Puppy Love in Thunder Canyon

by Christyne Butler

  “You’re concerned about him.”

  “Aren’t you?”

  Thomas sighed and nodded. Knowing he couldn’t discuss a patient’s care in any detail with her, Annabel didn’t ask, but made a mental note to check in with her sister and the rest of the Traub family.

  Maybe a road trip would be necessary? Rust Creek Falls was only about three hundred miles or so from Thunder Canyon.

  Setting that idea aside for now and turning her thoughts back to all the good things that happened today was easy. At least four of today’s visitors had expressed interest in coming back on a regular basis and two of those were veterans who’d recently served in Iraq. She was determined to find a way to make those sessions happen.

  “Did Marge mention she reserved this room for me for the rest of the week?” The surprise on his handsome face answered her question. “Oh, I guess not.”

  “You plan on being here tomorrow and Friday? What about your job at the library?”

  “It’ll take some creative scheduling, but I’ll make sure Smiley’s sessions don’t interfere.” Annabel tightened her grip on the leash when the pet responded to his name and rose to his feet between the two of them.

  “Once I get a better idea of who’s interested in attending, I’m thinking of having two sessions a week. One will be like today, more casual, where people can stop by and stay as long as they feel they need to. Maybe I’ll even invite some of my fellow volunteers to stop by.” The ideas flowed as she spoke. “The other session should be more private with a limited number of attendees. It’s amazing how people open up and talk when their attention is focused on something else.”

  “Like petting a dog.”

  “Exactly.” She looked down, realizing she’d been scratching Smiley behind his ears this whole time. “See what I mean?”

  “Somehow I don’t think you need anyone’s help to open up.”

  Annabel laughed then said, “I do tend to talk a lot. The curse of trying to be heard in large family, I guess.”

  “Sometimes that’s hard to achieve no matter the size of the family.”

  Intrigued, Annabel wanted to ask him what he meant, but the busy hospital sounds from the hallway grabbed his attention and he took a step backward. “I should head to my office. I want to get out of these clothes.”

  Need any help?

  Annabel managed to hold back the words, but took the moment to enjoy the view of how the loose-fitting top and pants still managed to show off

  Thomas’s strong arms. “Oh, I don’t know. I think scrubs look really good on you.”

  “Ah, thanks.” A beeping noise filled the air. He reached for the pager at his waist. “Sorry, I need to answer this. Are you two heading out?”

  Smiley’s tail started wagging vigorously, batting both their legs.

  “That’s a yes in Smiley speak,” Annabel said. “We’ll get out your way now.”

  “You’re not in the way. Come on, we’re both heading in the same direction.”

  Annabel tightened her grip on the leash as they exited the room and started down the corridor. The whispers and stares that followed them were pretty standard, Smiley always drew his share of attention, but Annabel noticed how Thomas’s demeanor changed with every step.

  Gone was the easy banter between them and that wonderful smile of his. They were stopped twice by people asking about the sessions and by the time they reached the elevators, she could almost sense his relief.

  “Well, here’s where we part ways, Miss Cates,” Thomas said, his attention focused on the button to call for the elevator.

  Miss Cates?

  Surprised by his formal tone, Annabel forced her feet to keep moving. She kept her reply breezy and refused to look back. “Thanks, Dr. North. See you tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Annabel slid her sunglasses on, to ward off the bright sunshine in the hospital parking lot and to hide from her sister’s sharp gaze.

  “Okay, spill,” Abby said. “You’ve been tight-lipped about the handsome doctor since Wednesday night. Have you seen him in the past two days?”

  “Yes, I saw Dr. North yesterday.”

  Abby took Smiley’s leash from Annabel’s hand. “So, how did it go?”

  “Oh, so well he’s pulled a complete vanishing act today.”

  “Do tell!”

  Darn! Annabel should’ve known she’d regret confiding in her youngest sister. They’d shared a private chat Wednesday after a family dinner while enjoying a glass of wine on the front porch.

  Her emotions had been flying all over the place ever since she’d left the hospital—excited about the sessions, confused by Thomas’s behavior—and all it took was a simple “what’s wrong” from Abby for everything to come pouring out.

  “Well, running into him yesterday wasn’t planned.” Annabel moved to one side of the sidewalk to let an elderly couple walk by. Smiley followed her, of course, and so did Abby. “We’d finished up our second session, and unlike Wednesday afternoon Thomas hadn’t show up at all.”

  “But you’d said you thought he wouldn’t after the way he dismissed you the day before.”

  “I know.” Annabel hated that she’d been right. “Anyway, we were getting ready to leave when one of the nurses stopped by. She told me about a patient up on the second floor who she thought could use a personal visit from Smiley.”

  “The patient didn’t come to the session?”

  “Mr. Owens broke his hip and leg in three places and is bedridden. He’s also a widower with no children, almost ninety years old and, according to the nurse, as mean as the devil.”

  Abby smiled. “And you just couldn’t resist.”

  “Of course not. So, Smiley and I used the stairs as his room was at that end of the hall. I could hear loud voices coming from his room while we were still in the stairway. Heck, everyone on the floor probably heard him arguing with his doctor.”

  “Oh, no.”

  “Oh, yes. You know me, I didn’t even hesitate. Thinking Smiley could take the edge off any situation I just waltzed in, and there stood Thomas.”

  Her sister’s eyes widened. “What did he say?”

  “He ignored me at first. Well, not really ignored.” Annabel lowered her voice, her gaze on the large expanse of grass and flower beds that led to a low stone wall. The tables and chairs of the hospital cafeteria’s outdoor eating area sat scattered on the other side of the wall where a few people gathered, enjoying the late summer afternoon. “I doubt either of them stopped arguing long enough to even notice I was in the room.”

  “Until Smiley made his presence known.”

  “By making a beeline straight for Thomas.”

  “Smiley has always had a good instinct about people,” Abby said, giving the dog a quick smile. “He must like Thomas.”

  “He does,” Annabel agreed. “So do I, but the good doctor made it clear he wasn’t happy to see either of us. Even after his patient stopped grousing the moment Smiley walked to his bedside and said hello. Of course, I followed to make sure things went okay. The next thing I knew Thomas had disappeared.”

  “And today?”

  “Are you kidding? The man probably took a sick day just to avoid running into— Oh!”

  “Oh what?”

  The moment he stepped outside, Annabel’s eyes were drawn to his steel-gray dress shirt and solid black tie, a calming beacon among the sea of colorful scrubs.

  Thomas walked with sure strides to the far corner of the patio and sat alone at a table shaded by a large tree, never once looking up from the paperwork in his hand.

  “That’s him, isn’t it?”

  Annabel turned and found her sister openly staring. “Yes, that’s Thomas North, M.D., but hey, don’t be shy. Just go ahead and gawk at the guy.”

 
“Well, he certainly is something to gawk at.” Abby looked back at her and grinned. “Go talk to him.”

  “What?”

  “You like him, Annabel. You just said so and after the way you gushed about meeting him for the first time, your impromptu date at the library, the way he filled out those scrubs—”

  “Hey! I wasn’t gushing.”

  “Yes, you were, and don’t even think about blaming it on the wine.” Her sister waved a finger at her. “Believe me, if anyone knows how hard it is to get a man’s attention, it’s me. I had to practically throw myself at Cade before the guy finally noticed me.”

  What her sister said was true, even though Cade Pritchett had been a friend of the family’s for years and was now her sister’s very besotted husband. “But you two knew each other a long time before things got romantic last year.”

  “Which only made it harder to get the man to see me as anything but the youngest of the Cates girls. Take my advice, I know what I’m talking about.”

  With five sisters, Annabel had heard that line many times before. “Famous last words.”

  Abby laughed. “Trust me.”

  Unable to stop herself, Annabel gazed across the lawn. “Just jump into the deep end?”

  “With both feet and a big splash.” Abby blew her an air kiss and crossed her fingers. “Thanks for letting me borrow Smiley. I’ll drop him off at the house later. Good luck!”

  Annabel stood on the sidewalk as her sister and Smiley disappeared among the cars in the still-crowded parking lot. Checking her watch, she saw it was almost six and Thomas was still here.

  Sitting at a table, alone, with his back to everyone.

  Giving a tightening tug on her ponytail, Annabel wished for a cuter outfit than her pink cotton blouse and wrinkled khakis, and headed for the stone path that led to the dining area.

  She paused when she reached his table. “Hi there.”

  Judging from the way his head jerked up, she’d surprised him. He stared at her, but thanks to the dark lenses of his sunglasses, she couldn’t read anything in his gaze.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  He closed the folder. “No, of course not.”

  Without waiting for an invitation, Annabel dropped into the chair opposite him and went cannonball style with her opening line. “I’m sorry for my unannounced visit to Mr. Owens’s room yesterday. It was wrong of me to bring Smiley to a patient without asking for permission first. It won’t happen again.”

  Thomas sank back into his chair.

  Annabel wasn’t sure how to take his relaxed posture. The hard line of his mouth didn’t help and she wished desperately he’d remove the sunglasses, which probably cost more than her entire outfit, so she could see his eyes.

  “It’s just that after I heard about his condition and his attitude, I thought—”

  “How did you find out about him?”

  Why did she think he already knew the answer? “One of your staff mentioned him to me at the end of Smiley’s session. I guess because he’s a patient of yours, she felt it was okay to recommend a private visit.” Annabel then remembered her own sunglasses and shoved them up onto the top of her head. “I didn’t know he was your patient until I walked into the room, but still…that’s no excuse.”

  He stared at her, as still as a statue. It was like playing the “who will blink first” game and Thomas didn’t know it, but Annabel was the family champion. She’d wait him out if it took all night, but she wasn’t leaving until he accepted her apology.

  Yanking off his own sunglasses, Thomas rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand before tossing the glasses on the table. “Annabel, I—”

  “Hey! It’s Smiley’s mama!”

  Annabel jumped when a cool, sticky hand landed on her arm. She turned and found the little girl whose brother was still in the ICU standing there.

  “Well, hello to you.” She smiled at the girl, loving her twin ponytails of curly blond hair. “Where’s your mother?”

  “Suzy!”

  Annabel spotted the child’s mother waving from across the patio. Rising, she shot Thomas a quick look, surprised to see the slight grin on his face. “I’ll be right back.”

  He nodded.

  Taking the girl’s hand, Annabel walked her back to her mother and visited for a few moments. She wanted to get back to Thomas, to find out what he was going to say to her, but it felt like an eternity passed before she could. Every time she started moving in his direction, she was stopped by people wanting to talk about Smiley and her program.

  She glanced over to make sure Thomas hadn’t pulled another disappearing act, hoping his attention was at least on his paperwork.

  Each time his attention was on her.

  She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not, but she liked the warmth that spread throughout her, especially when they made eye contact when she was finally able to rejoin him.

  “Whew! Sorry about that, but it is nice to know we’re making an impact.”

  “So, where is Smiley?”

  His question surprised her. “That’s what everyone else asked me. My sister Abby came by to pick him up earlier. She’s taking him to hang out at ROOTS.”

  “Roots?”

  “Haven’t you ever heard of it? ROOTS is the hangout down on Main Street for local teens. They have all kinds of programs year-round, but the summers are especially busy. Abby works there while she’s pursuing her master’s degree in psychology.”

  “Is she a trained volunteer in dog therapy, too?”

  “Smiley’s not there in an official capacity. He’s just hanging out with whoever might be there on a Friday night.”

  That got Thomas to smile again. “So he can unofficially work his magic? Like he did with my patient?”

  Annabel’s breath caught in her throat. “He did?”

  Thomas leaned forward, his gaze intent as he laced his fingers together over his paperwork. “I owe you an apology, Annabel. Yesterday was a…difficult one, which seems to be the norm for Mr. Owens since his surgery.” His gaze dropped away. “I handled your arrival…badly.”

  The pain in his voice tugged at her heart. She reached out and laid a hand over his. “He reminds you of your grandfather, doesn’t he?”

  “Mr. Owens is like many of my elderly patients, obstinate and scared. But today he actually smiled at the nurses and took his medication without issue.” Thomas flipped his hand over and captured her fingers in his. “And when I met with him this afternoon he asked when that beautiful girl and her pup were coming back to see him again.”

  Annabel gasped, surprised at the man’s request. “Oh, I’m sorry we didn’t get up to see him. Smiley has an appointment at the vet in the morning, but I can come after— Oh, there I go again!”

  Thomas’s smile widened. “If you can rearrange your schedule I’d appreciate it if you, and Smiley, came back to visit with him again.”

  “We would love to.” Those familiar bursts of tingling happiness that always seemed to happen whenever she was with him filled Annabel’s chest. “Thank you, Thomas, and until Mr. Owens is capable of joining us in the regular meeting room, I’ll make a point of stopping in to see him afterward. As long as his doctor approves.”

  “I do, and thank you.”

  Annabel gave his hand a squeeze and went to pull away, but he held tight.

  “You know, I do believe I owe you a dinner out.” Thomas leaned closer. “Are you free tomorrow night?”

  Oh, those bursts exploded into a dizzying array of bright colors. It was like last month’s Fourth of July was repeating itself all over again. “Yes, I’m free.”

  “How about we try out the Gallatin Room at the Thunder Canyon Resort?”

  “Oh, Thomas, that place is so fancy.”

  “So, let’s get
fancy. What do you say?”

  Chapter Seven

  “Dinner reservation for North.”

  The Gallatin Room maître d’ looked up from his station, then smiled. “Ah, Dr. North. It’s good to see you again.”

  “It’s good to see you, too, Robert.”

  “Your table is ready, if you and your companion will follow me.”

  Thomas placed a hand at the small of Annabel’s back, gently guiding her ahead of him as they walked deeper into the restaurant, enjoying the heat of her skin almost as much as the way she jumped at his touch.

  The first time it happened she included a breathless gasp that matched his own when he’d gotten his first look at the wide expanse of skin shown by the open back of her clingy black dress. The lacy shawl she’d casually thrown over her bare shoulders and sexy black heels completed the picture.

  Thomas had wanted to stop right there in her family’s crowded driveway and kiss her until they were both out of breath.

  The hell with the fact her parents and two sisters were probably spying on them from inside the house.

  Thomas hadn’t picked up a date at her parents’ home since his senior prom. And according to Annabel, there were still two more sisters, their husbands and a lone brother that he hadn’t met yet!

  Well, that wasn’t exactly true, but for the moment, for this evening, it was just him and Annabel.

  As they walked past tables covered in fine white linen, candlelight and crystal centerpieces of red roses, Thomas acknowledged a few friends of his parents and fellow staff from the hospital, with a quick nod.

  He didn’t know if the slight kick to his gut was from being seen in the company of a beautiful woman or the fact he’d actually asked Annabel out for another date.

  And that she so readily accepted.

  Somewhere between the gossip and witnessing the positive effect she was having at the hospital in just a few days, Thomas found himself wanting to spend time with her and damn the consequences. A feeling he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

  His sudden invite had surprised him as much as it did Annabel. Impulsive decisions had never been his strong suit. Thanks to his scientific mind, he tended to think long and hard about everything, but the moment the words had left his mouth yesterday he knew he wanted tonight to happen.