A Puppy and a Christmas Proposal

by Louisa George

  Alex rang the doorbell and was greeted with a loud barking. So, Meg wasn’t the only farm dog to keep Dennis company. That was something at least. Even though Alex sometimes hated living in the claustrophobic confines of a small village and he often craved the solitude of the hills, he couldn’t imagine being permanently this removed from people. There was nothing and no one for miles around, just an endless undulating landscape of white. Of course, it would be a different view depending on the season, but right now he reckoned the starkness of it would be enough to drive him just a little bit crazy.

  As he waited for Dennis to answer the door he glanced right, across the slate courtyard to a large barn. The doors were wide open, giving him a good view of the contents: two large green tractors, a farm quad and trailer and what Alex thought must be various shearing tools. He didn’t know much about farming, but it was clear the machinery was old and well on the way to rust.

  Over to the left there was a sheep-dipping pen that looked like some sort of weird maze with its own moat, and beyond, ewes wandered in a patchwork of paddocks that stretched down the hill towards Oakdale village. After Frank’s accident Alex hoped the rams were all fenced off somewhere. Baa, humbug.

  ‘June. Heel.’ The gruff voice made Alex jump and whip round. The door had opened and a collie with a lot more energy than Meg ran around Alex’s legs, sniffing and whining as Dennis appeared in the doorway. June was a dog?

  ‘Hey, girl.’ Alex patted the mutt’s head. ‘Hello, Dennis. Good to see you.’

  ‘Aye.’ Dennis gripped the door handle. Knuckles white. Face red. Chest heaving. A little breathless, unkempt, red cheeks, which could be a sign of rosacea or polycythaemia, or just not enough sunscreen. ‘Is it bad news, Doc?’

  ‘No. I was just passing and thought I’d pop in to see how you were.’ Truth was, the chances of Alex just passing were very, very slim and they both knew it.

  Dennis frowned. ‘Meg?’

  ‘As far as I know she’s doing okay. Discharge tomorrow, I understand.’ Alex looked hopefully beyond the front door. ‘Can I come in?’

  Dennis glanced behind him, then back at Alex, clearly uncomfortable at his question. ‘Why?’

  Alex stepped forward. ‘No reason. I was just wondering how you’re doing. I know you must be worrying about Meg. Thought you might need some company.’

  ‘Not really.’ The old man pulled the door closed behind him, and blocked Alex’s path. Perhaps the place was a state. Perhaps Dennis was embarrassed. Perhaps he was just a man who protected his privacy from nosy GPs who turned up on spec.

  Alex tried to deflect attention away from his client. ‘To be honest, I’m parched. Any chance of a cuppa?’

  ‘No. I’m on my way up the hill.’ Dennis scuffed dirty hands down grubby, baggy trousers that looked as if they’d been around for fifty years.

  ‘Did you hear about Frank Entwhistle?’

  ‘Aye. Rum business. But he should have known not to mither a ram after tupping. Sheep Rearing for Beginners.’ The old man’s eyes narrowed. ‘You’re not here to talk about Frank.’

  Okay. Alex took his chance. ‘Just wondering about the ibuprofen.’

  ‘What about it?’

  ‘Did you find any?’

  ‘Come on, June, heel.’ Dennis clicked his fingers and the dog ran to his side.

  What was this dog-control wizardry? And what was with the question-dodging? Was there or wasn’t there any ibuprofen?

  ‘It’s okay, Dennis, you’re not in trouble or anything. We just want to help.’

  Dennis shook his head and waved his hand as if all this was just a waste of time. ‘And I just want to get on.’

  It looked as if Alex wasn’t going to get his answers today. ‘Okay. If you need to chat then you know where I am. Any time.’

  ‘I don’t need a doctor. I just need Meg back.’ Dennis’s chin rose a little and there was a glimmer of light in his eyes. ‘I saved her life...’

  ‘You did. If you hadn’t acted so quickly, she definitely would have died.’

  ‘Aye. Now she needs to come home.’ He stalked towards the quad bike, climbed wearily onto it and then called to his dog. ‘Come on, Juney.’

  As if tugged by some imaginary force the dog did exactly as Dennis asked and Alex wanted to question him about his training skills, because so far his puppy had done pretty much the opposite to whatever Alex told him to do. But Dennis revved up and steered the quad out of the barn, took a sharp left turn and off up onto the hill.

  Alex watched him disappear but not before Dennis turned back to look at him. Twice. Something wasn’t right and he needed to talk his thoughts through with someone who knew him.

  Luckily, he knew just the person.

  CHAPTER SIX

  BETH WAS PUTTING the ‘Closed’ sign on the door as Alex arrived at the clinic. Her stomach did the same kind of funny little flip it used to do whenever she saw his face—anticipating his kisses or just one of his warming hugs. She reminded herself it was just a Pavlovian reaction, that was all. It would wear off once she was out in the snow and with distance between them. Distance, she’d decided, was the best way to deal with Alex.

  But there was no avoiding him, so she searched quickly for an excuse not to have a prolonged conversation as she stepped aside to let him in, taking extra care not to inhale his scent or stand too close. ‘Hi there. I’ll just get Button. He’s having a nap in the staff room.’

  ‘Really?’ Alex laughed as he stepped into the clinic. He had a way with him that was almost lazily confident. He wasn’t easily fazed; he was comfortable in most environments. He seemed comfortable around her most of the time. There was little of the trembling she had when he was close, none of the breathless dizziness. There was little to show he was affected by her at all. So why did he wish things were different? ‘The staff room? Has Spike been promoted?’

  One day they might even decide on a name they both agreed on. ‘No, he’s just spoilt rotten. Everyone who works here thinks of him as the “clinic puppy”. He has more mummies and daddies than any animal should have.’ She escaped as quickly as she could and called Button out of the room.

  The pooch barked excitedly at the sight of Alex standing in the shop area of Reception, looking at the toy section. Man and dog greeted each other like long-lost relatives and she dreaded to think how all of them were going to be when this puppy-sitting jaunt finished. Or when she went back to her real life in Glasgow without them. Or, without Button at least.

  Alex crouched and scratched behind Button’s ears. ‘How was he today? He seemed a bit off his food this morning. Did he eat anything?’

  ‘Pretty much everything in sight.’ She laughed, pretending her chest wasn’t aching just by looking at them. Not just her chest either; watching his hands move across the dog’s fur reminded her how assured he could be...which led onto other thoughts about those hands. The way he’d make her feel as he stroked her skin. The hours she’d spent just delighting in him and what they’d had together. The sex that had been so delicious, so damned good.

  Stop it. There was no point thinking backwards; she had to keep going forward. She swallowed and found her words. ‘Right, got to dash, I’m helping Mum again tonight.’

  Alex stopped scratching. ‘Still packing? It’s taking for ever.’

  ‘Tell me about it. It’s a whole life to sort through—these things take time. Plus, she’s pretty indecisive.’ Beth handed him the lead and the poop bags. ‘You probably won’t need them as he’s already performed today. Okay, got everything? Bye, then.’

  She couldn’t believe she was talking to Alex Norton about their shared puppy’s bowel habits.

  Their puppy? How had her life gone full circle so that she was back talking to her ex-fiancé about our and we? The sooner they found a home for Button, the better. And geez, could she be any more obvious about getting them out of the roo
m? She headed towards the door.

  But Alex didn’t move. ‘I went to see Dennis today.’

  ‘Oh?’ News on Meg’s owner was important enough to stay a bit longer for. She tugged her handbag straps up her shoulder and waited.

  Alex rocked back on his heels and stood up. ‘He’s got another dog up there. June. Collie. Younger than Meg, I think. Certainly more energetic.’

  ‘That’s hardly surprising after what Meg’s been through. But, yes, I looked them up on the computer system here. She’s Meg’s daughter apparently, and she’s been in a few times too with weird symptoms, nothing concrete. No diagnosis. Just random things.’

  Alex shrugged. ‘She seemed happy enough. But he was acting a bit strange.’

  That wasn’t surprising. Dennis Blakely had always been...different, but her mother had always said that it took all sorts to make up a world. ‘Maybe because you turned up uninvited?’

  ‘Okay, I realise not everyone is happy to have me around these days—’ He raised his eyebrows at her and she knew her attempts at avoiding any further meaningful contact had hit home. It wasn’t that she didn’t want him around—hell, having him around did things to her that only Alex could do. It just hurt to be so close, to pretend this was fun and normal and that their past didn’t rush up in her chest every time she saw him. The good bits as well as the bad.

  She raised her hand. ‘Guilty as charged.’

  He smiled. ‘I am so misunderstood.’

  ‘Yeah. Really?’ Now would have been a good time to talk about that Christmas, but she needed to hear about Dennis and make sure Meg was going home tomorrow to a safe place. And she was looking forward, right?

  ‘Seriously, I was trying to give the guy a chance to offload and to have a quiet look around to see if he was coping up there on his own. It’s about ten degrees colder on that farm, I swear.’ Alex tugged his coat collar up around his neck and she was overwhelmed with the same sudden urge she’d had the other day to wind her arms inside his coat and press her body against his.

  This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t think about sex every time she looked at him. She couldn’t think about how good the sex had been. She couldn’t keep doing this to herself. ‘Did you find anything to sway you either way? Is he managing? Is he safe?’

  ‘His house needs some TLC and his machinery is decrepit, but I can’t say he’s in danger. He whizzed off on his quad bike like a seasoned pro. I just think he’s a bit gruff and very private. Not everyone wants to socialise—even though it’s proven to be good for mental health and mental agility.’ He smiled as Button nuzzled into his palm. ‘One thing, though. Dennis might not be great with humans, but he has complete control over his dog. One click of the fingers and she’s at his side.’

  ‘What? Like this?’ Beth could barely hide her smile as she showed Alex the new trick she’d been working on with Button. ‘Boy! Boy, come here.’

  Alex’s mouth opened as the pooch padded straight over to her. ‘Boy? Since when...?’

  ‘I’m trying not to confuse him by using Button or Spike. When he goes to his for-ever home they’ll still call him Boy somehow. Like we do. Hey, boy. Lovely boy...you know. I just thought it best to keep our chosen names out of the equation. Now, boy, sit!’ Please. ‘Sit.’

  Alex’s chin almost hit the ground as Button sat on his back legs. ‘Magic. Witchcraft. Sorcery.’

  Now she did smile. Getting one over on him had always been fun. ‘Yes. Pretty much.’

  ‘Where’s the wand?’ He looked behind her back, turned one hand over and then the other, standing so close she could feel the heat emanating from him. She clenched her muscles to try to stop the whisper of desire spiralling through her as his skin touched hers.

  ‘Don’t need one.’ Turning her back to Alex, she covertly took a dog treat from her pocket and slipped it to Button, then gave him a fuss. She wasn’t going to admit to spending every spare hour here teaching Button. She certainly wasn’t going to admit to the clutch in her heart every time the clinic phone rang and she thought it might be someone claiming the pup she’d grown so fond of. ‘Give it a go.’

  One of Alex’s shoulders rose and he patted his thighs. ‘Okay. Boy, come here. Come.’

  But Button just sniffed around Beth’s shoes and paid him no attention.

  Alex laughed. ‘I think I need your invisible wand, Beth. He’s certainly not bewitched by me.’

  ‘Aww, one teeny, weeny hiccup and you’re giving up?’

  He took the bait, lowering his voice. ‘Not a chance. He just needs a firm command. Right? Boy! Come here. Come.’

  Button tilted his head to one side, one ear pricked, one floppy, and didn’t move one inch. She could have kissed him. The dog. Not the man.

  Okay, maybe the man.

  Definitely the man.

  ‘Boy!’ She grabbed a handful of treats and closed her fist, called Button over and he came at her first command. Then she opened her fist and showed Alex. ‘Not magic. Bribery.’

  His smile grew. ‘Cheating, more like.’

  ‘Also known as training. This kind of thing takes time—you have to repeat and repeat and repeat until it’s Pavlovian.’ Like her tummy flip whenever he was close. Okay, so that had taken years to perfect...and she couldn’t expect it to diminish just because her head told her body to stop. ‘I bet Dennis has spent literally hours, days even, training his dogs. I bet it’s not something you could do, you’re too impatient. You always wanted everything now.’

  ‘Beth Masters, I am not impatient.’ He stroked Button’s head then lifted the floppy ear and whispered, loud enough for Beth to hear, ‘Don’t listen to her. It’s all lies. I am patience personified.’

  She rolled her eyes and laughed. ‘Really? I remember that spring bank holiday when you’d been given a surprise weekend off. Within minutes of leaving the ward you decided to visit me in Glasgow. You were supposed to be coming up the weekend after, but you just appeared on my doorstep saying you couldn’t wait another week.’

  ‘I needed to see you. Three-day weekends are the best.’ He smiled some more...this time it was open and unguarded and sexy as hell. ‘Best—’

  ‘Spent in bed.’ She finished the phrase for him and then wished she hadn’t. Her chest felt as if it were cracking open as she remembered opening the door to him holding a bunch of drooping daffodils and a bottle of wine. Before she’d managed to say a word he’d pressed her against the front door and kissed her so hard she’d thought she was going to die of lust right there, in his arms. She’d never been so pleased to see anyone in her life, and she’d never been so turned on. Just the thought of it had desire prickling over her skin. She tried to swallow it away and rubbed her palms down her thighs to feel something other than a sensual ache. ‘Anyway. That’s how you train a puppy. Reward him for good behaviour.’

  ‘Is that how you train humans too?’

  ‘It would take a whole lot more than treats to make your behaviour fit my standards, Alex Norton.’

  But instead of being taken aback by her tongue lashing he stepped a little closer, eyes glittering. ‘What kind of more?’

  She couldn’t find her voice in her tight throat. He was here and close and she couldn’t think straight. Her senses seemed on overdrive; there was a heady sensual scent in the air, her body sensitive to where he put those amazing hands now, wishing they were exploring her instead of shoved in his pockets.

  She wanted him and she shouldn’t. She’d immunised herself against him. She’d reeled from his words, nursed a broken heart. ‘A lot more than you’ve got.’

  ‘I can do more.’ He wanted to kiss her. She knew him too well to not misinterpret that misted look in his eyes. It had been a long time but she hadn’t forgotten. And hell, she wanted to kiss him too. Just once. Just to feel his lips press on hers, just to taste him one more time. Then she’d turn and walk away from him. This time,
she’d do the walking.

  His palm cupped her cheek and his mouth was so close all she’d have to do was tiptoe up as she used to.

  It was easy. So easy it was as if her body had learnt it by rote. She put her palm on his shoulder and raised her heels. Touched her head to his. Heard the sharp inhale as he put his lips to her forehead. Relished the tight rasp of his jaw on her cheek. His scent was almost a taste in the air.

  God, she wanted to taste him. Couldn’t stop now...the memories flooded her. His caress. His mouth. Him. The core of her heart. The beat. The rhythm of her life. Her everything. She brushed her lips against his cheek then stopped a breath away from his mouth. She raised her eyes to his, so dark, dangerous and piercing. Urging her on. Because after all that had happened they both knew this had to be her move.

  She wet her lips with her tongue, felt his shudder. Heard the groan. Then she closed her eyes and brushed her mouth on his. Not a kiss. Not quite.

  Neither of them moved, but she felt the thud of her heart mirror his. Could she do it? Could she push harder, take more? Could she kiss him the way she’d done back then? Could she let herself fall?

  Then she heard her name in his throat, felt the way he offered it like a prayer against her lips, and she opened her mouth to him. He tasted the same and yet something new...of mountain ice and warm winter sun, of regret and hope that she felt settle into her skin and her belly and her heart. His scent, so familiar, enveloped and anchored her. It was like slipping softly into the past and stepping into a bold new future at the same time.

  He put his other palm to her cheek and deepened the kiss, his tongue slick against hers, intense and intimate—only Alex had ever kissed her with such passion and it made her belly ache with need. She was kissing him again. As if the years in between hadn’t happened. As if nothing mattered but this.