by Lori Foster
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 know. 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.
Nadine fidgeted. “Dial it down, okay?”
Confusion stole Amber’s intensity. “What’s that?”
“All that laserlike focus. You’re trying to intimidate me, but it’s not working.” Ha. It worked all too well.
“I wasn’t,” Amber objected.
“Baloney. You do it to everyone, and I’m sure most cave under your resolve. Especially anyone possessing testosterone.”
Grinning, Amber shrugged. “My point is that Shohn had a lot of wild oats to sow and now, at twenty-five, he wants more.”
More…what? No, Nadine wouldn’t buy into any of it. She gulped down more Coke then shook her head. “Does Shohn have any idea that you’re meddling like this?”
“Are you kidding? No way.”
Thank God. “Then let’s make a promise not to ever tell him, and we can forget all about it.”
Amber’s determined stare returned. “You know he wants you, Nadine.”
She turned her Coke can, turned it again and traced the wet circle on the table… “He did sort of come on to me.”
“Sort of?” Amber laughed. “He must be slipping if you’re not sure. God knows every other girl in town thinks he’s making moves even when he isn’t. Do you know how many times I’ve had to save his butt? Too many times, that’s how many. But you’re different.”
Yeah, didn’t she know it. “Well, if he is interested, that’d be why—because I’m a challenge. If we ever got together, then he’d be over me real quick.”
“I don’t think so.” Amber got a text before she could expound on that. She pulled out her phone, read the message with a smile and sent back a reply. “He’ll be here in another ten minutes.”
“They found the missing camper?”
“He didn’t say, but I assume so, otherwise he’d still be there looking.” She finished off her Coke and stood. “I’m supposed to get lost, though.”
“Oh.”
Walking to the kitchen to rinse out her can, Amber said, “Look at it this way. If Shohn only sees you as a challenge, then isn’t it better to find it out now before you fall hopelessly in love with him?”
“Hopelessly, huh? How dramatic.” Nadine tried to infuse the right amount of sarcasm, because God knew, she’d been hung up on Shohn Hudson since they were in their early teens.
“It is dramatic,” Amber said with a sigh, “the way the ladies all swoon over him. As his cousin, I can testify to how nauseating it is. But you don’t swoon…yet.” She put her can in the recycling bin and turned, forearms braced back on the counter, her pose relaxed. “So, what do you think?”
“About what? Swooning?” Just the thought of him showing up made her feel light-headed. A swoon could very well be imminent.
“No, about giving in to see how things go.”
This was not a conversation she’d ever thought to have with one of Shohn’s relatives. “He doesn’t need your help, Amber.”
“Ha! Of course he does.” She looked toward Louie, who was busy walking up Rookie’s back while Rookie laid perfectly still except for the tail he had thumping. “He even got that mangled old cat for you.”
“Not so.” Nadine smiled as she shared the wonderful truth. “He went to the shelter to get a dog, but Louie claimed him, and Shohn was too sweet to turn him away.”
“There you go!” Straightening in a rush, Amber walked from the kitchen. “Sweet on top of being passably handsome.”
Nadine snorted. Even a close cousin could be objective enough to know Shohn was t
he epitome of hotness.
“Though he’s a wiseass, he has his moments of humor, too.”
“You don’t have to sell me on him,” Nadine told her. “I already know he’s funny and smart, generous and loyal, hardworking and—”
“Yeah,” Amber interrupted, her tone wry, “let’s not saint him, okay? He’s a great guy, but still a guy, so he needs to have things made clear to him.”
“Those things being?”
“Just do me a favor,” Amber said, suddenly all business and ready to go. “Put on a shirt that shows a little cleavage, brush the dog hair off your shorts and when he makes his move, try being a little receptive. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Her heart could get irrevocably broken, that’s what.
But pride had saved her many times over the years, so maybe she could do this and then, with her pride, hold it all together—no matter how things went after.
Amber headed to the door. “She looks convinced, Rookie. Our work here is done.”
Shaking her head, Nadine picked up Louie to ensure the cat wouldn’t get out the door. “Thanks again for stopping by.” She would not thank her for pimping Shohn.
“You betcha,” Amber said. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” And with that, she left.
Nadine didn’t bother replying. When it came to Shohn there wasn’t much she didn’t want to do. If Shohn was willing, well then, better not to make promises she wouldn’t want to keep.
CHAPTER FOUR
SHOHN PULLED INTO the lot of Animal House as quietly as he could. He knew well how dogs reacted to noises in the night, and since the sun had already set, the dogs were surely tucked away for the night. If one barked, they’d all be kicking up a fuss and then Nadine would have more work to do.
Relieved not to see Amber’s truck in the lot, he made the safe assumption that he and Nadine would be alone. Taking care to close his door quietly, he left the Jeep. Hat in hand, his imagination already in overdrive, he walked toward her house.
Would she be wearing that same silly shirt with the suggestive comment on it? He’d thought of a dozen ways to tease her about it, and a dozen other ways to get her out of it.
