. It’s got to be about twelve thousand degrees out there today.”
Mike tapped the papers he was holding against his leg; his telltale sign of frustration. “Jax, the dog lives in a fully air-conditioned kennel, and during the winter they have central heat. Hell, they have it better than I do at