Winter's Wonder: Pine Point, Book 2 (4 page)

Chapter Seven

Zane waited until Becca had disappeared into her apartment above Dolly’s Diner before pulling away from the curb. Why had he asked her to dinner? Well, for one, she was a cute little package with a curvy figure and those bright blue eyes. For two, she was one of the only women in town who hadn’t thrown herself at him in the year he’d been back. Actually, she’d made it pretty clear on their first two meetings that she wanted as little as possible to do with him. So hell, he liked the challenge of winning her over.

He turned onto County Route 78 and then Red Barn Road. In truth, he’d asked Becca out for another reason, one he had a harder time figuring out. The way she treated her animals, the way she devoted herself to their wellbeing, hit a nerve deep inside him.
“I feel like I make a difference, and that counts for something.”
He’d pretty much taken care of himself his entire life. He preferred to rely on no one, to trust no one, which he supposed in some strange way made him a lot like those strays she took in.

Speaking of strays—

Zane slammed on the brakes about a quarter mile from the front gate of Mountain Glen. A pair of beady eyes stared at him from the shoulder of the road. He flicked on his high beams in time to see the dog disappear into the weeds.
Hell. What’s that thing doing out here?
It had to be close to zero degrees. He peered into the dark, but it had vanished.

Zane shook his head and continued past Mountain Glen to the first dirt road on the right. He followed the private road until it dead-ended. Three modest but well-kept mobile homes lined the side facing the mountains. He pulled up next to the first one and killed the engine.
Home sweet home
. He jogged to the front door, shivering against the cold. He gave another glance into the dark. Why the hell was he so worried about an animal? That dog had obviously taken care of itself up to now. It had a place to live, in the woods or wherever. And it knew how to get food. It would survive.

But surviving isn’t the same as living, is it?

The odd thought bounced in and out of his head as he kicked off his shoes and hung up his coat. He checked the wood stove in the corner, fed it a few more logs, helped himself to a beer and sank into the worn but still-comfortable plaid couch. Kitchen, living room, one bedroom and a bathroom. And it cost him a cool three hundred bucks a month as long as he kept the security job at Mountain Glen. Nope, it wasn’t a bad place to live, not for a bachelor.

He turned on the television and skimmed through the channels. Christmas shows flashed onto the screen every few seconds—the Grinch, Charlie Brown’s spindly tree, the kid with the Red Rider BB gun, and a church choir singing hallelujahs. He finally stopped at a motorcycle-rebuilding show and muted the volume. Thoughts of Becca returned in full force. She must have taken wardrobe advice from her sister tonight, because that see-through green shirt had Ella Ericksen written all over it. Zane drank and closed his eyes. He’d struggled to keep his eyes from wandering too often to Becca’s cleavage, to the skin he could just make out under the green fabric. He wondered what she tasted like. What she’d feel like under his touch. A fantasy of a naked Becca unraveled in his mind’s eye, and just as he was about to loosen his own zipper for some sweet relief, his cell phone buzzed.

He jerked upright and almost lost the last third of his beer. “Shit.” He finished it off, then set the bottle on the counter and checked his phone. Maybe she’d texted him. A sweet little goodnight message from the local animal rescuer would send him straight into dreamland.

But it was Springer instead.

“So how’d it go?”

Zane grinned. Nosy bastard.
“Good.”

“Still out with her?”

He thought about lying and saying yes, but his friend would probably pick up on the bullshit.
“Nope. Home having a beer.”

“Pussy.”

Zane tossed the phone aside without responding. He thought about opening another beer, but the sound of the wind whistling through the trees took him to the window over the kitchen sink instead. He framed his eyes and looked into the dark. Less than a half-mile away, a few lights glittered in the homes of Mountain Glen. Unlike his own place, bare of a single holiday decoration, most of the houses were lit to the hilt with lights and figurines and life-sized Santas on their roofs. Even from here, he could see the Yedziniak’s place, with red and green lights that bounced to music until eleven every night.

Probably added hundreds to their electric bills. Not like the Glen residents had to worry. He dropped his hands. Last thing he wanted to do was go out into this cold, but he couldn’t get the thought of that damn dog out of his mind. Cursing under his breath, he pulled his boots back on, then his coat, then his hat and gloves. For good measure, he wrapped a scarf around his neck—an early Christmas gift from Mandy McCraken, seventy-five and the only
other
woman in town besides Becca that had never hit on him.

He headed for his truck, swung it in a tight circle and drove back to the main road. Ten seconds later, he was pulling up to the front gate. Sue gave him an odd look, but he didn’t stop to chat. Wasn’t anyone’s business why he was here. Slowly, he drove around the perimeter of the community, high beams on, looking for the dog. The only thing he saw was Ralph Neiderbaum driving his golf cart with his St. Bernard trotting behind. The pair lumbered along, and Ralph raised a hand in hello. Zane waved in return and then doubled back to the maintenance shed.

If he couldn’t find it, he could at least leave some more food for it. Over the last two days, the dish had been licked clean, and he had a feeling he’d be buying more dog food out of his own pocket before too long. He left his truck idling, ran inside and carried the bag around back, where he dumped more food into the dish. He bent down.
Well, shit. Look at that.
For the first time, he noticed that the pile of towels had been all pushed together in the corner, and a few telltale brown hairs stuck to them. Maybe the thing wasn’t totally dumb and had taken advantage of this shelter after all.

He rolled down the top of the now-close-to-empty bag and stuffed it under one arm. Well, he’d done what he could. He turned to go and caught a flash of movement in the bushes across the sidewalk. A moment later, the dog emerged and stood under the streetlight, panting. Its skinny sides moved in and out with the effort, and he could make out the shadow of its ribs. Still, it didn’t look injured, and when he dared to walk toward it, it backed toward the bushes again. Zane stopped where he was. Across the lawns, Christmas lights still flashed and “Winter Wonderland” still played. They watched each other. Zane whistled once, low and long. The dog licked its nose and took a step toward him.

“Maybe we’re more alike than not, huh, buddy?” Zane whispered into the dark. Two strays, both solitary for the night, both looking for a place to keep warm. Taking slow, deliberate steps, he made a wide circle around the food and the towels and backed away. The dog cocked its head. After a moment, it trotted toward the dish.

“There you go,” Zane said, but the animal’s ears went back at his voice, so he didn’t say another word. It trembled in the cold, and although its nose was going a mile a minute, and it kept licking its chops, it refused to put its head down long enough to grab a bite to eat. Instead, it just stood there and watched him.

I know that feeling. Don’t trust anyone in the world. Better to be alone than risk getting hurt.

Hell, now he was mentally commiserating with a damn dog? Without allowing himself to think about it anymore, Zane dropped the food bag inside the shed and then hopped into his truck. He put it into reverse and backed slowly away. The dog’s yellow eyes stayed on him the whole time.

Chapter Eight

“Freckles and Missy too,” Becca said. She pointed at the carrier that held two young cats. “They’ll be good with the kids.”

Shirley, one of the shelter’s faithful volunteers, nodded. “Here you go, munchkins,” she murmured as she picked up the carrier and took it outside to Becca’s idling SUV. Becca followed with Dinah, a beagle mix, straining at her leash. She jumped into the front seat and looked around, tongue lolling, tail wagging a mile a minute.

Becca wiped one arm across her forehead. Despite the frigid air temperature, she was sweating. Damn. She hadn’t packed a change of clothes either. She hoped the elementary school kids wouldn’t mind her messy hair or smeared makeup or inevitable rings under her arms.

“Is that all of them?” Shirley asked. She blew on her bare hands and peered inside the SUV. Two lop-eared rabbits, Sunny, the enormous orange long-haired cat, and Miles, the lab mix, sat patiently in the back two rows of seats.

“That’s all I can manage by myself.” Becca hauled herself into the driver’s seat. As it was, she hoped Donna Dawber, the teacher who’d made the arrangements for this school visit, would have a couple of hale and hearty guys to meet her at the door and help out.

Speaking of hale and hearty guys…

Her mind whirled as she backed out of the Pine Point Paws driveway and headed for the elementary school on the other side of town.
That kiss.
That whole date, from beginning to end. It gave her goose bumps every time she thought about it.

Dinah stuck her wet nose into Becca’s armpit, and her hands jerked on the wheel. All thoughts of Zane disappeared. “Whoa, sweetheart!” She guided Dinah back to the passenger seat and focused on the road ahead of her. In the back, Sunny howled. A moment later, Freckles chimed in.
Terrific.
Becca turned on the radio.

Thankfully, it never took longer than ten minutes to get anywhere in or around Pine Point, and soon she pulled around the circular drive of Pine Point Elementary School. Miles woofed. Dinah jumped against the window, leaving muddy paw prints and a long streak of saliva. Becca checked the heat, locked the doors and left the SUV running as she dashed inside.

“Hiya, Bec!” Eva Hadley sat at the desk just inside, with fresh makeup and perfect hair and a designer red sweater. Christmas holly was strung across her desk, and a reindeer figurine jumped back and forth over a ceramic housetop to the tune of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

Becca wiped her nose. She probably looked about as red-nosed as Rudolph right about now. “Hi, Eva.” She’d gone to school with the Hadley sister, one of four in town, all blonde-haired and blue-eyed and each more curvy than the last. “I’m bringing in some of the animals from the shelter. For an assembly?”

Eva nodded. “Sure.” She waved her manicured nails at the open doors of the auditorium behind her. Young voices chattered and squealed. A class of what looked like kindergarteners straggled inside to join them. “They’re getting ready for you.”

Becca’s heart jumped a little. She’d helped Chrissy with this assembly in the past, but she’d never done it solo. She hoped the animals behaved. She hoped the
kids
behaved. Last year, one little boy had insisted on pulling one dog’s coat and throwing a tantrum on stage when his teacher told him to stop. “Okay, should I just bring them in?” She looked around. “Is there, ah, anyone who could help me?”

Eva’s eyes widened for a moment.

Oh, God, like I would ask her to ruin her nails by carrying in the cats or helping with Dinah
. Ron Ellerbee, one of the custodians, emerged from the office. “Becca. Need some help?”

She nodded, grateful. Mr. Ellerbee had worked at the school as long as she could remember. Only over the last year or so had he changed, seemed to grow older. His hair had gone almost completely white, and he stooped a little more than she recalled.

He followed her out to the SUV and took both cat carriers in his two hands. She swung the vehicle around and parked in one of three empty visitor’s spots, then gripped Miles and Dinah’s leashes in one hand and picked up the rabbit cage in the other. She wouldn’t have to go to Springer’s gym as long as she was managing the shelter, that was for sure. Her arms ached with the effort of getting them all into the school.

“You can go in the auditorium’s side entrance,” Eva said. She motioned to a small door down the hall where Mr. Ellerbee was just disappearing. Unlike Becca, he seemed to be having no problem with the cat carriers. She stretched out her arms for a little relief, hoping Miles and Dinah wouldn’t take off. But the dogs only loped down the hall as if they’d been there a hundred times before.

Thankfully, Donna Dawber met her backstage and took the rabbits. “Thank you for doing this, Becca.”

“Of course.” She did enjoy bringing animals to the school. Not only did she love seeing the kids’ faces, but it gave the shelter residents a chance to leave their kennels and cages as well. And each year, one or two of the animals that went to the school was adopted in time for Christmas. Becca hoped that would happen again. As much as she loved them all, they deserved real homes, where their owners could shower them with love twenty-four seven.

“How are your students this year?” Becca asked Donna as they settled the cats and rabbits on long tables at the back of the stage. The two dogs would remain leashed at her side.

“Ah, well, they’re a handful,” the woman said as she tugged at the cloths covering the tables.

Becca tried to smooth her hair as the dogs wound themselves around her legs. She tried to think of something encouraging to say, but just then, the curtain rose and two hundred little faces looked back at her from the auditorium. Jenny James, the new school principal, stepped to the microphone and began to speak.

The next hour was a blur of keeping the animals calm, making sure no one pulled the dogs’ fur too much and answering questions that ranged from, “Is that rabbit the Easter Bunny?” to. “How do you know it’s a boy dog?” Becca smiled though her arms ached from holding Miles and Dinah’s leashes. They were two of the shelter’s mellowest dogs, but even they got excited as the children petted them and tugged on their tails and looked into their eyes from an inch away. Surprisingly, only one little girl burst into tears when Miles licked her face from bottom to top with his enormous tongue. Other than that, no injuries and no freak-outs from child or beast.

“Thank you for coming,” the principal said as the hour wound to a close. She patted Dinah and Miles and then, almost as an afterthought, patted Becca’s shoulder as well. “The kids always look forward to this tradition.”

“You’re welcome.” Exhausted, Becca sank onto the top step of the stairs leading down to the floor. Dinah and Miles joined her, one on either side. The students wandered out behind their teachers, and soon silence settled into the auditorium. Behind her, Donna fussed with the cat carriers. “I’ll take care of those,” Becca said. “I’m sure you have to get back to your class.”

The teacher nodded. “I do. It was good to see you.” Without another word, she disappeared into the wings.

Becca rolled her neck. Her back ached. Her shoulders ached. She had about fifty emails to answer and a potential adopter coming in later that afternoon. And right now it looked like she was by herself in trying to herd these animals back to her car. “Well, hell,” she muttered. Dinah gave her a sloppy kiss on the chin. Behind her, Sunny meowed.

“Yes, I know you’re ready to go,” she said aloud. But Mr. Ellerbee was nowhere to be seen, and the principal had returned to the office as well. Okay, well, she’d just have to take the dogs out first and then return for the cats and the rabbits. She stood, biting her bottom lip. She hated leaving them in here alone.

“Need some help?”

The voice came from the shadows at the back of the auditorium. Becca squinted. She couldn’t see who it belonged to, but something about it sent a shiver down her spine. It couldn’t be him, of course. Her mind probably just wanted it to be him because she hadn’t stopped thinking about him since their date, but it sounded an awful lot like—

Zane walked down the aisle, hands in his pockets and a half-smile on his face.

Becca went about as warm and wiggly as her dogs.
What is he doing here?

“Lot of critters.” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at her.

“What are you doing here?”
Oh, suave, Becca.
Wildly, she tried to channel her sister.
Say something flirtatious. Or maybe don’t say anything at all. Just try to look cute.
“I mean, don’t you have…work?” Obviously, her mouth had no intention of listening to her brain.

“I’m on the second shift today. Four to midnight.”

“Oh.” She stood there like an idiot, with Miles pressing into her leg and Dinah wriggling with pleasure at the appearance of another visitor.

“I stopped by the shelter.” He took one step up the stairs. “Found out you were here instead.” He took another step.

He’d come looking for her? “Ah…well, here I am.” She spread her hands wide, going for cute, and instead dropped Miles’s leash. Instantly, the dog bounded down the steps and jumped on Zane. He backpedaled, tripped and landed on his ass with ninety pounds of Labrador planted on his chest.

“Oh, Miles! No! Bad, bad dog…” Becca scurried down the stairs. “I am so sorry,” she said as she hauled the dog up by its collar. “Very bad,” she said, with one stern finger on Miles’s nose. The dog looked at her sheepishly, then gave Becca an enormous swipe of his tongue.

Becca closed her eyes. Wonderful. If Zane had come here with the tiniest intention of seeing her, maybe picking up where they’d left off the other night, maybe asking her out again, she was pretty sure the dog had ruined all that. “I’m sorry,” she said again, eyes still closed.

“It’s all right.”

She opened one eye. Zane hopped to his feet and dusted off his hands on his jeans. Oh, they were such nice jeans too, with a tiny tear in one thigh and tight enough that she could see every inch of muscle that rippled as he stood there.

“Still want to help?” she asked with a smile.

“Actually, I want to do this.” Without another word, he took her in his arms and kissed her.

The world spun. Or the floor spun. Something definitely turned her dizzy the minute he put his lips on hers, and Becca forgot about the dogs and her emails and her frazzled appearance and kissed him back. His hands went to her face, holding her tenderly at first, until his tongue eased its way inside her mouth, and then one hand slipped to the back of her neck, the other to her ass, and it was all she could do to stay upright.

“You taste so good,” he murmured against her mouth before moving his lips to her jaw, the spot below her ear, the curve of her neck. She melted, just fell into him. She moved her hands to his hair, feeling its thickness between her fingers as her body went limp under his touch. Her hips moved toward him, arching, needing to feel him, and with both hands, he guided her there, holding her against him until she felt him rise like iron.

“Jesus,” he finally said in a ragged voice. He returned his hands to her face. One thumb brushed her bottom lip. “You’re one hell of a firecracker, doll.”

She couldn’t think of a thing to say. Her face felt heated, her legs like Jell-O, and her girl parts—well, they were jumping up and down in protest that things had just grounded to a halt.

“Guess we probably shouldn’t do this in an elementary school, huh?” he said. He smiled.

Becca gasped. For a long two minutes, she’d completely forgotten where they were. She whirled and looked around. “The dogs.”

But they were sitting on the stairs, chins on their paws. Miles licked his chops. Dinah whined. The rabbits slept in their cage, but Freckles and Missy were pawing at their carrier, and Sunny had started her plaintive howling again.

“I have to get them back to the shelter,” Becca said. Damn, damn, double-damn. Couldn’t she just stay here in the auditorium and make out with Zane some more?

He strode over to the two dogs and wrapped their leashes around his hands. “You take these two. I’ll get the cats and the rabbit and meet you back there. Sound good?”

It sounded more than good. Becca smiled. It sounded perfect.