Cupid to the Rescue: A Tail-Wagging Valentine's Day Anthology

by Lisa Mondello

  “You’re here,” they both said at the same time.

  TJ laughed for the first time in days. He held out his arms and she leapt into them, making him step back to keep his balance. Their kiss brought a blinding sense of right. His life felt complete and whole. “I love you.”

  “I’m so glad. I just bought this place. It wouldn’t be the same without you.”

  “This is a big leap for you. Are you sure you want to do this?”

  She kissed him again, eyes open, then pulled back enough to look around. “Yes. I’m home. The future begins right here. It will always be a refuge, but it’s going to be a home, too. Yours and mine, I hope. And Miss Valentine’s. And her baby’s.”

  He could see that picture without his gaze leaving her face. There was only one piece missing.

  “What about children? We never talked—”

  She put a finger to his lips. “I visited Sophia’s grave on my way here. We…I talked. She listened. And when I left I knew.” She put her other hand to her womb. “We’ll have babies. Our own, and any others that need us.”

  He crushed her to him.

  They sealed their mutual agreement with a kiss like none other to date. It might have gone on longer, but a pointed, “Ahem,” reminded him they had an audience.

  Paige left his arms to go into Betty’s. “Hello, dearest. Welcome back. Nice truck.”

  “Thanks. I had no idea what the Jag’s trade-in value would give me, but I’m pretty happy with this. Low miles. Loaded. One owner. A bull rider who hit the big time and traded up.”

  “Four doors…for future car seats.”

  “You were eavesdropping.” TJ tried to sound scolding, but Betty only laughed.

  “Nope. I just got off the phone with her mother. Karen wanted to be sure Paige made it here safely and she asked if the father of her future grandchildren ever came back.”

  “Hmm. My future mother-in-law sounds like an interesting person. I can’t wait to meet her.”

  Now, the pointed cough came from Paige. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There hasn’t been a formal proposal and we still have business to take care of, I believe.”

  TJ pointed to the house. “Betty left the table for you. And most of the living room furniture, but she insisted on loading up her bed.”

  Betty groaned. “Maria’s bedroom is positively monkish. Once you have a king-size bed, there’s no going back.”

  “I suggest you two take care of business so Mom can hit the road. You’re meeting Maria in Tehachapi, right?”

  “Yes. It’s where we met on our way to the wild horse rescue. She’d been at a meeting in San Jose and was driving back. That’s partly why I was such a hurry to get going after you showed up, Paige. Thinking back, I kinda threw you to the wolves, didn’t I?”

  Paige put a hand to her throat with pretend horror. “There are wolves here, too? No. Sorry. Deal’s off. I can’t stay.” Then, she laughed—a brilliant, happy sound that made both dogs race to her side.

  She gave them hugs and love, then offered an elbow to Betty. “Shall we?”

  TJ’s heart thudded hard in his chest, filled with emotions he hadn’t felt in...forever. He blinked against a suspicious moisture he felt building. “I’ll be in the barn checking on Miss V. She probably won’t even look at me without Paige by my side, but I feel bad about running out on her right after she gave birth.”

  Betty nodded. “At least Doc came by to check on her and the baby. Both are healthy, but he thinks Mama’s got a case of postpartum depression. Personally, I think she’s missing her people.”

  He looked at Paige. “Meet you in the barn?”

  “I won’t be long. Maria’s a lawyer and most of this was done online.”

  Betty chuckled. “It helps that I was in a hurry to sell, and Paige was in the right place at the right time. Plus, I’ve always thought of the Refuge as your inheritance, so once you two say, I do, I’m ripping up the mortgage as a wedding present.”

  Paige’s jaw dropped and she looked at TJ. “What? Did you know about that?”

  He shook his head. The lump in his throat prevented him from answering.

  “Isn’t that a huge leap of faith?” she asked his mother.

  “I know love when I see it. Just took me a long time to be brave enough to give it another shot. And you two are a couple of the bravest people I know. You’ll make this work…and then some.”

  TJ cleared the distance between them and pulled his mother into his arms and hugged her tight. “I love you,” he whispered.

  “I know.”

  Then, she pulled back and tapped a spot on her cheek.

  He kissed it, then he looked at Paige. “Meet me in the barn?”

  The late afternoon sunlight on her face made her tears glisten when she nodded her chin up and down, but her smile never faltered.

  Then he turned on one heel and walked away.

  Her Cowboy Valentine: Chapter 12

  Fifteen minutes later, Paige hugged the dogs good-bye and watched as Betty loaded them into the backseat of her truck beside the oversize cat motel. With a double honk, the older truck pulled out, leaving Paige with a signed contract naming her the owner of Aunt Betty’s Refuge.

  Although a daunting challenge in some ways—the place needed a major overhaul that included solar panels and decent Wi-Fi—she wasn’t in a hurry to make changes. Always first and foremost was the welfare of the Refuge’s residents—human, four-legged, and fowl.

  And, while she couldn’t wait to pick up where she left off with TJ, she made a quick stop at the llama pen to say hello to Jesus and the sheep. She did a mental count of the chickens, relieved to see she wasn’t missing any, and then she hurried to the barn’s walk-in door.

  TJ stood with arms banked on the top of the stall, staring inside. She hurried to his side. “Why aren’t you in the stall with Miss V and the baby?”

  He nodded. “Ask her.”

  Paige leaned over the rail and waved at Miss Valentine, who appeared to be backed in the far corner, with her baby safely behind her.

  “Oh, poor TJ.” She rubbed a spot between his shoulders, supportively. “Did the mean donkey hurt your feelings?”

  “Yes, actually. I think this is payback for leaving without saying good-bye.”

  She leaned her head against his arm. “I know the feeling. You left me, too, remember?”

  He had the grace to look ashamed. “I’m a self-centered jerk. But when Betty said she was selling out and leaving, it felt like my breakup—only not as public.”

  “It’s okay. I get it. Know why? Because I did the same thing to Brad. I didn’t physically leave, but I checked out, all the same. And despite what Betty said about you and me tying the knot, there’s no rush here. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know if Betty told you, but Doc’s agreed to take me on as an assistant. I plan to get my degree in veterinary medicine even if I’m the oldest graduate on record.”

  His jaw dropped, but the light in his gorgeous blue eyes more than made up for his obvious shock. “Wow. That’s fantastic. You’ll ace it. I know you will.”

  She shrugged. “It won’t be easy, but I think my dad would be proud. And”—she made a sweeping motion—“I want to re-open Aunt Betty’s Refuge, so I’ll have lot of experience by the time I graduate.”

  “Paige, that’s awesome. I’ll help get the word out. People are always coming up from the valley to drop off unwanted dogs and cats.”

  “And donkeys. Miss Valentine was part of our deal since you had Miss V’s old owner sign a bill of sale to Betty.”

  They both looked back into the stall and were surprised to find the mama donkey and her baby standing directly below them. “Whoa. Does this mean all is forgiven?”

  Paige took his hand. “Let’s test your theory.”

  Together, they opened the gate and went in.

  Miss Valentine walked straight to them, just as she had in the past when she supposedly was playing Cupid.

  TJ petted her neck an
d withers. “Hello, girl.”

  Paige hugged her, but she couldn’t keep her gaze off the baby. “Oh, Miss V, look at your baby. She’s perfect.” She’d have said more but emotion clogged her throat.

  TJ turned suddenly and dropped to one knee. “With Miss Valentine as our witness, I’m asking you to marry me, Paige Jackson. When and where is up to you, and I don’t have a ring on me, but I promise to love you forever if you say yes.”

  She dropped to both knees on the cushion of clean straw, not far from where they’d shared their first kiss. “Yes. And I think I’d like to get married on Mother’s Day. In Las Vegas. With my parents and Betty and Maria as witnesses. And your friend Sam, if you’d like. I’m anxious to meet him.”

  Wrapped in each other’s arms, they kissed—lost in the unlimited possibilities of their future together—until a huff of hot breath and a scratchy tongue brought them straight back to reality.

  “Eiow. Donkey breath.”

  “Gah. Miss V, please.”

  As they pulled back, the donkey pushed her way between them, baby at her side.

  Paige’s heart melted in her chest as she felt the baby close enough to touch. Not wanting to risk ruining the moment, she reached for TJ’s hand under the little donkey’s neck. “I’m sure what you meant to say was, Please forgive us, Miss Valentine, for not including you in the moment, and thank you for turning a couple of nonbelievers into die-hard romantics.”

  He reached across the donkey’s hindquarters to complete the circle. “Um, yes. My thoughts exactly.”

  Even blinking back happy tears, she could have sworn she saw their donkey grin.

  Her Cowboy Valentine: Epilogue

  Sam O’Neal tapped the toe of his cowboy boot to the beat of the Irish band Josh somehow procured at the last minute. Sam’s regular D.J. wasn’t too happy to be sitting this annual event out, but by the looks of the happy faces all around him, live music was the one thing that had been missing from his St. Patrick’s Day barn dance in previous years.

  “Great party,” someone shouted over the music. Sam nodded his greeting to TJ Huey, who looked dapper in a crisply pressed black shirt with a kelly-green western string tie.

  Sam motioned for TJ Huey and his fiancée, Paige Jackson, to follow as he stepped around one of the pyramids of hay bales that helped absorb the sound and provided a place to sit when your feet got tired of dancing.

  “Thanks. I don’t know where Josh found these guys, but they’re really good.” Sam shook TJ’s hand and smiled at the pretty woman at his side. “Nice to see again, Paige. Doc’s been singing your praises. How are the wedding plans coming?”

  Paige returned the smile with an even bigger one of her own. “Great. We’re all booked. It really helped having a local on the ground in Vegas.”

  “Especially a local with a platinum credit card,” TJ put in.

  Her laugh warmed Sam’s heart. He couldn’t have been happier for his old friend, who’d been through a lot of disappointments and heartache over the years.

  Haven’t we all?

  Out of habit, Sam scanned the crowd for his brother. Is he overdoing? Drinking too much? Alcohol was sugar, and sugar fed cancer cells. Josh’s doctors might claim the last round of chemo did the trick, but Sam heard that before where his late stepdad was concerned.

  His tension eased when he spotted Josh and Jenny talking beside the smorgasbord of classic Irish dishes—or the Americanized versions of them. Jenny didn’t appear happy. No surprise. She and Sam had one thing common—they both worried more about Josh’s health than Josh did.

  He blinked and focused again on Paige and TJ. “So, have you two been dancing?”

  Paige blushed. “I never really learned. Always had my nose in a book, I guess. But the music makes me want to learn.”

  Sam made an ushering motion toward the dance floor. “Aw, just dance. Nobody will judge. I promise. We’re all just here to have fun and let off a little steam after a long winter.”

  TJ and Paige exchanged a look that said things mere words couldn’t.

  Envy—not something Sam often felt—pricked the thick shield around his heart. Of course, it had always been hard not to be a bit wistful around Josh and Jenny. Even though he couldn’t be happier that his brother found his soul mate—Josh’s words, not Sam’s—Sam knew it was unlikely that he’d wind up with that kind of relationship.

  He’d heard it said that a person couldn’t miss what he’d never known, but Sam didn’t think that was true.

  He’d have given anything to share the kind of love he knew existed between TJ and Paige and Josh and Jenny. But some things just weren’t meant to be.

  “I should play host and check on the food. You guys have fun. I’ll see you in Vegas, if not before.”

  He watched them melt into the crowd on the dance floor before turning to thread his way through the revelers. The closer he got the buffet table the clearer it became the lovebirds were arguing about something.

  “I’m gonna ask him.”

  “Don’t you dare. We have still options.”

  “This is the best.”

  “It’s not right.”

  “But it’s not wrong, either.”

  “Hey, you two, what’s up? Why aren’t you dancing to the great band you found, little brother?”

  Josh—the kid Sam always thought had the looks of a movie star—dropped his chin and gave his wife a look that clearly warned he was about to say something she wasn’t going to like. “Hello, Sam, we were just arguing about you.”

  “Me?”

  “Well, your sperm, actually.”

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  Don’t miss Sam’s story in HER TWINS’ COWBOY DADDY

  The Cowboys of Prospect Creek, Book 2

  Please enjoy this brief excerpt:

  His ranch and his brother had been the most important things in Sam’s life. Now, he had only the ranch.

  “Everyone says we need time. That eventually life will get back to normal.” He repeated the words he’d heard all day. Like they made any sense.

  Jenny made a scoffing sound. “I seriously doubt that,” she said, her voice bleak.

  Jenny. His sister-in-law. His brother’s widow. “You’re forgetting one thing, Sam. Two, actually. The babies. Lara and Tucker.”

  Sam swallowed. He wasn’t a coward. He simply wasn’t up to talking about the twins tonight. “Can we hold off on that for a while, Jen? We just have to trust each other to do the right thing.”

  “Do you have any idea what that is?”

  He stretched the aching muscles in his shoulders and back. “Nope. But we’ll figure it out.” He rose and put out his hand to help her stand. “You should get to bed.”

  She stood for a moment, then crossed her arms. “I wonder if my milk is coming in. Do you know where Andi put that box of nursing pads?”

  He didn’t have a clue, but he jogged to the bathroom. Any excuse to get away. Such frank talk struck him as too intimate for what they were to each other.

  Sam stared at his reflection in the mirror.

  I might be a father, but I’m sure as hell not a husband.

  ♥ ♥ ♥

  Dear Reader,

  I hope you enjoyed this introduction to Prospect Creek. You can expect three more full-length romance novels in this series to release in 2021. I am forever grateful to the other wonderfully talented and generous authors in the Cupid To The Rescue anthology for inviting me to the party!

  To stay abreast of what’s happening in my life and my writing, please sign up for my weekly newsletter. I pick two lucky Q&A winners every week. SIGN UP: HERE!

  Happy reading,

  Deb

  About the Author

  Past winner of Romantic Times Reviewer's Career Achievement "Series Storyteller of the Year" award, Debra Salonen has published more than sixty romance novels and novellas for Harlequin Enterprises, Tule Publishing, and Loner Llama Press. Her books have earned numerous awards, including Best SuperRomance of the Year
in 2010. Deb lives near Yosemite National Park in California with her high-school-sweetheart husband, close to their children, grandchildren, and Nature.