Faye took her coat from the back of her chair and put it on before picking up the bags. “Where do you want to start, cats or dogs?”
“Cats. Just out of curiosity, where is Tansy this morning?”
Faye paused to gaze at him. “It’s Max.”
“What about Max?”
She regarded him with caution, as if debating what to say. “He has an abscess at the base of his tail where he bit himself. We didn’t notice it right away, and now...well, I’m afraid it’s an emergency situation. Tansy rushed him to the vet.”
A band of fear closed around his chest. “But he’ll be okay, right?”
“I don’t know. The abscess is poisoning his system, and they’ll have to do surgery. It depends how that all goes. Anyway, ready to start shooting?”
“No. I’m going to have to come back later.” He pictured Tansy alone at the vet’s office with a cat she loved, one who might not make it. He knew what that was like. “Where’s the vet’s office?”
“It’s Dr. Horton. He’s on—”
“I know where his office is.” He’d avoided driving past it whenever possible. He wasn’t looking forward to walking into it now. But he couldn’t let Tansy sit there alone and worried. He wanted to be there for her, no matter what.
CHAPTER NINE
ALTHOUGH TANSY WOULD have preferred to be right there while Dr. Horton and his assistant operated on Max, they didn’t really need her. After helping out in the office when she was a teenager, she’d decided against going to veterinarian school, so she didn’t have the training to be of any real help. All she could do was sit in the waiting area and worry.
When the outer door opened and Ben walked in, she thought she was hallucinating. Tossing her magazine aside, she stood. “What are you doing here?”
He crossed to her, taking off his hat as he walked. He stopped in front of her, his dark gaze troubled. “I... Oh, hell, come here, Tansy.” He pulled her into his arms.
She went willingly, wrapping her arms around him. He tucked her head against the wooly softness of his sheepskin collar. “I’m so sorry about Max.”
She’d held it together until then, but in the comfort of his arms, she let the tears fall. “That ornery cat had better not die on me,” she said in a choked voice. “Especially when he did it to himself!”
“He’s not going to die.” Ben laid his cheek against her hair and rubbed her back. “You said yourself Dr. Horton’s the best. He’ll fix Max right up.”
“I blame myself.” She sniffed. “I should have noticed he was getting sick, but he’s never perky, even under the best of circumstances. Silly old cat.”
“Tansy, nobody deserves the blame less than you. You’ve given Max a place to stay and a job to do.”
She gave a watery laugh. “Yeah. His job is to ignore everybody who comes into the office, and he does it brilliantly.”
“He’s an original. A conversation piece.”
“Guess so.” She took a shaky breath and sniffed again. “Thank you for coming.”
“I had to.” He kissed the top of her head. “I couldn’t let you be here alone.”
Leaning back, she looked into his eyes. “Kind of ironic, isn’t it? Twelve years later, here we are in Dr. Horton’s office, but our situations are reversed.”
“Life’s crazy that way.” He brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “But this time, the cat’s gonna make it.”
She knew he had no inside information, but she needed someone to tell her it was going to be okay. Ben looked so sure that Max would live, she chose to believe he would be right.
“Tansy?” Dr. Horton walked out into the waiting area. Tall and thin, he was a little grayer, a little balder, but his blue eyes were still kind behind his wire-rimmed glasses.
She let go of Ben. Steeling herself for whatever was coming, she turned to face the vet.
“I think he’ll be fine,” Dr. Horton said.
Relief made her sag. “Thank God.”
Ben put his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“You’ll have to watch him and make sure the antibiotics are doing their job,” the vet said. “And of course he has to wear the cone. He won’t be very happy for a couple of weeks, I’m afraid.”
Tansy smiled. “So he’ll be a little grumpier than usual. I’m used to that. Max is not what you’d call a cheerful cat.” Although he had been, briefly, when he’d settled himself on Ben’s lap. She turned back to Ben. “Dr. Horton, this is Ben Rhodes from KFOR. He’s offered to make a holiday DVD to sell as a shelter fund-raiser.”
“Excellent.” The vet beamed. “Glad to see Tansy has another supporter.”
Ben stepped toward him and held out his hand. “I’d like to add a personal and long-overdue thank you. When I was seventeen, I brought my one-eyed cat in.”
Tansy glanced at Ben in surprise. She wouldn’t have expected him to mention that.
“Oh?” Dr. Horton studied Ben as he shook his hand. “You do look familiar. What was the situation with your cat?”
“Accident with a car. He didn’t make it, but I appreciate all you did trying to save him. I left rather...quickly after he died.”
The vet looked over at Tansy, then back at Ben. “Were you the one who sent an envelope full of cash with no note?”
“Yeah. I hope it was enough. I should have stopped by long before this to find out.”
“It was more than enough. I wanted to return the extra money, but we didn’t know how to get in touch with you. I think Tansy tried to find you in her high school yearbook.”
“I enrolled midyear and we left for Spokane before the semester ended. I wasn’t in the yearbook.”
Tansy remembered he’d said he’d moved around a lot. A hard way to live for a child. Now was not the time to ask him about his past, though.
“Well.” Dr. Horton glanced at Tansy. “Mystery solved at last. And now you two have become friends, I see.”
Tansy nodded. “We have.” She hadn’t thought they would be after Thursday night, but Ben had come to support her through Max’s surgery. He must care about her, after all.
The vet turned to Ben. “Come to think of it, wasn’t that cat of yours an orange tabby like Max? I could be wrong, but some cases stick in your mind.”
“He looked a lot like Max, except for having both eyes,” Ben said. “Oh, and my cat was still a tom. I’m going to bet Max is not.”
Dr. Horton laughed. “That’s a given with any of The Haven’s animals. And if I know Tansy, she’s already talked you into taking at least one home with you, if not more.”
Tansy sucked in a breath.
“She’s tried.” Ben glanced at her. “It’s not for me.”
The vet looked startled. “Allergic?”
“No, I just...don’t care to do that.”
The uncomfortable silence that followed was interrupted as Dr. Horton’s assistant, Nancy, a middle-age woman with dark hair, came out with Max’s carrier. “He’s pretty woozy,” she said. “I doubt he’ll put up a fuss on the way home.”
Tansy was glad for the change of topic. “That’ll be a relief. He yowled all the way here.” She started to take the carrier, but Ben reached for it.
She let him do the honors, but his gallantry didn’t fool her into thinking he’d forgiven her for what he considered a serious case of meddling in his life. Maybe she’d mishandled the situation, but if he was using her bungled attempt to help as an excuse to cling to his isolated lifestyle, then he wasn’t the man she’d thought he was.
She had an account with Dr. Horton, so she didn’t have to mess with paying for Max’s surgery. After thanking him and Nancy for pulling Max from the brink, she walked out with Ben. A light rain had begun to fall, and she put up the hood on her parka. Then she quickly unlocked t
he shelter’s van and opened the passenger door so Ben could set the carrier on the seat.
“Want me to belt him in?”
“Please.”
He reached for the seat belt, wrapped it around the carrier and snapped it into place. “That should hold him.” He turned to her. “I didn’t do any shooting, so I’ll head back over and get started. I might have to finish up on Sunday, if that’s okay.”
“Fine. Just let me know when you’re coming and I’ll be over there to let you in. Thanks for everything.” She started around to the driver’s side.
“Wait.” He caught her arm.
“What?” She turned back to him.
“I’m sorry for being so harsh on Thursday night. I know you’re only trying to help.”
“Thanks for that.” She waited, hoping against hope that he’d say he was rethinking his position.
“It’s just that whenever I consider taking in an animal, I don’t like the odds.”
“Odds?” She stared at him as the rain pelted down. “When you’re talking about love, you don’t play the odds.”
“You make it sound so easy, but it’s not.”
“I didn’t say it was.” Anxiety over Max had sapped her patience, and as she stood there gazing at this stubborn, wounded man, she lost it. “You know what, Ben Rhodes? You’re a damned coward. You don’t have the guts to face the possibility of pain. I’ll see you back at the shelter.” She marched around the front of the van, wrenched open the door and climbed in.
As she backed out of her parking spot, Ben continued to stand where she’d left him. Rain fell in silvery drops all around him, but he stayed motionless, as if he were a granite statue.
Unless he changed his approach to life, and that didn’t seem likely, he might as well be stone. Then nothing could touch him, which seemed to be what he wanted.
* * *
BEN WASN’T SURE HOW long he remained standing in the parking lot, but eventually the amount of water cascading from the brim of his hat made him realize he needed to move. He got into his truck but didn’t start the engine. He wasn’t sure where he wanted to go. He’d promised to create a DVD for Tansy, but he wasn’t in the mood to be creative right now.
Pulling out his phone, he texted her that he would be back early the next morning and would work all day. Maybe by the next morning he’d have recovered from being called a coward.
He’d been accused of many things in his life, but never that. He liked to think he was as brave as the next man. One summer while out waterskiing with his buddies from KFOR, he’d rescued a kid who was drowning. No one else in his group had leaped into the water to grab the kid, but he had.
Then there was the time he’d come upon a burning wreck on the freeway. He’d pulled the passenger out because the driver had been too hysterical to do it. In both cases he’d acted without hesitation. So how could he be a coward?
He refused to accept that label. Instead he drove home and called Justin, his friend from the station. They played racquetball until they were exhausted, and then went for beer and pizza.
After his second beer, Ben turned to Justin. “Would you say I’m a coward?”
Justin stared at him in confusion. “Why are you asking me such a dumb question?”
“I want your opinion, bro. We’ve worked together for three years, and we’ve gone on all those adventure travel trips. In that time, did you at any time think I was a coward?”
“Hell, no, dude! You were the one who had the balls to tell Lisa her skirt was too tight when she walked on the set a couple of weeks ago. She could have got you fired for that. Coward? I don’t think so!”
“Thank you.” Ben lifted his beer bottle in Justin’s direction. “Thank you very much.”
The next morning, fortified by Justin’s evaluation, Ben arrived at The Haven in the gray light of dawn. Tansy was polite, but reserved.
“How’s Max doing?” Ben really did want to know. He’d thought about the cranky cat quite a bit since yesterday.
“He’s fine.”
“Is he here?” Ben looked around the deserted office.
“Oh, no. I took him over to my place so I can monitor his progress.”
“How do Ewok and Wookie like that?”
She folded her arms and glared at him. “None of your business.”
“I see.” His jaw tightened. The party was over. “I’d like to start with the cats.”
“I’ll take you out there.” She put on her parka and picked up the two canvas bags full of Christmas props. They walked in silence to the door of the Kitty Condo. Opening the door, Tansy called out to Cindy, who confirmed that she was ready for Ben to start.
Tansy glanced at him. “Are you going to need my help?”
“No.” Two could play this game. “I’ll handle it.”
“Then I’ll leave you to your work.” Handing him the bags, she turned and walked back down the lighted path.
Ben told himself that her attitude was for the best. She expected things of him that he wasn’t willing to give, so reverting to a business relationship would help them both get through the making of the DVD. After that, he would find another photographer to help her.
* * *
LEAVING BEN TO PHOTOGRAPH the animals without her was sheer torture, but necessary. Tansy needed to put some distance between her and the sexy man in the sheepskin coat. Despite her rant about his cowardly nature, she still hoped he’d somehow become the man she knew he could be.
When he’d walked through the door in the cold of dawn, she’d longed to throw herself into his arms and share his heat. He might be a coward, but boy, was he a hot one. She hadn’t been able to forget the glory of their lovemaking.
But she had to be strong. She was firm in her beliefs, and this wasn’t a time to compromise. Animals were her life, and hooking up with someone with Ben’s attitude would only lead to heartbreak. If he made her feel like a goddess whenever he touched her...well, that was lovely, but not enough. But, ah, how she missed him.
At noon, Cindy walked in the back door and Tansy peppered her with questions about the shoot.
“It’s going great.” Cindy took the elastic from her hair and redid her ponytail. “It’s as if he thinks like a cat, if you know what I mean. He’s there one second before they do something, so he captures the moment.”
Tansy felt a rush of pride, even though she’d told herself that she only cared about the value of his skill. “Good. Then this DVD will be special. Lots of people take videos of animals, but we want to stand out from the pack.”
“He showed me some of what he had, and it’s amazing. I’m telling all my friends to get this DVD.”
“Seriously?” Tansy had trouble imagining teenagers who were into zombies and aliens wanting to see a cute video of cats.
“Oh, yeah. There’s this one part where Atlas was poised to jump and Ben got underneath him. Atlas looks like Supercat flying to the rescue. It’s awesome. So funny!”
“Great. That’s really great.” Tansy’s heart ached for what might have been. She could have been there watching Ben as he captured Supercat with his deft use of his camcorder. She could have rejoiced with him and shared the experience.
But she knew he was a fraud. He worked magic with his camera but his heart wasn’t in it. Ben Rhodes kept his heart locked away, protected from all harm.
“I have to go,” Cindy said. “I’ve left him in Shelby Conrad’s capable hands at the Doggie Digs. I’m sure he’ll get some terrific stuff over there, too. But between you and me, I think he’s a cat person.”
“Maybe so.” Tansy didn’t consider him either a dog or a cat person. He wouldn’t commit to caring for either species, so he didn’t get the designation. But she wouldn’t say that to Cindy, who was smitten by the talented Ben Rhodes.
He’d better not let on to Shelby Conrad that he wasn’t planning to adopt an animal. That woman was devoted to her rescue work, although Shelby seemed to need the animals as much as they needed her. With no kids and a husband who’d been deployed to a combat zone, Shelby had thrown herself into volunteering and fostering. Tansy was extremely grateful for her help.
Cindy headed for the door, but turned before she reached it. “Too bad it didn’t work out for you and Ben.”
Tansy wasn’t sure how to respond to that statement, so she said nothing.
“I mean, he’s great, and you’re great, so I still think you’d make a good couple.”
“Cindy, he absolutely refuses to allow animals into his life. Do you see me with someone like that?”
Cindy hesitated. “I don’t think he’s clear on what he wants.”
“I agree.” Tansy wanted to scream or pound on something. A teenager had more insight into the problem than the man himself. “But until he is, we’re at an impasse.”
“I’ve seen him with those cats.” Cindy fiddled with her ponytail. “All I’m saying is, don’t give up on him yet.”
“I’ll see how it goes.” But Tansy had already gone a few rounds with Ben, and her heart was bruised. She didn’t hold out much hope that their story would have a fairy-tale ending.
CHAPTER TEN
BEN DIDN’T STOP BY THE office when he was finished at the end of the day. He’d been frosted by Tansy’s icy attitude that morning, and he saw no reason to subject himself to it again. After packing up and thanking Shelby for her help, he walked to the parking lot and got into his truck.
No lights shone from the windows of the yellow Victorian, but even from here he could see the cheerful strand of LEDs strung along Tansy’s porch rail. He caught the scent of a wood fire. She was tucked into her little house with Ewok, Wookie and Max. He wondered if she still had soup and homemade bread left.
Okay, this was truly pathetic. He was sitting in his truck and fantasizing about what was happening in Tansy’s house. What was wrong with him? Turning the key, he started the engine and pulled out of the lot.
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