And by that he meant that he was paying, because Hannah was pretty sure his father wasn’t willing to invest in dog training. But Hannah had guessed, from the car Luke drove and his need to get a job quickly, that he didn’t have a big savings account. He’d said he’d been able to drop everything and come help his father because he’d been working contract jobs in Cleveland. That probably meant he’d had periods of unemployment.
She’d let him pay, but a discounted rate.
“Woo-hoo!” Samantha came around the side of the house, setting Goldie off into a spree of barking. Samantha laughed and bent down to pet the dog’s big head, then looked up at Hannah. “Hey, girl, have I got good news for you!” She glanced over at Luke. “Hi, Luke,” she added, one of her eyebrows arching just a little as she glanced from Luke to Hannah.
Goldie jumped up toward Samantha and Luke pulled her back hard. “No jumping.”
“We’ll work on that,” Hannah promised. Heat rose in Hannah’s face, which was ridiculous. “I’m just training Luke’s dog,” she said without looking at Luke. “He and his dad hired me.”
“Oh! So...”
“Right.” She frowned at Samantha and stood up straight, trying to look all professional.
“So you two aren’t—”
“No!” they both said at the same time.
Which, inexplicably, hurt Hannah’s feelings. Was it so inconceivable that they’d be doing whatever Samantha had meant to imply they were doing? She gestured Samantha toward the porch steps.
Luke maintained a little distance as he squatted down beside Goldie.
“That’s good, because... I set you up on a date!” Samantha sank onto the steps with some difficulty, grabbing Hannah’s arm. “Good grief, I’m as big as a house. This baby is going to be huge.”
“Why’d you set me up on a date?” Hannah’s face burned hotter. Discussing her dating life, or lack thereof, was not something she wanted to do in front of Luke. “You know I hate that.”
Here on the steps, they were outside the floodlight’s radius, but a nearly full moon cast silvery light. Hannah put up her hood against the cold air, hoping to hide her blushing.
“Yeah, but, this is a really nice guy. Corbin’s friend from out west. He does the same kind of research Corbin does.” She looked over at Luke, who’d kneeled to rub Goldie’s ears. “Animal science,” she explained, even though Luke hadn’t asked. “He’s a professor, too. They’re going to team up on something next summer.”
“The one who wears a cowboy hat and boots?” Hannah had seen him around Rescue Haven.
“That’s the one. He’s some kind of genius, like Corbin, but he won’t come on real strong. He’s quiet. You’ll have fun with him.”
Hannah let out a disgusted snort. “Yeah, I’m sure.” She sneaked a glance at Luke, who was watching their interchange with an impassive face.
“She never dates,” Samantha said, for some reason feeling the need to explain. “But we—Gabby and I—think she should.”
“Why don’t you date?” Luke’s voice sounded funny. Probably, he was trying not to laugh.
“Because I’m a loser with men,” Hannah said. Might as well get that reality out into the open right away, as long as Samantha seemed set on revealing everything about her life to Luke.
“And the twins are going to need a man in their lives,” Samantha said. “Not to mention that you’d be a great girlfriend, if you’d give guys a chance. So that’s why I set you up with Dylan.”
Hannah blew out a sigh. “I don’t want—”
“It’s just one date. He’ll pick you up Friday at six. And I’m coming over to help you dress up, so you don’t wear baggy jeans and a T-shirt.”
“But—”
“Look, he’s only in town for a couple of weeks here and there, until next summer, when he and Corbin will do a longer project together. So it’s perfect for you. Low-key. Nothing intense. Good practice, at least.” Samantha glanced at her phone. “Hey, look, I have to go. I was just driving by, and I thought, let me tell her in person so I can convince her.” She smiled brilliantly, hugged Hannah, waved to Luke and headed back around the house to her car.
Hannah glanced at Luke and then away. “That was embarrassing.”
“Why do you think you’re a loser with men?” he asked, easing down into a sitting position.
Hannah leaned back on her elbows, shrugging. “I don’t know.” Even though she did. “I just don’t like it. It’s awkward. I’m awkward.” Leave it at that.
“Dating’s pretty easy.” Luke grinned ruefully. “I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“So I hear.”
He looked at her quickly, his eyes flashing with something like hurt. Or maybe she’d imagined it.
“You were one of the most popular boys in high school, from what Marnie said,” she explained quickly. “That’s all I meant.”
“High school.” He waved a dismissive hand. “Being popular there is nothing to be proud of.”
“I wouldn’t know.” She rubbed her hands together. It was cold, but she felt strangely comfortable. Now Luke knew most everything about her. There was nothing to hide.
Well, except for Marnie’s secret.
“I can give you some pointers, if you want,” he said.
“Pointers about what?”
“About dating.”
She stared at him, unable to react to what he’d said. Luke Hutchenson—popular, handsome Luke Hutchenson—was offering to give her pointers about dating?
“Guy’s point of view,” he explained.
Her heart pounded, drumlike, as the reasons that would be a bad idea flashed through her mind, one after another.
She’d had only bad experiences with dating, and talking with Luke about it would bring all of them to the forefront. Maybe she’d even blurt out things that she shouldn’t.
Luke was the twins’ uncle, and she was bound to keep that secret.
And, maybe most of all, she was attracted to Luke, so listening to him wax eloquent about all his dating experience would just plain hurt. “It’s fine, I’ll be fine,” she said quickly, and soon made an excuse to go inside.
No need to get Luke involved in the disaster she’d almost certainly make of this upcoming date.
* * *
Friday night at five thirty, Luke stood on Hannah’s doorstep, knocked and asked himself who he thought he was kidding.
He looked down at Goldie, who sat panting, almost smiling, beside him. She seemed to like Hannah, the lady with all the treats. At least, she’d been happy to come over tonight.
The door flew open, and there was Hannah, only it was Hannah like he’d never seen her before. Boots, tights, a skirt and sweater that showed... Wow. His mouth went dry. Hannah looked good. Really, really good.
“What? What are you doing here?” Hannah was fiddling with an earring. She sounded like she was ready to cry.
“I, um...” What was he doing here?
Goldie gave a bark of greeting, and Hannah’s face creased into her usual smile. “Hi, girl!” She set the earring on an end table and opened the door, and when Goldie rushed in, she knelt down, quick and easy, and rubbed the dog’s sides. It was clear why Goldie adored her already.
“I thought you might need some last-minute dating advice,” he said. Weak. That is a weak excuse for coming over when you know she has a date.
She stood, her forehead wrinkling. “He’s going to be here any minute!” She turned, walked across the living room and sat on the edge of the couch, patting her leg and clicking her tongue at Goldie, who trotted to her. “I’m a nervous wreck,” she admitted as she stroked the dog’s back.
Seeing as she hadn’t kicked out Luke, maybe she wanted to talk. “Why are you so upset? It’s just, what, a dinner date?”
She nodded miserably. “I was hoping we could go to Cle
o’s Café. In and over with fast. But turns out he’s taking me to some Asian-fusion place up in Cleveland. I don’t even know what Asian fusion is. I’ll probably hate everything.”
The guy was going all out. For a first date? “So you’ll have about a forty-five-minute ride, and then dinner,” he said.
“Right. It’s way too much time, and what if he’s, you know...” She trailed off. Sweat was breaking out on her forehead, little shiny drops.
“Boring? Handsy?”
“That,” she said. She grabbed her phone and looked at it. “Is it too late to cancel?”
“Yeah. Unless you tell him you’re sick when he gets here, but...”
“I couldn’t do that. That’s mean.”
He studied her. She was dressed to impress, but her face was completely miserable. “Why’d you agree to go, anyway?”
“Addie and Emmy need a man,” she said. “Oh, I know that sounds awful, but it’s true. They need a father figure.”
“Well...” He could see that, sort of, but starting from scratch with some guy she didn’t even know seemed like a questionable approach. “Where are the twins?”
She blew out a breath. “Mom and Samantha decided they’re too much, at first. So Mom took them over to play with her friend’s grandchild.” Still with the miserable expression on her face.
“Do you always do exactly what your mom and your friend say to do?”
She opened her mouth and then closed it again. Good. Maybe she’d rethink the whole date-to-get-the-twins-a-dad thing.
The doorbell rang.
Goldie went into her usual hysterics, barking wildly and leaping up at the door.
Luke grabbed the dog’s leash and tugged her back. Hannah opened the door. Goldie continued barking and trying to lunge at the man on the other side of it. He was wearing a sport coat and khakis and smiling.
Who wouldn’t smile, coming over for a date with a woman who looked like Hannah?
She opened the door. “Hi. Come in.” As he did, she looked over her shoulder at Luke. Go, she mouthed to him.
In a flash, he made the comparison. Here he stood in his old jeans and sweater. He hadn’t shaved this morning, and he knew his heavy stubble made him look disheveled.
And that was only the outside. Luke had a high-school diploma. This guy probably had a PhD, like Corbin.
As soon as Dylan entered, Goldie leaped up on him. “Sorry, sorry,” Luke said, pulling her back. Only he wasn’t sorry Goldie had gotten a little mud on the guy’s coat.
“Take another step back,” Hannah said in her dog-trainer voice. “Don’t let her greet someone until she’s calm.”
“It’s no problem,” Dylan said easily, reaching down to rub Goldie’s head. “Dogs are dogs.”
Dylan seemed like an okay guy. Still, if he was planning to make a move on Hannah, as she’d worried... He shortened Goldie’s leash and stuck out a hand. “Luke Hutchenson,” he said in his deepest, least friendly voice.
“Dylan Smith.” The man gave a firm handshake. The calluses weren’t what Luke expected from a professor. Dylan looked curious about Luke’s presence, but not intimidated. “Glad to meet you,” he said.
“Luke is here because I’m helping to train Goldie, but we’re done.” Hannah glared at Luke. Apparently, she’d lost her nervousness about this date.
And why not? The guy seemed fine. Like a great prospect for her.
“I was just leaving. See you tomorrow.” Luke let himself out the door, tugging a reluctant Goldie beside him.
Dylan Smith was everything Luke wasn’t. And if Luke was any kind of good person, he needed to step aside, stay far away from Hannah and leave the two of them to build a relationship.
Chapter Four
Hannah usually enjoyed the camaraderie of Rescue Haven’s Monday-morning staff meetings, which took place in the classroom area of the barn where the dogs were kenneled. But today, Gabby and Samantha sat side by side, deep into comparing notes on their rapidly advancing pregnancies. Reese was preoccupied with something on his tablet. And Luke was...Luke. He was leaning on a hay bale a little apart from the cluster of chairs where everyone else sat, looking straight ahead, his expression brooding.
He’d been at Rescue Haven for less than two weeks, and although everyone seemed to like him and think he was doing a good job, it wasn’t surprising that he was a little aloof. Nothing Hannah needed to worry about.
Hannah sat down beside Gabby, and Reese called the meeting to order, updating everyone on this week’s schedule as a latecomer arrived: Hannah’s Friday-night date, Dylan.
Luke muttered something under his breath, and Gabby nudged Hannah. “I want to hear about your date,” she whispered.
Hannah nodded. She was surprised to see Dylan at the staff meeting, but since he was conducting some research on the dogs for the next few weeks, it made sense. She gave him a shy wave and he smiled back.
Their date had been nothing like she’d expected; it had been better, in a strange way.
A noise from outside set off the dogs, and they all started barking madly. Hannah hurried over to cover the crates of the three most agitated dogs. That would quiet them quickly, she knew, and then the dozen remaining dogs would settle down.
“Obviously,” Reese said when the dogs’ barking had quieted and Hannah was seated again, “having our staff meetings in the kennel isn’t ideal. But that may be changing.” He explained that Rescue Haven’s two main donors, wealthy Mrs. Markowski—Reese’s aunt—and the church, headed by prickly Mr. Romano, had come up with a challenge for the group.
There was a mixture of excitement and groans. “Those two are always setting us ridiculous deadlines and making us prove ourselves,” Gabby complained.
“But sometimes, it can work out well.” That was Samantha, who’d had to prove her abilities working on a parade float, of all things, before being hired to start the Learn-and-Play program.
“I, for one, am grateful for the Learn-and-Play. That challenge was totally worth it.” Hannah leaned back in her chair. “I don’t know what I’d do if the twins couldn’t attend a program right here where I work.”
“Exactly.” Reese smiled at her. “And you’ll like this next opportunity, too, I think. Mr. Romano and my aunt have teamed up to offer us funds to renovate the old storage barn into a new dog-training facility. They’re hoping we can use it for the dogs here, plus bring in paying customers from town who’ll help fund our programs. And, as a bonus, we’d get more townspeople interested in Rescue Haven. And have more space for our meetings.”
“That’s brilliant!” Samantha pumped a fist in the air. “Just what we need to extend our reach.”
Hannah wrapped her arms around herself, her heart pounding with excitement. “That would be amazing. A real, up-to-date training facility...” It was more than she’d ever dreamed of having in a small town like Bethlehem Springs. “We could do agility classes, scent work... It would be great for the rescue dogs as well as the town dogs—wow.”
“And we have the most amazing dog trainer to staff it!” Gabby squeezed Hannah’s shoulder. “I’m so excited for you!”
Reese held up a hand. “But there’s a catch.”
There were a couple of groans around the room. “There always is,” Samantha said, sighing.
“We have to get the storage barn cleared out and the main work done by the end of the year,” Reese said.
Gabby put a hand on her hip. “Why so fast?”
“That’s when Aunt Catherine leaves for her winter home in Florida, and she wants it done before she goes. So we’ll need all hands on deck to clear the barn, and Hannah, you’ll need a pretty solid plan of what kind of facility you need.”
Hannah had seen the storage barn, and she knew its structure was basically sound, though the place was filled with junk. Getting the project going so quickly would be a big chall
enge, but the fact that she’d helped renovate a facility on the outskirts of Cleveland a couple of years ago would be a big help. “I have no problem working day and night—” Hannah clapped a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes for a minute. “Well, except that I’m raising my nieces right now.” For a few seconds, she’d forgotten that.
“There is that,” Reese said, a smile tugging at his lips. “But on the other hand, if we can get this off the ground, there’s a full-time job with benefits in it for you.”
“Working right here by the twins’ day care,” Samantha added. “Oh, Hannah, that would be so, so perfect for you.”
“It’s just in the idea stage now,” Reese warned, “so don’t get too excited. They want to do it, but we haven’t discussed details. Let’s all head over and look at the old barn, see what would be involved, so we can make some kind of reasonable schedule if they decide to go forward.”
“I’m out,” Samantha said. “I need to get back to the kids.”
So Reese, Gabby, Luke, Hannah and Dylan headed over, tromping through the icy brown grass. A cold wind whipped across the fields, and a lone crow landed on a stand of scraggly trees across the neighboring pasture.
Reese threw open the tall double doors of the storage barn and they all trooped in. It was a barn of sorts; its rough wooden walls were equipped with hooks to hold tack, and a wooden ladder led to a loft above. The faint smell of hay permeated the air, along with enough dust that Hannah’s eyes watered.
But it bore no real resemblance to a working barn. Packed to the rafters with debris from long-ago owners who’d farmed the place, plus all kinds of rarely used items from the Rescue Haven program, it looked anything but promising for a dog-training facility.
“Luke, you’re in charge,” Reese said. “Gabby, you take notes. No physical work, promise me.” He smiled tenderly at his wife.
Gabby opened her mouth like she was going to protest, but then her hands went to her pregnant belly and she nodded. “Okay, I guess.”
Hannah felt a surprising flash of envy. Gabby seemed so settled now, so happy. Whereas Hannah felt anything but.
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