“She seems like a good mother,” he said, leaning over the pen Natalie had cleaned out and lined with a soft old comforter.
“She never had any choice,” Natalie told him. “These are merely money machines to the mill operators. At least this one can walk. She’s small and cute, so they probably let her out and played with her or let their kids play with her. Some of the mothers had never been off the wire floors of those cages.”
“Will they be prosecuted?”
“Animal cruelty is a felony charge,” she said. “Depending on evidence and charges and state laws, this person could be sentenced to up to seven years in jail. Plus they can no longer own animals.”
“Thank goodness for that.”
She got up and leaned in to give him a kiss. “I love that you care. These miniature dapples are valuable. Even without papers, they might’ve gotten twelve to fifteen hundred each for the females. They’re not the best breed for first-time dog owners, but they’re cute and trendy so in high demand.”
He reached for her hand and stroked his thumb across the back. “I’ll stay nearby if you want to get some sleep.”
She met his eyes. “They’re nursing and I think she’s going to take care of them. You can get some sleep with me if you like.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “I might not sleep.”
“You have to sleep eventually,” she said.
“I guess we’ll find out.”
* *
Spencer, Colorado
April, Eastern Sunday
“This is a lot of food,” Avery said, covering the salad she’d tossed at the kitchen table with plastic wrap and rolling over to the refrigerator. “That’s a pretty big ham, and how many potatoes did you use for that scalloped dish?”
“All the good recipes I found served eight or more,” Natalie told him with a smile. “We’ll have a few leftovers.”
“Do not let me eat that pie for a week,” he told her.
“I may have gone a little overboard,” she admitted. “I was excited to be together for a holiday. We couldn’t join your folks because we have so many puppies.” Five more of the rescued females had given birth in the last three weeks. A new building was under construction and, though they had a lot to do, Natalie couldn’t remember ever being so happy.
“I’ll take you to meet them this summer. Oregon is beautiful after Labor Day. You’ll love it.”
She turned from the counter, where she was arranging crackers and cheese on a small tray. He was a positive influence to her and everyone he came in contact with. Occasionally, he was impatient, but only over situations and never with her or other people. His energy was inspiring and he’d proven himself unflappable. She never wanted to be apart from him. “I love you.”
His hand remained on the refrigerator door a moment longer than necessary, but he released it and turned toward her, his surprise and pleasure evident.
“Too soon?” she asked.
He beckoned. “Come here.”
She wiped her hands on a towel and went to sit on his lap.
“Not too soon,” he said, his voice gruff with emotion. “Not too late. I love you too.”
He kissed her as sweetly as he had the first time.
“I want to spend all the holidays with you.” Yipping came from the corner. “And with your dogs.” The dachshund puppies were big enough to run around in their pen and play with each other. Pax was lying beside the pen, occasionally lifting his head to observe the antics.
A knock at the back door surprised them both as well as Abby, Goliath and Daughtry, who scrambled into the kitchen.
“Sit,” she commanded, and all three plopped their butts on the floor, though Goliath’s tail continued to move his backside. She stood. “Maybe Duncan or one of the others is here. We can feed whoever it is.”
She opened the backdoor, and her brain took a few seconds to register the faces looking back at her. A stab of emotion made her heart beat faster. “Camille?” She glanced to her sister’s left. “Josh? Bryson? What are all of you doing here?”
The dark-haired man approaching the house carrying a box was Camille’s husband.
“We came to spend Easter with you.” Camille held up a brown shopping bag. “We purchased food in Spencer.”
Natalie was so surprised that she couldn’t form words. “What about the dinner at Mom and Dad’s? I thought—well, I thought you’d be with them.”
“Well, here we are. Are you going to let us in?”
“Oh, of course!” Natalie backed up and ushered in her sister’s family. “It’s so wonderful to see all of you. I can’t believe you’re here.”
She hugged her niece and nephew and her sister. “This is Avery. I told you about him.”
Her brother-in-law set down the box and was the first to stride forward. Pax had moved to sit protectively beside Avery’s chair. The two men shook hands.
Natalie took the bag from her sister. “I’m sorry. This is unexpected, but I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Something you said really stuck with me,” Camille said. “And I kept thinking about it. You asked me think about what’s best for you, and I thought about it a lot. I could tell by your voice the last couple times we spoke that you were happy. Happy with your new business.” She glanced at Avery. “Happy with Avery. So here we are.”
Natalie’s heart was full to bursting with joy at having her loved ones here. Avery. Her sister. “Thank you, Camille. You can’t know how much this means to me. I am happy.”
“Well, I think you’re going to be even happier,” Camille said.
“What? Do you want a dog? Are you pregnant?”
“No and emphatically no.” She turned back to the door. “One more surprise.”
What could she possibly have left outside?
Camille opened the door and reached outward. She held a hand, and an arm came into view, followed by their mother in a two-piece blue pantsuit. She smiled broadly.
Natalie’s hear swelled. “Mom? You’re here too?” She turned to Avery. “Did you know about this?”
He held up both hands. “I didn’t. But I’m glad I don’t have to eat all the pie alone.”
Natalie rushed to give her mom a hug and draw her into the room. “Mom, this is Avery.”
She was blinking back tears when she looked at her sister.
“No, Daddy didn’t come,” Camille said. “This time.”
Bryson emitted a squeal that startled all of them and made Goliath yip. Abby ran into the bedroom.
“Look at the puppies,” she squealed and converged on the pen.
Natalie had never experienced chaos in her home, but she wouldn’t have changed anything.
California, ten years ago.
“Come with us.”
Heath Lawe looked up from his laptop. His teammate Devlin was always ready to go. Sitting still or reading a book were not in his vocabulary, but no one was better at watching your back. “I’m tired of the bar scene. If I want a beer, I’ll make a grocery run.”
Dev leaned against the balcony railing. “The team’s headed to a party and I need my wingman.”
Heath laughed. “What you need is a keeper. Someone to stop you from falling for every woman you meet.”
“Hey, not all of them. Just the special ones.”
“Do I need to start naming those I remember?” He raised an eyebrow.
Dev grinned. “You make falling in love difficult.”
“Dude, what you do isn’t love it’s lust. And you end up with a new lady every few weeks.” A pattern Heath was all too familiar with. He’d watched both of his divorced parents switch out partners like the changing of the seasons. A pattern he vowed not to repeat.
“I’m wounded.” His buddy’s grin belied his words. “You know I’m a free spirit. Besides, you have to kiss a lot of princesses, before you find the right one. At the rate you’re going, you’ll be a hundred before you find the ri
ght one.”
“I’m not looking.” Not only wasn’t he looking, but if he found her, he’d probably run the other direction. Love wasn’t anything he wanted. He’d seen the damage. He’d pass.
“Life isn’t worth living without sharing things with those you love. Especially a special lady.” The serious expression on Dev’s face surprised Heath.
“That’s pretty profound.” He studied his teammate. “What brought on this deep introspection?”
The other man shrugged. “Things have been off lately.”
“Then why go to a party?”
“I prefer staying busy. Having a few drinks, flirting with the ladies and swapping stories with the other guys helps pass the time. Too much time to think isn’t always a good thing.”
“True.” Shutting his laptop, Heath stood and headed into their apartment. “Where exactly are you dragging me to?”
“Wade’s sister and some friends are throwing a party.” Dev smiled. “His sister is cute, and I imagine her girlfriends aren’t bad either.”
“Don’t mess with his sister. He’ll pound you into the ground, then run over you with a tank.” Wade was a walking mountain. No way Heath wanted to get on the man’s bad side. “Point her out to me when we get to the party, I want to avoid her.”
#
Cassie Knight couldn’t believe she’d let Kristina talk her into going to a sorority party. Crowds made her nervous. She sucked at small talk, becoming a stuttering idiot around an attractive guy.
So here she was standing in the shadow of a potted palm at the back of a large room filled with way too many people. Once she spotted Kristina, she’d tell her she was leaving. Because if she didn’t, she’d have to talk to these strangers.
Cassie continued scanning the crowd until her eyes locked with those of an attractive man across the room. Oh, crap. She glanced down. Nope she didn’t have any stains on her shirt. Why would an attractive guy be checking her out?
No one stood near her. She snuck another look. No way. This guy was a walking dream. Tall, dark and good looking personified. Now she desperately needed to find her cousin and leave before she made a complete fool of herself. Her imagination had to be working overtime to think he’d be interested in her quiet introverted self.
Taking a deep breath, she worked her way into the crowd. After ten minutes of peeking around people, almost being stepped on and still not spotting Kristina, she was more than ready to go home. She sighed.
“Could I help?” A baritone voice came from behind her.
Cassie turned and froze. Mr. tall, dark and drool worthy stood too close. Crap. What do I say? “Uh.” Great start. Come on brain function. “I’m looking for my cousin.”
“What does she look like? Maybe I can help you find her.” His flashed her a smile.
The man should come with a warning label. Too hot to handle. She pulled up a picture on her phone and showed him. “This is Kristina.”
“Okay. I think I saw her earlier with one of my teammates.” His brow furrowed. “Would your cousin leave with a guy and not tell you?”
Leave? “I don’t think so.” She paused, but then again if the guy was really cute, maybe. “If-if you don’t see her, then I’m going to head home.” She started toward the door, realized her manners were horrible and turned back. Right into a solid wall of muscle. “Oomph.” Warm hands clasped her shoulders.
“You okay?”
Other than his closeness doing a number on her nerves, just peachy. “Uh, yeah.”
“Do you have a ride home?”
“Uh. No.” Wonderful. Could her conversation skills get any lamer?
“If you don’t find her, I could give you a ride.” He hesitated. “If that’s okay.”
She stepped back. A warning screamed in her head. “Uh, no offense, but I don’t know you. So, no.”
He nodded. “I understand your concern. How about if I tell you my name is Heath Lawe. I can show you my driver’s license to confirm?” He shifted his weight and looked down. “I could have you call and talk to my CO.”
“Your what?” She knew what a CEO was, but what the heck was a CO?
“Sorry, I forget civilians don’t always know military lingo.” He flashed another killer smile. “My commanding officer.”
Officer? “You’re in the military?”
He nodded. “I’m with the teams.”
“Okay. What are the teams?”
“Sorry. I’m a navy SEAL.”
Holy crap. She’d heard of the SEALs and their extreme training. No wonder he was ripped. “Wow, but that still doesn’t mean I should trust you.”
He chuckled then shrugged. “True. Let’s find your cousin.”
“Deal.” If his good looks didn’t make her so nervous, she could easily become friends with him. She turned and worked her way toward the exit. A few steps later his hand on her arm stopped her.
“I think I see your cousin she just came in.” He sighed. “With one of my teammates.”
“I get the feeling that isn’t a good thing.” The frown lines on his forehead indicated he wasn’t happy with this development.
“Let’s talk to them and see what their plans are.” Taking her hand, he created a path through the crowd.
Kristina broke into a smile when she saw Cassie. “Thank God. I’ve been looking for you.” She glanced at their clasped hands and shot Cassie a surprised look. “Want to introduce me to your new friend?”
“Really? You ditch me at a party I didn’t want to come to in the first place, then show up with a new guy and grill me.” This was one the times she didn’t like her cousin. “Evidently my friend is a teammate of your friend’s.”
A calculating gleam flashed in Kristina’s eyes. She leaned toward Heath.
“Interesting. So, you’re a navy SEAL too?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Heath tightened his grip on Cassie’s hand. “So you and Dev were looking for us?”
“Yeah, we were going to leave, but Kris wanted to talk to Cassie first.” Dev grinned. “If she’s with you then no worries, bro.”
“You sure about that?” Sometimes Heath didn’t understand how Dev had passed all the non-physical tests during SEAL training. The guy lacked basic observation skills.
“Kris, I’ve been looking for almost an hour. You weren’t trying very hard.” Cassie threw her cousin a disgusted look. “I wanted to let you know that I’m going back to the dorm. I’ve had enough fun to last me the rest of the semester. See you in the morning.”
The walls felt like they were closing in on her. She needed to get away. She pivoted on her heel and strode out the door,
Sensing a presence at her back she whirled and hit that wall of solid muscle again. “Are you following me?”
Heath glanced down at their clasped hands. “No, ma’am. But since you still have hold of my hand, I kind of had to come with you or risk pulling your arm out of its socket.”
She let go and took a deep breath. A weird sense of loss hit her. Something about him gave her a feeling of strength and safety. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I hadn’t let go.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “I didn’t say I minded.”
His behavior didn’t match how she thought a military guy would act based on her observations of the idiotic ROTC jerks on campus. He seemed easy going. “Thanks for your help earlier.” She backed away and headed for the street before she did something to embarrass herself.
“Hey,” he called after her. “How are you getting home?”
“It’s not far. I can walk.” Anything was better than standing close to Heath and trying not to drool. What was it about this guy that made her hormones sit up and take notice? Nothing remotely like this had ever happened to her before. She didn’t know what to do.
Footsteps behind her ratcheted her senses to hyper awareness. She slipped her hand into her purse and wrapped her fingers around her compact sized mace canister.
“
I don’t know what you’re reaching for, but I’d rather not find out.” Heath’s smooth baritone sounded from behind her.
Turning she glared at him. “What are you doing?”
He raised his hands. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but I wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight if I let you walk home alone this late at night.” He gave an apologetic shrug. “Sorry, but that’s the way I’m wired. I protect those younger or weaker than myself.”
She didn’t know what to do. Heath was a virtual stranger, yet he made her feel safe. She’d never felt so protected with anyone but her dad. “You’re really going to follow me home?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Based on what she’d seen, he’d do what he said whether she approved or not. Palming her mace, she slipped it into her skirt pocket. If he was going to follow her, she might as well keep him where she could see him. “Fine you can come, but not following me.”
“Not a problem. I’ll keep my hands where you can see them.” He nodded toward her hand still in her pocket. “That’s a better place for your mace, but you shouldn’t project where you have it. You might need the element of surprise sometime.”
She jerked to face him. “What do you mean?”
“When you pulled your hand from your bag you immediately shoved it in your pocket. Not hard to guess you moved your protection where it should have been to begin with. Easy to reach and use if needed.” He shrugged. “Situational awareness is part of what I do.”
Her hormones were overriding her common sense. Why was she drawn to Heath? Why was he even talking to her? She’d fall back on the safety of her normal blunt self. “Why are you even here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on. Look at you.” She swept a hand up and down indicating his frame. “You’re gorgeous. Any woman in that room would have been all over you if you’d given them a reason. Why me?”
“You looked like you didn’t want to be there and neither did I. That’s what drew my attention. Your hiding in the corner made me wonder why.”
“I tend to blend into the background.’ She hesitated. “I like it that way. I’m an introvert. I hate being the center of attention. Or confrontations.”
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