Currant Creek Valley

Even so, it still sometimes freaked her out.

Then there was the issue of the upcoming birth, something that left her both thrilled for them and aching for...something.

Throw in her mother’s relationship with Harry Lange and she was probably due for some serious therapy anytime now.

She didn’t want to talk about any of it. What she really wanted to do was kiss this big, sexy construction foreman. Too bad things were so complicated.

“This is the Center of Hope Café, a fabulous place for breakfast and lunch. Basically anything on the menu is good. You can’t go wrong. I don’t know what magic Dermot Caine possesses but he also makes these turkey wraps that always hit the spot.”

“Seems like a bad policy, to endorse the competition.”

She sniffed. “We’re not in competition. Apples to oranges. You want gourmet cuisine, come to my restaurant. You want good, honest comfort food, Dermot’s your man.”

“Is that right?”

“The French toast alone will make you weep tears of gratitude.”

He laughed, assuming she was speaking in hyperbole. Foolish man. After he tried it, he would know she spoke only truth.

“Around the corner there is Dermot’s daughter Charlotte’s candy store. Sugar Rush. Best place in town for flavored fudge. Blackberry, almond, cashew. She does it all. And she’s one of my good friends, too.”

“Is everyone in town your friend?”

She shrugged. “Basically. What can I say? It’s a friendly town. Why don’t we cross the street here?”

He eyed the crosswalk, thirty feet farther up the street. “A rule breaker. I like that in a woman.”

“It’s nearly midnight,” she pointed out. “The streets are pretty deserted right now. I think we’ll be safe unless we get rogue moose coming through town. Hope’s Crossing doesn’t have much of a nightlife this time of year, I’m afraid.”

“Not a problem for me. I’m not coming to town to party.”

Despite the dearth of traffic, he grabbed her elbow when they crossed the street. She found it incredibly sweet and wanted to lean into the strength of his firm hand touching her, even through the layers of her coat and shirt.

They were only taking fifteen steps across pavement, not fording Currant Creek during runoff, but she still enjoyed that little touch of courtesy.

“This is my sister’s shop,” she said, when they reached the other side. “Dog-Eared Books & Brew is absolutely the best place in town to get good coffee.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

On the other side of the street, she pointed out several of the old buildings in town and the efforts that had been made to keep the town’s historic flavor.

Hope’s Crossing was always so peaceful late at night when most of the residents slept. Instead of going all the way up to the restaurant, the one place in town she knew he had been, she turned them down Glacier Lily Drive, intending to make a loop back to The Speckled Lizard. They had only walked about ten feet when something large and dark came toward them out of the alley behind the fabric store.

Alex jumped and gave a little scream at the same moment, her mind on that moose she had joked about earlier. Moose scared her to death ever since just about being charged by one when she had caught it unawares while out mountain biking one day a few years ago.

She felt extremely foolish when she realized the menacing shape was only an off-leash dog who had apparently wandered away from home.

“Sorry. Sorry. That startled me.”

He didn’t laugh, which was more than most men she knew would have done.

“It startled me, too. We former Army Rangers try to be a little more manly and do our girly screaming on the inside.”

“We should probably find where he belongs. Come here, boy.”

In the small circle of light from the reproduction streetlamp, the dog looked to be a chocolate Lab. He had a frayed collar but no tags. “Oh, dear. Where did you come from?”

The dog licked her, tongue lolling and tail wagging. He smelled like wet dog, sharply pungent.

“I’m not exactly a dog expert but he looks like a purebred,” Sam said.

She had to agree. He had very elegant lines and beautiful hazel eyes that glowed in his dark face in the starlight. “I can’t imagine he’s a stray, even though that collar looks pretty mangy.”

“How do you expect to find his home tonight?”

“Good question, especially without tags. I’m trying to think if I know anybody with a chocolate Lab. Nobody comes to mind. He doesn’t look familiar.”

“You can’t know every dog in town.”

“Not every dog, no,” she admitted. “But I’m sure I would remember a good-looking guy like this one.”

The dog licked at her hand again and she rubbed his ears. She loved dogs. Claire and Riley’s morosely adorable basset hound, Chester, was one of her favorite creatures on earth. If her life weren’t so chaotic, she would definitely have one of her own.

“Any suggestions?” Sam asked. “Is there an animal shelter in town where we can take him for now?”

“There is, but they’re usually pretty packed.”

She considered her options and came up with only one viable possibility. “Looks like I’m going to have company for the night.”

“You’re really going to take him home with you? What if he’s rabid?”

“He’s not. Look at how sweet he is. I can’t just leave him to run wild on the streets. He could be hit by a car or even attacked by a mountain lion. I can call the shelter in the morning and see if they’ve had any missing pooch reports that match his description.”

“What if they haven’t?”

“I’m pretty connected,” she said modestly. “I can get the word out through the police department and even put a few posters up at the bookstore and Claire’s place. The owner will probably hear through the grapevine that I found a chocolate Lab. I should only have him for a day or two. It will be fun to have company, won’t it, bud?”

The dog woofed at her and licked her hand a third time, almost as if he understood.

“Take off your belt,” she ordered.

Sam angled a sidelong look at her. “I do believe that’s the first time I’ve been propositioned on a public sidewalk.”

She snorted. “That you’ve heard out loud, anyway. I’m sure plenty of women have wanted to proposition you, public sidewalk or not. Seriously, I need a leash and I’m not wearing a belt. I need yours. Don’t worry, you’ll get it back.”

He shook his head. “This is the most interesting evening I’ve had in a very long time.”

“Don’t get out much, then, do you?”