Christmas Love (Love Collection)

by Natalie Ann

  They were still standing outside the kennel talking, the barking in the back would be too loud and he liked that she was interested in how the business ran.

  “I get calls over the weekend, emails and so on. Everything I need to make a decision. Dogs are delivered on Tuesday, the shelter is open for those dogs to be looked over and picked up from Thursday through Saturday. That gives me a few days to check them over myself before a family comes in to adopt.”

  “So that is all that’s left from your deliveries last week?” she asked.

  “Yes. Just four dogs right now. One local stray and three from the deliveries. I’ve got them updated on the website, and if someone is interested, they can call us for a special appointment; otherwise the shelter itself is closed four days a week.”

  “Probably easier to manage things,” she said, peeking her head around his shoulder, trying to look through the glass doors into the kennel.

  He liked that she was eager too, even though she was fast to say she didn’t want one.

  “Come on,” he said, unlocking the door. “Let’s go meet the four I’ve got here.”

  He pushed the door open and heard her laughter when she saw the big kennels and what was inside. “They’ve got furniture.”

  “Do you know how many people don’t know what to do with old furniture and just want to dump it? Why shouldn’t these dogs rest in style?” he said. People thought he was nuts when he decided to do this, but it was working.

  The four remaining dogs were in separate kennels, all coming from different litters. He kept litters together when he could, just for the pet’s comfort factor.

  “This is awesome,” she said, pulling her bag off her shoulder and unzipping it to remove her camera.

  Eye for Detail

  Noelle had never seen anything like this. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t this.

  The four puppies came rushing forward, tails wagging, tongues hanging out, and paws on the kennels. There was an old couch or chair in every kennel, a few toys, bowls, food, and some blankets.

  “What are those white things over there?” she asked.

  “Piddle Pads. I just don’t have the staff to potty train, especially when they aren’t here that long. The staff comes in several times a day, and I’ve got volunteers too. They play with the dogs out front, take them to the fenced-in yard and let them run. We want them engaged with people and other animals so they don’t feel like they are living in a cage. But since they’re essentially in the kennels, they need a place to go to the bathroom and those pads make for easy cleanup.”

  “Do you fund the whole operation?” she asked, bringing her camera up and snapping some pictures of the setup itself. It wasn’t dreary at all like she expected and she was determined to make it look the best she could.

  Inviting. That was what she was going for. For as talented as she was as a model, her eye for detail was even greater.

  “I write grants, take donations, there are fees to adopt and contracts to sign. All dogs need to be spayed or neutered and we make them pay for that up front, assuring that it’s done. If there are gaps to fill, I fill it financially.”

  She’d bet he filled a lot of gaps emotionally too. Those four pups were just begging for attention from him and the minute he saw them, his eyes softened, then darkened.

  She’d come across some of the world’s most attractive and talented men before, but nothing came close to Chase looking at those puppies just now. She could have sworn her biological clock just struck twelve at that moment and was almost mortified at the thought.

  “Can we let them out to play so I can get some pictures?”

  “Sure,” he said, smiling, reaching his hand in and letting one of the pups lick his fingers. Oh yeah...that was sweet.

  He opened up the kennels and let all four dogs out, then started to walk down the hall past more empty ones with all four following him like he was the pot of gold they were searching for at the end of the rainbow. She was right there tagging along looking for her loot.

  “I thought they played out front?”

  “They do. I like to let them run outside for a few minutes. They’re used to it already and I’m hoping they’ll go to the bathroom out there before we let them play inside.” He turned and grinned at her. “It would save me from cleaning any messes up. Excitement and puppies can be a little sloppy.”

  If her heart rate picked up slightly, she was attributing it to the dancing puppies, not the hot man that just turned and winked at her.

  She smiled, not thinking of the possibility of a mess, but obviously he knew what he was doing. Actually, she wasn’t sure the smile had left her face at all since she walked back here.

  When the back door opened and the puppies took off in a dash almost knocking each other over, she found herself giggling and running after them, snapping pictures the entire time.

  “What are their breeds?” she asked, not even looking at him, but focusing on the cute balls of fur tumbling around and barking, running toward her, then back to each other again when she backed up to get them in the frames. She was determined to get pictures of these dogs playing and looking relaxed, not scared like the other pictures on the website. Or the ones that were posted every two weeks.

  “That black one over there is a shepherd Lab mix. The white and tan one is a boxer bulldog mix. The other two have a little bit of everything in them it seems, but mostly terrier and pit bull.

  “Is that why they’re left? Because they’ve got pit bull in them?” she asked. She’d always heard bad things about pit bulls, but they sure were cute just now rolling around by her feet.

  She crouched down to get closer and ended up being knocked on her butt when all four of the puppies jumped on her at once, tongues and little teeth licking and tugging.

  “As you can see, they’re so mean,” he said, laughing and pulling the wiggling puppies off of her, then helping her up. “I should have warned you about getting too close to the ground level with them. Or coming back in a white T-shirt. And yes, some breeds take longer to find a home because of the stereotype associated with them.”

  She looked down at the dirty smeared paw marks and shrugged. It was only a T-shirt.

  “I’m going to make them look as gentle and playful as can be,” she said.

  “If you want to take a picture of them for the website, let me just get them in a chair or something for you.”

  “I’ve got one of each already, no need.”

  “You did? I like a nice clear shot of them.”

  She cocked her head to the side. “Trust me. I got what I need. I’ll upload them when I get home and email them to you, if you want to share your email address.”

  “Okay. I trust you. I guess you don’t need any pictures inside then?” he asked, and if she wasn’t mistaken there was a note of disappointment in his voice. She might be feeling a tad bit of that herself.

  “I’d still like pictures inside. I’d like to take some without the puppies, just those clean kennels if you don’t mind. I’ll work on the pamphlet some more since I’ve got pictures today. It’d be nice to get some of the building. I need one of you too.”

  “What?” he asked, looking shocked.

  “You. This is your organization. You should be on the pamphlet trying to help sell it.”

  “I guess. But it’s not about me.”

  “Sure it is,” she said, then didn’t say anymore when he frowned.

  ***

  Chase didn’t want his picture on the pamphlet. Everyone knew who he was. They knew what he did and what he was concerned with. No way having his picture would help or even make a difference.

  “If you say so,” he replied, not wanting to argue, nor wanting their time to come to an end. What he really wanted to do was find a way to make this night last a lot longer but had no clue how to do it.

  “So how do you get these puppies back inside?” she asked, leaning down to pet one of them, then pick up and cuddle it a little
closer. “How old is this one?” she asked.

  The boxer bulldog mix was just loving the attention and he couldn’t blame the little fellow one bit.

  “Eight weeks. An apartment fire left that one homeless a few days ago not far from here.”

  “Oh, so you take dogs in at any time?” she asked.

  “If there is a need, I will, but the bulk are sent here like I said.” He walked forward. “This little guy is pretty lovable. I think he had a decent family that took him in, but unfortunately they were displaced and are staying in a hotel.”

  “They won’t come back for him?” she asked, then laughed when the dog licked her face. First she giggled, and now was a nice throaty laugh. He liked that better than the giggle, but the giggle was pretty special too.

  “No. I’m sure they’ve got other things to worry about than a puppy that was in their house for a few days. We’ll get a good home for him. Sure you don’t want him? He seems pretty smitten with you.” Lucky dog, being in her arms.

  “I’ve never had a dog before,” she said, walking forward with the pup in her arms, while the other three followed fast on his heels after he called them.

  “How come?” he asked, liking that they were just carrying on a conversation about something that was second nature to him. Something that was so important to him.

  “I’ve always lived in apartments and flats. I’ve traveled a lot, even as a kid. It wasn’t something that would have worked out well.”

  “What about now?” he asked, thinking it wasn’t the time to talk about their pasts. “You said you just moved here and have time on your hands.” He hoped that didn’t sound like he was prying.

  “I wouldn’t know the first thing about taking care of a puppy,” she said, but she didn’t say no, so he was going to push a little bit more.

  “It’s not that hard,” he said and hoped she believed that lie.

  “Yeah, right,” she said back, laughing. Guess not.

  “Most puppies are forgiving. They just want some love. They don’t care if you’re late with their food, they’ll let you know when they’re hungry or want to play.”

  “Like just now,” she said when he handed the three remaining puppies small bones before they took off for the open room out front and started chasing each other. The one in her arms decided to settle in for a snooze. She didn’t look like she was going to put him down either, but rather shifted him like she was cradling a baby now.

  “You can give him any name you want. He’s almost housebroken too. Did you notice how he was the first one out there doing his business before he came over to play?”

  “I did,” she said. She was caving, he could see a glimmer of it, like that tiny light in the distance that you were drawn to hoping it would just get brighter.

  “He sure seems attached to you.”

  She rubbed her nose on the pup’s wrinkly chin. “I don’t know how anyone can tell you no. Don’t I have to sign contracts or something? Buy bowls, food, leashes. I don’t even know,” she said, frowning now.

  “We can deal with the contract. Yes, you need those things, but I’ve got some over at the clinic if you want. Or the pet store is open...”

  “I don’t even know what to buy in terms of those things.”

  She wasn’t putting the pup down though, so he wasn’t stopping. “If you don’t have any plans, we could go over together and I’d walk you through some things. I can help you get set up tonight if you want.”

  “Do you do this with everyone that adopts a dog?”

  Crap, was she seeing right through him? He was so not good at this.

  “No. But not everyone comes in here like this and offers to help, then finds a puppy falling in love with them. I’d hate to see you both not get to experience the bond.”

  “You’re good,” she said, looking down at the sleeping puppy she was rocking in her arms. He’d seen dogs grin before and this one was laying on the charm extremely thick.

  “What do we do with the puppy now?”

  He looked at his watch. “We can put him back in the kennel. These other three have been having fun. We’ll come back after you get what you need and pick the puppy up.”

  “I can’t believe I’m about to agree to this,” she said. “But if you’ve got the time and are willing, then we might as well. Let’s fill out the contract now, and he can continue with his nap.”

  Chase put the other three dogs back and then returned to see Noelle sitting in a chair whispering to the sleeping puppy. If there was a better sight on the face of this earth than a person falling in love with a dog, he’d yet to see it.

  Make it Work

  She was nuts. What the heck did she just do? Did she actually sign her name to a contract and adopt a puppy?

  Yes, she did. And said puppy was sitting in the kennel crying because he didn’t want her to put him down.

  The worse part was, she didn’t want to put him down either and felt not only her heart almost stop beating at those sad brown eyes, but moisture build in her own. If Chase hadn’t laughed at her, she might have given him her credit card to just go buy what was needed so she didn’t have to leave her new friend.

  Instead, she was following him to the pet store that she didn’t even know existed because she’d never had a reason to look for one.

  She parked next to Chase, who was still wearing scrubs. She didn’t know vets wore scrubs, not that she’d ever had a reason to even know that. “You better grab a cart. Even then, not everything will fit in it.”

  “Seriously?” she asked. Now she really was wondering what she got herself into.

  “You should get a crate.”

  “For what?” she asked.

  “Unless you plan on bringing the dog with you everywhere, you should crate train him for when you’re gone. Otherwise losing shoes would be the least of your worries.”

  “I don’t want to have second thoughts, but I’m starting to have them,” she said, feeling sad at just the thought of not keeping the puppy though. When was the last time she was scared, sad, and excited at once?

  “Which is only natural. Think of the cutie in your arms that you just left back there. Trust me when I say a dog makes everything better in life.” She didn’t have much to lose at this point. “If things don’t work out, don’t worry. I know I pressured you and will take the pup back.”

  She didn’t like the thought of that either. She’d make it work, she always made everything work in her life. How hard could this really be?

  Several hundreds of dollars later, Chase was helping her load up her SUV. She was the proud owner of a large crate that seemed way too big for the little puppy that was in her arms earlier. When Chase said her puppy could get up to eighty pounds, she didn’t believe him.

  But she also had a dog bed, a collar, a leash, bowls, food, treats, piddle pads, toys, chew sticks and a few other things she couldn’t remember the names of. She didn’t think she’d ever bought this much stuff for herself on a shopping trip.

  “Let’s go back and get your baby. Have you had a chance to think of a name yet?”

  “No. Do I need to give him one right now? Will it damage him if he doesn’t have one yet?”

  She didn’t appreciate that he burst out laughing, but damn it all, he was pretty darn cute when he smiled. “No, he won’t be damaged.”

  “Did he have a name when he came? I didn’t even think of that, but you said he lived with a family before?”

  “He did have a name. You don’t need to use it though.”

  “What was it?” she asked.

  “Chester.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Like I said, name him anything you want. Something will come to you, I’m sure.”

  “I’ll think about it,” she said, going to the driver’s door of her car.

  “Then let’s go get your new pup and we’ll set you up at home if you want.”

  “Don’t you have something to do?” she asked. “I mean I wouldn’t want to keep yo
u from anything or anyone.”

  “You’re just keeping me from my dogs at home, but they’re used to me being gone for long hours. I run home at lunch and let them out, and some days I bring them in with me, but today I didn’t.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ve got a few extra at home and it’s hard to pick and choose and not hurt any feelings.”

  She thought that was an odd statement, but decided to let it go and get her new companion. It seemed she was getting a male in her life after all.

  ***

  Chase was following Noelle home. Not that he needed to follow her anywhere because shockingly she lived on his street. He was just a little bit further up the road from her. He hadn’t said anything when she gave her address, but he figured he should before he was gone for the night.

  He pulled in behind her SUV in her driveway, then got out and walked forward, opening up the door for her when he noticed the pup jumping from the passenger seat into her driver’s and bathing her face.

  “Looks like he’s happy to be here. You’ve got plenty of land for him too.”

  “It’s not fenced though,” she said, getting out with the wiggling pup in her arms.

  “Boxers are a really smart breed. Teach them the boundaries and they’ll stay.”

  “You said he’s got bulldog in him too.”

  “Bulldogs are lazy but loyal like a boxer. Trust me when I say, he will stay close to home once you train him.”

  “That’s good to know. Of course I’ve got no clue how to train a dog either.”

  “Why don’t you set him down and let him do his business while I unload all of this? Then we can bring it in and get the crate set up for you.”

  She set the puppy down and started to walk him in the front yard while Chase pulled out the crate from the back and the rest of the bags.

  Once the puppy was all done sniffing and checking everything out, the two of them made their way in the front door, with Chase following behind loaded down with bags.

  “I’m not even sure where to tell you to put all of that stuff,” she said.