Chapter Eight
This was a mistake.
Holly was feeling overwhelmed from her worry over Tater Tot’s safety to the resurrection of old memories. And yet there was no graceful way to make a quick exit.
She was stuck there for the duration. She just needed to get herself together and stop thinking about the past.
Colin pulled out his phone. “I’m going to order from the Mistletoe Diner. Do you have a favorite?”
She shook her head. She didn’t have the extra money to splurge, but she wasn’t going to let him pay for her. The shop brought in enough to get by on, but she wasn’t rolling in money. And right now, every extra penny she got, she planned to put into the renovations of the apartment.
“Do you like rosemary chicken or pot roast?” he asked.
“The chicken sounds good.”
“Perfect.” He dialed the restaurant.
While he placed the order, she walked over to the bookcases that flanked the fireplace.
There weren’t that many books. Most of the ones on the shelf were veterinary medicine reference books.
Most of the shelves were filled with framed photos of animals: cats, dogs, a pig, a goat, a miniature pony, and a rabbit.
When Colin was off the phone, she turned to him. “Are these pictures of your patients?”
“No. Those are my furbabies.”
Her eyes opened wide as she looked around the room for some sign of them. “You have all of them?”
He let out a hollow laugh. “No. They aren’t alive any longer.”
“I’m sorry. I should have figured it out.” When Tater Tot wiggled in her arms, she looked at him. “You’re getting heavy.”
“You must be feeding him well.”
She shrugged as she lowered Tater Tot to the floor. “I’m just following Merry’s instructions. By the way, have you talked to her today? I tried to call her earlier, but I couldn’t get a hold of her.”
“And you’re wondering if she found someone to take in Tater Tot?”
“Uh, yes.” She watched as Tater Tot made his way over to Thor. They sniffed each other, and then Tater Tot started jumping around, barking at Thor. “Should I stop him?”
Colin shook his head. “He just wants to play. See his tail wagging. Why are you so anxious for Merry to find him a new home?”
Holly shrugged. “It’s just not fair to him to get used to living with me and then to shuffle him to another home.”
Colin looked over at the tail-wagging pup. “I think he’s going to be just fine.”
She wanted to believe him, but she knew how important stability was to youngsters. And even though Tater Tot wasn’t human, she still believed this was true. She wanted the best for the pooch.
“Mrr…”
Holly turned her head to see an orange, black, and white calico cat stroll into the room. The cat walked over to Colin and rubbed against his legs. The cat’s purr was so loud Holly could hear it.
“And this is Clementine.”
The cat strolled over to her and rubbed over her ankles too. “She’s very friendly.”
“Yes, she is.” He moved to her side.
She knelt down to pet the cat. It was only after she’d pet the cat that she noticed Clementine was missing an eye. The poor baby. And part of her ear was missing. Aww…
It didn’t stop Holly from wanting to scoop her up and take her home. But of course, that wasn’t necessary because she was certain Colin spoiled all of his furbabies, including Clementine.
When Holly straightened, Clementine jumped up and leaned against her leg. Holly scratched her head. When the cat didn’t seem to be going anywhere, Holly scooped her up into her arms.
As she petted the cat, she chanced a glance at Colin. He was keeping an eye on the dogs. Tater was sniffing his way around the room.
“Do you mind if I ask what happened to Clementine?”
“No. She was a stray that was brought into the clinic. She was sick. Her eye was infected. The eye couldn’t be saved.”
“And her ear?”
“They do that when a feral cat is sterilized, and they release them back to the wild. Someone found her and dropped her at the clinic. They didn’t stick around. And so I took her in. I wasn’t planning to keep her, but there aren’t a lot of people who want a one-eyed cat.”
“And…”
His brow crinkled. “And what?”
“And you fell for her, didn’t you?”
He smiled. “Yes. I did. She’s the best. She puts up with the dogs. In fact, she bosses them around.”
She looked at Clementine. “I bet they’re a lot of work to keep in line. Huh, girl?”
“Mrr..”
“Don’t let her tell you any big stories. We aren’t that much work.” Colin sent her a teasing smile. “Would you like to meet Cupcake and Jinx?”
“Who are they?”
“Well, I’ll introduce you to them.”
First, she couldn’t believe she was there in Colin’s home. It wasn’t anything like she’d imagined. Then again, she had never imagined his home. She’d been too busy taking care of her grandmother and then herself.
Second, she couldn’t believe he’d turned his home into an animal refuge. Actually, that part shouldn’t surprise her. Colin always had the biggest heart when it came to stray animals.
Once Colin turned on some more of the interior lights, she was able to see a dining room to the left. It wasn’t anything fancy. In fact, it looked like it was having some work done to it. There wasn’t any furniture, only a bunch of drop clothes.
A smile pulled at the corner of her lips. It felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders to know that she wasn’t the only one who didn’t have the perfect home.
Although, as she looked around, she realized that Colin was well ahead of her. But this was the sort of encouragement she needed to keep going. Because one day soon, her place would be completed, and hopefully, it would look warm and cozy like his place.
“When I got the place, I knew it was going to be a fixer upper. I just didn’t know how much work it would require.”
“You’ve done an amazing job fixing it up.”
“Thanks. It’s a constant work in progress.”
“That’s how I think of the apartment.”
“Don’t worry. Before you know it, you’ll have it looking just the way you want.”
She wanted to believe him. She truly did. It was tough living out of boxes. “I was thinking after the New Year that I might shorten the number of days a week the shop is open or shorten the hours. I’m still debating it. Anyway, it would give me more time to work on the apartment.”
“If you need a hand, just ask.”
“Thanks, but I know how busy you are.”
“Speaking of which.” He gestured for her to follow him. “Let’s go.”
“What about Tater Tot?”
“You can bring him with us, or you can leave him with the others.”
She looked at the other three dogs. Although they looked adorable, she wasn’t sure she trusted them alone with Tater Tot. “I think I’ll bring him.”
They grabbed their boots from next to the front door and carried them to the back of the house. While she slipped on her boots, Colin stepped outside and grabbed the snow shovel. He cleared the fresh snow from the porch steps.
When she joined him, he shoveled the walkway to what she could only describe as a small red barn. She searched her memory, but she couldn’t recall ever seeing it before. “Was this always here?”
“No. I built it last year.”
“Wow. You’re talented. Maybe I should hire you to remodel my apartment.”
He stopped in front of the door to the little red barn. He turned to her. “I can help you, but…”
“No.” Heat rushed to her cheeks. “I didn’t mean that. I… I was joking. I mean, uh… I know you could do it because you are talented. I was, uh…”
He smiled at her. “Holly, it’s okay. I know what you meant. But I wouldn’t mind helping you.”
It took her a second to realize he was serious. “I’ll keep that in mind.” She peered into the building. “Wow. It looks like a real barn in here”
“I did my best.” He glanced back at her. “You can put Tater Tot down. He’ll be safe in here.”
She took him up on the suggestion. The pup wiggled in her arms. As soon as Tater Tot’s feet hit the ground, he was sniffing everything. He reminded her of a blood hound as he smelled everything around him.
Holly stepped up next to Colin. “And who do we have here?”
“This is Cupcake.” He went on to explain how she’d been rescued a few months ago. “We’ve been working through some issues.”
Holly stepped up to the pen and leaned over. Not knowing what to expect, she saw a skinny pig. “Poor baby.”
Holly held out her hand to the pig, but Cupcake was just out of reach. While Holly was trying to make friends with Cupcake, Tater Tot was walking around, pulling on his leash every chance he got. She glanced down to check on him. He didn’t seem to be getting into any trouble…at the moment.
While she’d been distracted, the pig moved to the other side of the pen. There were a couple of scars on the pig’s side and thigh. She thought about inquiring about them but decided some things were better not known.
“She’s a little shy,” he said. “We’re working on it.”
Holly enjoyed meeting Colin’s animals. She noticed how each of them had some sort of imperfection—then again, didn’t we all? Still, Colin found a way to help them. He was still a hero just like he’d been when they were kids. The only thing he was missing was a cape.
When she went to turn to the other pen, her body moved but her feet didn’t. There was something wrapped around her ankles. But with her body in motion, she couldn’t stop what had already been put in motion. The next thing she knew, she was falling.
Large hands and strong arms reached out to her. Colin yanked her toward him. Her palms came to rest against Colin’s muscled chest.
When she raised her head, her gaze met his, and the words caught in the back of her throat. Heat swirled in her chest and rushed up to her cheeks. She’d never been this close to him.
If she were to lean forward just a few inches, her lips would touch his. And in that moment, it was all she could think about. What would he do if she kissed him?
Her heart pitter-pattered at the thought. She knew she should turn away, but her body refused to cooperate. It was then she noticed Colin’s gaze dip down to her lips. Was he actually thinking of kissing her? The thought made her heart beat even faster.
But kissing Colin meant caring about Colin, and she wasn’t prepared to do that. Every person she’d cared about in this life had left her—that included Colin. She wasn’t prepared to be hurt again—especially if this was just something casual to him.
It took all of her self-restraint when she pulled away. His hands fell away from her shoulders. She wanted to walk away, but when she glanced down, she found Tater Tot’s leash wrapped around her ankles.
“Looks like Tater Tot tripped you up. Here. Let me help you.” He knelt down to guide Tater Tot back around to release the leash from her ankles.
The moment, however brief it had been, was over. She was surprised when a sense of disappointment washed over her. Did that mean she’d wanted him to kiss her? Oh, who was she trying to kid? Of course she wanted him to kiss her, but she just couldn’t let it happen.