Hidden Away, page 8
part #2 of Hearts of Montana Series
He laughed at one of Cash’s stories, then looked her way and caught her staring at him. He grinned, almost as if he knew what she was thinking.
Thank goodness he couldn’t actually read her mind. Otherwise, he’d know that her thoughts switched between alternately wanting to kill him and wanting to jump his bones and lick his chest.
Geez. Did it suddenly get warmer in here? “We better get back to work.” She stood up from the table.
Dunking her hands in some hot water might help stop her from having visions of the night before and any thoughts of licking his anything.
Either that, or maybe she should try dumping cold water on her head.
“Look what we found. Can we keep him?” Sam stood in the doorway of the kitchen, a scruffy brown dog in his arms.
Oh great. She did not need this.
“Sam, where did you get that dog? And put him down. He’s filthy.”
Sam’s delighted expression deflated, and a little pain hit Cherry in the heart. “We’ve been playing with him out in the alley. He doesn’t have a collar, so I don’t think he belongs to anybody.”
“He seems pretty skinny, and his coat’s awful dirty. I think he’s been outside for a while,” Sophie said. She stood behind Sam, looking like a willing accomplice.
“Bring him over here. Let me take a look at him.” Zack, a veterinarian, was undaunted by a scruffy animal. He held his arms out for the dog.
Sam clutched the animal protectively to his chest.
Sophie nudged him forward. “It’s okay. I told you my dad’s an animal doctor. He won’t hurt him.”
Sam trudged forward and handed the dog over to Sophie’s dad.
Zack ran his hands along the dog’s body then pulled back its lips and inspected its teeth. “He looks like he’s less than a year old, and he’s probably a little under-nourished.” The dog leaned across Zack’s arm and licked Stan’s hand.
Stan offered Cherry a sheepish grin. “I might have seen him hanging around the alley the past few days. I’m not saying I’ve exactly been feeding him, but the little dude did seem hungry, and if a few scraps fell out of the bag on the way to the dumpster, then that wasn’t really my fault.”
“I can take him over to the clinic and check him out,” Zack offered.
Everyone looked at Cherry.
Really?
She looked down at Sam’s face.
“Please, Cherry,” he begged. “He doesn’t have a home or anyone to take care of him.”
He wasn’t just pulling on her heartstrings, he was engaging in an all-out tug-of-war.
How could she refuse him when she knew Sam was probably connecting even more with the dog because he was an orphan, too?
Well, sort of. Sam actually did still have a mom. He just didn’t know it.
And neither did anyone else.
Including his father.
But did they really need to take in a stray dog that looked like it was probably infested with worms?
The dog tilted its head at her, its brown eyes peeking out from under tufts of matted fur. She had always been such a sucker for a stray.
She looked to Taylor for help. “You know we’re staying out at Taylor’s. You’ll have to ask him before we bring a dog into his house.”
Sam ran over to Taylor and threw his arms around his legs. “Please, Taylor. Can I please keep him? I’ll feed him and walk him and take care of him. And he can even sleep with me.”
Ugh. Not before he had a bath.
“And I don’t even need a chocolate shake. Not if I can keep this dog.”
Taylor laughed and grinned down at the boy, and Cherry knew she’d lost her only ally.
“Sure. But let’s give Coop a chance to look him over and make sure he’s okay first.”
“Thank you. Thank you.” Sam squeezed Taylor’s legs then rushed over to the dog. “Did you hear that, boy? You get to come home with me.”
“After Zack checks him out,” Cherry said. “And you give him a bath.”
Why did she have to sound like the grumpy voice of reason? She was usually the one who dove head-first into bad decisions.
Was this what it was like to be responsible for another human being? To make the hard decisions that no else wanted to.
Was this being a mother?
Zack, Sophie, and Sam took the dog to the vet clinic, leaving the rest of them to resume the work of cleaning and repairs.
Stan, Cash, and Taylor retreated into the kitchen. Charlie filled another bucket with hot, soapy water and went to work cleaning off the red vinyl booths.
Cherry found some glass cleaner and sprayed the windows next to where Charlie was working. “So, did I do the right thing? Should I have said no, or is it okay I let him keep the dog?”
Charlie shrugged. “How the heck should I know what the right thing is? I’m in charge of a whole farm full of animals and sometimes I almost forget to feed the cats. Good thing Cash is around and always giving them scraps.”
Cherry sunk onto the seat of the booth that Charlie had just wiped down. “He’s seemed so sad the past few days. He doesn’t actually cry. Which kind of freaks me out. Like shouldn’t he cry?”
Charlie shook her head. “I don’t know. People grieve in different ways.”
“Did you see the way he was smiling when he brought that grubby mutt in here? Like he’d just won first prize in a contest. He looked so happy. I couldn’t say no.” She twisted the ends of the paper towels between her fingers. “And Taylor was no help. He didn’t even hesitate.”
Charlie looked over her shoulder as if checking to make sure the men were still occupied in the kitchen. “It seems to me like Taylor has been helping you out a lot the last few days. How did that happen?”
Flecks of shredded paper towel fell onto Cherry’s leg. “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know what in the hell-o has happened the past few days. It’s just been a blur. I feel like I’ve been walking around in a dream.” Tears pricked her eyes. “And a bad dream. Such a bad dream. I can’t believe Stacy is gone. I have to be so strong for Sam, but I loved her, and I’m going to miss her so much.”
“Oh honey. I’m so sorry.”
Charlie squeezed into the booth next to her and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. “You’re stronger than you think.” She nodded toward the kitchen. “And it seems like you’re being offered some pretty broad shoulders to lean on.”
Cherry rubbed her eyes, willing the tears back. “Yeah, they are pretty broad, but I don’t know how much I should lean on them. That didn’t get me very far in the past.”
“What happened with you two? I mean, I know you were an item in high school, but you never talk about him.”
“What’s to say? We were high school sweethearts, and then we weren’t. Taylor left, and I stayed. End of story.”
“Yeah, right. I’m a writer, remember? There’s always more to the story. Come on, spill it.”
Cherry blew out a breath. “Taylor and I started dating the summer between our sophomore and junior year. We’d known each other forever, and I’d had a crush on him since seventh grade. We were a perfect couple. We made each other laugh, and we didn’t really ever fight. Not over anything important. We were together all the time. I thought we really loved each other. I know I really loved him.”
“So, what happened?”
“Taylor’s mom had cancer, and she died in the middle of our senior year. Something changed in him, and all he wanted to do was get out of Broken Falls. Out of Montana. We’d always talked about leaving together, but I had my grandparents to take care of and the diner. He enlisted in the military without telling me, and then one day, he just told me he was leaving. We got into a huge fight, but it was too late. He had to go. And he did. He just left. Drove off. And I didn’t hear from him again until earlier this year when he came back to town as the sheriff.”
“But you were just kids.”
They had been kids, but they’d made grown-up choices that had grown-up consequences.
“I know. But there’s something about your first love. And I really thought he was the one.”
Maybe she still did. But how could he be the one?
How could she ever trust him again?
Charlie narrowed her eyes and twisted her mouth in that funny, thoughtful way she had. “Hmmm. Something tells me there’s more to this story.”
Oh, there’s more all right.
And he’s over at the vet clinic washing mud and gunk off a mangy orphaned dog.
But she couldn’t tell Charlie that. She couldn’t tell anyone that. Especially Taylor.
Something changed last night.
When he’d kissed her, she felt like they might actually have a chance. A chance at a future.
But not if he learned the truth. If he found out that she’d lied to him all these years. And gave Sam away without telling him.
Charlie was right. There was more to the story.
A lot more.
But one thing Taylor would not put up with was being lied to.
Chapter Nine
“He is kind of cute.” Taylor eyed the scruffy dog squirming in Sam’s lap. “What do you think you want to name him?”
Sam squinted up at him, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I don’t know yet. I feel like it’s a pretty big decision, and I don’t want to rush it.”
“Good thinking.” How could such a young kid already be so dang smart?
“No dogs at the table.” Cherry walked in from the kitchen, a plate of pork chops in her hand. His dad followed behind her, his oven-mitted hands holding bowls of mashed potatoes and gravy.
His dad must be showing off. Or trying to impress Cherry. They usually only ate this good on Sundays.
Sam put the dog on the floor, and it curled up next to his feet.
Cherry took her place next to him, and Taylor picked up her hand to say grace.
It was the first time he’d gotten to hold her hand all day.
It felt good in his. Right.
His dad said the blessing, and they all dug in.
He’d worked up an appetite after the full day of hard work at the diner, but they’d accomplished a lot.
Russ plopped a spoonful of potatoes on Sam’s plate then passed the bowl to Cherry. “So Sam, tell me about this dog.”
“Well, Dr. Cooper, I mean Zack, said he thinks he’s about a year old so he’s really still a puppy. We gave him a bath, and Zack gave him some shots and made sure he didn’t have fleas or worms or anything. Although I don’t know exactly how you would have worms.”
“Worms are not really a great topic for the table,” Cherry told him as she spooned gravy onto his pile of potatoes.
She was really good with him. Sam was lucky to have someone that really loved him as his guardian.
“Oh. Okay. Sorry. So anyway, Zack also said that except for being kind of skinny, he seemed to be in pretty good shape. And Zack helped me give him a bath so he’s all clean, and you don’t have to worry about him getting your house messed up.”
How many times was this kid gonna mention Zack’s name? Like he was the Greek God of Veterinarians?
Hmmm. Were those tiny seeds of jealousy rumbling around in his gut?
Did he want to be the only hero in Sam’s life?
Nah.
It takes a village right?
Except maybe he wanted to be the head of the village. Not Dr. Zack.
“I’m not worried about him getting anything dirty. But how do you know he isn’t somebody’s dog?”
“Zack said the same thing. But I know he isn’t. He’s an orphan—like me.”
Cherry’s eyes widened. “How do you know what an orphan is?”
He gave her a look that said she was the clueless one. “If you’re a muggle and your parents have died, you’re an orphan. Just like Harry Potter. Even though he turned out to not be a muggle. But maybe it was magic that brought me this dog. Or maybe an angel. I just know I was supposed to find him today.”
Taylor watched the mix of emotions play across Cherry’s face as she listened to Sam talk. Her eyes went from amused to proud. And then to pained.
He hated to see her hurting.
“Zack said we could put up signs at the vet clinic asking if anyone knew whose dog he was. But if no one claimed him in the next few days, then I could adopt him. Just like my mom did with me.”
Cherry’s fork clattered to her plate.
A strange look crossed her face, and Taylor couldn’t read her expression.
“What do you mean just like you?” she asked.
Sam tilted his head at Cherry. “My mom and dad told me that I was adopted. That God gave me to them because one of his angels couldn’t keep me. I don’t think it was a real angel, though.”
“No, I suppose not.” Cherry’s voice was soft.
She must not have known.
But she and Stacy were so close. Surely her cousin would have told her.
“They said someday if I wanted to meet my real mom, that they would help me.” Sam pushed his pork chop across his plate. “But I guess I won’t ever find out now.”
A stilted hush settled over the table.
What was anybody supposed to say to that?
Russ cleared his throat. Leave it to his dad to come up with something. “Well, if it’s meant to happen, you’ll still find a way to meet her. These things have a way of working themselves out.” He smiled down at the boy. “In the meantime, we need to come up with a name for this mutt.”
Sam grinned, the topic of the dog outweighing his adoption. “Yeah, I kind of like Max or Jack. Or maybe Bumblebee. What do you think?”
“I think maybe you should sleep on it. Some of the best answers I’ve gotten have come after a good night’s sleep,” Russ said.
Sam turned to Cherry. “You won’t need to sleep in my room tonight. I’ll have Max, Jack, or Bumblebee to sleep with, and he’ll help keep the bad dreams away.”
“You sure you want that dog in your bed with you?” Cherry asked.
“Of course I do. He’s already my best friend.”
She looked toward Russ. “Is that okay with you?”
Russ shrugged. “Fine by me.”
It was fine with Taylor, too.
Because that meant Cherry would be back in his bed again tonight. Just thinking about her lush body lying next to his made his heart race.
How far would things have gone last night if Sam hadn’t had the nightmare?
How far might they go tonight?
Two hours later, he and Cherry stood at Sam’s bedside. She’d tucked him in, and the dog lay curled against Sam, his head resting comfortably on Sam’s pillow.
Considering the dog had probably spent the last several weeks sleeping in an alley, he must have been in doggie-heaven about now. A full stomach and a cushy bed seemed to equal one happy dog.
And one happy boy.
Sam couldn’t stop smiling at the mutt, and it warmed Taylor’s heart to see him so happy. He knew the dog wouldn’t fix everything, but he sure offered a great big canine Band-Aid.
Cherry leaned down and kissed Sam’s forehead. “Good night, Sam. I adore you.”
The dog tipped his head up and snuck a quick lick against Cherry’s cheek. She laughed. It was good to hear her laugh.
“The jury’s still out on you, Max-Jack-Bumblebee.” She ruffled the dog’s furry head. “But you’re definitely growing on me.”
Taylor stepped to the door and held it open for Cherry. “Good night, buddy. We’ll be right down the hall if you need us.”
“Okay, good night.” Sam was already turning away and cuddling in to the dog’s body.
“That dog sure seems to make him happy,” he said as they walked into his bedroom. He pulled out his dresser drawer and handed Cherry another T-shirt. Charlie had taken her clothes to wash, and she still didn’t have much to wear.
Cherry held the shirt up and grimaced. “Do you seriously expect me to wear this?”
The blue and yellow shirt had a bobcat on the front of it surrounded by the insignia of Montana State University. “It’s from MSU and has a bobcat on it. No self-respecting Griz fan would be caught dead wearing this.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot you were a University of Montana fan and loyal to the Grizzlies.” He hadn’t really forgotten. They’d been rival fans all through high school and used to tease each other about it.
She narrowed her eyes at him, and he couldn’t help but grin. “You did not. You handed me this shirt on purpose.”
He shrugged. “You don’t have to wear it. I’m fine with the alternative of you coming to bed not wearing a shirt at all.” He held her gaze, knowing his eyes held the threat of a dare.
“I’d rather wear nothing than wear the colors of MSU.” She pulled her shirt off and dropped it on the floor.
Holy crap. He never thought that would work.
What the hell was he supposed to do now?
He stood frozen in place as Cherry turned off the bedroom light and walked slowly toward him. The light from the bathroom spilled into the bedroom, giving the room a soft glow.
The bedroom window was open, and the faint scent of rain filled the room. His attention was focused on the luscious redhead coming his way.
Her hair was loose and curled around her shoulders. In the dim light, her skin was creamy white. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her and her half-naked body.
Her lush breasts pushed out of the top of the white lacy bra she wore, and he ached to fill his hands with the weight of them.
Cherry stopped right in front of him and looked up, her expression full of a naughty challenge.
“I think those pants have a little MSU on them,” he teased. “Maybe you ought to get rid of those, too.”
Without saying a word, she unzipped her pants and let them drop to the floor.
He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.
She stood before him in only her bra and panties, and he suddenly had no idea what to do. Where to put his hands.
He wanted to touch her so bad, but he didn’t want to spook her. Something in him told him that she wasn’t as brave as she was acting. Even though he wanted to pick her up and throw her on the bed, he knew he had to go easy.
He cupped her cheeks gently between his hands. She closed her eyes, and he nearly came undone.
