Hometown Series Box Set

by Kirsten Fullmer

  Holding the flashlight in her teeth, she screwed off the cap to the generator’s gas tank and inserted the spout of the can. When the can was empty, she set it on the ground and put the generator cap back on. One tug of the handle had the machine vibrating along, so she trudged back to the container, put the can inside, and secured the door. “Two more weeks…” she moaned, already planning a trip to town for more gas.

  Maybe she could call Julia and ask to take a bath at her place. How embarrassing. She had never asked to use anyone’s bathroom before, and she didn’t plan to start now.

  Back inside the trailer, she set her fan on the counter and switched the lever to high. Even standing right in front of the fan, she was still not cool. The thing only circulated the heat.

  Why hadn’t her mother ever mentioned that summers here were hellish? Then again, she’d been here in the summer, why hadn’t she remembered?

  “I can’t stand it!” she finally exclaimed, yanking off her shirt. Next came her jeans, leaving her standing in front of the fan in her bra and panties. Desperate, she hurried into the kitchen to rummage through the cabinet under the sink.

  “Ah-ha!” she called out, holding up an empty spray bottle. She screwed the pump top onto a bottle of water, then headed back into the living room. Back in front of the fan, she pumped the sprayer, covering her already glistening body with mist. The water wasn’t cold but it felt good anyway, and between the water and the fan, she found some long overdue relief. “If only I could sleep standing here,” she whispered.

  At eight o’clock the next morning, the second the doors were unlocked, Katherine tromped into the hardware store. In her hand she gripped a list of items to buy, hopeful that her late-night online search for homemade air conditioners would offer her some relief from the relentless heat.

  * * *

  Alex sprang up in bed, woken by the unmistakable sound of dog pee hitting the floor. “Not again!” he bellowed, frightening the puppy. But not enough to make him stop the flow of urine that now spread into a puddle in front of the bathroom door.

  He tossed off the covers and stumbled across the room, cussing both the dog and his stiff leg. Reaching for the paper towel roll, he unwound one sheet, then another and another, as he watched the sad little dog. Under his scrutiny, the puppy hunched by the bathroom, knowing he was in trouble but unable to cease his dirty deed.

  When the flow finally stopped, Alex took a deep breath, reminding himself that the puppy didn’t know better. The little Frenchie gazed up at him, offering a few hopeful thumps of his stubby tail.

  Alex’s expression softened, causing the dog to open his wide mouth in a characteristic grin, and his tail picked up speed.

  “What am I going to do with you?” he wondered out loud.

  Bending with a grunt, cocking his sore leg off to one side, he soaked up the pee, then grabbed the doorjamb to pull himself into a standing position. Hobbling to the trashcan, he stuffed the mass of paper towels into the trash with the others.

  He plopped down to sit on the mattress and the puppy followed, whining to be lifted up. Alex shook his head, needing a few more moments to collect himself. He checked his phone, knowing it was time to get up for work, even before he looked, and he couldn’t hold back a sigh. When had life gotten so hard? The never-ending stream of days filled with nonstop pain had worn him down, turning him into a tired old man. Dealing with Katie had left him emotionally drained as well, and now… he looked down at the dog.

  The puppy whimpered, and this time Alex gave in and hefted him up onto the bed.

  Curious, the puppy padded up and down, inspecting the covers, pushing his nose into the blanket and under the pillow. Once he’d sniffed all there was to smell, he nosed his way back onto Alex’s lap and looked up at him with a googly-eyed stare, then offered his best grin.

  “How come you always look happy?” he asked the dog, who answered by lunging up to give him a solid, wet lick across the face.

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Alex sputtered, pushing the dog back onto his lap, then flinched at the weight on his scarred leg. The puppy jumped down and headed across the room.

  Rising with a groan, Alex absently rubbed his leg, then headed for the coffee maker. The puppy, now busy dragging a pair of boxers from the pile of dirty laundry, made Alex wonder how he was going to manage the little guy while he was at work. Had his brother, or the girls, or his dad considered that?

  Alex decided he better rescue his underwear, so he crossed the room and snatched up the boxers. The dog, however, was quicker than he thought and bit onto the underwear. A short game of tug-of-war ensued before Alex could get the boxers out of the dog’s mouth without destroying them and return them to the pile.

  “I guess I’ll have to take you with me,” he said to the puppy, already compiling a mental list of items he’d need to buy in order to keep the puppy safe.

  * * *

  Relieved to have found all the items on her list, Katherine offered the clerk a shy smile and collected her bags. The place was really more of a small-town mercantile than a hardware store, being the only store in town that offered more than groceries, and she was glad they saw fit to carry a bit of everything.

  When she reached the door, lugging her supplies, she was surprised to see Alex through the glass. He was heading across the parking lot toward her, carrying a small black and white dog, and his characteristic swagger looked more like a limp as he wrestled with the puppy.

  Jumping back, her head whipped from one side to the other, looking for a place to hide. Not only was she a sweaty mess, but she likely smelled as well, and she wasn’t in the mood to look horrible in front of Alex again.

  Alex marched into the store, and she ducked behind a rack of men’s overalls. Holding her breath, she peeked between the overall straps. The little black dog had an adorable smiling face, and her heart melted, but then she noticed Alex’s blustery expression. The puppy wriggled in his grip, and he turned her way.

  Her arm shot out to grab a straw hat from the rack, and she plopped it on her head, hoping it would hide her sweaty, lopsided bun.

  The dog barked and squirmed, and it was obvious that Alex needed help, but… she sniffed her hand and her nose crinkled. She smelled like gasoline from filling her can at the gas station earlier. It was horrifying, really. At some point she’d put everything else before her own personal cleanliness. Where had the tidy, organized, disciplined woman she knew disappeared to?

  She hunched lower behind the rack, watching with only one eye showing from under the hat

  Alex was far too busy wrestling the dog to notice her, so she stayed silent. Before she could make her move toward the door, however, the dog escaped Alex’s arms and bound down the aisle. Alex reached out, scrambling for the puppy but lost his balance and fell sideways into a rack of garden trowels that clattered as they all crashed to the floor.

  Dropping her bags, Katherine hurried to his side to see if he was okay. When she reached him, his expression was dark as the devil. She hesitated, pulling her hand back. “Want me to get the dog?” she asked timidly, and he grunted his approval, so she hurried away. Worried about Alex, she glanced nervously over her shoulder, but he was already back on his feet, righting the rack, so she hurried after the puppy.

  The little dog hadn’t gone far when she spotted him assaulting a display of chips and snacks. By the time she reached his side, the puppy had a package of jerky in his mouth.

  She scooped up the dog, unable to keep from laughing at his antics. “You’re a naughty one, aren’t you!” she chided, as the puppy chewed on jerky. As cute as he was, she had to wonder why Alex had brought him to the store, and without a leash. “I didn’t take Alex for the dog type,” she mumbled to herself.

  “I’m not,” Alex growled from behind her, causing her to whirl around in surprise. He reached for the dog.

  She handed over the puppy, appraising Alex’s face and mood. “Can I help?” she asked before her brain clicked into gear. Here she’d bee
n relieved that he hadn’t seen her, and now she couldn’t help but jump square into his business.

  “You don’t— need to do that,” he assured her, wrestling the pup.

  But something about his expression as he eyed her in speculation with one brow raised made her angry. She squared her shoulders and her chin came up. She knew she looked a sight, but it wasn’t her fault. Well, not all of it. Besides, he was being flat-out rude. Turning her attention back to the dog, she asked “Would he sit in a shopping cart?”

  Alex glanced toward the front of the store, then back. “I don’t know.”

  “I’ll grab you one,” she offered, then hurried away. By the time she returned, Alex looked ready to strangle the puppy with his bare hands, so Katherine took the dog and put him in the cart.

  At first, the little dog seemed confused and frightened, but once he got his bearings and put his front paws on the end of the cart, he seemed happy enough. His oversized ears perked with curiosity and his tongue lolled from the side of his mouth, accentuating his goofy grin.

  Alex watched the dog, obviously unhappy, then his gaze turned to her. “Nice hat.”

  Horrified that she was still wearing the stupid straw hat, she yanked it off her head and tossed it onto a shelf. “How old is he?” she asked, motioning toward the dog, hoping to take Alex’s attention away from her appearance.

  “Hell if I know.”

  Her questioning glance swung from the puppy back to his face.

  “I just got him yesterday. From my nieces.”

  “Oh,” she replied, wondering why someone would give a dog to a person who didn’t want one.

  For a moment it looked as if Alex would explain, but his mouth clamped closed, and his brows lowered into a glower, so she left it alone. Taking a step back, she motioned toward the door. “I better get moving, but…” she hesitated, then continued. “Feel free to bring him out to the RV park if you need to. I’m sure we can find a place for him to play while you work.”

  “I’m here to get him a leash and a play yard, but,” Alex’s gaze came to hers, and his expression softened, “I appreciate the offer. I wasn’t sure what to do with him, to be honest.”

  She was relieved. “It’s not a problem; I’ll see you in a while then.” With a wave she turned away and headed toward the door, hoping he didn’t see her collect her things from behind the overall rack.

  * * *

  An hour later with the puppy tucked under one arm, Alex stood staring at the contraption hanging from the tree near Katie’s trailer. He knew an outdoor shower when he saw one -- it was the thought of Katie standing behind that flimsy curtain, naked and dripping wet, that gave him pause.

  Giving himself a shake, he turned away and tapped on Katie’s trailer door. Her footsteps made soft thumping sounds as she neared, and he braced himself for the onslaught of emotions that flooded through him every time he faced her. The door swung open, but instead of the overheated, straggly-haired Katie he’d seen at the store, she stood before him looking clean, fresh, and cool. She wore a simple red sundress, and her hair was pulled up into a neat and tidy bun.

  “Come in, quick,” she said, motioning with her hand for him to enter.

  Surprised by her demand, he hurried up the steps.

  The second he and the dog were inside, she reached out to bang the door closed. He scooted out of her way, then noticed that the trailer was surprisingly cool inside. The puppy wriggled in his grasp, so he loosened his grip and let him down. The dog put his nose to the floor to sniff along the edge of the sofa.

  Katherine couldn’t help but smile as she watched the little dog explore her home. Her gaze came up, and Alex’s heart skipped a beat. The amusement in her eyes, her smooth tan skin, the smell of her hair, the whole essence of the woman reached him on a deep level, where he wasn’t used to being touched. This was different than the dirty, angry Katie. She looked and smelled delicious, and he couldn’t help but stare and swallow hard.

  His expression must have alerted her to his state of mind though, because her happiness with the puppy ratcheted back a notch. A long pause ensued as both glanced toward the ceiling, the floor, out the window, anywhere but at each other.

  “So, how did the shopping go?” Katherine asked, trying to push the conversation forward. He just stared at the puppy, so she returned her attention back to the little dog as well.

  “It went better with him in the cart,” Alex finally said. “But he peed all over the floor at the checkout counter.”

  Her head whipped back up, her hand hiding her mouth in an attempt to cover her laugh.

  “He’s not one-bit house trained, so you may not want him in here.”

  Knowing she was much better with dogs than she was with people, especially irritable men, she went to the sofa and sat, then patted her knees. “Come here, boy.”

  The dog ran to her with the floppy-legged lope of a puppy. Planting his front paws on her knees, he panted, his tongue lolling, and his stub of a tail wagging.

  Katherine caressed his head. “What are you going to name him?” she asked Alex, but with her attention still focused on the dog.

  He scoffed. “I have no idea. I need to get him to eat something before I can even think about that. I got him some puppy chow this morning, but he didn’t eat last night. I tried to teach him a few manners, but he appears to have the memory of a fish.”

  “A fish?” she laughed in surprise, ruffling the dog’s ears playfully. “Are you a fish?”

  The puppy answered with a woof, making Katherine laugh again.

  “Fish it is,” Alex said, tucking his hands in his front pockets. Her joy was unexpected and it had him compromised. He couldn’t think clearly. If he wasn’t careful, he’d join her in playing with the puppy, and he needed to keep his wits about him. He glanced toward the kitchen and his eyes landed on the bouquet on the counter. Remember what you’re here for, he reminded himself, turning back toward the living room. “I just wanted to let you know I brought—” He did a double take back to the kitchen.

  She looked up. “Are you really going to name him fish?”

  “What is that?” he interrupted, pointing toward an odd-looking blue and white plastic cooler on the kitchen floor. The thing had a ninety-degree corner of PVC pipe protruding from the top of the lid, as well as the backside of some small machine that he couldn’t immediately identify sticking out of the top. The strange concoction of a thing hummed and vibrated.

  “Oh, that’s my air conditioner,” she said, pulling the puppy up to sit on her lap. “I made it this morning.”

  Alex walked toward the cooler, tipping his head first to one side, then the other as he took in the contraption. “You made it?”

  She watched him over the dog’s head. “Yes, I was tired of being hot.”

  He bent to inspect her work. “This is a fan,” he said pointing to the humming bit of the machine. He placed one hand in front of the open end of the PVC pipe, and his eyebrows flew up in surprise. Still bent, he cocked his head for an upside-down view of Katie. “What’s in here, ice?”

  She nodded and smoothed both hands down the puppy’s back. “It’s more efficient than I thought it would be.”

  He’d forgotten how resourceful she was. Even back when she wasn’t much more than a kid, she’d had ingenious ideas and off-the-wall ways to get things done. “Pretty creative,” he said, straightening.

  “Pinterest,” she admitted, scratching the dog’s back.

  He headed back into the living room, casting a dark glance at the flowers. “What?”

  “You know, I got the idea from Pinterest.”

  “Oh, right” he mumbled, having a vague knowledge of the website. But he was far too rattled by the woman, the dog, the machine, and the situation in general, to ask for clarification. “Anyway,” he said, desperate to move things forward, “I bought a harness and a stake with a leash for the dog. I just wanted to ask if you cared where I set it up.”

  Scratching the puppy on the head, sh
e gazed lovingly down into his silly face. “Why don’t you leave him in here with me for a while. I’ll see if I can get him to eat.”

  He hesitated, but the puppy needed care, and he had to work. After a moment of thought, knowing this would mean he’d have to talk more with Katie about the puppy, he spoke up. “You sure?”

  “Look at this face,” she cooed, cupping the puppy’s round head in her hands and bringing her nose to the dog’s. “How could I mind?”

  Now he felt as if taking the dog would be rude, so he reached for the door handle. “Okay, I’ll get his food from the truck.”

  “Looks like you get to spend the morning with me, Fish,” she proclaimed to the puppy, causing him to woof and lick her face.

  The sight of Katie’s happiness with the puppy was more than he could bear, so Alex hurried out the door and staggered down the steps. Once the door was closed behind him, he blew out a long breath. “And now Katie loves my weird little dog. God help me.”

  Chapter Nine

  Bells over the door of the shabby-chic style boutique jingled as Julia stepped inside, causing Becky to glance over her shoulder.

  “How long has Katie been in town?” Tara asked Becky, waving with one hand to Julia. The chubby baby in Tara’s arms waved too.

  “Hi, Julia,” Becky said. “A few days,” she continued to Tara. “I’m not sure when she pulled in, but I heard that Alex has been out there working on the electrical setup.”

  “She hasn’t come into town?” Tara asked with concern, shifting the baby on her hip.

  Becky shrugged. “Joe said she came into the hardware store, but she hasn’t been by to see me.”