by Gina Wilkins
“Shelby?”
Her eyes were already closed, her mind drifting. “Mmm?”
“Is it too soon for me to tell you that I think I fell in love with you the minute you threw yourself at me at the gas station?”
Her pulse tripped a little, but she kept her tone casual when she replied, “It took me a little longer. I fell in love over iced tea and a cherry freeze inside the station—when you didn’t make fun of me for thinking you were Andrew and asking you to investigate one of our guests. I thought, finally—here’s someone who really gets me.”
His lips brushed her forehead. “It’s happened pretty fast between us. But my family has a history of that. A very successful history, as it turns out.”
Smiling, she said, “We wouldn’t want to spoil that good record.”
“I don’t think there’s any danger of that.”
Letting her eyes close again, she murmured, “Neither do I. I have a very good feeling about this. And so far my instincts have turned out to be pretty reliable.”
“You’ve made a believer out of me,” he assured her.
She was still smiling when she drifted into sleep, safe in Aaron’s arms.
* * *
Shelby had informed Aaron that the Bell family gathered for a breakfast meeting every Monday morning at six in the grill, before opening the marina, store and office. They discussed the upcoming week’s projects, informally reported on the state of their own responsibilities, discussed ideas and expenses. These Monday meetings had been started by Pop and his sons years ago, before she was even born, when their once-small marina and campground had started evolving into the thriving resort of today.
Shelby admitted she had loved accompanying her parents to the meetings as a child, having breakfast at one of the diner tables and listening to the discussions about the state of the resort. She’d begun to participate with ideas and suggestions—some admittedly far-fetched—by the time she was a young teen. Now it was her job to present financial reports every Monday morning, a responsibility she took very seriously.
She had another order of business this particular Monday morning. Aaron followed her past the closed sign at twenty minutes past six. They’d have been earlier, but when they had awakened this morning in each other’s arms, their whispers of love still echoing in the room, they’d had to celebrate being together. Aaron had tried to be very careful of Shelby’s injuries, but she’d been impatient with his restraint, flipping him onto his back and demonstrating just how resilient she was.
He would have been perfectly content to stay right there in her bed all day, but she’d urged him to attend the meeting with her. For one thing, she wanted to reassure everyone that she was okay, she’d said. She hadn’t missed a Monday-morning meeting in years, and they would assume if she didn’t show up this time that she was too incapacitated by trauma, which piqued her pride.
Everyone else was gathered there when they entered the diner, even Lori and Steven, who had a pair of crutches propped beside him. Shelby had told Aaron to expect to see everyone but Lori, who didn’t usually attend the meetings, even when she was home from college and working in the office, but there she was, sitting between her grandparents. Aaron figured her presence this morning was an indication of how harrowing yesterday’s events had been. As seemed usual in times of stress, this family had drawn closer together, other issues temporarily set aside.
Shelby was welcomed into the room with loving smiles, relief obvious on every face that she was there with them, a little battered but otherwise in one piece. Aaron imagined Steven had been greeted in much the same way.
Her mother hurried to her side and kissed her bruised cheek. “How do you feel, honey?”
“I’m fine, Mom. The wrist is still a little sore, but no headache.”
“Good.” Smiling at Aaron, Sarah said, “Sit down, I’ll get your breakfast. We’re having waffles, fruit and bacon this morning.”
“Sounds good, Mom,” Shelby said, “but first I need to tell you all something.”
Considering her tendency to drift into stream-of-consciousness chatter when she was enthusiastic, there was no telling what Shelby would say next. Aaron found himself anticipating her announcement with a stifled grin, finding that aspect of her as appealing as all the other facets he’d discovered thus far. He looked forward to learning even more about her in coming weeks—years, he amended with a rush of slightly nervous anticipation.
All heads had turned their way, everyone quiet as they waited for Shelby to speak again. A few questioning sideways glances were directed at him, as if they wondered how he was involved with this big announcement.
“My plan for this morning was to tell you all that Aaron’s time with us is ending,” Shelby said. “I was going to explain that he and I have been seeing each other, but I’ve decided it’s not going anywhere, so I’ve chosen to end it.”
Thoroughly amused, Aaron noted her family looked bewildered as they glanced from Shelby to him to each other.
“You’re, um, breaking up with him?” her brother asked with a frown. With some satisfaction, Aaron thought he saw a hint of disappointment in Steven’s expression. Nice to know he’d made at least one good friend in Shelby’s family.
“That was the plan,” Shelby agreed cheerfully. “I was going to send him away—dejected and bitterly disappointed, of course.”
“Shelby—” her father said with a shake of his head.
She wrapped her right hand beneath Aaron’s arm and grinned. “I’ve changed my mind, Dad. I’ve decided to keep him.”
“What Shelby is trying to say,” Aaron interjected when her family looked even more confused, “is that I’d like to stay around for a while. I know you need someone to fill in for Steven and I’d like to apply for that job. You can hire me on a probationary basis if you want, let us all see how it works out, but I can guarantee you I’ll be a dedicated employee. I can supply references, if needed,” he added with a crooked smile.
Pop cocked a bushy eyebrow. “From your twin brother, Andrew?”
Still unable to tell if the old guy was pulling his leg, Aaron smiled and agreed, “He would probably vouch for me in person, if it would help.”
Maybe seeing him and Andrew side by side would finally convince Pop that there really were two of them—assuming he hadn’t been joking about that all along.
“You want to work for the resort?” Sarah asked as if she needed clarification.
He nodded. “If you all agree.”
Everyone glanced at Bryan. He shrugged. “The man’s a hard worker. Good with a hammer. Experienced in construction work. Puts the family first. I say give him a shot.”
C.J. didn’t look as nonchalant. He scowled as he looked from Aaron to Shelby and back. “If you hurt my daughter—”
“Dad.” Shelby spoke with more steel than Aaron had heard from her before. “When it comes to the resort, you have a vote. My personal life is off-limits, remember?”
Aaron thought it had to take a massive effort, but C.J. subsided with a huff of breath. “Fine. We’ll give him a chance.”
Aaron decided he needed to have Shelby teach him how to deal with family that way.
Everyone started talking at once—about his and Shelby’s plans, more rehashing of yesterday, the regular business discussed in the Monday-morning meetings—and then the room fell silent again when someone new entered.
Linda gasped and jumped from her chair to rush toward the doorway. “Hannah! We weren’t expecting you back yet. What a nice surprise.”
Two facts were immediately apparent to Aaron when he first laid eyes on Shelby’s cousin Hannah. One, she was gorgeous. Stunning, actually. And two, she was pregnant. He’d estimate about six months along. Quickly putting together a few of the things the others had said about her, he realized he should have already figured that
out.
“How did you get here so early?” Linda asked, leading Hannah in. “You must have left Mother’s house before dawn.”
“I did,” Hannah admitted. “I couldn’t sleep, anyway, and I wanted to get ahead of the traffic. I’ll rest this afternoon. I was just ready to be home.”
“So much has happened in the short time you’ve been away,” Linda said with a breathless laugh. “We’ll have to tell you all about it. First, say hello to—”
Hannah gasped loudly, her face draining of color. Staring at Aaron, she swayed visibly.
He was close enough to reach her before she could fall, supporting her on one side while her mother caught her other arm. The family jumped up, hurrying toward her, but Shelby waved them back, urging them to give Hannah some air.
Steadying herself, dark-haired Hannah stared up at Aaron with shocked green eyes. “Andrew,” she whispered. “I—”
And then she stopped, a frown creasing her eyebrows. “Wait. You’re not—”
“I’m Aaron,” he said gently. “Andrew’s twin.”
She drew a deep, unsteady breath. “You’re Aaron.”
“Yes.” Unlike the others, she didn’t seem surprised that Andrew had a twin, though seeing him had certainly shaken her.
Aaron looked down at her swollen belly, doing some quick mental calculations. No. It had been ten months since Andrew was here at the resort. If he’d seen Hannah since, no one had mentioned it—and knowing this family, they would have mentioned it.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “It was a long drive and I’m operating on little sleep.”
“I’m sure seeing Aaron and thinking he was Andrew brought back a lot of unhappy memories,” her mother sympathized. “But Aaron’s presence here has nothing to do with Wade or any of that unpleasantness last year, Hannah. Actually, he’s going to be staying for a while, working with your dad.”
“Oh. Well, that’s—” Hannah swallowed audibly. “That’s nice. I need to sit down.”
While the others all gathered around Hannah, helping her to a chair, fetching water and food for her, asking questions and talking about all she had missed, Shelby slipped her hand beneath Aaron’s arm again with a soft laugh. “If it’s not one drama, it’s another in this family. Maybe you’d like to run while you can?”
His attention focused on her pretty smile, he had to bend his head for a quick kiss, regardless of how many members of her family were in the room. “Too late. I think I’m hooked.”
“Well, don’t expect me to throw you back.” She leaned against him, smiling happily. “I caught you, I’m keeping you.”
Kissing her again, more slowly this time, he decided he had no problem with that. He’d been looking a long time for his place in the world. He’d always believed he would know when he found it.
He knew now. He was home. With Shelby. And this adventure was going to last a lifetime.
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt of A Cold Creek Noel by RaeAnne Thayne!
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Chapter One
“Come on, Luke. Come on, buddy. Hang in there.”
Her wipers beat back the sleet and snow as Caidy Bowman drove through the streets of Pine Gulch, Idaho, on a stormy December afternoon. Only a few inches had fallen but the roads were still dangerous, slick as spit. For only a moment, she risked lifting one hand off the steering wheel of her truck and patting the furry shape whimpering on the seat beside her.
“We’re almost there. We’ll get you fixed up, I swear it. Just hang on, bud. A few more minutes. That’s all.”
The young border collie looked at her with a trust she didn’t deserve in his black eyes and she frowned, her guilt as bitter and salty as the solution the snowplows had put down on the roads.
Luke’s injuries were her fault. She should have been watching him. She knew the half-grown pup had a curious streak a mile wide—and a tendency not to listen to her when he had an itch to investigate something.
She was working on that obedience issue and they had made good strides the past few weeks, but one moment of inattention could be disastrous, as the past hour had amply demonstrated. She didn’t know if it was arrogance on her part, thinking her training of him was enough, or just irresponsibility. Either way, she should have kept him far away from Festus’s pen. The bull was ornery as a rattlesnake on a hot skillet and didn’t take kindly to curious young border collies nosing around his turf.
Alerted by Luke’s barking and then the bull’s angry snort, she had raced to old Festus’s pen just in time to watch Luke jig the wrong way and the bull stomp down hard on his haunches with a sickening crunch of bone.
Her hands tightened on the steering wheel and she cursed under her breath as the last light before the vet’s office turned yellow when she was still too far away to gun through it. She was almost tempted to keep going. Even if she were nabbed for running a red light by Pine Gulch’s finest, she could probably talk her way out of a ticket, considering her brother was the police chief and would certainly understand this was an emergency. If she were pulled over, though, it would mean an inevitable delay and she just didn’t have time for that.
The light finally changed and she took off fast, the back tires fishtailing on the icy road. She would just have to trust the salt bags she carried for traction in the bed of the pickup would do the job. Even the four-wheel drive of the truck was useless against black ice.
Finally, she reached the small square building that held the Pine Gulch Veterinary Clinic and pulled the pickup to the side doors where she knew it was only a short transfer inside to the treatment area.
She briefly considered carrying him in by herself, but it had taken the careful efforts of both her and her brother Ridge to slide a blanket under Luke and lift him into the seat of her pickup. They could bring out the stretcher and cart, she decided.
She rubbed Luke’s white neck. “I’m going to go get some help, okay? You just hold tight.”
He made a small whimper of pain and she bit down hard on her lip as her insides clenched with fear. She loved the little guy, even if he was nosy as a crow and even smarter, which was probably why his stubbornness was such a frustration.
He trusted her to take care of him and she refused to let him die.
She hurried to the front door, barely noticing the wind-driven sleet that gouged at her even under her Stetson.
Warm air washed over her when she opened the door, familiar with the scent of animals and antiseptic mixed in a stomach-churning sort of way with new paint.
“Hey, Caidy.” A woman in green scrubs rushed to the door. “You made good time from the River Bow.”
“Hi, Joni. I may have broken a few traffic laws, but this is an emergency.”
“After you called, I warned Ben you were on your way and what the situation was. He’s been getting ready for you. I’ll let him know you’ve arrived.”
Caidy waited, feeling the weight of each second ticking away.
The new vet had only been in town a few weeks and already he had made changes to the clinic. Maybe she was just being contrary, but she had liked things better when Doc Harris ran the place. The whole reception area looked different. The cheerful yellow walls had been painted over with a boring white and the weathered, comfortable, old eighties-era couch and chairs were gone, replaced by modern benches covered in a slate vinyl that probably deflected anything a veterinarian’s patients could leak on it. A display of Christmas gifts appropriate for pets, including a massive stocking filled to the top with toys and a giant rawhide bone that looked as if it came from a dinosaur, hung in one corner.
Most significant, the reception area used to sit out in the open but it was now stuck behind a solid half wall topped with a glass partition.
It made sense to modernize from an efficiency point of view, but she had found the comfortably worn look of the office before more appealing.
Not that she cared about any of that right now, with Luke lying out in her truck, cold and hurt and probably afraid.
She shifted impatiently. Where was the man? Trimming his blasted nails? Only a few moments had passed but every second delay was too much. Just when she was about call out to Joni to see what was taking so long, the door into the treatment area opened and the new vet appeared.
“Where’s the dog?” he asked abruptly, and she had only a vague impression of a frowning dark-haired man in blue scrubs.
“Still out in my truck.”
He narrowed his gaze. “Why? I can’t treat him out there.”
She wanted to take that giant rawhide bone out of that stocking and bean him with it. “Yes, I’m aware of that,” she said, fighting down her frustration. “I didn’t want to move him. I’m afraid something might be broken.”
“I thought he was gored.”
She wasn’t sure what, exactly, she had said in that frantic call to let Joni know she was on her way.
