Season of Wonder

by RaeAnne Thayne

  “It should be fun for them,” he said, returning to the real reason he told himself he was here in her office, to discuss the gift deliveries that night. “I’m not as fast as I used to be and it’s become increasingly harder for a guy my size to hide behind a tree.”

  Her gaze danced over his chest and shoulders and, if he wasn’t mistaken, she swallowed. “I imagine that’s true.”

  “What time works best for you? I thought I would pick them up around six thirty tonight but I wouldn’t want to interrupt your dinner or homework routine. I can adapt, if another time would be better.”

  “We usually eat dinner early to give the girls time to finish any homework. Six thirty should work fine.”

  “Do you want to come with us?” he asked on impulse. “When I do this with Zach, I usually drop him off a short distance away from the house we’re hitting, then park around the corner or on the next block, where my vehicle isn’t as suspicious. While Silver makes the delivery, you and Mia can wait with me, if you’d like.”

  “That might not be a bad idea, at least for the first night.”

  “Terrific. I’ll pick everybody up, then.”

  He took another drink from the water bottle, touched again that she would be so unexpectedly generous with her lunch when she could be so prickly at other times.

  “How’s the Christmas tree?” he asked.

  She gave a little laugh. “Completely over-the-top. You’ll have to take a look when you come by tonight. I don’t think there’s a single branch that doesn’t have an ornament or two on it. Mia went a little crazy.”

  “She’s a great kid. You’re very lucky.”

  “Believe me, I know.” She took a bite of her sandwich, giving him a pensive look. “Why are you still single, Ruben? Seriously. You’re great with kids and close to your own family. You’re gorgeous—that goes without saying—have a good job and appear to have all your teeth. What am I missing?”

  He shifted, not sure he registered anything after the word gorgeous. Both of them knew he wasn’t. Inside, he still felt like the skinny Mexican kid who had been gangly and awkward in high school and didn’t grow into his height until after college.

  “I don’t have a good answer to that. I was almost engaged about seven years ago, until we both realized we were together because it was convenient, not because of any grand passion. She’s happily married now and has a couple of kids. I’ve dated on and off since then, somebody pretty seriously about six months ago, but nothing ever really clicked.” He shrugged. “Maybe family life isn’t in the cards for me.”

  The thought left him sad. He was thirty-three and was tired of coming home to a house filled only with his dogs, as much as he loved Ollie and Yukon.

  At the same time, he wouldn’t settle, not after the great example he had growing up of a loving, supportive family, with two parents who still adored each other.

  “What about you? Do you see yourself marrying again?”

  She suddenly looked as if she regretted bringing up the topic. “Been there, done that.”

  “You mentioned the girls’ father is dead. I’m sorry.”

  She set down her sandwich. “Don’t be. Mia and Silver are better off without Tommy. He broke their hearts, again and again. We had been divorced for years before he...died a few months ago.”

  It was recent, then. He hadn’t expected that. He didn’t miss the way she carefully phrased the sentence. What were the circumstances of his death? There was definitely a story there, one he wanted very much to learn.

  He wanted to press her but was afraid now wasn’t the time. She had clients coming in soon and he had to get back to work as well.

  “I’m sorry,” he said again. “Sounds like the guy was a lousy father, but it still couldn’t have been easy on the girls to lose him at such young ages.”

  “They’re doing fine. Mia never really knew him. Silver struggles more, but I think she’s mostly mourning the father she should have had, not the one she did.”

  “I get it.” That didn’t make the girl’s grief any less intense, he was sure. No wonder Silver lashed out by vandalizing the neighbors’ property. Compassion seeped through him.

  “He...wasn’t a good man, I’m sorry to say. My girls both deserved a father like you had. Someone like Frank, kind and caring,” she said, mouth tight. “Unfortunately, that’s not the kind of man I picked.”

  She blamed herself. He could hear the self-recrimination in her voice. It bothered him, made him wish he knew how to comfort her.

  “Nobody makes it through this ride called life without making choices he or she regrets,” Ruben said quietly.

  She gave a raw-sounding little laugh and finally met his gaze. “True enough. You know, when I offered to share my sandwich, I didn’t realize I would be rewarded with a bit of wise philosophy.”

  “It’s on the house. Just my little way of repaying you for the food.”

  Her rueful smile seemed to arrow straight to his heart.

  Her late ex-husband sounded like a royal bastard. Was he the reason Dani was so guarded, why she maintained such careful barriers between them? It seemed the logical conclusion. Ruben was angry on her behalf, both for the previous mistreatment and for the way her ex seemed to have left her bruised.

  “Thank you,” she said. “I enjoyed the philosophy and the company. It’s nice to eat lunch with someone who doesn’t have four legs and a tail.”

  Before he could respond, Gloria appeared in the doorway. She looked startled to find them both there together. He had the feeling by her sudden dark look that she wasn’t particularly pleased about it.

  “Sorry to interrupt, Dr. Capelli, but your one o’clock is here. That Chihuahua with the runs.”

  Dani winced a little and set down the rest of her sandwich, from which she had maybe taken three total bites. “Thank you, Gloria. I’ll be right out.”

  The receptionist headed back to the front office and Dani gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry about that. Gloria isn’t always the most tactful person.”

  “You don’t have to tell me that. She’s worked for my dad since I was a kid. I know just what she’s like.”

  “Of course.” She rose and he had no choice but to do the same.

  “Thanks for sharing your sandwich. I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a lunch more.”

  “So did I.” She paused, nibbling that lip again. “Ruben, I...”

  He had a feeling she was about to tell him all the reasons they shouldn’t share lunch—or anything else—again. He didn’t want to hear it, so he cut her off. “I’ll see you tonight for the top-secret project.”

  “I... All right. Six thirty.”

  She suddenly looked so adorably flustered, so unlike her usual reserved composure, he couldn’t help himself. He leaned down and kissed the corner of her frown.

  “Have a good afternoon,” he murmured, then turned and walked down the hall already counting the moments until he could see her again.

  10

  For the rest of the afternoon, Dani refused to let herself dwell on the strange interlude with Ruben or the weird, incongruous combination she felt around him, a mix of nervous awareness and a soft, seductive peace.

  She was too busy taking care of the Chihuahua with abdominal distress, a black Lab who needed some porcupine quills pulled, Cecil the traumatized lop bunny and three Maine coons in need of checkups.

  By the time she showed out her last patient and his human, she was exhausted. She finished her paperwork, grabbed her bag, put on her coat against the December chill and walked out to the waiting area to say goodbye to Gloria.

  “That was a crazy afternoon. Thank you for helping everything to run smoothly. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Gloria reached to shut down her computer for the evening, then returned a couple of files to t
he drawer to clear off her desk.

  “Good thing you found time for a lunch break in there,” she said. “By the way, I didn’t realize you and Dr. Morales’s son were such good friends.”

  There was a slight question on the end of her words, as if Gloria were trying to ascertain just how friendly the two were.

  “We live next door to each other. It’s impossible to avoid each other in a town as small as Haven Point.”

  “I suppose that’s true.” She paused. “He’s a good guy, Dr. Capelli.”

  “I agree,” she said, not liking Gloria’s tone or her own defensive reaction to it. Why was it any of Gloria’s business if Dani was friends with Dr. Morales’s son?

  “He’s always been a hard worker, even when he was a kid who would come around here to make extra spending money. I thought maybe he would become a veterinarian like his dad, he was that good with the animals, but he had other ideas I guess.”

  “Kids often do.”

  “He’s a good guy,” she repeated. “I sure would hate to see him get hurt.”

  Was Gloria warning her away from Ruben? The idea would have been laughable if it wasn’t so astonishing.

  “Are you saying you think I would hurt him? Why would I do that?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe you’ll decide things aren’t working out for you here and you need to go back to the East Coast.”

  Did Gloria believe what she said, that things weren’t working out here for Dani? All her doubts and insecurities seemed to crowd through her psyche, all the voices that told her she was better off staying a waitress instead of thinking she could ever build a solid future for her daughters doing something she loved.

  “I appreciate the advice. I’ll keep it in mind,” she said stiffly.

  She had thought Gloria liked her. The woman had been kind to her and was always more than patient with the girls. It hurt to know she questioned Dani’s staying power.

  “You should be relieved to know, then,” she said, still in that tight voice, “that I’m not dating the man and I have no intention of changing that. Put your mind at ease. We’re friends who happened to have lunch together today, that’s all.”

  At her tone, Gloria looked regretful. “That didn’t come out the way I meant. Sometimes my mouth blabs things before I really think them through. I’ve just known Ruben since he was little and, I’ll admit, I’ve always thought he and my Jen would make a cute couple. I guess I was surprised when I saw you together earlier. Forget I said anything.”

  “It’s forgotten.” Dani forced a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Gloria. Have a good evening.”

  “Do you have any fun plans?” the woman asked, obviously trying to make up for her tactlessness of earlier.

  I’m going to hang out with Ruben. You got a problem with that?

  She almost said the words but decided not to pour fuel on the fire. Some day her own smart-ass mouth was going to get her in trouble here in this town full of nice people who might not expect it from her.

  “Homework, dinner, bed. That’s about it.”

  “Well, give those cute girls of yours a hug from me. Good night.”

  Dani tried not to dwell on Gloria’s concerns as she followed that outline for her evening and helped Mia get in her nightly reading practice and hounded Silver about her math worksheet, then threw together one of the girls’ favorites for dinner, her version of pasta e fagioli soup.

  “When are we going? I can’t wait. I can’t wait,” Mia said as she dried the dinner dishes while Dani washed. “When Ruben gets here, can I be the one who takes the present to the door?”

  Dani frowned down at her daughter. “Why are you asking again, honey? We have talked about this all evening. Silver is going to do it this first time and check out the situation at the Larkin house. She’s a really fast runner and should be able to figure out the best places to hide. After that, we can decide if she thinks you can do it.”

  Mia was too excited about the evening ahead of them and didn’t appear dejected. “That’s okay. It will be fun to wait in the truck with Ruben.”

  Dani wished she could agree. Instead, her stomach was in knots, worrying about spending even a few moments in a vehicle with the man, especially with this soft, tensile connection that seemed to have formed between them when she wasn’t looking.

  Gloria’s words kept ringing through her head. He’s a good guy. I sure would hate to see him get hurt.

  Gloria’s unspoken message was that Dani was not the right kind of woman for him. She couldn’t agree more. Both of them knew Dani was not the sort of woman who could make someone like Ruben happy.

  She had no room in her life for any man right now, but especially a man who was a complete mismatch for her. Ruben was an officer of the law, for crying out loud. A squeaky-clean, make-the-world-a-better-place kind of man.

  The moment he found out about Tommy, about his life of misdeeds and the chaos he had left in his wake and especially his last terrible acts, he wouldn’t want anything to do with Dani or her girls.

  There was a chance he already knew. She had told Frank right after it happened. She hadn’t felt right about keeping something like that from the kindly veterinarian, even knowing it might ruin the opportunity for her.

  Frank had assured her none of that mattered to him, which had only endeared the man more to her. She didn’t think he would have told his son, but she couldn’t be completely sure.

  If he knew, would Ruben have been so kind and understanding to her and her girls?

  Headlights suddenly flashed in her driveway before she could come up with an answer to that. He was about fifteen minutes late, which seemed unusual for him.

  Nerves fluttered through her and Mia’s sudden squeal didn’t help matters any.

  “He’s here! He’s here!”

  “Why do you always have to repeat everything you say?” Silver groused. “Do you think we didn’t hear you the first time or something?”

  “Enough, Sil. Will you just try to stow the attitude for five minutes tonight? I’ll remind you, we’re doing all of this because of you.”

  Silver slumped back into her chair, her mouth in a tight line. Dani wanted to think her words had some impact on her daughter, but she doubted it.

  Had she been so difficult when she was thirteen? She didn’t think so. Of course, that had been during the three relatively peaceful years she had lived with Betsy in that big brownstone in Flushing.

  Though the woman had taken in three other girls around Dani’s age, they each had their own rooms, a rarity during her years in the system. That big house by far had been the most comfortable of her placements and she had been on her best behavior during those years, until Betsy became ill and could no longer care for her charges.

  All in all, thirteen had been a pretty good year. Maybe that’s one of the reasons she had so little patience with her daughter at the same age, who had so much more than Dani had.

  She didn’t have time to dwell on the past, especially not when the doorbell rang out through her house and Mia raced to it, her features glowing. At least one of them was excited about the prospect of a little holiday mischief.

  “Hi, Deputy Morales” Dani heard her say cheerfully.

  “Hey, Miss Mia,” he answered.

  Something was wrong. Even before she walked into the foyer to see his face, she could tell by the tone of his voice.

  Seeing him only confirmed her suspicion. This afternoon when he had left her at lunchtime he had seemed cheerful, happy, his smile easy and warm. Now there was a closed-in quality to him, a tightness around his eyes and a deep sadness that seemed to have settled over him.

  What was wrong? What had put that sudden bleak look in his eyes? It was all she could do to keep from asking and she had to fight the urge to place a comforting hand on his arm.

  “Are you ready to go?” he as
ked.

  “Yep.” Mia beamed at him. “I can’t wait!”

  He didn’t smile back. “Silver? Still up for this?”

  Dani waited apprehensively for her teenager to make some sarcastic comment. Not now, Silver, she wanted to say.

  To her vast relief, Sil was uncharacteristically subdued, almost as if she had picked up on Ruben’s unspoken turmoil as well.

  “I just need to put on my coat,” her daughter said.

  “Make sure it’s a black or dark blue one, if possible. That will make it easier to hide in the bushes or behind trees, if you have to.”

  “I can’t believe a sheriff’s deputy is telling me to wear dark clothing, the better to skulk around the neighborhood. What is the world coming to?”

  This earned Silver a small smile, but it contained none of his usual warmth.

  What was wrong? And how disconcerting, to realize how very dependent she was becoming on that smile and his usual cheery good humor. She was coming to crave it just as much as she yearned for a good plate of her favorite lasagna from Il Bambino’s in Queens.

  She had a horrible thought that left her cold. Had he somehow found out about Tommy? Had he gone back to the sheriff’s department and put in a little research?

  They didn’t have the same name anymore so connecting the dots wouldn’t be easy but it wouldn’t be impossible.

  There was also the chance he might have asked his father. Would Dr. Morales keep her secrets? She wanted to think so but couldn’t be sure.

  No. She gave him a closer look. Something told her his strange mood had nothing to do with her or her girls.

  “You’ll be skulking around this time for a good cause,” he reminded Silver. “I wouldn’t ask otherwise.”

  “What about us?” Mia asked. “Do we need dark clothes, too?”

  His heavy mood seemed to lift a little as he smiled down at her youngest daughter. “You should be fine just the way you are.”

  “Good. I only have one winter coat, and it’s this one.”

  She twirled around to show off the pink-and-purple coat she adored.