“You don’t want to get it all dirty, do you?” Ivy said. She pulled her phone from her coat pocket. “How about I take a picture of you? That way Caytie and Miss Piper can both see you in the dress.”
Lindsey posed for Ivy and then grabbed her hand, tugging her back toward the bathroom to change out of the dress. “The puppies are so cute and Miss Piper is so nice and pretty.”
“Is she pretty?” Kellen asked, once his wife was out of earshot.
Gabe thought about his neighbor and felt his neck grow warm. Yeah, Piper Jensen was very pretty. So pretty that he’d had trouble falling asleep the past few nights because he kept thinking about her. But to be fair, it wasn’t entirely his fault he couldn’t get her out of his mind. Aside from Lindsey constantly asking to go see her, along with the puppies, Gabe noticed she took her dog out each night about the same time. By the light of the moon and the soft porch light, he could easily see her through his family room window. A few times he could swear she noticed him too.
Glancing at Kellen, he lifted one shoulder up in a shrug. “I guess.”
Kellen’s mouth stretched into a smile. “You only guess, huh?”
“Don’t get any ideas,” Gabe said irritably. “It doesn’t matter how pretty she is. I’m not interested.”
“Who said anything about you being interested?”
Gabe snorted a laugh. His friend had a point. “Okay, so maybe I’m a little overly sensitive, but I’m so tired of everyone in town trying to play matchmaker and marry me off.” He saw the smirk on Kellen’s face and wanted to derail this conversation. “By the way, I take it you’re enjoying married life?”
That did the trick. A grin split Kellen’s face. “Oh yeah, I’m enjoying it very much.”
His smile faltered, and Gabe knew the guy probably thought he shouldn’t sound so enthused about something that had completely sucked for Gabe. Before Kellen could apologize, Gabe said, “I’m happy for you, man. Ivy is beautiful and I’m glad you found her.”
Kellen glanced at his wife as she came out of the bathroom. He still wore the look of a besotted groom, even though the couple had been married in September. “Me too. I thank God everyday for her.”
“What are you two talking about?” Ivy asked her husband.
“Just discussing how lucky I am to be married to you.”
“Ah, that’s so sweet.” She rose up on her toes and gave Kellen a quick kiss on his mouth. “But I know there’s more to the story so spill.”
Kellen laughed. “You’ll have to ask Gabe.”
Lifting an eyebrow, she looked to Gabe. “Well?”
Gabe was not about to admit he thought his neighbor was pretty. He cut Kellen a peeved look before telling Ivy about Rascal’s new role as a father.
“I’m sorry things didn’t work out for her, but I doubt she’ll have a problem finding the puppies homes.”
He hoped so. It was just one more thing on his list of things to worry about.
“I’m ready, Ivy.” Lindsey came out of the bathroom, still wearing her new boots.
As a single parent, Gabe had to pick his battles carefully. Making Lindsey take off the new boots wasn’t worth the fight that would ensue. Saying no to a puppy was much more important.
“Put your coat on,” Gabe said as Lindsey practically dragged Ivy toward the front door.
Kellen started to follow, his limp barely noticeable due to the prosthetic leg he wore after losing part of his leg from an IED in Afghanistan a couple of years earlier. “Oh, I almost forgot,” he said, turning back around. “We’re hosting a sledding party next Friday on the hill by our house.” He handed Gabe a postcard-sized invitation. “Grandma Ilene and Ivy’s Aunt Tillie are providing homemade scones and hot chocolate to keep everyone warm. And George will have the horse and sleigh out to give rides. It should be a fun night.”
“Thank you.” Gabe’s kids had been begging him to take them sledding for the past month, but they always had something come up. “I don’t think I have anything on the twenty-seventh, so we’ll be there for sure.”
“You can bring a date if you want to,” Kellen said with a smirk.
“I’m good.”
“Or, maybe you’ll meet someone there.” Kellen shrugged and wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “You never know who might show up.”
Gabe glared at the man’s back, tempted to follow him outside so he could scoop up a big ball of snow and throw it at his head. Apparently, Kellen had joined the find-Gabe-a-date club.
Even though Shane still had twenty more minutes of screen time left, he took off the headphones and scooted his chair back from the desk. “Can I go look at the puppies too?”
“Sure.” Gabe trailed behind his son to make sure he put his coat on. As the boy took off to catch up with Kellen, he called out to him, “Make sure you and your sister come home with Ivy and Kellen.”
“We will,” Shane hollered before disappearing from Gabe’s sight.
Rascal followed Shane but stopped when he came to the invisible boundaries Gabe had set up. The dog sat back on his haunches and started to whine.
“Come here, Rascal,” Gabe called. Of course the dog didn’t pay any attention to him. Gabe tried one more time and then decided not to worry about. The invisible fence worked well and the dog wasn’t going anywhere. If he changed his mind and wanted to come inside, he would let Gabe know.
Enjoying the feel of the warm sun, he lingered on the porch, fighting the temptation to go over to Piper’s house too. He wanted to believe the only reason he wanted to go there was to prevent his kids from getting any ideas about adopting a puppy, but he knew that wasn’t the truth. Other than catching a glimpse of her each night on her back porch, he hadn’t seen Piper for a few days now. A cloud moved in front of the sun, and he immediately felt the temperature drop. He opened his door to go back inside, but paused when Rascal started barking wildly as a truck turned onto Piper’s driveway. Gabe recognized Ian Davie’s truck and wondered why he was stopping by for the second time this week.
Something that felt a little like jealousy pricked Gabe’s heart as he watched the bachelor veterinarian climb out of his truck. Tamping down the feeling, he told himself it didn’t matter if Piper Jensen started dating one of Snow Valley’s most eligible bachelors.
“Hey, Gabe,” Ian said, lifting a hand to wave at him.
“Hi.” Forgetting all about his coat, he crossed his property until he came to the low fence separating the two yards. “What brings you here?” Gabe hadn’t meant to sound so proprietary. He hoped Ian didn’t pick up on that vibe.
“Just making a house call.” He looked at Gabe strangely. “I thought you knew about the puppies?”
“Oh yeah. Of course.” Gabe cleared his throat. “I guess you know about the role Rascal played in that, right?”
“Yeah.” Ian glanced at the dog. “I feel partially responsible for not following through with getting Rascal neutered.”
“That wasn’t your responsibility. I’m his owner now.”
“Still, I feel bad. I told Piper I’m waiving all my vet fees.”
“And I’m covering the other costs, so that just leaves finding homes for all the puppies.”
“It shouldn’t be too hard.” Ian smiled and lifted his eyebrows. “Much like the owner of the dog, puppies are very irresistible.”
So Ian was interested in Piper. Why did that bother Gabe so much?
“My kids are in there with Kellen and Ivy. Just so you know, we are not getting a puppy.”
“Do they know that?”
“Yes.” He narrowed his eyes at Piper’s house. “At least I thought I made that clear.”
Ian glanced toward Piper’s front door and then looked back at Gabe. “I’ll shoot you a text if it looks like the kids need an intervention.”
“Thanks.”
Ian waved and made his way toward the front porch. Gabe didn’t move and watched as Ian knocked on the door. A couple of seconds passed by before Piper opened her door.
>
“Hey, Ian, come on in,” Piper said with a lot more enthusiasm than she’d greeted Gabe with.
Envy sliced through him, making it feel as if an artic wind had just moved in. Shivering, he went back inside his house and stood in front of the fireplace, trying to warm up and trying not to think about Piper and Ian as a couple.
Brooding in front of the fire wasn’t helping, so Gabe tackled a few chores that he’d put off. Knowing Lindsey was down to her last clean shirt, he started a load of wash. Then he moved into the kitchen and cleared the breakfast dishes from off the countertop. The dishwasher hadn’t been emptied, something the kids were supposed to have done after school, so Gabe did it, all the while berating himself for not being a better parent. Maybe he should make up a daily chore list the kids had to cross off before they got any screen time.
He sighed as he added soap and started the dishwasher. There was so much he should be doing as a parent, but it was hard playing both father and mother.
The house seemed too quiet. Gabe should be happy for the reprieve and ought to take advantage of having some alone time, but he felt too restless inside to relax. Finally, he decided he better go and get his kids. It wasn’t wise to allow them to spend so much time with the puppies.
After donning his coat, he opened the door to find Rascal panting on the porch. Barking once, as if to thank Gabe for letting him in, he trotted across the floor and headed straight for the oversized doggy bed situated in front of the fireplace.
Pulling the collar around his ears, he hurried along the path to Piper’s house. Funny that up until a few days ago, he’d never even considered coming over to meet his new neighbor. As he approached the front door, Gabe noticed Ian’s truck was gone. It was stupid that it made him feel better. Pressing the doorbell, Gabe felt nervous and excited about seeing Piper again. As the door opened, he wondered if she would give him the same warm greeting she’d given Ian.
“Hi, Daddy,” Lindsey said.
“Hey, sweet pea.” He told himself he wasn’t disappointed Piper hadn’t been the one to open the door. But as he closed the door behind him, his eyes scanned the room looking for her. Shane and Ivy sat on the floor, staring at the puppies. Kellen was seated in the chair behind his wife. Piper was nowhere to be found, but Gabe caught the scent of chocolate and vanilla again. Did the woman make cookies every time she had someone stop by?
“Piper’s in the kitchen making cookies and I’m helping her,” Lindsey said, leading him toward the kitchen. “Come on and I’ll show you.”
Gabe nodded his head when he met Kellen’s eyes. “Find one you all like?”
“She wants them all,” Kellen said with an exaggerated sigh.
“They are all so adorable,” Ivy said. “How can I choose?”
“It’ll probably be easier once they’re old enough to hold,” Gabe said. He stopped in front of the birthing box, watching the expression on his son’s face as he gazed on the wriggling golden bodies.
Shoot, he should’ve come over sooner. Now Shane would join in with his sister on the campaign to get a puppy.
“Hey, bud,” Gabe said, gaining his son’s attention. “After Lindsey shows me her cookies we’re going to head home, okay?”
The little boy’s face fell, but he didn’t argue back. “Okay.”
Lindsey pulled him into the kitchen to find Piper bent over in front of the oven. He tried not to notice how well her jeans hugged her curves, but it was difficult since they fit her very nicely.
“Miss Piper, Daddy’s here,” Lindsey said, startling their host.
Piper yelped as the hot pad dropped. She straightened up and looked at her reddened fingertips.
“You need to get them under cold water,” Gabe said surprising them both when he took her hand and led her to the sink. Wordlessly, he turned on the cold water and stuck her fingers under the stream.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
Still holding her hand, he lifted his eyes to meet hers. They were beautiful eyes with tiny flecks of gold in the green. He swallowed. “The cold water will help ease the pain.”
“It’s definitely working.” Her full lips tilted up on the ends. “You can let go now if you want.”
That’s when Gabe realized that his fingers were growing cold from the water. “Yeah, I guess I can.” He let go and took a step backward.
The scent of scorched cookies wafted around them and Gabe quickly went over to the partially closed oven door and pulled it open. Most of the cookies had dropped down on the bottom, turning black from the flames of the gas oven.
Acting quickly, he turned the oven off, grabbed the oven mitt from the floor and pulled the pan of remaining cookies out. Piper had a container on her countertop that held kitchen utensils, and he found a set of steel tongs he could use to get the cookies from the bottom.
As he began retrieving the blackened cookies, Piper handed him an empty cookie sheet that he could put them on. “I can do this,” she said when he took the tray from her.
“So can I.” He nodded with his chin. “You need to go put your fingers back under the water.”
“They’re fine. Not even blistering.”
Gabe didn’t have to time to look to see if she told the truth. A loud piercing sound rent the air.
“I don’t like that noise,” Lindsey said, covering both of her ears. “Make it stop, Daddy.”
Kellen, Ivy and Shane all came into the smoke-filled kitchen as Piper opened up the kitchen window. Gabe was still trying to fish out two more cookies that were smoldering near the back.
“We’ll take the kids over to your house,” Ivy said. By this point, Lindsey was crying while still demanding for Daddy to make the noise stop and Anastasia was barking wildly.
“Thank you. If you can stay for a few minutes, I’ll help Piper clean up and then come home.”
“Take your time,” Ivy said with a wink.
Piper had her back turned and was using another cookie sheet to wave the smoky air toward the open window.
“Have fun,” Kellen mouthed and then gave him the thumbs up.
Gabe rolled his eyes and waved goodbye. A smoke filled kitchen wasn’t very romantic. Not that he wanted it to be romantic.
“I’m fine, Gabe,” Piper said after they were alone. “You can go home to be with your kids.”
“Linds is going to be fine.”
“But—”
“I’m staying, Piper,” he said, cutting off her protest.
They held one another’s gaze until she finally nodded her head. “Okay. Thank you.”
Heat filled Gabe’s chest when her lips parted into a sweet smile. Feeling off balance, he turned back around and made a few more attempts at getting the cookies. Finally, he decided to remove both of the oven racks and was successful at reaching the black cookies.
They smoldered on the tray as he brought them to the sink, dumped them inside, and turned on the water. The scent of burnt butter and chocolate permeated the air, but at last the piercing noise from the smoke alarm ceased. Anastasia was quiet too.
“Well, at least I know the smoke alarms are all functioning.” Piper stopped waving the air out the window and placed the cookie sheet onto the countertop.
“That’s true.” He replaced the oven racks before closing the door. When he turned back around, Piper was watching him. Resting his back against the countertop, he said, “Sorry about the cookies.”
“You didn’t burn them.”
“You wouldn’t have dropped the cookie tray if we hadn’t startled you.” He pushed away from the counter and crossed the floor. “How are your fingers?” he said, reaching for her hand. The moment he touched her soft skin, a crazy zing of heat traveled from the contact spot and made his pulse rate jump.
Piper stilled and took in a quick breath. “Um, that’s the wrong hand.”
Gabe met her hazel eyes as awareness crackled between them. He had a choice to make. Did he reach for her other hand to examine her fingers or let it go? Logic told him
to let it go, but his heart urged him to release her hand and pick up the other one. “No blisters,” he said in a low voice. “They’re just a little red and probably tender.”
“Yes,” she said breathlessly. Then she removed her hand and placed it over her stomach. “I’m good. You can go now.”
Gabe’s lips lifted into a half smile. Usually he was the one pushing women away. It should terrify him that he didn’t want to push her away or to be pushed away, but for some reason it didn’t. “Can I ask you a question?”
Piper’s eyes went wide. “Okay.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “Go ahead.”
“Do you always make chocolate chip cookies when people visit you?”
Chapter 5
Piper stared at her insanely attractive neighbor and wanted to smack him in the arm. Here they’d just had a moment together and she was almost positive he was going to ask her out. Even more irritating, she was going to say yes. But he wanted to know if she made cookies for anyone who stopped by?
“No, I don’t make them for just anyone.”
One of his eyebrows rose up. “So it’s just for us?”
She narrowed her gaze. “Not exactly. Kellen and Ivy also stopped by.”
“True.” He watched her for a few seconds. “I’m no expert, but the cookies you sent home with us the other night tasted too much like homemade cookies to have come from prepackaged frozen cookie dough.”
It was sort of impressive that he could tell the difference. “I use frozen cookie dough, but it’s my frozen cookie dough.” Uncomfortable with this man’s penetrating gaze, Piper twisted around and opened the freezer. She pulled out the bag of frozen cookie dough balls and held it up for Gabe. “I like to bake homemade cookies but don’t want to eat more than a few at a time so I freeze it and then bake however many I feel like eating.” She placed the bag on the counter. “Or when guests come over.”
“You probably shouldn’t bake cookies every time we come over to visit or my kids will start to expect it.”
Piper felt as if a hive of bees had just been let loose inside her stomach. The way Gabe Wesson talked made her believe he and his adorable children were going to be regular guests in her home. “I’ll make sure to stagger the cookie baking with their visits.”
Destiny Came Knocking: A Snow Valley Romance Page 4
