Wanted: One Mommy

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  He listened. “Okay, first thing. Get Maddie away from the scene. I know, Mom, but she doesn’t need to see this. And then do what you can to stop the bleeding. I’ll be right there.”

  He ended the connection. “Got to go. Bounder’s hurt.”

  Unable to bear the thought of the adorable dog in pain, Caroline dashed after Jack. “What happened?”

  “Mom and Dutch aren’t sure. They put Bounder out back while Maddie was having her bath. When they went to let her in, she was lying on the patio, and there were bloody paw prints all around her. Obviously, Bounder’s hurt at least one foot, but they can’t tell which one, and she’s so upset, she won’t let anyone touch her. Dutch and Mom have been trying to get a closer look but they can’t catch Bounder—she keeps running away from them. And Maddie’s hysterical. I could hear her sobbing in the background.”

  Her heart going out to all of them, Caroline struggled to keep pace as Jack rushed toward his car. “Sounds like you need help.”

  Jack shot her a grateful look. “You offering?”

  Caroline nodded.

  “Then let’s go. We’ll take my car and come back and get yours later.”

  Jack climbed behind the wheel of his SUV. He got them “home” in record time. Bypassing the front door, he headed through the gate to the backyard. Adrenaline pumping, Caroline was right behind him.

  Bounder was curled up behind Maddie’s swing set. When she saw Jack, the golden retriever whimpered, stood. But when he started to approach, she took off again.

  Dutch was on the patio, kneeling, a box of dog treats in his hand. “I’ve been trying to tempt her,” Dutch said, concerned. “She’s not interested.”

  “She’s scared.” Caroline kicked off her heels and walked barefoot through the grass, talking softly all the while. “Oh, my poor Bounder. What happened to you, girl? How’d you get hurt?”

  Bounder whimpered and went left.

  Jack came up behind her.

  Dutch started to approach on Bounder’s other side.

  Caroline got as close as she dared, then dropped to her knees. She held her arms open wide. “Come on, sweetie. Come see me. Let me help you.”

  Bounder hesitated.

  Jack caught the golden retriever in his arms.

  The family pet whimpered and tried to break free. Caroline closed in, bent down to look. “It’s the right front paw. Easy, girl. Easy.” Gently, Caroline inspected the still-oozing wound. “It looks like she ripped off part of one toe-pad on something. I don’t know if they can stitch this but she is going to have to see the emergency vet.”

  Dutch handed them a towel.

  Bounder let Caroline wrap her paw. Jack lifted the seventy-five-pound dog in his arms, and together he and Caroline moved her to his SUV.

  “You know where you’re going?” Caroline asked.

  Jack nodded. “The emergency vet clinic is two miles from here.”

  Caroline sat in the back, cradling the now steadily whimpering dog in her arms. She maintained pressure on the wound with her free hand, trying not to think about how much the paw must hurt, and buried her face in the dog’s fur, talking softly to her all the while.

  By the time they reached the clinic, Bounder had stopped crying. Jack and Caroline moved the still-trembling animal inside. The emergency technicians promptly took over, and moved the retriever to an exam room in the back.

  Finally, it seemed, there was nothing to do but wait.

  Jack filled out the paperwork, while Caroline paced.

  Finished, he came over.

  He looked as overwhelmed with emotion as she felt.

  Caroline was already near tears. “Bounder’s going to be okay, you know,” she said thickly.

  He nodded, his eyes moist. “I know. It’s just…” He paused, for a second unable to go on. Swallowed. “Maddie loves Bounder so much. That pup is the sibling Maddie never had, and if anything were ever to happen to her…” He shook his head.

  Caroline touched his arm. “Maddie would be devastated.”

  Jack nodded.

  “So you do have a heart after all,” Caroline teased, afraid if she didn’t do something to break the spell, she’d be the one to take him into her arms this time.

  And she had no business even thinking of comforting him that way.

  One corner of Jack’s mouth crooked up. “That’s the rumor.”

  Their eyes locked. Understanding flowed. Along with the realization that the two of them made a pretty good team.

  Now, Caroline thought, if they could just transfer that ability to Patrice and Dutch’s wedding, they’d be all set.

  IT WAS NEARLY NINE-THIRTY, but Maddie was waiting up for them when Jack and Caroline returned home, Bounder in tow.

  Caroline held the leash, while Jack lifted Bounder to the ground. Together, they walked a limping Bounder over to the grass to take care of business, and then through the front door.

  Inside, they were met by all three family members, and the anxious, empathetic look on all their faces let Caroline know this family had more than enough love to give.

  “Is Bounder going to be all right?” Maddie asked Jack and Caroline, her lower lip trembling.

  Jack bent down to unsnap the leash, then reached over and patted his daughter’s shoulder. “Yes, she is.” Jack had already relayed that information via a phone call from the vet clinic, but it was clear Maddie was still up because she had needed to see Bounder for herself.

  The four adults watched as Maddie knelt down to greet her beloved pet. The two went eye to eye and nose to nose, the love that passed between daughter and retriever evident. “Daddy!” Maddie worried aloud and her lower lip shot out. “Bounder looks so sad!”

  Jack hunkered down beside them. “That’s because Bounder doesn’t like her Elizabethan collar,” Jack explained.

  It did look a little weird, if you had never seen one before, Caroline thought. The black cushion-collar fanned out from the pet’s head, like an inverted cone or a satellite dish. It was designed to keep a dog from licking or chewing a wound.

  “But she has to wear it, so she won’t try and take off the bandage on her paw,” Caroline explained.

  Maddie transferred her attention to the thick wrapping obscuring Bounder’s paw. “Her bandage is purple!” Maddie admired.

  Everyone grinned.

  Jack went on to explain. “The vet gave Bounder medicine and said she has to rest in order to feel better. So we’re going to put her to bed now, okay? And I want you to go to bed, too.”

  “Can she sleep on her cushion in my room?”

  Jack nodded.

  Maddie kissed and hugged her dad good-night, then turned to Caroline shyly. “Thank you for helping save my dog,” she said. She held out her arms.

  Surprised and touched by the show of emotion, Caroline knelt so they could hug. She held Maddie close, deep maternal feelings welling up inside her. “You’re welcome, honey.”

  Maddie held on a little while longer, then reluctantly let Caroline go. She looked at Caroline’s elegant business suit. Shook her head. “Your clothes are all icky. Yours, too, Daddy.”

  Jack wasn’t sure why he hadn’t noticed until then. He supposed it was because he had been so focused on Caroline’s emotions—which had mirrored his—and the continued welfare of the beloved family pet, but now that he took a good look, he saw Maddie had a point. Both he and Caroline had a mixture of dog saliva, mud and dried blood staining their clothes.

  Out of the mouths of babes…

  “Maddie’s right. You can’t go anywhere looking like that,” Patrice declared. “Caroline, I’ll get you something to change into. Jack, get out of those clothes and bring them down to the laundry room for soaking. If we act quickly, there’s a chance we can save them with some enzyme spray.”

  JUST AS IT HAD BEEN with her own mother, it seemed there was no arguing with Patrice once Jack’s mom had her mind made up.

  So, in the hopes that her elegant business suit could be saved, Caroline
accepted Jack’s white oxford cloth shirt, the oversize gray workout shorts and white cotton crew socks Patrice returned with. There wasn’t a lot of choice. Caroline would never fit in anything the very petite Patrice had in her closet. It would have been embarrassing to try.

  Better to tighten the drawstring waist on the men’s shorts and head for the laundry room, where Patrice was already spritzing the stains out of Jack’s clothes with an enzyme pretreater.

  Patrice frowned at the silk-and-cotton fabric in Caroline’s hands. “I’ll give it my best effort.”

  “Don’t worry about it, if it doesn’t come out,” Caroline said.

  “Of course we’ll worry about it,” Jack said from behind her. He, too, was dressed in running shoes, shorts and a tight-fitting T-shirt that showed off his six-pack abs. “We’re responsible for the state of those clothes.”

  “Why don’t you two let me worry about the laundry,” Patrice suggested, “and you two figure out what Bounder stepped on in the yard. Because whatever it is that cut her foot is still out there and I don’t want Maddie running into it.”

  Jack plucked a big flashlight out of the built-in cabinet above the washing machine. He turned to Caroline, seemingly in no hurry to see her leave. His eyes warmed as they slowly moved over her face, before returning to her eyes. “You up for it?” he asked.

  “Sure,” Caroline said, wanting to do everything she could to make sure the little girl and her pet were safe from here on out. Telling herself there was nothing at all romantic in the overture—Jack was just being friendly—she shrugged. “I’m curious, too.”

  Jack grabbed another heavy-duty flashlight for himself, while Patrice loaned Caroline a pair of construction boots that also looked like they belonged to Jack. She paused to lace them up. Although large, they would offer excellent protection.

  Jack switched on the outdoor lamps, but the circle of yellow light only went so far in the dark half-acre yard. “So how’d you get so good with dogs?” Jack asked, glancing at her appreciatively. “Have one as a kid?”

  Caroline warmed at his praise. “No. I always wanted one, but my mom was allergic so I could never have one.”

  Jack gave her the sympathetic once-over. “That’s too bad.”

  Caroline tingled every place his gaze had touched and every place it hadn’t. “I figured I’d have one when I finished school and got married, but my fiancé didn’t want one. He thought they were too much trouble. So I put my dream of owning a dog on hold again.”

  Still focused on the search for the mysterious sharp object, Jack edged nearer. “Why didn’t you get one when you broke up?”

  Their beams of light intersected and joined. Caroline shrugged off her disappointment. “I wanted to get a puppy and raise her to adulthood, and I knew I was going to be putting every spare moment into building my business.” She paused, bit her lip. “It didn’t seem fair to bring a dog into my life only to leave her at home alone all the time, so I let that particular dream go again.”

  Jack hunkered down and inspected the bushes along the back of the fence. “That’s too bad.” He studied her face, then said softly, “You’ve got a real affinity for animals.”

  And you, Caroline thought, shocked at the realization.

  Glad it was too dark for Jack to pick up the blush now heating her face, Caroline turned her attention beneath a bed of flowers. “I figure I’ll have a dog one day, when I get a house and yard and a family of my own.” She paused to examine the underside of the plants.

  Jack slid his hand beneath her elbow, steadying her as she stood upright once again. “Don’t wait too long,” Jack quipped.

  Shimmering with awareness, Caroline slipped from his grip and turned her attention to the dark corner of the yard along the side of the house they had yet to explore. “To do what?” she asked as he came up beside her. They were standing so close she could feel the heat emanating from his powerful body.

  “To do whatever you need to do to be happy,” Jack said.

  Happiness, Caroline thought, meant only one thing—the fulfillment of all her dreams. Especially new romantic ones coming to mind right now.

  She tilted her head up to his, asked softly, “Why do you care if I am or not?” They were only consultant and client…weren’t they?

  Jack paused, then switched off his light. “I’m not sure why I care so much,” he said finally, switching off her flashlight, as well. “I just do. And believe me,” he finished ever so quietly, ever so purposefully, “that’s a surprise to me, too.”

  The way he looked at her made her catch her breath. “Jack…”

  Her whispered plea did nothing to stop him.

  Jack cupped her trembling shoulders between his palms. Slowly tilted and lowered his head, until she was awash with sensation and his mouth was a fraction of an inch above hers.

  “I’ve got to kiss you, Caroline,” Jack murmured.

  And he did.

  CAROLINE THOUGHT—or was it just hoped?—she had imagined how wonderful Jack’s kiss had been. She hadn’t. His kiss was pure heaven, and so was the feeling of being held in his arms. She couldn’t say why exactly, she just knew that as his lips molded themselves to hers, eliciting tingles of heat, she felt cherished and protected, admired and desired, in a way she never had before. She felt very much a woman to Jack’s man, and that was why, for both their sakes, it had to stop.

  Jack felt Caroline’s hesitation in the sudden stillness of her slender body and the catch in her breath. If he were smart, he would heed the signal and pull away, because making out like this in the dark was not something either of them should be doing. But common sense had little to do with his feelings at the moment.

  He wanted Caroline in a way he had never desired any woman. He wanted to taste the sweetness of her lips, and feel the soft curves of her body pressed up against his. He wanted to savor the feel of her arms wrapped around his neck, the intimacy of her fingers sliding through his hair, the feel of their bare legs pressing together. The fact she was wearing his clothes at the moment only made the clinch sexier.

  Kissing her like this made him feel alive. Made him want the kind of closeness he thought had passed him over.

  There was just something between them. Something indefinable but definitely there. Call it a spark of awareness, the engineer in Jack thought. Dub it chemistry or the flash of opposites attracting.

  All he knew for certain was that he and Caroline were different in so many ways. And yet pulled toward each other, too.

  To the point her reticence had once again faded and they were making out like a couple of teenagers, both of them loving every single second of it.

  And that was, of course, when the sound of the sliding door to the patio could be heard opening and closing. “Jack! Caroline!” Patrice called out to them. “What on earth are you two doing?”

  Chapter Six

  Jack and Caroline broke apart like a couple of guilty schoolkids. He had only to look at Caroline’s face to realize how mortified she was, and how deeply satisfied he felt.

  He couldn’t blame her. They were behaving recklessly. And neither of them were reckless people. Which made this incident all the more profound, in his opinion.

  Jack picked up the flashlights from where they had fallen on the grass and switched them on. He handed her one and slid his hand beneath Caroline’s elbow. Then escorted her around the side of the house, where they could now see his mother standing perplexed on the stone patio.

  “Did you find what might have cut Bounder’s foot yet?” she asked.

  Jack shook his head. He looked at Caroline, saw she appeared equally unsettled. The knowledge only deepened his pleasure. Maybe they were on to something here, although he doubted it was true love. True love, from what he had been able to tell and experience, did not really exist except in movies, books and the minds of those willing to substitute emotion for cold, hard fact.

  Aware his mother was looking at them with a smile now, Jack felt a stab of self-consciousness.r />
  “Mmm-hmm.” Patrice folded her arms in front of her, the way all moms did when they suddenly caught on to something. “I can see how hard you’re working.”

  Guilt flooded Jack. He hadn’t meant to clue anyone else in on his attraction to Caroline. At least not at this point. “We’ll find it,” Jack promised, forcing himself to get back on task. They had no choice. The yard would not be safe to play in until they did.

  Patrice continued to study them, then sobered, forcing herself to get back to the matter at hand, too. “Maddie told me she thought that Bounder hurt her foot somewhere near the slide on the swing set, if that helps.”

  It did. “Thanks, Mom,” Jack said.

  He headed over in that direction, Caroline right beside him. Patrice went back inside the house.

  Carefully, Jack focused his yellow beam on the thick layer of cedar chips beneath the elaborate wooden swing set and climbing fort. “Sorry about that,” he told Caroline. It was obvious that although his mother hadn’t actually seen them kissing, she had figured out the gist of what had been going on between him and Caroline. And more, looked happy for it.

  Unfortunately, Jack couldn’t say the same about Caroline.

  Head bent, Caroline studied the area around the swings. “Sorry for the kiss?” She enunciated clearly, letting him know she did not appreciate his timing. “Or the fact you embarrassed me in front of a client?”

  Jack knew she was right—here and now had not been the time to make a move. He should have waited, he admitted ruefully, until there had been zero possibility of a private moment turning into a public display of affection. Next time, he’d use better judgment. He leaned closer and said, just as quietly, “Trust me. If Mom blames anyone for the fact we were making out just now, she blames me.”

  Jack watched the sparks come into her pretty eyes.

  She tilted her head, mocked him with a glance. “You hit on the hired help that often, hmm?”