Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
“H ow’s that beautiful neighbor of yours?”
Sky barely stifled a groan as she stopped at the front desk of her doggy daycare. She did not want to talk about Becket. So far, she hadn’t seen him today. Which made it a good day.
“He’s not beautiful.” Okay, maybe he was a little bit beautiful, but that was completely offset whenever he opened his mouth. “He wanted to cut down my tree on Monday. I wouldn’t be surprised if I got home today and all I had left was a stump.”
She rifled through the filing cabinet a bit more aggressively.
Dolly, the older receptionist at the center, turned from the front desk. Her brows were raised and her big blond curls looked extra bright in contrast to her red-rimmed glasses. “What do you mean, he tried to cut down your tree?”
“He’s unhinged. I think his time in the military destroyed his capacity for social interaction.”
What the heck kind of person enjoyed filming other people’s front yards and cutting down trees and telling her she couldn’t have a boundary fence? The fence would go up though, and the day it did, she would smile at his misery.
“Doesn’t make him less beautiful,” Dolly sang.
Sky wrinkled her nose. But it wasn’t just Dolly who liked to sing Becket’s praises. Everyone in this small freaking town talked about their sexy fire chief like the sun shone out his ass. But those people didn’t have to live next door to him.
She looked up from the filing cabinet. “Do you know where Garfield’s file is? I need to double check his medication.”
“Oh yes, I took it out this morning to add some notes. I think I left it in the office. One sec.”
As Dolly moved into the office behind the desk, Sky’s gaze ran over the large sign on the wall.
Sky’s Doggy Daycare .
She still had to pinch herself that she’d opened this place. Back in Cheyenne, she’d owned a pet-friendly café. But this was different. This was exactly the kind of business she’d always dreamed of opening.
And it was doing well. Apparently, there was a big demand for a doggy daycare here in Amber Ridge. Some people used it while they worked. But a surprising number of elderly used it, as they put it, to socialize their dogs and help them make friends.
Worked for her.
She was just closing the drawer of the filing cabinet when the ding of the front door sounded.
She looked up to see their newest employee, Kristina. Well, new employee as of today, but they’d met before today at the interview. “Kristina. Hey. Sorry, is it eleven already? I’m afraid I lost track of time.”
Kristina pushed a lock of short brown hair off her face. “That’s okay. You must be busy.”
“Yeah, busy thinking about a certain sexy firefighter,” Dolly muttered, as she walked back into the room and handed over Garfield’s file.
Sky gave the other woman a withering stare before looking back to Kristina. “Come on. You can leave your bag in the staff room and I’ll show you around.”
Kristina put her bag into a storage cube, and they headed back through the foyer and then down the hall. “I know I’ve already given you a small tour, but I’ll just show you around again to refresh your memory.”
“That would be great. I’m afraid I have the memory of Dory.”
“I love that movie.” She paused at the first room. “To the left we have the bathroom. Then a couple of indoor playrooms—one for the big dogs and one for small.”
“Do they use them often?” Kristina asked.
“Oh yeah, especially if it gets too cold outside or it’s raining.” She kept moving.
“Sounds smart.”
“Are you still enjoying Amber Ridge?” The other woman had only moved here a few months ago. Apparently, she moved around a lot but was hoping to settle here.
“I’m loving it,” Kristina said. “I thought it might feel too small for me, but it really doesn’t.”
“Really? There are days this town feels the size of a shoebox to me.”
Kristina laughed, but Sky couldn’t be more serious. Everyone knew everyone and that meant everyone knew everyone’s business.
Sky stopped midway down the hall at the door leading outside. “Farther down the hall is a big wet area where we wash the dogs, and at the very end is the kitchen, which is filled with about ninety percent dog food and a couple of human muffins.”
Kristina laughed. “I’ll have to be careful I don’t mistake dog food for human food.”
“The cookies are particularly deceiving.” She wrapped her fingers around the door handle. “Are you ready?”
“For what?”
Sky just grinned as she stepped outside.
Immediately, half a dozen dogs ran up to her. Some jumped up, some just licked her. She knelt and laughed as she patted them. Bella squeezed between the larger dogs and lay her head on Sky’s lap. She gave her an extra-tight cuddle. Bella was here a lot, so they’d formed a special bond. Rosemary had even asked Sky to look after Bella overnight a couple of times.
More dogs licked her face, and her smile widened.
This was her form of therapy.
Kristina laughed as she crouched to pet them. “Oh my gosh, they’re gorgeous.”
“They really are. They all have their names on their collars, but most of them are regulars, so you’ll get to know them pretty quickly.”
They got everything here. Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Border Collies. Even a few Boxers.
She was just rising when her walkie-talkie went off.
“Sky?”
She pulled it off her hip. “Yes, Dolly?”
“We just got a call asking if we could temporarily house a lost Dachshund puppy until the owners are found.”
“What about the Humane Society?”
“They’re dealing with an outbreak of kennel cough, and they can’t take any new animals until it’s under control.”
Damn. “He’s not microchipped?”
“Apparently not. Some owners just aren’t responsible.”
“Okay. Of course we’ll house him.” She pushed her walkie back onto her waistband as Pearl, a middle-aged woman who’d been with Sky since she opened, walked up to them.
“Pearl, this is Kristina. She’s new. Do you mind if she shadows you today?”
“Not at all. Come…learn from the master.”
Sky chuckled as she went back inside. She swore she never smiled as much as she did while at work. It was her happy place. The business she’d built not just to service the community but for her .
She’d never thought she’d come back here. But her parents were getting older, and after everything that had happened in Cheyenne, she needed the familiarity. The safety that had started to elude her in Wyoming.
A small shudder ran down her spine as she reached the front desk area.
Dolly was grinning ear to ear.
Sky frowned. “Why are you smiling like that, and why does it make me nervous?”
“I’m just happy.”
“I don’t buy it. The last time I saw you smiling this big, you’d done something dirty with old man Jacobs.” Sky gasped. “Did you do something dirty again?”
“In the five minutes since you’ve been gone? Honey, this body deserves to be loved and that takes time.”
Sky chuckled. “Okay. So what is it?”
“I’m just excited to see who’s going to walk through that door in a second.”
Sky glanced at the door, then back at Dolly. “Well, is it the person bringing in the Dachshund?” A funny feeling began to swirl in her belly. She’d never actually asked who made the request, just assumed it was a deputy or maybe the sheriff. “Who was it who found the dog?”
Dolly’s eyes lit up. “Well, technically, he didn’t find it. Janice on Tenth did, in her yard, and the cranky old woman was too scared to touch it, so she called—”
The door opened and Sky’s jaw dropped.
No…
Becket Hayes.
He wore his work uniform. It cut across his shoulders in just the right way. That, in combination with his day-old stubble, already made him look too freaking good. But today, he also held a Dachshund puppy.
He could be on the cover of a freaking calendar—he was so picture perfect.
An older African-American man stood behind him, but damn her and her inability to take her gaze off Becket.
One corner of his mouth lifted. “Hey, Peaches.”
She straightened her spine. “Becket.”
The guy beside him shifted his gaze between them. “You two know each other?”
“Yeah, Sky here’s my neighbor,” Becket said.
The guy’s brows lifted. “Your neighbor ?”
Why did he say it like that? Like he knew something about her? What had Becket told him?
Dolly cleared her throat. “I’m Dolly.”
Becket glanced at Dolly for a second. “Becket. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”
Oh, don’t you pretend you’re a gentleman, buddy.
The second firefighter stepped forward. “I’m Moose, and this little guy is Bear.”
“He has a collar?” Sky asked.
“No, I named him,” Becket said, focused on her once again. “I’m not really a dog person, but I thought it suited him.”
Not a dog person? Why was she not surprised? He probably hated kittens and thought babies weren’t cute either.
She cleared her throat. “Well, I’ll take him, and he can play with the other dogs.”
She reached out, but Becket shook his head. “He’s heavy. I’ll carry him out.”
“He’s a puppy. I think I’ll be fine.” She reached for him, but Becket shook his head again.
“I insist.”
So this man was as annoying and domineering in his work life as he was in his personal.
“Fine. This way.” She turned, not bothering to see if he followed.
“I’ll just…wait here,” Moose said slowly, like he wanted to be as far away from them as possible.
She didn’t blame him. It must be hard to work with Mr. I-Know-Better-Than-Every-Other-Human-In-The-Universe all day.
* * *
Becket’s lips twitched at the way Sky stormed off in front of him. And the way her hips swayed in those jeans. How this woman made jeans look so good, he had no fucking clue.
“Stop staring at my ass.”
The twitch of his lips turned into a full-fledged smile. “How do you know I’m staring at your ass?”
“Because I know what kind of person you are.”
“The kind who saves dogs and puts out fires? Some women would find that hot.”
“No, the kind of person who does what he wants with no regard for others.”
“Are you still mad about the tree, Peaches?”
She spun. “ Stop calling me Peaches!”
“I thought you liked the nickname.”
“What I like is a day free from my pompous ass of a neighbor.”
“So I’m a pompous ass who does whatever he wants and stares at women’s asses. Man, I really suck.”
“Sorry if my brutal honesty is inconveniencing your ego.” She turned and started walking again.
He gave Bear a pat. “Ignore her. She has rage blackouts.”
“Only when you’re around.”
He followed her outside and stopped dead as half a dozen dogs ran up to them. Some were big, some small. But shit, there were a lot of them. Even if he had been a dog person, this was a fucking circus full.
“This is what you do for work?” he asked in disbelief.
“Yep.” She lowered to her haunches, embracing them. She even allowed them to lick her face.
Christ, he couldn’t think of anything worse. But they clearly made her happy. “How the hell are you such an angry person if you love what you do so much?”
She threw a glare his way. “Look in the mirror and you might figure it out.”
Then she looked back at the dogs, and her scowl turned into a smile. It was so wide and uninhibited that his chest suddenly felt too fucking tight, and he couldn’t drag his gaze away if he tried.
Shit, she was gorgeous.
An older woman stepped up to them. “And who do we have here?”
Sky rose. “Pearl, this is Becket, the town fire chief. His team found this little guy, and he’s going to have a stay with us until his owners are found.”
“The Humane Society’s working on it,” Becket added.
The woman nodded, then looked at Sky. “Okay. So, separate him until we know he plays nice?”
Sky nodded. “Thanks.”
Pearl took the dog from him, and Sky went back inside without even sparing a glance his way.
He followed her. “This is a nice place you work at.”
“That’s kind, coming from a dog hater. And I own it.”
Wow. Impressive. But he should have figured that the neighbor who’d made it her life mission to hate him would start a business around the one animal he disliked.
“I don’t hate dogs. I just don’t—” He stopped and frowned. “Do you smell that?”
“The only thing I smell is the stink of your oversized ego.”
He grabbed her arm. “Sky—”
She spun. “Hey, what are you—”
“Smoke. Do you smell it?”
Her frown dropped and her eyes widened as her gaze flew behind him. Then she took off toward the end of the hall.
That’s when he saw it—a kitchen. And the damn oven was on fire. Flames roared behind the window in the closed door.
Becket cursed and jogged after her.
Sky turned off the oven and went to open the door, but he grabbed her wrist. “No. You’ll just feed oxygen to the flames.”
“So what do we do?”
He scanned the room, spotting the small, rectangular box mounted to the wall. Circuit breaker. He ran over to it, opened the metal door and flicked off the switch labelled oven.
“We wait,” he said as he moved back to Sky. “With no power or air, it’ll die out.”
“Should I open a window?”
“Wait for it to completely go out first, just as a precaution.”
She nodded.
It didn’t take long. A couple minutes, tops.
When it was finally out, Becket opened the window closest to the stove.
“Pearl must have left some food in there,” Sky whispered, almost to herself. “She’s done it before.”
He turned to look at her. She was pale. Too pale.
He stepped close. “Are you okay?”
She looked up at him, and for the first time, there was no animosity in her eyes. No anger. Just…fear?
He gripped her upper arms, scared she was going to pass out. “Hey. It’s out. You’re safe.”
She nodded quickly. “I know, I just…I don’t like fires.”
“Have you had a bad experience?”
Her eyes flared, her lips parting. But then she blinked and sidled away. “Sorry. I’m being silly. I’ll see you out.”
Becket didn’t move right away. Because he’d seen that look in other people before. People who’d been touched by fire. People who’d felt the violence of the flames.