Vi snorted. “I hope your friend has some thick skin.”
“If she didn’t before, she will by the time I get home. Of course, considering Grandma’s taste for prying into business that is very much not hers, it’s quite likely Ally has already locked herself in the bathroom and is refusing to come out.”
Vi laughed heartily, irritating the hipsters in the corner. Actual live conversation must have been more than they’d bargained for when they decided to visit a coffee shop.
“Either that or she’s on a flight halfway around the world,” Vi quipped.
They sat and chatted—gossiped, actually—for a good ten minutes before new customers wandered in. This time a trio of young women sporting wildly colored hair and carrying hula hoops. Miss Violet glanced at them and sighed quietly.
“Welcome to the asylum,” she whispered as she stood. “Better go help them, but please come back and see me again before you leave town.”
Lucy promised she would and then headed outside to resume her walk. Cars whizzed past and she couldn’t help thinking the city council’s apparent plan to use potholes as speeding deterrents wasn’t working out so well.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, the ear-splitting scream of a child in pain filled the air. A flash of grief swelled inside her chest, thoughts of her parents rushing forward. The cry reminded her of her own scream during the attack on them. She’d been paralyzed with terror that night, but she wasn’t a clueless teenager now. She hadn’t done anything back then, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to make that mistake again.
Chapter Three
A little boy, no older than six lay on his back in the street, rocking back and forth as he hugged his skinned knee. His scream of surprise had turned into wails of pain. Lucy glanced around for the tyke’s parents but couldn’t see anyone near him. What she did see turned her blood cold. A huge SUV bore down on the boy, and even at a distance, she could see the driver staring at his phone instead of the street.
Without thinking, Lucy darted across the road, feet pounding on the asphalt. She bent low and scooped the little boy in her arms, holding him close as she continued her run. Her heartbeat thundered, and adrenaline flooded her brain, urging her body to move faster, push harder. She hadn’t even made it to the sidewalk before the SUV sped past. The roar of its engine drowned out all other sounds, and the wind it generated pulled at her hair and buffeted her clothes. As if the massive vehicle fought to capture her, angry it’d missed out on its prey.
Fear plagued her, but it was nothing compared to the boy’s full-blown panic. He wriggled in her grip, snarling and scratching her skin. She struggled to hold him carefully as she lowered him toward the ground, unsure if he’d sustained any injuries. It wasn’t until he somehow reached her leg with his sharp little teeth that she gave up and let him plop down. The adrenaline coursing through her veins didn’t allow her to feel the full depth of the pain, but she knew there’d be hell to pay later.
“Hey, buddy,” she carefully turned him by the shoulders to face her, “no need to bite. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”
Wild brown eyes collided with hers, utter terror in his expression, and it took a minute for her words to reach him. His expression softened and calmed, his tiny shoulders slouching, and then tears filled those soulful eyes. His lower lip wobbled, chin quivering. No. Not a crying kid. Anything but a crying kid. What the hell was she supposed to do with him?
“I’m sorry,” he sniffled. “I didn’t mean to.” He hiccupped and then launched into a long rambling explanation. “I know I shouldn’t have. I know it’s forbidden. But the kitty was in the road and the big car was coming and I needed to save her and I know pups shouldn’t care about kitties but she was so cute and fat—”
His babbling continued, only silenced by a feminine shout. A beautiful young woman ran to them and kneeled before the boy, checking out his scuffed knee.
“Charlie, sweetheart, what happ—”
The woman stopped talking when she caught sight of Lucy’s bloodstained jeans and the pale skin beneath the tears in the fabric. Her eyes widened and she paled at the perfect circle of tiny punctures. Lucy had barely registered the injury, though now that she looked at bite, she wondered how little Charlie managed to chomp deep enough to draw such a steady stream of dark blood.
“Oh my God,” the woman breathed, her frightened eyes flicking between Lucy and the still-sobbing child. “Charlie, what did you do?”
Charlie hiccupped and launched himself into his mother’s arms, burying his face in her neck. Lucy’s heart ached for the little guy and Lucy gave the mom a reassuring smile.
“It’s okay. Just a flesh wound, as Monty Python would say. See?” She wiped away the blood, but it was quickly replaced by more.
She frowned, staring at the wound. Strange, it should have slowed down. That was also the moment she realized pain thrummed through her to the beat of her heart. The rush of adrenaline must have numbed her to the pain and it now gradually came forward. Still, it was a bite from a six-year-old, not some massive, feral animal. It wasn’t as if the kid had rabies, or something. She’d be fine.
Except the woman had other ideas. “Robert!” the woman shouted, desperately looking over Charlie’s head for someone. “Robert! Hurry!”
A tall, handsome man sprinted around the corner toward them. Without so much as a “How dee do,” he kneeled to examine her wound.
“What the hell happened, Bonnie?” he asked. He sounded upset, but not angry, exactly. More… frightened.
“I’m fine, really,” Lucy insisted. She bent and lowered her voice, speaking directly to the newcomer. “Charlie was just scared. That SUV almost hit him and then a strange woman grabbed him. I know he didn’t do it on purpose. It happens.” She shrugged, pretending not to feel the rising agony. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to sue or anything.”
Robert and his wife exchanged dark glances, speaking that strange silent language only couples who’ve been together for ages understand. Bonnie stood, still holding Charlie in a fierce hug, and stepped back. Robert turned back to Lucy and tried to smile, but it came across like a grimace.
“Miss, would you please allow us to get you treated?”
Lucy snorted. “Treated? I’m sure it’ll be fine. I just need a Band-Aid. I swear I’m—”
She broke off when she stood and lost her balance, clutching at her new pal Robert to catch herself before she went ass-over-teakettle into oncoming traffic. Without a word—or her permission—Robert swept her into his arms and headed down a side street. Lucy wanted to object, wanted to feel outraged that some stranger had taken such liberties, but her head was still spinning from standing too fast. Bonnie and Charlie scurried along after them until Robert pushed through a glass door.
Robert gently set her in a chair and then went to the reception desk and whispered with the nurse, their voices too low for her to hear. She relaxed into the seat, and now that she was sitting, her head began to clear. The place didn’t smell the greatest, but it had that “doctor’s office” feel. She took a look around the space, inspecting her new surroundings, and it didn’t take her long to figure out that this place was… different. Instead of dreamy images of clouds with inspiring quotes on them, the frames on the walls featured photos of cute kittens and puppies playing together. Another featured a dog gazing up at its owner in the sunset. There was one that showed a lizard stretched out on a rock in the middle of the desert.
Then the glass door opened, and a woman walked in with a rabbit in a cage.
Dear Lord, she wasn’t in a doctor’s office. She was at the vet’s!