Happy New Life (4 page)

“I thought you were going to show me some gestures?” she asked, but he
was already out the door.

Judging by his reaction, he’d felt the jolt too. Why else would he have
left the room?

“Get a grip.” She muttered, leaning up against the door after he left
the training room.

She was in no shape to get into a relationship, especially with a
friend of Jenna’s.

“Sorry about that.” Cole didn’t look at her when he entered the room.
Focus
on the dog
. He patted his thigh, and in a deep steady voice, commanded
Tramp, “Come on boy.”

Tramp did exactly as he commanded. And with every order he gave, she
sat up a little more, taking in everything Tramp was doing. This was not the
same dog she had gotten from the pound.

The large room was broken up into three separate sections, and if she
played it right, she could stay on one side with him on the other.

He started Tramp through the obstacle course, as though he was trying
to figure out if Tramp had some skills.

Tramp was able to make it through most of the obstacles with a little
encouragement. He went up the ramp, through the tunnel, jumped over the rail
and through the hoop.

At certain points throughout the course, Cole yelled “sit!” To her
surprise, Tramp immediately stopped and sat down.

“Did you just teach him that?” she asked getting his attention.

Damn he looked good,
he was slender, yet muscular, dark and
fiery with eyes that glowed and pierced her body.

She tried to take her eyes off him, but she was drawn in by his
magnetism. His jeans fit perfectly, all the way down over his cowboy boots. She
cringed at the thought of him seeing her granny panties earlier.

“No, I didn’t” Cole said from across the room, while gesturing for
Tramp to go back through the tunnel. Every time Tramp completed the course,
Cole enthusiastically congratulated him. “Good job, Tramp.”

The more he commanded Tramp to do, the more she marveled at Cole.

Does he have this effect on all creatures
?, she wondered
thinking about how Jenna reacted to him, how she felt being near him, and how
Tramp was now clearly under his spell, as well.

“I can’t believe how smart he is.” Cole moved next to her. She stood
motionless, afraid to move because her body seemed to have a mind of its own
today. “How old did you say he is?”

Tramp chewed on a ball next to the chair, unfazed by all of the running
around or the attraction in the air.

“The shelter vet told me that he was around two years old.” She said,
bending down to pat the scraggly dog.

“Shelter?” His voice was thick and steady. “This is an Irish Wolfhound.
Who would put this dog in a shelter?”

“An Irish what?” She jumped in surprise.

She’d never heard of an Irish wolf-whatever and the shelter said he was
a mutt.

“Irish Wolfhound. Great family dog.” Cole scratched his head. “I’m not
sure I believe he’d get into any trouble. It’s not their nature.”

“Are you calling me a liar?” Her brows drew together in an angry frown.
“What do you think about the leash situation?”

“No. I’m not calling you a liar. I’m just saying it’s not
characteristic of Irish Wolfhounds not to listen. So to answer your question, I
think it may be the operator.” He didn’t flinch, smile, or show a glimmer of
someone trying to make her feel stupid.

“Seriously?” she asked softly, her eyes narrowing.

“Tramp, come.” His voice boomed with confidence.

Tramp jumped to his feet, ran over and looked up at him.

“Sit.” His voice was deep, crisp and clear.

Tramp sat down. Cole clipped the leash on Tramp and walked around the
room with him. Tramp stayed in step. This was not the same Tramp that she
couldn’t walk on a leash.

“You are a very naughty boy.” Cole whispered in Tramp’s ear.

She laughed. She knew Cole was right.

How does he know Jenna, and why hadn’t she told me about him?
The question nagged at her. There was no way Jenna wouldn’t have mentioned him,
especially since Jenna was always trying to fix her up with other men.

“I can’t believe this. Hayes can’t even walk him without being dragged
along.” There was disbelief in her tone.

Cole walked Tramp back over. There was a scowl on his face.

“I don’t know how big Hayes is, but obviously Tramp has no respect for
him. Was he mean to Tramp?” Cole’s voice held little sarcastic twist.

“I’m sorry?” She stood up and crossed her arms.

Who does he think he is
? She sought to erect a wall of defense
against him. No man talked that way about her son, no matter if that man did
cause a stir in her emotions.

“Was your husband, Hayes, respectful to Tramp?” Cole crossed his arms..

Liz threw back her head and let out a great peal of laughter.

By the look on Cole’s face, he didn’t think it was very funny, which
made her laugh even harder.

“What are you laughing at? We need to get one thing straight.” His eyes
narrowed and his face became stern. “When a dog is mistreated, he will not
listen to the owner out of fear.”

The more he talked, the less she was able to control her laughter.

“If you think that mistreating a dog is funny, then maybe we have no
business here.”

Cole turned to walk out of the room, but stopped.

“I don’t find anything about that amusing.” His voice was steady.

There was a beauty in how he came to Tramp’s defense. Her face lit up
with every giggle she tried to contain.

A small, but noticeable grin formed on his lips.

“No,” she answered quickly over her choking laughter. “Hayes is my
nine-year old son who happens to love this dog very much. If you think that
this dog is mistreated in any way, you are sorely mistaken,” she spoke with as
reasonable a voice as she could manage. “We treat this dog as one of our family
members. I don’t talk to him as sternly as you do and maybe that’s the
problem.”

Liz grabbed Tramp’s leash and they bolted out the door.

Cole smiled. She was trying to stay upright but Tramp was in a full on
gallop, causing her to stumble all the way out of the training room.

 “Liz! Liz! Stop!” Cole ran out of the training room and through Claws
and Paws.

She ignored him, and she couldn’t stop even if she wanted to. Tramp was
already back to his old ways.

Joe stood smiling, holding the front door as they bolted out. “I heard
paws coming.”

Wearily, she tried to grin, but had to concentrate on keeping up with
Tramp through the thick snow.

“Shut up, Joe. Sit!” Cole screamed toward her and Tramp.

“Don’t you dare!” She yelled at Tramp with her eyes tightly closed.

Of course he listened to Cole.

In one fell swoop, Tramp stopped and she fell to the ground, using her
free hand to catch her fall. She’d managed to land on the only patch of
blacktop not covered by snow, tearing a hole in the knee of her jeans.

She fingered the tear in her favorite jeans. They were jeans she could
never afford now; not on her income.

“Let me help you.” Cole held his hand out to help her. “You left me no
choice. You weren’t stopping so I had to use Tramp to stop you.”

“Thank you for your time.” She proceeded to hobble to the car with
Tramp’s leash still attached to her wrist.

“Liz?” A sizzle of heat rushed through her when he put his hand on her
shoulder. “I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just that Tramp is such a good dog
and most of the time when a dog lashes out, it’s due to other factors.”

She swiftly turned to him and moved away from his hand. “Again, thank
you for your time.”

She felt like a fool. Tramp listened to him right away, but the instant
she took hold of the leash, he went right back to being crazy. And the
embarrassment of the attraction she had toward Cole wasn’t something she
understood.

She hadn’t felt this type of chemistry in years. Plus there was
definitely something going on between him and Jenna.

She figured she’d come back in a few days for a refund. She put the
window down so Tramp could put his head out. She adjusted her rear-view mirror,
continually looking back at Cole until he was just a spec.

THREE

“Happiness often sneaks in through a door you didn't know
you left open. “

~John Barrymore

Driving through downtown Grandberry Falls
was just like driving through the middle of a Christmas card. It was
therapeutic for her and she really needed to get her emotions in check

First of all, she didn’t like being made
fun of, and second, she hadn’t recognized the feelings deep in the pit of her
stomach.

The freshly fallen snow was untouched on
all the wreaths hanging from the carriage lights, and the trickle of water
gurgling down the falls looked amazing.

Liz pulled into a parking spot in front of
the Trembling Cup and noticed the long line of customers. Everyone was probably
in there trying to escape from the cold. She wanted to grab a cup of joe on the
way to her shop. There were some things she needed to grab from The Mole Hole
to work on at home

Across the street, she could see that The
Fatted Pig was even full. But a bowl of beans and homemade cornbread by Mamie
Preston did sound good.

She left all of the windows cracked, just
a little, because she wasn’t about to run down Main Street after a shelter dog.

Irish wolfhound
. . . right
. She
looked at Tramp and scratched his wiry fur. He licked her hand. “Big baby,” she
said giving him a quick kiss and wrapping her scarf tightly around her neck.
The last thing she needed was a cold.

She could almost taste the homemade food
as soon as she caught a whiff walking into The Fatted Pig. All of the café
tables were full, and the bar was filled with older men wearing John Deere hats
and drinking coffee.

Mamie was shouting out food orders to the
short-order cook.

Liz leaned over the bar near the register.

“Everyone’s in here to warm up with a good
bowl of bean soup.” She gave a little wave when Mamie turned to see who was
talking to her.

“I wondered when you were going to come
and get you a bowl.” Mamie wiped her hands off on the hanging dishtowel that
was tucked in her apron. “How ‘bout a side order of fresh homemade cornbread.”

Liz nodded. There was nothing better than
Mamie’s cornbread.

“How’s business?” Mamie held the ladle
high in the air to pour some beans into the Styrofoam bowl, like a fancy chef.
“I hear you’re decorating the office of the new mayor.”

“Yes, Mitch did ask me to look at a couple
of things in the office.” Liz looked around. She didn’t want taxpayers getting
angry, especially if they didn’t vote the young Mitch Dozier into office. “I’m
sure it could use a little sprucing up after forty-years.”

Mamie cackled. “Well, Mitch has been
staying over there a lot, God bless his heart. I just feel so bad for Hazel.”

“I do too.” Biting her lip, Liz looked
away. “I’m not sure how my business will do if this all goes down.”

Liz had moved here specifically to open
The Mole Hole Interiors. Grandberry Falls didn’t have an interior decorator,
and it was a perfect place to move. She’d been there a couple times, for
vacations on the lake, and fell in love with the town. Of course Paul would
never move to a “hick town,” as he called it.

Now, with an impending eminent domain case
looming over the town, Liz wasn’t sure how well she’d continue to do.

If all went as planned, the state would
take the Greenlee property and make an outlet mall with all sorts of stores.
Especially since it was close to an interstate and Liz knew how people loved
those outlet malls.

“I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Mamie packed
the food in a carrier and handed it to Liz. “Not sure about The Figure 8 and
me. People like eatin’ at them fancy restaurants.”

Liz was sad for the town. Everyone seemed
to be divided. And poor Mitch; he’s a young mayor in his late twenties with
hardly any experience. From what Liz understands, he was really doing all he
could to please both sides.

“Ah, you’ll be fine.” Liz stuck her nose
in the bag and let the scent of the homemade goodies waft around her. “I can’t
wait to dig in.”

She paid Mamie and put the leftover
quarter in her pocket, before wrapping her scarf around her neck.

“Liz, dear.” Mamie came from behind the
counter and pointed to Liz’s torn up skinny jeans. “You’re bleeding. Let me get
you a cloth.”

“No, I’m fine.” Liz blew it off. “I’m
heading to my store to pick up some invoices, and then heading home. I’ll take
care of it.”

“What happened?” Mamie inspected it a bit
closer, seeming even more concerned. “Did you fall on concrete in the snow?”

“My dog, Tramp, started obedience school
today over at The Claw and Paw. We left after I figured it wasn’t the type of
class he needed.” Liz tried to play it off the best she could. “Tramp sorta
drug me out of there.”

“I heard Cole was back in town.” Mamie’s
tone was cool and disapproving. “Hazel Greenlee told me.”

“Oh, really?” Liz wanted Mamie to tell her
more, but didn’t want to seem too eager. “Where’s he been?”

Someone yelled for Mamie before she could
answer, Mamie went off to see what they needed, leaving Liz with the unknown
question that no one seemed to want to answer.

Steam came from the bag as she jotted
across the street toward her car. The waterfall, and attraction Grandberry
Falls was named after, still had water coming down. The icicles that had formed
along the falls were shimmering in the lantern light.

She took the quarter out of her pocket and
closed her eyes tightly.

With a flick of the wrist, the quarter
flew into the air, plopping into the pool of water below.

She should’ve wished for her business to
continue to do well, so she and Hayes would have a place to live, but she
didn’t. She’d changed her wish.