All For You: Halfway ThereBuckhorn Ever AfterThe One You WantOne Perfect Night

by Susan Mallery

  “That’s okay, isn’t it, Louie? Pets, like people, have their preferences.” She opened the front of the carrier and Louie, who was built like a small scruffy bulldog, shot out. For a thick, older cat, he moved with incredibly agility, darting right past her, down to the floor, up Shohn’s pants leg and to his chest.

  Wow. She’d never seen a cat move so fast.

  With a great throaty purr, Louie crawled up and over one thick shoulder so that his tail circled Shohn’s neck.

  For his part, Shohn didn’t move, he just sighed.

  Amused, Nadine crossed her arms and leaned a shoulder on the wall. “Friendly, huh?”

  “He freaking loves me.” Shohn held perfectly still, his hands at his sides, his head tipped a little away from where the cat nuzzled against him.

  Nadine smothered a laugh. It was just too precious. “What’s the matter, Shohn? You don’t like him?”

  “He’s...fine.” Still straining away from the cat, Shohn said, “It’s just that I went into the shelter to look at the dogs, but Louie spotted me and apparently decided I was his or he was mine or whatever. He’s been really clingy.”

  The cat purred and turned so that his tail slid just under Shohn’s nose.

  That got him moving real fast. Face twisting away, Shohn tried to pry Louie loose, but the cat wasn’t budging. He managed to wrestle down Louie’s butt so that it wasn’t right in his face, then scowled at Nadine for laughing. “The guy that runs the shelter said he’d never seen anything like it.”

  “He adores you.”

  “I guess. But why me?”

  “Who knows. Maybe he realizes you’ll take good care of him.”

  “I will, but I wasn’t counting on a cat, you know?”

  “In many ways, cats are easier.” She snickered as she said, “They need less attention.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  But it was, because at that moment the cat was trying to crawl inside the neckline of his shirt.

  Again Shohn tried to gently wrestle him back. It wasn’t easy. He’d get one paw loose and Louie would hold on with the other three.

  “You could help, you know. This is your forte, right?”

  Grinning, Nadine went over to assist in getting the cat loose. Louie wasn’t happy about it. He panicked and grabbed for Shohn even more.

  When Nadine finally got Louie free, she cuddled him close and stroked him to calm him down and let him know it was okay. In the process, she noticed he had part of an ear missing, and a distinct kink in his tail. “He looks a little worse for wear.”

  Shohn left his chair and came over to them. “Spent too many years tomcattin’ around, fighting for the ladies, didn’t you, boy?”

  The way he stood right behind her, reaching around to pet Louie, was almost like being hugged. She felt Shohn’s chest on her back, and hopefully that was his holster nudging her hip. “Maybe,” Nadine said in a croak.

  Shohn’s jaw brushed the top of her head. “I know just how you feel, buddy.”

  Nadine snorted. “Like you’ve ever had to fight for a girl.”

  “Just you—or don’t you remember Bob?”

  It wasn’t easy to remember anything with him so close, stirring up the memory of his kiss and the expanded fantasies she’d indulged all night long. “Bob who?” she asked while continuing to soothe the cat.

  “The idiot who teased you when we were kids.” He leaned closer and said near her ear, “He pushed you in the lake, and you got all...wet.”

  Nadine stepped away from him so quickly, Louie protested. She tried a laugh that fell flat, but the incident he mentioned was still painful to her. When all the other girls had been tiny and cute, just starting to mature, she’d already been...thick. It wasn’t until she turned twenty that she decided she no longer cared. She was not, and never would be, a skinny person. Not only wasn’t it part of her genetic makeup, but it was just plain too much work to always be exercising and dieting and fretting about it.

  She liked herself, abundance of curves and all. And she loved her life, a life filled with activities that made her happy.

  Shohn watched her closely. “I didn’t think it was funny.”

  No, she hadn’t, either. For three days she’d hidden away and cried. Twelve-year-old girls could be so melodramatic and tenderhearted. “Well, it wasn’t then, no. I was so embarrassed.” More like humiliated beyond endurance. “The lake made my shirt all but transparent and Bob started poking fun at me for being chubby.”

  Shohn strolled closer again. “Bob was an immature jerk.”

  “We were all immature, you included, Shohn. You were only, what, fourteen?”

  “Yeah. Fourteen and eternally horny. When you came out of that lake, I thought my knees would give out.” He smiled and teased a finger along her braid. “You’re right about the shirt. I remember it was so wet that I could even see your nipples. I about swallowed my tongue.”

  Nadine could only stare at him. His memory of the day was vastly different from hers. “I’m surprised you noticed that, given how you were eyeing all the girls in their bathing suits.”

  “That wet T-shirt on you was far more interesting than any bathing suit could ever be.” He stroked down to her chin then lifted her face. “I wouldn’t mind seeing it again, now that we’re not kids anymore.”

  “I’m still chubby.”

  His eyes darkened even more. “You are so damn curvy it’s making me nuts thinking about it.” He started to lean down to kiss her.

  Nadine started to let him.

  Then with a protesting “Meowrrr...” Louie wriggled free from her hold and butted the top of his head on Shohn’s chin.

  Nadine ended up with the cat’s tail in her face.

  Talk about ruining the mood.

  Relinquishing the cat to Shohn, she grabbed a wall for support and asked, “So what are we doing here?”

  “I was trying to seduce you.” He frowned. “That wasn’t obvious?” He shifted the cat down to his chest and cradled him like a baby. Louie approved, given his rumbling purr.

  “No, I mean... Yes, it was. But why are you here?”

  “To see you.”

  “With a cat?”

  “Oh, yeah.” He checked the time and cursed low. “I need to get to work. I was hoping you could watch Louie for me until the end of my shift. I get off at six then I’d need an hour or so to get out of the park and drive here.”

  Nadine eyed Louie. He stared back, his big yellow eyes unblinking. On the one hand, cats didn’t always mix well with dogs. But on the other hand, it’d be a terrific reason to get to see Shohn again.

  Shohn shifted. “If you tell me which part of the question is throwing you, I might be able to help.”

  “Just weighing the pros and cons.” The con being, of course, that she wanted to see Shohn again and it wasn’t a great idea. “It might be tough to keep Louie separated from the dogs.”

  “That shouldn’t be a problem. He had the run of the shelter and got along great with all the other animals, dogs included.”

  “Really? That’s unusual.”

  “He’s an unusual cat.” After opening the door, Shohn put a hand to the small of her back. “Let’s see how it goes before I take off.”

  Nadine let herself be ushered to the indoor play area. They had just entered the hallway when Louie heard the dogs. He lifted his head, his ears forward, then leaped from Shohn’s arms and loped forward as if excited to join in.

  In one agile move he launched up to sit on the gate, surveying the dogs from his perch. The dogs, somewhat stupefied, stopped to stare.

  “Huh.”

  Shohn asked, “What?”

  “They’re not barking.”

  “Maybe they know Louie wouldn’t like it.”

  Could be
, she decided, when en masse the dogs approached, their noses sniffing the air. Louie was so unconcerned that he lifted one rear leg straight into the air and started to groom himself.

  Shohn rubbed his face. “I told him that if he does that too often, it no longer counts as a bath.”

  Nadine snickered.

  One dog reared back on his haunches and barked. Another turned a circle. Another jumped. Louie gave up his ablutions and instead jumped down to run and play with them.

  “I’ll be.” She turned to Shohn. “Any dog that’s aggressive is kept separate from the others, so these are all social animals. I’m not worried if you’re not.”

  “So you’ll keep him for me?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  He surprised her by grabbing her upper arms, lifting her to her tiptoes and planting a firm kiss on her parted lips. “Thank you.”

  No, thank you. Resisting the urge to grab him back for a better taste, Nadine cleared her throat. “Sure. No problem.”

  “Give me your number and I’ll check on Louie later just to make sure everything is okay.”

  Turnabout seemed fair. “All right, but I also have some papers for you to fill out, including with your number, just in case I need to reach you.”

  It was another five minutes before Shohn was finally able to head out. She walked him to the door, wondering if he’d maybe steal another kiss, but a couple was on their way in with their new puppy, so he only thanked her with a smile before jogging out to his Jeep.

  This time, telling him goodbye was different.

  Because this time, she knew he’d be back.

  * * *

  SHOHN WAS MORE than a half hour late, and Nadine began to wonder if something had happened. He had her number, so why didn’t he call if he had a problem? Roxi and Fred went home for the evening, all the dogs settled down to sleep, but Louie watched her with his big yellow eyes as if in accusation.

  “I know, sweetie, but he will be here eventually.”

  The cat paced the front room, probably wondering why all his friends had been taken away.

  All day, Louie had run with the dogs inside, and occasionally in a fenced area outside. She had open runs for the bigger dogs, but the little ones that might look like hawk food were kept in the contained areas, well protected from predators.

  Louie went to the door and scratched.

  “Sorry, bud. No can do.” She tried to pet him, but he had other ideas—like meowing loudly, which stirred a few dogs. Nadine knew well enough that if one dog started barking, they’d all soon join in.

  “Tell you what,” she said to Louie. “We’ll go over to my house to wait for him.” Which meant she also needed to tote over the cat box and bed and a food and water dish... What a bother.

  Where was he?

  She decided to make two trips, taking Louie over first so he wouldn’t get the dogs riled, and then coming back for all the other stuff. She was loaded down and crossing the yard when a vehicle pulled in.

  She paused to look, and Amber hopped out of her big truck, Rookie with her.

  “Amber?” Nadine stood there until Amber spotted her. Rookie ran over first to greet her.

  “Hey there,” Amber said, already reaching for half of Nadine’s load. “Everything is fine, but Shohn’s held up at the park.”

  Bummer. “For how long?”

  “Right now he doesn’t know. Could be all night.” She looked from Nadine’s house to the office. “Where is this stuff going?”

  “My house.” She started that way. “So what happened? Is anyone hurt?”

  Amber shook her head. “Some idiot got lost. A group of guys were drinking too much and they got into an argument and one of the knuckleheads wandered off. Now they can’t find him.”

  “It’ll be getting dark soon.” She peered in through the screen, didn’t see Louie anywhere, so she held it open with her shoulder while Amber went in first, followed by Rookie.

  “I know. I hate when stuff like this happens.” She lifted the cat bed stacked with a food dish and a bag of food. “You got a cat?”

  “No, Shohn did.”

  Incomprehension filled Amber’s bright blue eyes before she grinned. “A cat, huh?”

  “A very unusual cat.” Nadine looked around. “He must be hiding somewhere.” She nodded at Rookie. “Does he like cats okay?”

  “Rook likes everyone, don’t you, buddy?”

  Alert, the dog thumped his tail hard on the floor, his expression hopeful. Amber smiled. “You want to find the cat?”

  Ears up, Rookie gave a loud, positive “woof!”

  “Go on, then.”

  He took off like a shot, running from the main room and down the hall. At Nadine’s bedroom he slid to a sudden halt that sent his tail past his head. His nails wheeled on the floor until he grabbed some traction, then he launched into the bedroom.

  In a fast walk, the ladies followed and found the dog sitting at the ready beside Nadine’s full-size bed, staring at where Louie curled up, nose to butt, on her bed pillow.

  Rookie seemed very pleased that he’d so easily located the cat. For his part, Louie lifted his head, seemed to give a mental shrug, and after a long stretch and toothy yawn, he lazily got up to greet Rookie.

  Amber and Nadine both stood in the doorway.

  At almost the same time, Amber said, “That’s Shohn’s cat?” while Nadine said, “Looks like they’ll get along just fine.”

  Slowly Amber went in and sat on the edge of the mattress. Louie glanced at her, sniffed her outstretched hand and jumped down to play with Rookie.

  “His reaction to Shohn is very different.”

  “How so?” Amber rejoined her and they followed the animals back to the main room.

  “He adores Shohn. It’s something to see.”

  With a coy look, Amber said, “Everyone adores Shohn. Why should a cat be any different?”

  “Speaking of Shohn...” As she arranged the cat’s stuff on the floor, she asked, “If he could call you, why didn’t he just call me?”

  “He didn’t call. Adam was at the park for a field trip. They were just wrapping up the school activities when Shohn got word that the guy was missing. He told Adam to tell me that if I didn’t hear from him before eight-thirty, I should let you know what’s going on.”

  Adam was Shohn’s cousin by marriage. His uncle Jordan, the town vet, had married Georgia, who already had Adam and Lisa. But if you asked anyone in the family, they were as much related as if Jordan had fathered Lisa and Adam himself. “I thought he was a gym teacher. Why would he be on a field trip?”

  “One of the other teachers got sick last minute, so he filled in.” Amber pulled out a chair at her little table, the same chair that Shohn had used the night before. “Am I keeping you from anything?”

  “Not at all.” Looked as if Amber planned to stay and visit. From one animal lover to another, she liked Amber a lot.

  Plus, she was Shohn’s cousin.

  “Can I get you something to drink?”

  “Sure. Anything cold.”

  After pouring them both colas, Nadine joined her at the table.

  She’d just taken a big drink when Amber said, “I’m kind of glad we have a chance to talk.”

  Nadine slowly lowered the can. Amber had a way of dropping bombshells on people. She always stated things so boldly, without any reserve at all. Nadine had learned to be cautious, so she hedged, saying, “I always enjoy visiting with you. You know that.”

  “Yeah, yeah, same here,” Amber said, moving right along. “But that’s not what I meant.”

  “No?”

  “I think you should give Shohn a chance.”

  Dreading the answer, Nadine asked, “A chance to do what?”

  “Oh, I don’t kn
ow. Maybe...sleep with you?”

  Yup, a bombshell. Nadine rolled her eyes. “I can always expect the unexpected from you.”

  “So will you?”

  In many ways, Amber was as pushy—maybe more so—as Shohn. “What makes you think he even wants to?”

  She crossed her arms over the table and leaned in. “He’s wanted to forever. He just didn’t realize it until recently.”

  Nadine had to laugh. “You’re nuts.” Shohn was the most straightforward, on-track person she’d ever met. He always knew what he wanted, and he always went after it. “I remember when he was sixteen and decided he wanted to be a park ranger. A bunch of us were at your uncle Sawyer’s house. I think it was your brother Garrett’s birthday.”

  “Probably,” Amber said. “Garrett’s only a year older than you.”

  “Anyway, your uncle Jordan showed us a baby hawk that had gotten injured by some idiot campers.”

  “Uncle Jordan probably crooned it back to good health.” Amber grinned. “He has such a knack for helping animals.”

  “Shohn was pretty furious about it.” And since Shohn had such a congenial, easygoing nature, it was rare to see him fired-up. Usually it only happened when he was defending someone or something else—like injured baby birds, or chubby girls. “He announced he was going to be a park ranger, as if that’d keep anyone from ever injuring a baby animal again.”

  “And here he is, a ranger,” Amber said. “And I’m willing to bet few dare go in the hills with the intent of tormenting a poor animal, not when they have to deal with Shohn.”

  “Your pride is showing,” Nadine teased. “But my point is that if Shohn had feelings for me, he’d have known it.”

  “He probably did on some level, and that’s why he hasn’t come on to you before now.”

  That was so absurd, Nadine choked on it.

  Amber narrowed her bright blue eyes. It was a fact that everyone in Buckhorn had noted: those extraordinary eyes of hers packed a lot of punch. When she looked at people, they felt it.

  When she looked at the guys...well, she had as much impact with them as Shohn had with the ladies.