Never Sorry by Edie Claire

Author:Edie Claire
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-01-22T16:00:00+00:00

***

Though all the walking paths in the zoo were now fully illuminated, every light in the dreary-looking concrete block hospital was off, and the doors were locked. No wonder the police had assumed it was empty.

Leigh lifted the tail on the plastic squirrel affixed to the downspout by the back door. A key hung from a peg underneath. She opened the door, replaced the key, and stepped inside.

"Mike? Are you awake?"

The name sounded strange to her ears. She had certainly always thought of him as Mike, but as a respectful teenager, she'd opted for "Dr. Tanner." Especially with that persnickety wife of his always hanging about watching for indiscretions. What a shrew, Leigh remembered. She had never understood what a man like Tanner had seen in Stacey the Wonder Witch, but at least he had finally got enough gumption to divorce her.

She flipped on every light switch she could find as she made her way to the staff lounge. She was an adult now—she could call him Mike if she wanted to. And if she wanted more, well, that was her business, too.

The makeshift staff lounge consisted of one green vinyl couch, a drink machine, and a corroded metal waste basket. The ambience evidently wasn't a problem for Tanner, who was sprawled out on the couch, dead to the world.

Leigh flipped on the fluorescent lights overhead, but received no reaction. "Mike!" she said louder. "Wake up!"

The form shifted position only slightly. Leigh sighed, but didn't begrudge the opportunity to admire his sleeping form. Mike Tanner was one of the Southern variety of cowboys. He was good with pickup trucks, guitars, and any hoofed mammal—but worthless with a lasso. His long, lean form was crumpled onto the narrow couch, his feet hanging off the near edge and hovering possessively over his disengaged boots. Had she ever seen him with his boots off? She didn't think so.

She plopped down on the narrow ledge of couch that wasn't already occupied, and bounced.

Tanner sat up quickly, looking at Leigh with cloudy eyes. He rubbed his face with his hands, then focused on her and smiled. "Well, this is a nice surprise. I thought you left. Where've you been?

Leigh smiled back. Actually, she had walked out on him, which was why she had left the hospital in such a rush to begin with. The evening had been quite memorable. The camaraderie of a complicated surgery, then—well, the other. But she had her principles, principles which happened not to be in agreement with the clamoring of her hormones. After Tanner had taken the gerenuk back to its stall for recovery, she stayed only long enough to clean up, then vamoosed. She knew he often spent the night at the zoo, and she could take only so much temptation.

"I did start to leave," she answered. "But something happened."

Behind long lashes any woman would kill for, Tanner's eyes widened with concern. "Are you okay?"

She nodded her head, a wave of sadness suddenly creeping over her. How well had

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.