Concealed Attractions (Cedar Island Tales) (29 page)

Ben
slumped against
a log, his heart pounding.
Jesus.
What if I killed him?
He debated
climb
ing
down the bluf
f. Then his
knees started to shake as the enormity of what he’d done overwhelmed him. He looked at his hands. Even in the darkening light, he could see
that
his fingers
were
abraded and starting to ache as blood surged to his fingertips.
Maybe I really am like Dad, just like he said.
He
stood up and unsteadily
retraced his steps through the woods
.
He
pushed open the door of the convenience store with the shoulder that wasn’t
already
throbbing.

The man at the counter had his back to Ben when he entered. No one else seemed to be around. “Some guy just fell down the bluff and is on the beach. You may want to call 9-1-1.”

Not waiting for a response, Ben stumbled back to the car, trying not to think about his hands as he drove home
. Minutes later, he pulled to the side of the road and called
9-1-1
,
ask
ing
to be connected to the
nearest
police department
.

“Who’s this?” a deep voice asked.

“I
want
to report an assault—on a woman.
I think she goes to Buckley College.
This guy was beating her up.
At the convenience store just out of town on Briar Avenue.”

“Is she still there?”

“She took off. I didn’t get her license.”

“Can you give me a description
of the man
?”

“About six feet tall, dark scraggly hair and he looked like he hadn’t shaved in a few days. A white guy. Maybe in his thirties?”
He
sucked in his breath, forcing himself to breathe to a slow count, as his fingers swell
ed
and burn
ed. He was afraid
the officer was going to ask more questions
. When
he was
again
asked for his name,
Ben
hung up, desperate to get back to
Cedar I
sland and away from the scene of his fury
, eager to get ice on his face where the cut above his eye was still leaking blood
.
He gingerly touched the area as the skin around his eye began to force his lid half closed.

How was he going to explain
the
condition
of his hands
to Joel? Could he even get on a surgical glove tomorrow? When he reached his little rental house, he took a quick shower before plunging his hands into cold water in the sink and then using ice cubes in a vain attempt to bring down the swelling.
He draped a cold wet towel around his head, but the pounding in his temples continued
. He went to bed, every muscle complaining, his head pounding in concert with the pulsations he felt in his hands, unsure he’d get any sleep at all.

The next morning,
Ben
arrived
early
at
the clinic. He
knew
he
had to face the music when Joel saw him
, before they set up for the first surgery
, the melody unlikely to be pleasant
.

“For God’s sake, Ben!” Joel
said, his exasperation obvious
second
s
after greeting Ben
. “What did I tell y
ou about protecting your hands?
They
look
like you put them through a meat grinder. How on earth are you going to be able to do
the two
spays, one neutering—and that nerve damage case you wanted to take on yourself? They’re all scheduled today
and
y
ou can barely bend your fingers.
” He held his extern’s hands under the cold water,
in a futile attempt to
numb them so that he could work the
fingers
more easily.

Ben said nothing, holding his breath against the pain as Joel examined his fingers under the water.

Joel glanced up when Bronnie came into the treatment area. “D
on’t open the front door yet. I’ve got to see whether Ben can even see
customers
today. I sure wish we had another vet
tech. Is that new girl available, the one who applied the other day
?”

“No. She called and said she found something else that
paid better
.
I’ve already called Kate. She’s
busy with
her kids until ten, but said she’d come in then. And
Pia
’s still down with the flu.
”

“Well? Say something,
”
Joel
commanded through gritted teeth, squinting at Ben
’s hands
.

Ben opened his mouth then closed it again when Bronnie spoke up.

“It seems to me he must
be protecting a lady love,
from the
look
s of his injuries,”
she comment
ed
drily
.
“
Or were you
wrestling with a cow
like the other day?
” S
he grinned
wickedly at Ben, who winced when Joel pressed
on
a particularly sore knuckle.

Ben
grimaced, embarrassed at Bronnie’s comment
.

“That’s his excuse—th
at he was wrestling with a cow?
” Joel
stared
at Ben
’s forehead
and
his eyes widened
. “What’s this?”
The senior vet brushed
the hair away
from Ben’s scalp above his
left ear. “Bronnie,
did you see this?”
He
pointed to
a
bruise
and a bloody scrape just above Ben’s hairline
.

He sighed.
“I never said it was a cow.”

“Well, what
was
it you were wrestling with? I take that back,
who
were you wrestling with?” Joel was silent for a
long
moment
, looking as if he was mentally running through a list of possibilities
. “Oh, shit.
You didn’t take on
Danni
’s dad,
did you
?”

“No. I haven’t seen the man since—”

Bronnie
sighed. “Since he accus
ed you of you-know-
what
?
That man. W
hat was he thinking, telling that dear girl she couldn’t come home?
”

Joe
l
placed a towel on Ben’s
sore
shoulder and
stepped away briefly
to answer the phone.

Ben eased the towel off that shoulder and onto the other one.

When he returned,
Joel asked,
“Are you going to tell me who or what you tangled with?”

“I’d prefer not to
. It won’t happen again.”
Ben pulled his hands from the cold water bath.

Joel gave an exaggerated sigh. “Well, I guess I’m going to have to pretend I’m on my own again, like before you showed up.” He frowned. “My guess is it’ll
be the b
etter part of a week before you can
do any but the most superficial
clinical repairs
.
”

Ben stood up and eased in the direction of the Joel’s office door
. “I apologize. I know this makes your workload heavier this week. Whatever else you want me to do around here, I’ll do
. Just p
oint me in the
right
direction.”

He
paused for a moment then
turned
around to face Joel
. “I almost forgot. What’s the schedule for Thanksgiving? I’ve been invited out for the day and was wondering—
well
—if that would be a problem?”

“
We’re
closed on Thanksgiving. As long as you check on the boarders we have before you leave,
it’s not
an issue. And, we’re only
seeing emergencies on Friday.” His steady gaze riveted Ben
. “I’d prefer
that you’re no
t one of them.”

“I won’t be.
”

Joel
nodded to
Bronnie. “Go ahead and open the door. We’ll have to muddle through as best we can
. Ben, the best you can do today is hand me instruments. Let’s get to it
.
”

“Uncle Benjie!”
After Ben’s hello, c
ries
of protest
from his niece erupted from the phone
.

“
Mark
, did you take the phone
away from your sister?
Give it back so I can say hello.”

“Cry-baby!”
Mark
exclaimed.

“Hi, Natty. How are you?” Ben asked,
after Natalie
came
back
on the phone.

“Fine. When you comin’ to see us?”

“Soon,
s
weetie
, soon. Now put
Mark
on, please.”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes, you do—and no sticking your tongue out at him, either.”

“Ma
ma, Uncle Benjie’s on the phone,
”
Natalie announced. “You’re mean,
Mark
Allen
.”

Ben chuckled and imagined his niece doing exactly what he’d told her not to.
“Hi,
buddy
.
What are you doing these days
?”

“
I
hit
two
runs
in our last
baseball
game. Are you coming
home soon? Grandma says she misses you.
”

“
When I’
m through with my work
here, I will come see you,
probably this summer.”

“That’s a long time from now.”

“I know, but it’s part of my job,
to help me be the best vet I can be. Is your m
om
there?”

“Here she is. Bye, Uncle Ben
jie
.”

Ben’s sister came on the line.
“Well, if it isn’t
today’s version of the prodigal son.
To what do we owe the honor
—even this late at night
?”

“
I’m in trouble. C
an we talk?”

“Just a min
ute. Let me send the kids upstairs.
Jason
’
s still at work
.” A short time later, she said, “Okay, go
ahead.
What do you want to talk about
?”

“Remember how my temper used to get
me in trouble
?”
Ben looked
down at his bruised and scraped hands.

“Don’t tell me. You got into a
nother
fight
.
”

“You might say that.”

“How badly are you hurt?”

“Not as bad as
the other guy
.”

“
What about
him?”

“I’m not sure. I finally stopped hitting him when he fell down the last time.” He
leaned
his head
against the refrigerator. “
Julie
, I lost it.
It was like what Dad
said
when they put him on the stand during his trial. I couldn’t seem to stop hitting
the guy
.”

“
Oh,
Ben
,” she
murmur
ed
.
“
Did you kill this person?”

Ben
’s heart slid into his throat.
Scary
she should ask that. Was
the guy
dead? He couldn’t even tell her
for sure
. “H
e was alive
the last time I hit him
—just bleeding from his nose and mouth, and I think I
broke
his arm when I hit him with the branch. But I was protecting myself
after I took it away from him
—he tried to bean me with it
a couple of times. Got my right shoulder but good.
”