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Niall mounted the steps with Tex and Lolita. “This is the new place, guys.” The cats blinked, still mellowed by tranquilizers.
“You’re a veritable Dr. Doolittle.” Cissy eyed the cats much more warmly than the dogs.
“Comes with being a veterinarian. We tend to like animals.”
“I see.” She obviously didn’t get his attempted humor. She opened the front door and gestured him inside. “Welcome home, Dr. Fortson.”
Niall stepped inside and settled the cat carriers next to the wall. Time worn hardwood floors smelled of wax. Sunlight slanted through uncurtained windows in the two rooms flanking the shotgun hall, casting diamond patterns on the wood floor. Even without curtains and furniture, it felt welcoming and comfortable.
“The bedrooms are upstairs.” Cissy gestured to a craftsman-styled staircase angled to the left.
He’d given her three criteria, a large, fenced yard, a dishwasher and a moderate price tag. Buying Dr. Schill’s vet practice had soaked up his cash.
The house’s price tag had been moderate. Cissy’d assured him it came with a dishwasher. He whistled for the dogs. “I’d like to check out the backyard.”
Cissy carefully avoided the dogs as they charged past, Gigi’s toenails clicking a rhythm on the wood floors while Memphis moved through like a small herd of elephants. “It’s straight ahead and out through the kitchen. Now, about the kitchen, it’s very—” Cissy hesitated, as if searching for a word.
Niall followed her into the room, then stopped in his tracks.
“Turquoise,” he supplied.
“Retro,” she countered.
“Yeah.” Christ. The kitchen hadn’t been part of Cissy’s cyber home tour. Now he knew why. “I didn’t know they made those in turquoise.”
Bright lemon yellow walls provided a backdrop for the blue-green appliances. He and Mia had dropped a couple of thousand dollars on a custom-designed refrigerator and dishwasher to match the cabinetry in their kitchen. “It’s, uh…”
“Cheery,” Cissy suggested with a bright smile. “I hate to run but I’ve got a two o’clock appointment.” She grabbed his hand and pumped it. Ye gods, the woman had the grip of a sumo wrestler. “Welcome to Colthersville and enjoy your new home.” She backed toward the hallway. “I’ll see myself out. Let me know if I can help you with anything else,” she called over her shoulder.
The front door closed behind Cissy and Niall crossed the cheery kitchen. He opened the back door and the dogs raced outside, clambering across a wooden deck to the fenced yard beyond.
Niall stepped out on the deck, satisfied. This more than made up for the kitchen. The majority of his half-acre lot sat behind the house, enclosed by a wooden privacy fence. Gigi and Memphis took off across the weed-studded lawn, a canine odd couple. A faint breeze stirred a swing into motion beneath a bare-branched oak. Spent wildflowers choked the lot’s back corner. A nostalgic air enveloped the property, as if time had stood still. The kitchen was definitely stuck in the seventies. He grinned at the notion.
The dogs loved it here already. The unmowed grass, although overgrown, appeared healthy. A sense of belonging he’d yearned for all his life enveloped him.
He looked at the property to the right. Whoa. A shapely pair of ankles and feet hung over the end of a chaise lounge. Interest strummed through him. Shrubs hid the rest of the woman—those feet and ankles could only belong to a woman. He’d obviously spent too much time behind the wheel of the moving van if he felt this much interest in a pair of legs—make that one-fifth of a pair of legs.
“Hello,” he called, loud enough to carry across the distance. The feet didn’t even twitch. “Hi, there.” He tried again, louder yet. Still no response. Maybe she was asleep. Or hard of hearing. The feet and ankles were nice, but, hell, she might be older than his own mother, for all he knew.
If he walked over to the fence and down a bit, he could probably see past the shrub. Niall nixed the idea, deliberately turning away. That’d be great. He could move into town and earn a reputation as a Peeping Tom, all in one afternoon. News traveled fast in small towns. Have you heard? The new vet’s a perve. He laughed into the warm day at the idea.
His laughter died a quick death as Gigi squeezed beneath the fencing—she’d found a hole—and disappeared to the other side. The side belonging to the geriatric sunbather. Damn it to hell. Gigi loved to nibble on toes—one of her more endearing traits.
“Gigi. Come. Come, Gigi,” he commanded.
Gigi behaved as usual. She ignored him, launching herself across the neighboring yard like a seven-pound rocket. Niall loped across his yard. Gigi was over there. He was over here. He aimed for damage control.
Just as he reached the fence line, Gigi attacked the bare toes hanging over the chaise. The woman screamed and leaped to her feet.
In an instant, Niall’s world tilted on its axis. She wasn’t geriatric and she was heart-stopping, blood-pumping naked. Except for a navel ring, earphones and a pair of sunglasses—and they didn’t particularly count.
Niall struggled to focus on the woman’s face. It was damn hard. She plucked off her earphones.
“Let me guess, you’re my new neighbor and this belongs to you.” She nodded toward Gigi who had commandeered the chaise lounge. Her distinctly southern drawl held more than a note of amusement.
With unhurried movements, the woman tugged the towel from beneath the dog and wrapped it around her, sarong-style, tucking the knot in the cleft of her breasts.
She lowered her glasses and peered over them, her sparkling blue eyes encouraging him to speak up. She appeared more amused than embarrassed. Although totally nude moments ago, she was calm, cool and collected. He, fully clothed, couldn’t seem to bumble through an introduction.
“Uh, yeah. Sorry about this. We’re your new neighbors. Meet Gigi. She’s more bravado than brains. I’m sorry we…uh…interrupted you.”
“No problem—I didn’t want to burn anyway.” Her friendly smile was faintly provocative.
“No. Burning would be bad.” Speechlessness was actually preferable to his inane banter.
“Give me a minute and I’ll meet you at my gate so you can get Gigi.” The woman turned toward her house, displaying an equally impressive towel-covered backside. Some men liked skinny, stick-women. He wasn’t one of them. And she was no stick. She glanced over her shoulder “Does she bite?”
“Huh?”
“The dog. Does she bite?” Laughter flavored her southern accent.
“Only unsuspecting toes.” He recovered his wit.
Smiling, she turned and disappeared into the house.
Niall felt sure the woman would be wearing more than her towel and navel ring when she showed up at the back gate. He wasn’t so sure whether he’d be relieved or disappointed.
But he did know he liked the neighborhood already.
BUTT-ASS NAKED was a helluva way to meet the new neighbor. There were probably worse ways to meet the new folks other than in her birthday suit, although none immediately came to mind.
Given his slack-jawed response, she’d definitely made an impression. For the first time in as long as she could recall, she’d actually felt self-conscious about her nudity. Apparently he was a new species of man. The ones she knew were the ogling variety. The way he’d carefully looked her in the eye rather than ogle her had compelled her to cover herself. But a hint of her bad girl tendencies had remained because she’d found the situation stimulating.
He was fully dressed—well, as far as she could tell, with only his head and shoulders sticking up over her fence—and still she’d felt a powerful tug of attraction. As she’d told Olivia earlier, she was in a bad way.
Out of deference to her new neighbor’s sensibilities, and the wife and two kids probably lurking in the background, Tammy pulled on her jeans and shirt, which she’d draped over the kitchen chair, the fabric playing against her still stimulated parts.
She wasn’t kowtowing to public opinion, but she’d become a little more circumspect since she’d gone into business for herself. She glanced down at her plunging neckline and hip huggers and laughed. It was more conservative than wearing a towel.
She stepped out onto the patio. There, Gigi lounged indolently on the chaise, full of bold attitude. Tammy laughed at the audacity of the funny-looking little dog. “Come on, you. Your family wants you back.” She walked past the dog and snapped her fingers.
Surprisingly, Gigi hopped down and flounced along beside her.
The lush grass cushioned her bare feet as she crossed the yard to her waiting neighbor. The man’s dark brown hair, a few weeks past a good haircut, glinted in the sun. Nice square jaw, his hooked nose a shade too big by most standards but very masculine. Even now, fully clothed, self-consciousness caused her to flush as she approached him.
“One small dog returned to you.” She opened the gate and the little dog pranced through.
A worn T-shirt hung on him, revealing well-muscled arms. Even though he was built like a former linebacker—who’d managed not to go to fat—his stance lacked the aggressive arrogance so common in big men. Nerves fluttered low in her belly.
“On the porch, Gigi,” he ordered with affectionate tolerance, then turned to face Tammy. Her breath hitched in her throat. Oh, baby! Up close, he possessed the most extraordinary, soulful, brown eyes—yummy, sinfully rich pools of dark chocolate flecked with caramel framed by long dark lashes. They were a sensuous contrast to the masculine lines of his face and his strong nose. Their impact coursed through her all the way to her toes and sent her mind tumbling between the sheets.
“I apologize again for Gigi’s bad manners. I’m Niall Fortson.” He extended a massive hand.
Hadn’t she heard once that the size of a man’s hand, or was it his feet—instinctively she glanced down—indicated the size of…She yanked her gaze up and her mind out of the gutter. She had to stop thinking this way.
“I’m Tammy Bran-uh, Cooper,” she stumbled over the last name, but now was as good a time as any to go back to her maiden name. “No harm done with Gigi.” She grasped his hand. His palm was warm and dry, his clasp sure and solid, and his touch echoed through her, setting off sparks. She desperately needed a good…dose of control. One touch and she was ready to jump him.
Her hand still tingled, even after the handshake ended. Actually his touch had more than her hand tingling. She checked out his ring finger. Naked. Of course, the lack of a wedding ring didn’t mean much. Any minute now she expected a perky blonde to bounce around the corner with a couple of cute-as-pie kids in tow. Gigi had woman’s dog written all over her. Tammy discreetly squinted past him to his front porch.
“Are you looking for something?” He glanced over his shoulder.
So much for discretion. “Just thought I’d meet the rest of the family.”
Niall whistled. A massive dog lumbered out the front door. “Tammy meet Memphis. Memphis, Tammy Cooper.”
Memphis hiked a leg before ambling over to sniff her crotch in greeting—definitely a man’s dog. “Uh, hi there,” she offered. Good grief, her entire hand would fit in the dog’s massive mouth.
“He’s harmless,” Niall reassured her.
“I’ll take your word for it.” She wasn’t nearly as comfortable with this beast as she was with the toe-biter.
He laughed, a low pleasing rumble that slid over her like a warm blanket on a cold night. “So, you’ve met Memphis and Gigi. The cats are still in their carriers. They don’t travel well so I sedated them before we left.” He grimaced.
Okay, this was why she usually skipped subtlety. It didn’t get her anywhere. She’d met her fair share of married men who conveniently forgot to mention the wife and kids. She’d openly fish and if he didn’t bite she’d point blank ask him if he was married. “We as in the rest of your family?”
He grinned and she realized he’d known all along she wanted to find out he was married. “We as in me and the animals. No kids. And my ex-live-in—or significant other, whatever you want to call her—stayed with the house in Oklahoma City.”
The significant other business surprised her. Niall Fortson didn’t look like the shacking up type. She didn’t exactly know what the shacking up type looked like but it wasn’t him. The ex-significant other explained Gigi.
“Gigi belonged to your ex?” She’d bet the farm.
Surprise flitted across his face. “How’d you know?”
Aha. Her instincts hadn’t failed her. “Lucky guess. How’d you wind up with her? The dog, not your ex.” Shoot her for being nosy, but inquiring minds wanted to know.
“Mia wanted Gigi and then decided she was too high-maintenance.”
Mia. She sounded like an urbane sitcom character. Tammy had a feeling the woman had been far more high-maintenance than the dog.
He peered over her shoulder in teasing imitation. “What about your family?”
Tammy laughed at his easy ribbing. “It’s just me.” It felt good to say that—no, make that great. “My ex-husbands, all three of them, stayed with the houses.” Might as well air the multiple divorces up front.
“Probably a good thing. It could get crowded with three ex-husbands hanging around.” Niall quirked his mouth in a lopsided smile that started in his eyes and radiated to engage the rest of his face. A small scar along his upper lip added a hint of rugged sexiness. Tammy’s pulse quickened and a slow heat curled through her. A sense of humor and a bone-melting smile. “Any pets?”
“No. No pets.”
“And now you’re living next to Wild Kingdom.” Another dose of that smile and her heart rate did another bump and grind. “I’ll try to keep Gigi on my side of the fence.”
“Your animals are fine. I don’t have anything against animals—I just don’t want the responsibility.” Or another gaping wound that came with losing a pet. Once had been enough. Pets and kids were cool as long as they belonged to someone else.
Thank God she’d had the sense to go on the pill at a young age and not jump into motherhood during any of her marriages. She’d been thrown into the mother role when Martha Rae, as she’d thought of her mom for years now, abandoned their family. Not only had Tammy done a lousy job mothering Olivia and their brother Marty, she’d had enough of it to last a lifetime.
“They do require commitment.” Did she simply imagine it or did his ready smile falter a bit? He obviously had a thing for animals.
“What brings you to Colthersville?” Tammy asked, filling in what had become an awkward silence. And she was curious.
“I’m a vet. I’m joining Dr. Schill’s practice.”
Didn’t that just rip? Yeah, he had a thing for animals. “Congratulations. Dr. Schill’s a good vet, even if he is an old goat.”
Surprise raised his brows. “Okay. Thanks for the information.”
She thought she’d shown some restraint. She positively loathed the man. She could’ve called him a lech. It was a much more accurate description. “Sorry. I call ’em the way I see ’em. I was married to Dr. Schill’s son.”
Niall winced. “Things didn’t end well?”
The beginning had been great with Allen and the ending had been fine. It was the in between that had stunk on ice. From the day they’d married, Dr. Schill acted as if Tammy wasn’t good enough for his son. Then the randy old goat had cornered her in the kitchen and put the move on her one Thanksgiving. A well-placed knee had taken care of the immediate situation. Later, when she’d mentioned it to Allen, he’d defended his father, claiming Tammy had misunderstood his dad. In her book, it was difficult to misunderstand the old guy squeezing her breasts. Her marriage had gone downhill from there.
She shrugged. “It was a long time ago. Allen was my second husband. He’s remarried and he and Jenna have two kids now, so all’s well.”
An ant marched across her bare foot. She shifted to one foot and nudged it off with her toe, swaying slightly. Niall reached out and wrapped his hand around her upper arm. “Steady.”
“Thanks.” A soft shiver slid down her spine at his touch. He dropped his hand and in an instant she was back to two feet firmly on the ground, but the heat evoked by his touch continued to radiate through her.
“It’s safe to mention you’re the girl next door?”
She laughed aloud at the idea of her being the girl next door. Like any other place, small or otherwise, Colthersville had its share of gossips and she’d given them plenty to talk about over the years. It’d take about two seconds for anyone in Colthersville to fill him in on her reputation.
“That’d be a poor choice of words. I don’t think anyone who knows me would buy into the girl next door label. I’m the resident bad girl.”
And he might just be Mr. Right Now.
2
“BAD IS A RELATIVE TERM. You don’t strike me as bad at all.” As a rule, Niall liked people—almost as much as he liked animals—but in the span of five minutes he found himself inordinately drawn to Tammy Cooper.
A cynic would’ve said it was due to his first glimpse of her naked, but it was more than that. Of course, he’d never forget that first sight of her—and she wasn’t going to let him, either.
“In case you missed it, I was naked when I met you.” He would’ve had to be dead to have missed it but, thank you, Jesus, he’d been alive, cognizant and fully appreciative. “Has it been your experience that nice girls sit around naked?” Her amazing blue eyes sparkled. The little vixen was thoroughly enjoying needling him.
“Actually, I have very little experience with women sitting around naked. Nice or otherwise.” If she wanted to play the bad girl, he’d play her straight man.
Niall propped his arm against the fence and really looked at Tammy Cooper—a much safer proposition now that she was fully clothed. Bottle-blond hair just this side of brassy—he’d known from when she jumped up earlier she wasn’t a true blonde. Sky-blue eyes with a hint of wariness beneath all the makeup. Gauzy, white shirt with a plunging neckline and the provocative thrust of dusky nipples. Bare midriff with a gold navel ring—he had no clue why that was such a turn-on but it was—above low-slung jeans. Bare feet with a toe ring. Very sexy. “However, I hardly think that naked qualifies you as a bad girl.”
She tilted her head, her hair sweeping against her shoulder. She smelled like coconut and her golden skin glistened with suntan lotion. “Did you miss the three husbands I mentioned?” A thread of tension ran through her laughing banter.
No. He hadn’t missed her obvious attempt to warn him off. Instead of off-putting, he found it intriguing. “Duly noted.” Niall, known for his congeniality, discovered a perverse pleasure in arguing with her. “I thought you were very nice about Gigi. You didn’t throw a screaming fit when she surprised you.” Mia damn well would’ve and Cissy, the Realtor, had certainly maintained her distance. “Instead you laughed.”
