by L. P. Maxa
He’d sleep for a few hours and regroup in the morning. He guessed that meant having a conversation with Eva. A clinking sound he recognized as Finn’s tags had him turning his head. In the dim light coming through the window, Eva lay on her side on a lounge chair, the dog curled against her stomach and her arm circling him as she slept. She’d stuck around. He could almost resent the rush of love all but consuming him. He’d fallen so hard and so fast he was having trouble finding level ground.
He moved closer, Finn keeping an eye on him. He sat on the lounger near her bent knees, and scrubbed his hands across his face. He needed a shower to rinse away the grime and smell of smoke, but he couldn’t leave her out here. He thought of carrying her inside but wasn’t sure how she or the dog would react.
He lay a hand on her shoulder, stroking gently. “Eva? You need to wake up.”
Finn licked his hand as Eva stirred. Her eyelids fluttered open. She smiled at him, then seemed to realize where she was, and likely how their lovemaking had ended, because her expression turned wary.
“Hey.”
“Hey back.”
She pushed herself up to a seated position, rubbing her eyes. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.” She looked out into the yard. “The fire crew is still here.”
“Yeah. They’ll stick around to make sure there are no flare-ups.”
Finn jumped off the cushion, his range limited by the leash looped around the arm of the chair.
“You better get yourself home to catch some sleep.” He couldn’t believe his words sounded so wooden, devoid of emotion.
“Diego, I’m sorry.”
He stilled, then shrugged, his shoulders aching. “You can’t help not feeling what I’m feeling.” He stared out into the darkness rather than tormenting himself by looking at her while she gave him the boot.
“That’s not true. I do have feelings for you, strong feelings. And they scare me.” He felt the warmth of her hand slide around his, and hope kindled.
She held his hand between hers, rubbing her fingers lightly across his. He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Because your ex left you a week before the wedding.”
“Right. I’m, um, only now realizing I never loved him. I liked him a lot, but we didn’t love each other the way two people planning to get married should.”
Diego tipped up her chin with his finger. “How come you’re realizing this only now?”
Even in the dim light he could see the flush spread across her cheeks. “Because I feel more for you than I ever felt for him.”
He speared his fingers through her hair to draw her into a kiss he felt all the way to his toes. She clutched at his shirt, and when they broke apart, they were both breathing heavily. A wolf whistle sounded from one of the crew.
“So you’re scared of loving me, and being left again before the wedding.”
“I’m scared because we’re moving so fast and my feelings for you are so overwhelming.”
“That, my beautiful Eva, I can deal with. You running away without talking out our problems? That doesn’t work for me. I can’t fix something if I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“That’s fair, except the fixing part. It’s not up to you to fix the problems between us. We’ll work on them together.”
He turned her hand over to kiss her knuckles. “Then how about laying the groundwork. I love you. I started falling the first moment I saw you, and haven’t hit the ground yet.”
She didn’t even hesitate. “I love you, Diego Jones. I started falling the first moment I saw you, the hot firefighter in the café. I want to be with you, but you might have to give me a little time before jumping to talk of marriage.”
“Like I said before, Eva. I’m not going anywhere. You give me a heads-up when I’m clear to bring up the ‘m’ word, okay?”
“You’ll be the first to know.”
She reached for him and Diego pulled her into his lap. Finn leapt onto the cushion, pushing his nose between them.
“I guess you two come as a package deal.”
“You guessed right.” With her hand in the dog’s fur, she leaned in to kiss Diego with a sweetness that made his heart swell.
He didn’t think it would be long before he brought up the ‘m’ word.
ABANDONED LOVE
Cindy Holby
Chapter One
Getting up at 5:00 a.m. on a cold January morning was not easy. Yet Emily had to do it. After all, it was one of the “perks” of owning a bakery. The fact that the temperature hadn’t broken twenty degrees since New Year’s made it even harder. For the foothills of North Carolina, that was pretty darn cold. Since she could get to her place on the outskirts of Scenic Ridge before her Jeep Cherokee achieved a decent temperature, even with the benefit of heated seats, it was a cold ride. As she pulled into her usual parking spot, she sighed in frustration.
“Are you kidding me?” The local morning show on the radio had no answers nor could they explain why someone would put a mattress in the dumpster that she shared with the other small businesses located in the old factory building. Make that halfway put in because the other half was sticking straight up, which meant the top of the dumpster was hanging open. Which also meant that any number of possums, raccoons, or coyotes could have dropped in for a snack if they were creative climbers. At least the bears and skunks had the smarts to sleep through this cold. Which was something she’d rather be doing right now. Sleeping, instead of facing a crisis first thing on a Tuesday morning.
The dumpster had been emptied on Friday and the mattress hadn’t been there when she left at noon on Saturday. Hopefully, one of the security cameras at the electronics store on the other end of the building had caught the perpetrator.
Yeah, she needed to quit watching reruns of SVU.
With another sigh, she turned off her engine, which had just now started blowing warm air into the car, pulled her toboggan down over her ears, and got out to investigate, turning on the flashlight in her phone.
The first light of dawn glowed in the east, but the stand of evergreens that formed a wall behind the dumpster kept the building in the shadows. Emily stepped up on a wooden pallet that somehow seemed to never go away and cautiously peered over the edge, in case a varmint was inside. The mattress had to be a queen, or at least a full. About an eighth of it was on the bottom, the rest sticking straight up in the air. Whoever dumped it was lazy, but yeah, she already knew that.
She had a choice to make. Either stuff it in or pull it out. If she pulled it out, she’d still have to deal with getting it to the dump. So push it in. Emily moved to leverage her shoulder beneath it when she heard a squeak, followed by a whimper.
Something was inside the dumpster.
Emily climbed to the top of the pallet and leaned over the side. Her nose was immediately assaulted with the tinny scent of blood and urine, which meant it was fresh as it hadn’t had time to freeze in the arctic air. She moved her phone around, shining the light at the base of the mattress. Something had chewed its way inside. She caught a movement, a dark flash, and then heard a distinct but faint little yelp.
Emily leaned in closer. She heard a crack, the pallet gave way, and for a long instant she hovered in midair before gravity took over and she slid forward and over into the dumpster. She twisted to avoid whatever it was at the bottom and grabbed hold of the mattress. Her phone dropped with a loud clatter—thank God for that new case she’d treated herself to—and her momentum sent her and the mattress sliding inside before the lid of the dumpster closed with a loud and booming clang.
Her chin hit the bottom of the dumpster and she saw stars while she heard the scurrying sound of tiny feet.
“Please don’t be a rat,” she groaned. Her phone had landed face down, so the flashlight glowed brightly. Emily picked it up, checked her chin for blood, and then shone the light around once more. A tiny set of soulful brown eyes stared up at her from a hole in the mattress. They belonged to a tiny brown and white terrie
r mix that didn’t look any bigger than a Chihuahua.
Emily sat up and carefully, so as not to scare the little dog, took a closer look.
There were puppies at her feet, hidden in the stuffing from the mattress. Two little brown and white miniatures of the mom that were no bigger than a field mouse, and had been recently born, from the looks of them.
“Why would someone do this to you?” Emily asked the little mom. The cruelty of some people amazed her. Why would anyone throw away a dog? Yet it happened all the time. Especially in the rural county where she lived.
“You’ve got to be starving.” At this the little dog looked at her hopefully.
“Let’s see about getting all of us out here.”
Emily stood but was about six inches too tall to stand fully. She was halfway bent but still managed to put her hands on the underside of the dumpster lid and pushed.
Nothing. It didn’t budge. Maybe she didn’t have enough leverage. She moved over to the edge and tried again. Emily was no weakling. She handled fifty-pound bags of flour after all, but still, there was nothing but a desperate squeak. It felt as if there was a lock on the lid. But there couldn’t be. Something had to be stopping it.
She shone the light around the edge and found the problem. The mattress had caught in the hinges when the lid fell. She tried to pull it free, but they had bitten into the fabric and the stuffing. If she had a knife, she could cut it out.
Unfortunately there wasn’t an app for that.
Well, this was embarrassing. But it was also freezing. And little momma dog was looking at her as if she expected her to produce a side of beef.
“Siri, call nine-one-one.”
“Calling nine-one-one.”
It took Emily a long minute to explain where she was and what had happened. She knew the operator was trying her best not to laugh when she assured her that someone from the sheriff’s department was on the way. Emily crouched down and let the little dog sniff her hand.
“You’re going to have to let me pick those babies of yours up,” Emily to the dog, “so we can get them out of here and someplace warm.” The little dog licked Emily’s hand and she caressed the dog’s head. “I guess you need a name, sweet thing.”
A thought occurred to her. Emily snapped a picture of the three dogs, then put her phone on video mode and did a quick pan of the dumpster while explaining her situation.
“Somebody did this to you on purpose. Maybe this will help figure out who. At least it will prove that it happened.”
The sound of an engine caught her attention. Emily waited for the sound of a car door, but instead heard the sudden drive off. Emily sucked in her breath in shock. Surely that wasn’t the sheriff thinking it was some sort of joke. Her car was there. Certainly a cop would look for the driver. What seemed like a minute passed and a blue light flashed through the small crack between the dumpster and lid as she heard the distinct sound of a large engine idling.
“Hello?” Emily called out. She didn’t want to get left again.
“Ma’am? Sheriff’s department.”
“In here. The lid’s stuck.”
She heard whoever it was grunt as he tried to lift the lid. “You’re right about that.” She heard him walk around and test the lid in various places. “Hang on, I’ll get a crowbar.”
Emily took the time to scoop up the tiny puppies and placed both of them in the pocket of her parka. The momma dog whined so Emily picked her up. The dog gave her a quick lick on the end of her nose before Emily stuffed the tiny dog inside her coat. “I promise you’ll all be warm and fed real quick.”
The sheriff was back, and this time with a crowbar. He jammed it under the lid and it groaned, then there was a ripping sound as the mattress gave way. He pushed the lid open and it landed against the back of the dumpster with a loud bang. Emily stood up, bracing her hand over her eyes as he shone a flashlight directly at her.
“Sorry, ma’am. I’m Deputy Luke Hall. Are you okay?”
“We’re fine.”
“We?”
Emily handed him the momma dog. “Somebody dumped her inside.”
Gingerly, he took the little dog. “Hang on,” he said. He took her to his car and put her on his seat. Emily grabbed onto the side of the dumpster and walked her way up. He was back. “If you can swing your leg over, I’ll catch you.”
“Careful, there are puppies in my pocket.”
He laughed. “Of course there are.”
Emily swung a leg over and soon found herself cradled in a pair of strong arms. It was hard to tell since the only light was the car headlights, but his face seemed handsome. As in way handsome.
“Puppies you say?”
“Two. In my pocket.”
He set her down. “And you are?”
“Emily Redding. I own Knead, the bakery.”
“Sounds delicious. Is there coffee inside?”
“There will be as soon as I can make it.”
“I’m right behind you. Let me take care of something first.”
Emily went to her car and grabbed her keys and bag while Deputy Luke said some official-sounding words into his radio. He followed her inside with the momma dog safe inside his big hands.
Emily turned on the lights, dropped her bag, and found an empty box among those stacked next to the door. An empty flour bag went inside, along with a towel she used to wrap trays of bread for transporting. She carried the box to her office and sat it beside her desk. Luke put the momma dog in who raised up to her hind legs as Emily placed the two puppies beside her. The momma dog quickly sniffed them over and then lay down to nurse as the puppies’ instincts took over.
“Somebody dumped them back there?” Luke asked.
“Apparently.” She took off her parka, and checked it for stains before hanging it on a hook. It didn’t look too bad, nothing a quick wipe down wouldn’t fix. Luckily she kept a pair of yoga pants on hand in case of a sudden disaster so she picked them from the shelf.
“Abandoning an animal is against the law.”
“Good. Go find whoever did this and shoot them. Or at least make them spend a couple of nights outside in this weather.” Emily felt her anger rising. “Why would somebody do this to an innocent little dog? Especially one in that condition.”
“There’s all kinds out there,” Luke said calmly. “You said something about coffee?”
“I did. Give me a minute.” Emily ducked into her shop lavatory. Before changing into the yoga pants, she thoroughly washed her hands and face. Her hair didn’t look any worse for wear as she kept it in a ponytail while at work. She put her ball cap on and, feeling somewhat refreshed after her dumpster dive, she went back out.
Luke had walked into the kitchen area of her bakery. She turned the lights on, illuminating the stainless steel counters and large ovens. Her coffee machine was between the kitchen and sales counter and she went to fill the pot and get it started.
“Tuesday is leftover day,” she explained as she opened her fridge and pulled out a tray of pastries. She turned on one of the smaller ovens and laid the assortment on a baking pan to warm.
Luke moved to the counter, took off his coat, and removed a notepad and pen from the pocket. “I should probably fill out a report,” he explained.
Emily nodded. “Give me a minute,” she said. She found a small mixing bowl and filled it with water and took it to her office. The little dog drank gratefully. “I guess I should find you something to eat too.” She went back to the fridge and found half a chicken salad sandwich that she had forgotten about and returned to the momma dog, who consumed the food in about three seconds. “I’ll get you more, I promise.”
Emily checked the warming pastries and, deeming them ready, put a few on a plate. While she was arranging them, she stole a glance at the handsome deputy sitting at her counter.
He definitely had that square-jawed look working for him. His hair was short, more blond than brown, and his shoulders as wide as her refrigerator. He must have played footb
all in school. He had that look about him. She bet a dollar that his eyes were as blue as a summer sky. He had to be new in town. Surely she’d notice a guy like this. She knew every fireman and policeman in the county, or so she’d thought until now.
“You know, I thought of something strange,” Emily muttered as she came out to the counter area. “Usually when there’s a call like this, the entire department shows up. Fire. Rescue. Police. Because there’s not that much that goes on around here.”
“There was tonight,” Luke shared. “A big pileup out on fifty-two. With casualties. Since I’m the new guy, I was held back to cover anything else that came up.”
“Wow, kind of puts things in perspective,” Emily admitted. “How do you like your coffee?”
“Black is fine, ma’am.”
She grinned. “I keep thinking my grandmother is here. She’s the only one I ever heard call ma’am.”
He grinned back. “Sorry. It’s a habit.”
Yeah, she was right. The eyes were definitely blue.
Chapter Two
She was efficient as she set out the tray of pastries and made his coffee. Cute too, in a she-didn’t-try-at-all way. No makeup, her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail beneath her Ridge County High ball cap. She filled out those yoga pants in a nice way too. Her brown eyes were kind, welcoming, and held no secrets that he could see.
Luke had heard about Knead. It had come highly recommended by the other guys in the sheriff’s department. Since he was on the night shift, the last thing he wanted in the morning was coffee and Danish. But since he had a feeling he’d be working a double today he might as well indulge.
The coffee was good. And the blueberry muffin she’d warmed up for him was excellent.
“So why don’t you tell me what happened before you got trapped in the dumpster.”
Emily shook her head as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “I’m really glad it was you who answered the call,” she admitted. “Because I’m pretty sure the guys down at the firehouse would never let me hear the end of it.”