Single Kid Seeks Dad

After tendering his judgment, the judge dismissed the court.

Lucy was smart enough to keep her mouth closed. At the moment, she wouldn’t have put it past the judge to sentence her to hard labor.

“There was no reason why he couldn’t work under my supervision,” Lou grumbled, as they filed out of the courtroom. “The old bastard just didn’t want to appear human.”

“Please, don’t make him angry,” Lucy pleaded.

“Don’t worry, dear, they’re two old fools who have been carrying on an old feud much too long,” Cathy reassured her. “Come, let’s stop somewhere for lunch. You need something more substantial in your stomach than antacids.”

“She’s right, Mom,” Nick chimed in.

Lucy looked up at her son and saw his concern for her. Now that he’d passed his thirteenth birthday and sprouted several inches almost overnight, she had to look up at him. She must look bad if he was that worried.

Lou took charge. “Nick, you ride with me and Cathy will ride with your mother. We’ll meet you at Stewie’s.” He called over his shoulder, “Ginna, Zach, are you going to join us?”

“We’ll follow you over,” Ginna said.

“Eating at Stewie’s means he won’t be watching his cholesterol.” Cathy heaved a sigh. “I wouldn’t worry about Nick, Lucy. Logan Kincaid’s not the grump his father is. I’m sure you’ve met him at some of our parties.”

“Logan’s a sweetheart,” Ginna added. “He went to school with my brother Brian.”

“Logan Kincaid?” Lucy flashed back to the various Walker parties where she’d met the family veterinarian. He’d let it be known he was interested in her. In turn, she’d let him know she wasn’t interested in him. “He’s who Nick will be working for?” She closed her eyes. “I think I need more antacids.”

“IS THERE A REASON I have to get all of your hard cases?”

Judge Frank Kincaid calmly ignored his son’s outburst. He dipped a tortilla chip in the spicy salsa and brought it to his lips.

“The best reason there is. You need additional help at the shelter. I provided you with a living body. Now you don’t have to worry about finding someone.” He perused the menu. “My stomach won’t like anything I order, but I’m still ordering the shredded-beef enchiladas.” He looked up at the waitress, gave his order and waited as his son gave his.

Logan picked up his beer and sipped the cold brew.

“The last person I need caring for my animals is some juvenile delinquent you’ve foisted on me.”

“Chad Matthews worked out nicely.”

“No, Chad Matthews broke into my drug cabinet and relieved me of all my Ketamine.” The animal tranquilizer had apparently turned into a popular drug of choice. “Kristi and Jeremy worked out, but that’s because they both love animals.”

“There you have it!” Frank beamed. “I wouldn’t worry about Nick Donner. He appears to be a good kid. He just needs some direction. That’s the problem with single mothers of sons nowadays. They don’t give their boys the firm structure they need.”

“Donner?” Logan frowned in thought. “Is his mother named Lucy?”

Frank tipped his head back and momentarily closed his eyes in thought. “I believe that’s her name. Why, do you know her?”

“Not exactly.” He recalled sun-streaked light-brown hair and flashing green eyes along with a pair of kissable lips that had firmly told him she didn’t require, nor desire, his attention. He quickly masked his thoughts. His dad had been trying to get him married off since his divorce had been finalized five years ago. The older man didn’t seem to understand that while Logan didn’t mind having a woman in his life, he wasn’t looking for anything permanent. He preferred keeping the opposite sex tucked in a nice tidy compartment that wasn’t long-term.

“The boy isn’t your run-of-the-mill troublemaker,” Frank Kincaid explained. “Psychologists would say he’s one of those child geniuses who needs constant stimulus. I say forget the psychobabble. He just needs to put in some hard labor.”

“Aha!” Logan held up his glass. “If you had your way you’d have everyone doing hard labor.”

Frank recognized his son’s sarcasm and blithely ignored it. “It didn’t hurt you any.”

Logan didn’t bother saying any more. After all these years of verbal sparring with his father he knew he’d only lose. Instead, he settled on looking at the positive part of this deal. He’d have a chance of seeing Lucy Donner again.

“YOU KNOW, Mom, pretty soon you won’t have to worry about picking me up from school,” Nick said as he settled in the passenger seat of Lucy’s pewter-gray Murano. He looked out and waved at a classmate. “Pretty soon I’ll be able to apply for my learner’s permit.”

“Not in this lifetime, bud. Being grounded for the next forty years means no driving ever. I don’t care if I have to drive you to your college graduation.” She checked her side-view mirror and moved away from the curb. “There’s a pair of old jeans and a T-shirt in the back seat.” Her knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. “I should have sold you to the gypsies when I had a chance.”

He grinned. “That threat hasn’t worked since I was five.”

“That’s no threat. You have to work at that shelter for six months,” Lucy muttered. “I guess it could be worse. Some hackers aren’t allowed to use a computer for years.”

His upbeat nature dimmed. “I can’t use the computer lab at school. I have to go to study hall instead.”

“Just be grateful the school didn’t expel you.” She mentally calculated the easiest way to drop Nick off at the shelter and make a getaway without having to deal with Logan Kincaid. She knew a conscientious mother would go inside and insist on seeing just where her son would be working. And she was a conscientious mother. But she was also a woman who found Logan Kincaid a little too attractive for her peace of mind.

Instead of running from him, she should be making herself available. The man had asked her out on a date, after all, and she’d turned him down without a good reason. Unless you counted deciding she couldn’t handle anything resembling a love life right now. After what had happened with Nick, she knew she’d made the right decision. If she couldn’t control her son, what made her think she could control her own life?

Lucy looked at the ranch-style building bordered by grass and colorful flowers. Farther back she could see a small house with what looked like a waist-high wooden fence around it. Off to one side was a wire-fenced-in area. She would have thought this was a lovely residence if it weren’t for the sign out front declaring the premises to be the Valley Animal Clinic and Shelter—that and the cacophony of barking coming from the rear of the building.

“Maybe I should have taken you to the doctor first. For all we know you might require shots to work here,” she mused aloud. “Was there anything in the court order about shots?”

“It’s more like the animals need shots,” Nick pointed out, as he opened the door. He glanced over his shoulder. “Aren’t you coming in?”

For a second she saw the little boy she’d walked every day to the Sunny Day Preschool around the corner from their house.

“I guess I should.” She climbed out and walked around the front of the vehicle.

They stepped inside a waiting area that was divided down the middle of the large room by a waist-high wall. Lucy noticed one side appeared decorated for the feline patients while the other side was indicated for dogs. She almost yelped when she saw a teenage boy seated on a bench with a python wrapped around his shoulders. She hoped the expression on the snake’s face didn’t have anything to do with hunger.

“Can I help you?” asked a young woman behind the counter. Light-blue medical scrubs decorated with tiny kittens wearing wings and halos covered a large pregnant belly. She smiled at the two of them.

“I’m Nick Donner. I’m supposed to be working here.”

She nodded and pressed down on a button on the phone console. “Gwen, the kid is here.” She looked at him. “The vet tech will be out here in a second.”

“I’m Lucy, his mother,” Lucy said, keeping as much distance from the snake as she possibly could. She transferred her attention to a silvery gray dog that looked like a husky that sat near the woman. What appeared to be a cell phone was lodged firmly between his jaws. She hoped the dog had been fed lately because he looked awfully hungry. Between the python and the dog, she felt like an afternoon snack.

“Nick Donner?” A spritely blonde walked out from the rear. She greeted him with a broad smile. “Hi, I’m Gwen.” She introduced herself to Lucy and then explained, “Don’t worry, Mrs. Donner, he won’t be around anything dangerous. “He’ll be under the supervision of our shelter staff along with Dr. Kincaid and myself.”

Lucy was reassured by the young woman’s matter-of-fact manner. “I’ll be back at six, then. Nice meeting you.” As she made her way out, she determinedly kept her eyes down instead of looking around for Logan Kincaid. With Nick working here for the next six months, she knew she’d be dealing with the veterinarian sooner or later.

She was hoping for later.

NICK FOLLOWED Gwen to the back. She walked swiftly while talking over her shoulder. “The shelter has two regular employees who work a rotating schedule. Kristi is working today. She’ll show you the ropes. I’m sure Logan will come back to see you when he finishes with his patient.”

“Okay.” Nick looked at the framed color sketches of dogs, cats and exotic animals that lined the hallway walls.

“You’re our youngest worker,” Gwen told him as she pushed open the rear door. Barking and feline yowls greeted them as they stepped into the large room. “Just don’t let Kristi scare you off.”