She wrapped her arms protectively around her waist. “When you condemned me without hearing what I had to say, you hurt me deeply, Will.” The emotional pain he heard in her voice just about tore him apart.
“Honey, I’m sorry for being such an ass, and I’m sorry for causing you even a second of emotional pain.” Unable to keep from touching her, he reached out and drew her into his arms. “Like most people who’ve gone through a divorce, I have some baggage.”
“I understand that,” she said quietly against his chest. “As you learned the other night, I have some of my own.”
“But I think we overcame yours,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “We never got around to discussing mine.”
She leaned back to look up at him. “I assume by your reaction that she didn’t have faith in you, that she betrayed you.”
He nodded. “My wife lied about everything—the money she spent, the men she had affairs with after we got married. The only thing she didn’t lie about was how little she thought of my job. She called me a hack and a drone and a bunch of other things I won’t repeat. That’s why those reviews were so cutting to me.”
“I’m sorry,” Macie said, her tone reflecting her sincerity. “But first, I didn’t lie to you. There’s a difference between being dishonest and omitting information. And contrary to what you might believe, I wasn’t keeping my secret to laugh at you behind your back. You are good at what you do, Will, that’s why I was hard on you.”
“I know that, honey.” He raised his hands to cup her face. “I guess she made me overly sensitive to any kind of criticism.”
“In other words, I added another bruise or two to your ego,” she said, looking thoughtful.
“I’m afraid so,” he agreed. “And after busting my rear end, day in and day out, to take up the slack at Snohomish, your reviews pointing out the flaws in the software I developed irritated an already raw nerve.”
She nibbled on her lower lip, trying to digest what he had told her, and he almost groaned. He loved kissing her and wanted to nibble on her perfect lips himself.
“I understand, and I have to take some of the responsibility for aggravating that nerve,” she finally said, surprising him. “I could have phrased some of my comments differently and been less frivolous with my remarks about you losing your edge. I took a cheap shot to boost the popularity of my column. I’m truly sorry for doing that, Will.”
He shook his head. “No, you were right the first time. I’ve been on the verge of burnout for a while and I’ve been making mistakes you would expect from an entry-level programmer, not a senior project manager.”
“But I shouldn’t have—”
“Hush, Macie,” he said, lowering his mouth to hers. They could debate the issue later about which one of them was more at fault.
Kissing her with everything he had been trying to suppress for almost a week, he let her taste his need and the desire he had for her alone. By the time he raised his head, she looked a bit dazed and he was harder than the Rock of Gibraltar.
“Can you forgive me and overlook my stubborn male pride, honey?”
“Yes, but only if we promise...never to keep secrets and...to always be honest with each other,” she said, sounding more than a little breathless.
“Honey, you have my word that I’ll keep my end of that bargain,” he said.
Her forgiveness was a rare and precious gift. A gift that he didn’t deserve, but one that he intended to spend the rest of his life cherishing.
“There’s something else we need to talk about,” he said, smiling at the woman who had broken down his carefully constructed walls and claimed his heart.
She looked a bit cautious. “What’s that?”
He tucked an errant strand of her strawberry blond hair behind her ear. “You’ll probably think I’m crazy, but I love you, Macie Fairbanks.”
“Oh, Will!” She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, too.” He had suspected as much, but hearing her say the words was a balm to his soul.
Checking his watch, he grinned. It was five minutes till midnight. Time for him to seal the deal and start the New Year with a new beginning for both of them.
As he held her with one arm, he reached into his pants pocket to retrieve the little black velvet box. Then dropping down on one knee, he opened the top. “I love you with every breath I take, Macie. Will you marry me?”
He knew a moment’s panic when she remained silent. Then she lightly touched the solitaire diamond with trembling fingers. “It’s so beautiful, Will.”
“Is that a yes?” he asked, needing to hear her say the word.
“Absolutely,” she said, starting to nod. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. “I love you so very much. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
Taking the ring from the box, he slipped it on the third finger of her left hand, and rising to his feet, he took her into his arms. “The ring is a little big, but we can have it sized to fit,” he said, beaming at the woman he was going to spend the rest of his life with. “And now that you’re officially going to be mine, I’ve got an engagement present for you.”
“Will, I didn’t expect—”
“Don’t thank me just yet,” he said, laughing as he reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket. “You might decide to throw me overboard.”
“I doubt that,” she said, her smile filled with a love that humbled him.
He handed her the envelope. “You haven’t seen what I’ve got here, honey.”
“I’m sure I’ll love whatever it is.” She opened it and her laughter sounded like a beautiful melody. “I can’t believe you’ve signed me up for cooking lessons at the community college.”
“I want to support the pursuit of your passion,” he said, grinning.
She gave him a quick kiss. “No, you just want to be assured that what I cook is edible.”
“Well, there is that,” he said, happier than he had ever been in his life. “I’ve also decided to quit my job at Snohomish Software and open my own company.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “I have a good reputation in the software industry and enough connections that I should have no trouble finding work.” Kissing her, he added, “And it will give me more time to spend with you.”
“Oh, Will, I love that you’re going to be taking it easier,” she said, giving him a kiss that just about sent him into orbit.
Harley chose that moment to nudge between them, then looked up as if to ask, “What about me?”
Will gazed at Macie. “What do you think?”
She bent down to hug the big puppy’s neck. “Do you really have to ask?”
EPILOGUE
WILL PARKED IN FRONT of The Haven and Macie turned to smile at him. “Do you have the check?”
He nodded and patted his jacket pocket. “If my calculations are right, this should put them over the top of their goal for the new roof.”
“If it doesn’t, I’ll see if I can get the magazine to make a donation,” she said, smiling.
She got out of Will’s SUV, then waited as he released Harley from his newly purchased canine seat belt in the backseat. Together they walked up the steps of the shelter with the dog and entered the reception area.
“This is my fiancée, Macie Fairbanks,” Will said, introducing her to Tansy Dexter, The Haven’s director, and Faye Barnard, the receptionist.
Once they had all exchanged pleasantries, Will gave Macie a smile filled with such love that she had to blink back tears of happiness. “We’ve got two things we need to do, Tansy,” Will said.
“You’re going to adopt Harley, aren’t you?” the woman guessed, her grin one of delight.
“Yup, give me the paperwork,” he said.
“Your grandmother is going to be thrilled when she retur
ns from Hawaii and finds out you’re giving him a forever home,” Faye said as she started keying in information into the computer.
“We would also like to make a donation,” Macie said when Will handed her the check from his pocket. “If this isn’t enough to meet your goal for the new roof, please let me know and I’ll see what I can do about soliciting a donation from the magazine I work for.”
Tansy’s eyes widened a moment before she grabbed both Macie and Will to give them huge hugs. “The Home for the Holidays campaign was a huge success and now we’ve got more than enough to repair the roof and build the second Kitty Condo. Thank you so much.” She sniffed, fighting tears. “We’ll be able to help so many animals with this.”
“We’re happy to help,” Will said, as he signed the papers to make Harley theirs. “We wouldn’t have this big teddy bear of a dog if not for this shelter.”
Pointing to the Christmas tree in the corner with paper angel ornaments, Macie added, “Maybe you can use the extra to meet the special needs of this year’s angel tree.”
Tansy nodded. “Believe me, it won’t go to waste. We use every spare dime we get on the animals.”
Will handed Macie the pen for her to sign the adoption papers. “Is there anything else we need to do?” he asked.
Tansy shook her head as she bent down to hug Harley. “Just love him and bring him by every now and then so we can see how much he’s grown.”
While Will took Harley back to his SUV to strap him into the special seat belt, Macie waited for Faye to hand her their copy of the adoption papers. “Harley was the one who brought Will and me together,” she said, smiling at Tansy.
“Really?” Tansy laughed. “That seems to have been the order of the day this holiday season. Just before Christmas, my fiancé, Ben, and I were brought together by a cat with health problems.”
“And don’t forget one of our transport volunteers, Shelby Conrad and her husband, Alex. They were having some serious marital problems that they worked out while taking some of our dogs to their new forever homes,” Faye added, winking as she handed Macie the papers making Harley her and Will’s dog.
“I’m glad things worked out for all of us.” Turning to go, she added, “I hope you run the fostering campaign again next Christmas.”
“It’s been such a success this year, I’m sure we will,” Tansy said, waving.
As Macie walked out to Will’s SUV, she looked up to find the man she loved more than life itself watching her with an adoring smile. Smiling back, she hoped The Haven did make their Home for the Holidays fostering campaign a yearly tradition. Then maybe more couples would find what she and Will had found through the love and companionship of a shelter pet—a forever home.
* * * * *
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS—www.humanesociety.org/) estimates that between six and eight million cats and dogs enter U.S. shelters every year. Happily, three to four million of those pets are adopted. But that still leaves two to four million animals waiting for their forever home.
For more information on adopting a new friend
from a shelter, visit HSUS’s The Shelter Project at theshelterpetproject.org.
Alternatively, both of the following rescue and adoption websites allow you to type in your zip code, and even specify species, breed and age of pet you would like to adopt:
Petfinder.com: www.petfinder.com
Adopt-A-Pet: www.adoptapet.com
Also according to HSUS, less than two percent of lost cats and between 15 to 30 percent of lost dogs are reunited with their owner. Here are some tips to help reunite you with your lost pet:
- Collars and tags are the fastest way to reunite you with a lost pet. But if your dog slips its collar...
- Microchip your pet and keep information up to date, including a cell phone number. If you lose your pet while traveling, a cell phone number can be particularly helpful if the dog is found.
- Make flyers and include a current photo—and don’t forget to post the flyers online, as well.
- Check pet lost-and-found networks such as:
Missing Pet Network: www.missingpet.net
Lost Pet USA: www.lostpetusa.net
Lost Dog Finder—Find Fido: www.fidofinder.com
And lastly, check your area shelters for your missing pet—and check again. Sometimes weeks can pass before a stray animal is brought into a shelter. Check with neighboring county shelters, too.
“Saving one dog won’t change the world, but it will change the world for that one dog.” ~Anon
Happy holidays,
Vicki, Cathy and Kathie
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ISBN: 9781459245303
Copyright © 2012 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the
copyright holders of the individual works
as follows:
HOLIDAY HAVEN
Copyright © 2012 by Vicki Lewis Thompson
HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
Copyright © 2012 by Catherine Mann
A PUPPY FOR WILL
Copyright © 2012 by Kathie DeNosky
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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