A Cowboy Under The Mistletoe

Chapter Twelve

“Her eyes are open!” Ally cried in amazement. She had grown used to seeing the puppies in constant play, with their eyes shut tight. Being able to look into Gracie’s dark eyes forged yet another unexpected yet highly emotional connection. To the point that Ally knew leaving her was going to be excruciatingly hard.

For Hank, too, judging by the depth of affection on his handsome face. He came closer and leaned in for a better look. “Right on schedule, too.” He grinned triumphantly, then turned to Ally, his warm breath brushing her face. “I told you that Gracie might be little, but she’s mighty.”

Ally glowed with pride, knowing that just ten days ago the pup nearly hadn’t made it, and now she was leading the pack in development. Except…Ally frowned. “She doesn’t seem to be focusing.”

Hank brushed a gentle hand over Gracie’s soft head and scratched her lovingly behind the ears. “She won’t be able to track an object for another two weeks, but between now and then, she’ll see a little more every day.”

Ally’s spirits took a nosedive as the realization hit. “Unfortunately, I won’t be with her when she can see more than a blur when she looks at me. I’ll be back in Houston. With or without a job…trying to put together my life there.” Ally’s face crumpled as another wave of sadness moved through her. “Gracie will never really get to know me.” She blinked back tears. “Not the way I’ve come to know-and love-her.”

Hank wrapped a comforting arm about Ally’s shoulders. He kissed the top of her head and flashed her a consoling smile. “She knows and loves you.”

Ally luxuriated in his tenderness, even as she questioned his assertion. “How? Puppies’ ears are closed when they’re born, too. It takes several weeks before they can hear a loud noise. According to the handouts your cousin gave us, their lack of vision and hearing is Mother Nature’s way of insuring they get enough sleep in the newborn phase.”

Hank’s eyes glimmered. “But their other senses-touch, smell, and taste-are there from the outset. Trust me on this, Ally.” He tightened his grip on her protectively. “Gracie knows you, same as she knows her mama.”

Ally supposed that was true.

Which made leaving the tiny puppy all the harder.

Ally blinked back a tear as Hank knelt beside the box. The other puppies were beginning to waken, squeaking and swimming and rolling around in the search for their mother. A few more were trying to open their eyes, too.

His expression unbearably sweet, Hank lifted them one by one and put them next to Duchess to nurse. Reluctantly, Ally settled Gracie against Duchess, too, then went to prepare a supplemental bottle of puppy formula.

Not that Gracie seemed to need the extra calories as much anymore, as she was able to nurse alongside her littermates, with nearly as much vigor…

Hank held the last puppy to wake up, cradling and petting him while he awaited his turn to nurse. Duchess lay contentedly, keeping one eye on the puppy Hank held, and watching over the others snuggled at her side.

“It’s amazing how fast they’re all growing,” Ally murmured. Or how content she felt, watching them. She had never thought of herself as much of a ranch person. This experience was changing her mind. She liked being around animals more than she had thought.

Hank nodded agreeably. “In another week they’ll be standing. A week after that running and scampering about.”

Ally sighed. “Sounds lively.” And she would miss that, too…

The doorbell rang.

Ally looked at Hank. “Expecting anyone?”

He shook his head. “You?”

“No.” She went to get the door. Seconds later, she returned with Kurt McCabe. He had his vet bag in one hand, a file folder in another. Encompassing them both with a friendly grin, Kurt told them, “I thought I’d stop by and check on Duchess and the puppies while I was out this way. And give you the news while I’m here…”

THAT, HANK THOUGHT, could not be good. Trusting his cousin to be objective, in a situation where he might not be, Hank asked, “Did you hear something about Duchess and her puppies, and who they might belong to?”

“Maybe.” Kurt set his bag on the table. “I had a call at the clinic a while ago that sounded a little sketchy. It was from a lady in Wichita Falls named Frannie Turner.”

“That’s two hundred miles from here!” Ally said.

Kurt obviously shared their consternation. “Anyway, Ms. Turner said she had agreed to watch Duchess for her sister-in-law, Talia Brannamore, who had been called off on an emergency with her great-niece’s family in Nashville, Tennessee. Something about a house fire and Christmas and all the presents going up in smoke, and the family having small children and nowhere to go but a hotel, and it all being very short notice. Apparently, there was a lot of confusion, both before Duchess was dropped off with Ms. Turner, and during the first day Duchess was there.”

Ally’s eyes took on a cynical glint. “Kurt, this sounds like a hoax!”

Hank agreed.

“That’s what I thought.” Kurt knelt next to the whelping pen, stethoscope around his neck. “Except for one thing. This woman who claimed she was keeping the female golden retriever named Duchess, knew the retriever was pregnant and about to deliver eleven whelps. We didn’t put that information in any of the flyers we sent out.”

Ally blinked. “Why not?”

Hank explained, “The dogs are valuable. It’s Christmas, and the demand for puppies-even those not quite ready to go home yet-is higher than at any other time of year. And these are purebred, show quality dogs. They’re worth a lot.”

Kurt started examining the puppies one by one. “So the fact that Frannie Turner in Wichita Falls knows that we have a golden retriever named Duchess is great. The fact she has no proof of ownership-no papers, or pictures of this dog-gives rise to a lot of question. She says it’s because Duchess isn’t hers, and she was just doing a favor. And that the dog got out of her house accidentally and ran away.”

Ally pressed her lips together, clearly skeptical. “We’re two hundred miles from Wichita Falls, guys. That’s an awfully long way.”

Hank draped a consoling arm across Ally’s shoulders. “Duchess was pregnant, about to deliver. She could have been trying to make her way home to San Angelo to deliver her puppies, and ended up here.”

Her expression thoughtful, Ally turned into Hank’s embrace. He squeezed her, then let her go.

“You hear about that sometimes,” Ally murmured. “Dogs surmounting impossible odds-and doing whatever they have to do to get home.”

More than one movie had been made about this kind of true life event, Hank knew.

“And it could have happened in this case,” Kurt said as he checked Duchess. Finding everything in order, he put his stethoscope back in his bag. “Pregnant dogs have a desire to nest, and a lot of them instinctively go off in private to deliver. But it’s also possible Frannie Turner could have gotten the information elsewhere. Everyone in the community is talking about it. And they’re all telling their friends and family. So it’s possible this woman is trying to pull a scam on us.”

Ally’s brow furrowed with emotion. “So now what?”

Kurt sighed. “Apparently, Frannie didn’t tell her sister-in-law the dog was missing, because she had enough to deal with and Frannie didn’t want her to get upset with her. The sister-in-law is a very serious professional dog breeder, she claims. Now that Frannie knows we found the dog and that the puppies are all okay, she’s not afraid to tell Talia Brannamore.” He locked eyes with Hank and then Ally. “So Frannie told me she would call Talia in Nashville, and see if she can’t get us some sort of proof.”

“How long is that going to take?” Hank asked, impatient to get this resolved before he or Ally became any more emotionally involved with Duchess and the pups.

Kurt stood. “She’s already done it. I spoke to the breeder right before I got here. Talia Brannamore reiterated everything Frannie already told me, but said she doesn’t have any proof with her. It’s all at her house in San Angelo. And she won’t be back there until December 23. Talia offered to drive through Laramie on her way home, since she’ll pass right by here, and see Duchess. If her story is true, and Duchess is hers, then the retriever should immediately recognize her. If not, and we think a fraud is being perpetrated…well, I’ve already talked to my brother Kyle, and we’ll have someone from the sheriff’s department ready and waiting.”

“But you think it might be true, don’t you?” Ally asked, clearly upset.

Kurt shrugged. “All I can tell you is that the woman from San Angelo was really concerned about her pregnant dog being lost and not knowing anything about it. She is exceedingly grateful to you and Ally and the vet clinic, and prepared to compensate us all for our troubles.”

Which went to confirm the value of golden retrievers, Hank thought.

He cast a sideways look at Ally. Her face had a crushed expression that mirrored his own feelings and tore at his heart.

He watched her kneel down and pick up Gracie, cradle her tenderly. He knew he’d do anything to make Ally happy. “What about the pups?” he asked.

Kurt knew where this was going. He shook his head. “They’re all spoken for, every last one.”

Hank swore silently to himself. “Including the runt of the litter?” He had to make sure.

Kurt nodded and confirmed grimly, “Gracie, too.”

ALLY SAT IN THE KITCHEN, devastated, while Hank walked his cousin out. She had known this could happen. She had just been hoping that it wouldn’t…

Hank strode back in, an old-fashioned hatbox, emblazoned with his name, clasped in his hands. Wordlessly, he set it on the table and came around to where she was sitting. He knelt in front of her, like a knight before a queen, and covered her hands with his warm ones.

Ally lifted her head. How easy it would be to depend on him this way. And how foolish. Since she wasn’t staying, and he wasn’t about to leave, and the sale of the ranch still stood between them…

Hank searched her face. “Are you okay?”

Embarrassment heated her cheeks. “Why wouldn’t I be?” she countered grumpily.

“You’ve gotten attached to Gracie.”

Against all common sense, she reminded herself unhappily. “And you’re attached to Duchess. And we always knew this would happen.” She drew a deep breath, then added honestly, “I wished it wouldn’t. I just hoped I’d be able to find a way to keep the littlest one. But that’s not going to happen,” she said, the bitterness of old coming back to haunt her. Like every other situation at Mesquite Ridge, this event had a bad ending. For her, anyway…

Hank looked into her eyes as if he shared her heartache. “You can get another puppy,” he murmured softly, as if there was no place on earth he would rather be.

She gripped his hands, drawing on his strength despite herself, and blinked back tears. “I know,” she said thickly.

But it wouldn’t be the same, Ally knew. Just like making love with another man won’t be the same. Not after you.

With effort, Ally pushed her melancholy thoughts away. Hank was right-she could get another puppy. Someday. In the meantime, she had four days left in Laramie. She wasn’t going to let the bleakness of her future life ruin what she had today. She was going to do what she’d never been wise enough to do before. Enjoy the here and now, and forget about whatever tomorrow might bring.

Swallowing, Ally nodded at the box in Hank’s hands, determined to try to get back in the holiday spirit and be cheerful if it killed her. “What’s that?”

“My mom sent it over. Kurt almost forgot to give it to me.”

Okay, that told her absolutely nothing, except that his mother apparently liked fancy hatboxes, and this one looked as if it had been around for a while. In fact, there was even a little dust on it. “Aren’t you going to open it?” Ally prodded.

Hank shrugged, as maddeningly determined as she was impatient to learn more. “Sure. If you want.” He flashed her a grin that upped her anticipation even further. “That is-” he leaned forward intimately, more than ready to lend a little sensual distraction “-if you’re ready to do your usual thing and get your bah, humbug on.”

Hilarious. “Can’t wait, cowboy.” Ally dared him with a glance. “Do your best to get me in the spirit.”

Hank chuckled as if it were already a fait accompli. He took the lid off the hatbox. It was filled with a breathtaking array of amazing and unique ornaments. Some wrapped in tissue, some not. He picked up a ceramic Western-boot-wearing Santa Claus driving a sleigh filled with presents. “I got this one when I was five.”

Ally could imagine him hanging it on the tree, as an adorable little boy. “Cute,” she murmured, intrigued by this glimpse into his holidays past.

Hank fingered a Nutcracker soldier and reflected fondly, “This came from Dallas the year I turned eight. Mom and Dad took the whole family to see the ballet at Christmastime.”

The wooden figure was exquisite, even without the beautiful memories. “So everything in here has special meaning.”

He nodded, then gathered the box in one arm, took her by the hand with the other and led her into the living room.

Belatedly, Ally realized there were electric lights on the tree. Hank had to have put them up. When, she wasn’t sure.

Chuckling at her surprise, he leaned over and plugged in the cord. The tree lit up with a rain of tiny sparkling lights.

He reached for the box and fished out an ornament with a picture of him as a gap-toothed first grader on it. He walked over and hung it on the tree they had yet to decorate. “When I was a teenager, I found this photo hideously embarrassing.”

Ally sauntered closer. “And now?”

He brushed his thumb across her cheek. “It brings back memories. Good ones.” He paused. “I guess this isn’t so great for you, though.” He started to remove the ornament. “Maybe we should just stick to the decorations I bought at Neiman Marcus.”

Ally looked over at the shopping bag he had brought home days before. “We can use those,” she told him happily, returning to the hatbox full of memories. “But let’s use these, too.” It was fun, hearing his stories. Learning about his childhood made her feel closer to him in a way she hadn’t expected.

Hank studied her with concern. “It’s not really fair to have a tree for us that says everything about my childhood and nothing about yours, though.”

For us. She liked the sound of that.

Ally raised a hand, promising cheerfully, “We can rectify that. Wait here.” She darted upstairs, anxious to surprise him, too. She came back several minutes later with a cloth-covered shoebox, and opened the lid. Inside was a collection just as unique.

His dark brow furrowed. “I thought you said your family didn’t celebrate Christmas.”

Ally sent him a wry look. “They didn’t.” She unwrapped a paper chain and another of artificial popcorn and cranberries, aware she was sentimentally attached-to every ornament of her youth, as he was to his. She smiled, belatedly realizing that “Christmas” was found in the unlikeliest of places. Like here, with Hank.

“But the teachers at school did,” she continued, surprised to find herself eager to share her past with Hank. “And when I was younger, we made stuff in art class, too.” She had tucked it all away, in the very back of her closet, where it would be safe.

Hank’s eyes locked with hers.

“I used to get it all out and look at it over the holidays,” she confessed.

He gathered her in his arms, intuitively giving her all the comfort and reassurance she needed. “That’s…sad.”

She had thought so, too…until now. “Not really.” Ally had a brand-new way of looking at things. She lifted her chin. “Not when you consider how much joy these little trinkets brought me.”

Tenderly, he drew a knuckle across the bow of her lips. “So there is a heart inside that Grinch exterior, after all.”

Ally grinned and wound her arms about his neck. Playfully, she went up on tiptoe. “Just don’t tell anyone about it.”

He regarded her in a way that left no doubt they would be making love again very soon. “Not to worry,” he whispered. “Your secret is safe with me.” As if to prove it, he captured her lips in a kiss that was so unbearably tender it had her melting against him. “Although,” Hank drawled finally, smoothing a palm down her spine, “you may not be able to keep it secret much longer…”

Ally chuckled and splayed her hands across the warmth of his chest. “Just decorate the tree!”

An hour later, they had all the remnants from their youth hanging next to the beautiful glass ornaments from Dallas’s top department store. It was an eclectic tree, rife with meaning. Ally knew she had never seen anything more beautiful.

Hank stepped back to admire the pine. He braced his hands on his hips. “All we need now is something for the top.”

Suddenly, Ally wanted to do more than just be dragged into participating. “Why don’t you let me handle that?”

“Sure?” Hank teased her with a kiss to the brow. “Wouldn’t want to ruin your rep as a holiday curmudgeon.”

She rolled her eyes. “Trust me, there’s very little chance of that!”

“I don’t know…you’re looking awfully happy right now.”

Her heart pounded against her ribs. “I’m feeling awfully happy.” Which was odd, given the fact that she was about to lose the puppy and the mama dog she had fallen in love with. Closer still to unwillingly forfeiting her job and selling the home she’d had since birth. By all rights, she ought to be flat-out miserable tonight, and crying her eyes out. She wasn’t. There was only one reason for that.

He knew it. And was coming closer once again, to claim her. Fully, this time. Hank took her into his arms, lowered his mouth to hers. Their lips were just about to touch when his cell phone rang.

Hank grimaced, looking very much like he didn’t want to answer the call. Then again, it was late, and generally people didn’t phone at eleven at night unless it was important…

He let her go reluctantly. “This will just take a second. Hank McCabe…” He listened intently, frowned some more. “You want to meet now?” he asked, his tone incredulous. “Of course…I understand. Time is of the essence. Fifteen-twenty minutes okay? See you then.” He ended the call. “I’ve got to go into town.”

“Let me guess.” The words were out before Ally could stop them. “Lulu again?”

To his credit, Hank didn’t back away from the facts. “She’s an integral part of my plan to buy Mesquite Ridge.”

Ally’s heart sank. “I heard she got a lot of money in her divorce settlement.”

Hank acknowledged that with a brief nod, but did not comment, before once again glancing at his watch. “I’ve got to go.” He paused, the inscrutable look coming back into his deep blue eyes. “I’m not sure how long this will take.”

Jealousy and anger twisted inside her. “Don’t worry.” Ally flashed the most nonchalant smile she could manage. “I won’t wait up.”

HANK WAS OUT THE DOOR a few minutes later.

Ally paced the room. The tree that had seemed so festive moments earlier appeared flat and unexciting now.

She guessed the old saying was right-beauty was in the eye of the beholder. The question was, how did Hank see Lulu? As his savior?

Ally didn’t have a big bank account. If she did…

But she didn’t. She might not even have a job.

She glanced at the clock again. It was late, but chances were, Porter was still up. She went to get her phone. Seconds later, her call went through, and her colleague answered on the first ring. “Hey, stranger,” he said. “About time you returned any one of the half-dozen calls or email messages I left for you.”

“Sorry. I’ve been a little busy. How are things with you?”

“Glum. The current job market in Houston is bleak. I might have to go back to Phoenix, where I grew up.”

“Do you have a lead?”

“On several things, as a matter of fact. With all the retirees still moving to the Sun Belt for their golden years, the demand for financial analysts and advisers is growing every day. I can give you the name of the recruiting firm I’m using. It might not be so bad if we both got jobs and moved there at the same time.”

To Arizona? “I don’t know, Porter. I’m a Texas girl, born and bred…” To date, she had never thought much about it. But now…? “I’m not sure I want to live anywhere but the Lone Star State.”

“Look. You don’t have to decide anything tonight. Just send in your résumé and a cover letter to the contact I emailed you this morning. Think of it as insurance. Chances are, if a firm in Arizona gives you an offer, you won’t lose your job in Houston.”

Chances for success were definitely better if they had multiple options, instead of just the one. Ally forced herself to be practical. “I like the way you think.”

Porter chuckled. “Thank you.”

She paced back and forth. “Any further word on the layoffs?” Unlike her, Porter always had his ear to the ground for workplace gossip. If there was something to know, her friend would be aware of it.

“Nope. Just that the new management intends to keep a skeleton crew on to manage the transition, and the rest of the cuts are going to be massive, and brutal.”

Which meant, Ally told herself sternly, she had to be practical. She couldn’t just follow her heart…

She thanked Porter for the info. They chatted some more and then hung up. Restless, she took care of Duchess and the puppies. By the time she had finished, it was well after midnight, and there was still no sign of Hank.

He was not off making love with Lulu. Or looking for a liaison. Lulu was probably just using her connections to help Hank find the additional financing he needed to be able to make an offer on Mesquite Ridge.

But on the off-off chance that Hank was out doing something that would signal the end of Ally and him… She figured she better do as Porter advised and develop a much better plan B.

HANK TIPTOED IN AT 3:00 A.M. Ally had said she wouldn’t wait up, and she hadn’t. She was fast asleep on the living room sofa, an angelically peaceful look on her face-and what appeared to be a half-finished quilted Christmas stocking in her hands.

Hank considered picking her up and carrying her to bed, but knew he’d wake her, and then he’d want to make to love to her. Trouble was, given the time and where he’d been, it was unlikely that Ally would welcome his advances.

So, he figured, as he went upstairs and got one of the blankets off her bed and covered her up, this would have to do.

Kissing her would have to come later.

In the meantime, he needed a little shut-eye himself. He had a lot to accomplish and a short amount of time to get it all done, if he were to make Ally’s dreams come true and give her a truly merry Christmas, to boot.