by Liz Isaacson
He wanted to go into an apartment draped with garland and twinkling lights, preferably with hot food on the table and low music playing. And he knew he wouldn’t get that inside his apartment.
So he pulled out his phone and called Boone. “Hey,” he said when his friend answered. “I’m going to be buying a house soon. You got any dogs up for adoption at the clinic?”
“Lots,” he said. “But they go fast in December. Lots of people adopt for Christmas.”
“Mm.” Dylan stared out the windshield, unable to pinpoint why his mood wasn’t better this evening. He’d had a very productive day in the warehouse and then at Rivers Merge. He’d got to ride Mint Brownie and talk to Jake.
“How are things with Cami?” Boone asked. “Nicole wants to double.”
“Sure,” Dylan said, maybe a little too loudly. “We’re going to the parade this Friday, if you guys want to come.”
“You talk to her first,” Boone said. “Besides, you’ll be crazy-busy at that, with all the last-minute stuff you do.”
“True,” Dylan said, Boone’s laughter breaking through his melancholy mood. “All right, if you see a good dog come in, save him for me.”
“Will do.”
Dylan hung up and he stretched across the cab and opened the glove box where he’d been hiding Cami’s ring. He opened the black velvet box and gazed at the gem, his mood lifting further. He liked having a secret, something warm in his chest to buoy him up when he felt like he was the only man in Three Rivers who didn’t have absolutely everything figured out.
He took the bag and box containing the ring with him as he headed for the front door of his apartment building. He waved to Mrs. Forrester as she came out of the pool area, and he rode the elevator to the sixth floor by himself.
Yes, his apartment was dark when he entered it, but it brightened with a few flips of a switch. He turned on the radio for companionship, and they were playing holiday songs, so he got his low music.
Instead of pulling out the bread and making a sandwich, he collected a roll of wrapping paper—the only roll of wrapping paper he owned—from the front hall closet.
It was red, with silver snowflakes on it, and he carefully wrapped the ring box, making sure to tape down all the finicky corners.
He stared at the tiny present, and he didn’t like it. She’d know what it was the moment he presented it to her, making the wrapping job unnecessary.
So he unwrapped it and turned in a full circle in his kitchen, trying to think if he had any other boxes. He wasn’t one to order much online, so he really didn’t have anything shipped to him.
Now, the Electric Company had plenty of boxes, in all shapes and sizes, as their equipment and bulbs were as various as the flowers on the earth.
So he’d wait. He was getting really good at that, and he tucked the ring box back inside the bag and set it on the shelf in the hall closet.
Cami didn’t usually show up unannounced at his place, but he certainly didn’t want her to see the box or the bag with the jeweler’s insignia on it when she wasn’t ready.
And he wasn’t going to ask her to marry him until he knew she was ready.
“You’re not,” he told himself as he poured a bowl of cereal and parked himself in front of the TV. “You’re really not.”
“Try it now,” he said to Bill, pressing harder on the little clip of the last light bulb that was giving him fits. He’d replaced it twice, and if it didn’t work this time, he thought he might just rip the light-up hammer out of Snoopy’s hand.
“All right,” Bill drawled, and it seemed like ten years passed for the man to walk around the float, lean in, and activate the mechanisms. Everything should move and light up this time, and with the parade only an hour away, Dylan didn’t know what he’d do if it didn’t.
But the green light came on, and Snoopy’s hand swung down. Dylan whooped, and Cami started to laugh from where she sat in the sleigh, a folder of paperwork open in her lap.
When she’d arrived about twenty minutes ago, she’d told him that she had about five hours worth of work to do in the last house. So she’d finish it all up tomorrow, and then they’d get a little breather before the holidays as other crews came in.
Well, not Dylan. He worked behind Cami in the new builds, and he still had plenty to do to get all the houses wired.
He stood back with Bill and Patricia, mentally congratulating himself for getting everything in tip-top shape for another parade.
He loved Three Rivers and the light parade it put on every year. Loved seeing the Clydesdales and sipping hot chocolate though it wasn’t all that cold. He liked the festive atmosphere and the holiday vibe in the air as all the shops stayed open late and had sidewalk sales until nearly midnight on parade nights.
“Is that all?” he asked, turning as a loud metal screeching noise tore through the air.
“That’ll be the drivers,” Bill said. “Let’s see what they say.”
Another two big, huge, two-story garage doors opened, and more people came into the warehouse. Cami jumped down out of the sleigh and came over to Dylan.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“They’re the drivers,” he said. “They’ll get instructions from Patricia, and then they’ll test everything again. I make any last-minute fixes, and then we can hurry over to the parade route.”
“Carole Anne is saving us a place,” she said. “We don’t have to hurry.”
“Sure, we do,” he said. “I don’t want to miss any of the parade.”
She looked at him for an extra-long moment, probably trying to figure out if he was kidding or not. He wasn’t. The mayor led the parade in a bright, cherry-red Mustang, which blasted “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town” from the speakers, and Dylan loved it. He always had.
“My parents would bring us early,” he told Cami, keeping one eye on the meeting with the drivers and Patricia. “We got to pick exactly one treat, and then we’d sit on blankets in the park for the parade.” He swung his arm around her and brought her close to him, the folder the only thing between them. “Can you guess what I got for my treat?”
“Uh, let’s see. Too cold for ice cream….” She grinned up at him, and dang, if Dylan didn’t see at least the hint of love in her eyes. “And Christmas around here is a pretty big deal with the candied nuts. I’m going to go with that.”
Dylan laughed. “Almonds. Cinnamon roasted almonds. I loved them, mostly because two out of my three sisters wouldn’t touch them.” He chuckled again, and the meeting broke up. “Oh, here they come.”
He stepped away from Cami, but he didn’t go far. She said, “I’m going to miss coming here and hanging out in that sleigh while you work.” She slipped her hand into his and squeezed.
“Me too,” he said. “But hey, we know where to find it, right?” He glanced at her, but he couldn’t truly look as Bill called his name.
“Oh, boy,” he said. “Be back in a minute.”
At least twenty minutes passed before every driver was satisfied with their floats. Dylan saluted to Bill and Patricia, took Cami’s hand again, and said, “Let’s get out of here while we can.”
She giggled, and he practically ran toward the exit, pretending like they were sneaking away to steal a kiss. As they approached Main Street, he could hear the song blasting through the darkness, and he increased his pace.
“She’s right there,” Cami said, pointing to her right. She tugged on his hand, and he let her lead him through a throng of people to a couple of spaces next to Carole Anne and Levi.
“You made it,” Carole Anne said, her face shining with Christmas spirit.
Dylan felt it infect him too, and he grinned as he turned his attention to the street in front of him. The mayor hadn’t arrived yet, but he could hear him coming.
Everyone in town could, whether they were at the parade or not. Dylan grinned like he was six-years-old and it was Christmas morning as the red Mustang came into view.
The crowd, most of w
hom had been waiting longer than he had, started to cheer. The mayor waved from his position on the back of the Mustang, and the parade was off to a great start.
Dylan loved everything about this night, and he brought Cami closer to his side, pressed his lips against her temple, and said, “I’m so glad we’re here together.”
“Yeah, it can be a tradition,” she said, causing him to look away from the league of toy soldiers marching in front of him.
“Yeah,” he said slowly. “Our first Christmas tradition.”
“No.” She shook her head, those honeyed eyes glittering with all the lights from the parade. “That was when we put the tree up the day after Thanksgiving.”
“Mm.” He kissed her, glad when she pressed further into him, and then he watched the parade go by, happier than he’d ever been.
He could only hope and pray that Cami felt similar things for him. And though Dylan wasn’t really the type to worry about things he couldn’t control, a sliver of doubt crept in among the holiday joy, even when she jumped up and bought a sack of cinnamon almonds from a boy pulling a wagon down the side of the parade route.
Chapter Eighteen
Cami entered Rogers Plumbing a week after the Christmas parade. And she thought the lights had been magical the first time she’d seen them. But nothing was the same when she was with Dylan. He made everything better, brighter, beautiful.
“Hey,” she said when Dana looked up. “I have all the paperwork for you.” She handed Dana the folder she’d taken everywhere with her for about two weeks now. “I’ve been over it all, and I think I’ve signed everywhere I need to.”
She collapsed into the chair across from Dana, bone tired from the day’s jobs. She hadn’t even been up to the build since she finished the last house last weekend, but she’d need to get up there soon and pick up the specs for the next phase. Just the thought of looking at new specs made her eyes burn.
“Thanks,” Dana said, and Cami gave her a weak smile. “I’ll have Abraham go over it with the lawyer, but I think we’re all set for the purchase come January first.”
Cami was too, but a flutter of nerves hit her. Dana wouldn’t be working the desk anymore, and Cami suddenly realized she’d have to hire someone to run the office. Do the books. Make the appointments. Collect and deposit the money. Pay the bills.
And that meant someone she trusted and could work well with. She knew a lot of people in Three Rivers by face, but hardly any by name.
Her phone rang, interrupting her mounting panic, and she swiped on a call from Dylan with a quick wave to Dana. Her muscles protested as she stood, but she hobbled toward the front door anyway, saying, “Hey.”
“Hey, pretty girl. Where you at?”
“Just leaving Rogers,” she said, stepping onto the sidewalk and freezing. “Do you think I’ll need to change the name?” There were so many things she hadn’t thought of, and she felt like a fool.
“Not unless you want to. It’s been Rogers Plumbing for something like forty years. People will still call it that anyway.”
And she wouldn’t have to pay to get a new sign made, repaint Penny, get new shirts, any of it.
“I’m calling because I’ve decided to get a dog,” he said, his voice a bit louder than normal, like he was making an announcement.
“That’s great,” she said, because she knew he loved dogs and had wanted one for a while. “But I thought you weren’t moving until January eighth.” He’d bought the fixer upper a couple of blocks away from her house, and while it was nowhere near move-in ready, he claimed he could live there while he did some work.
She’d put him through the grinder with questions about the roof and what he’d do if it rained. He’d waved her away with, “It hardly ever rains here,” and she’d asked him about new, energy-efficient windows, and hey, maybe a floor your foot didn’t fall through would be nice.
“I’m not,” he said. ‘That’s where you come in.”
“Oh, I see where this is going already,” she said, employing her professional tone, though he already knew she’d let him keep whatever pup he picked at her place until he moved. “And I don’t like it.”
“Please, Cami?” he asked. “Boone says they just got in a new litter of pups, and if I don’t get one tonight, they’ll be gone.” His voice pitched up, but he cleared his throat. “All the moms will come take them for Christmas presents.”
“So am I your mom?” she asked.
“No way,” he said. “You’re my girlfriend, who happens to have a great backyard for a dog. It’s just a couple of weeks.”
“It’s like a month,” she said. “And this is a puppy? It won’t be potty trained?”
“It’ll sleep outside.”
“You’re nothing but trouble, Dylan Walker.”
He laughed, and she did too, and she finally got her feet moving toward Penny around the side of the shop. “I’m on my way over now, if you want to meet me there.”
“I’m sitting in your driveway,” he said. “Why don’t you come home first, and then we’ll go? I’ll take you to dinner afterward.”
She shook her head, though he couldn’t see her, and said, “Sure. See you in a few.”
He was indeed waiting in her driveway, so she pulled up to the curb and got out of the van. When she opened the passenger door and climbed into his truck, she said, “You realize you can’t leave a puppy in here unattended while we go to dinner.”
He blinked a couple of times, which made her laugh and shake her head again. “I don’t think you’ve thought pet ownership all the way through.”
“I have,” he said. “Boone works all the time and he has two dogs.”
“They probably go to work with him,” she said. “And they’re not puppies, and you babysit them all the time when he has to leave town.” She slid across the seat and kissed him. “But come on, cowboy. You want a dog? Let’s go get a dog.”
The animal shelter wasn’t too far from Cami’s house, and Dylan parked toward the back entrance to the shelter. There were no other cars in the lot, and only the one window with any light.
“Are you sure they’re open?” she asked, peering out of the windshield at the old building.
“Boone said he’d meet me here.” He got out, and Cami followed him. The door was open, and sure enough, when they went in, Boone turned from the counter where he stood.
“Hey, guys.” He flashed a smile at them and came closer. “You must be Dylan’s Cami. I’m Boone Carver.”
Dylan’s Cami.
She liked the sound of that, and she instantly liked Boone too. He had a soothing way about him, from the huge cowboy hat on his head to the shiny shoes on his feet.
“Hey, man.” He shoulder-clapped Dylan and added, “Puppies are over here.” He led them to an enclosure where six dogs were living. Three or four of them got up and came over to the fence closest to Dylan and Boone, and Cami stayed back to watch.
“You want one who’s interested in you,” Boone said. “But not a barker. That big blackish one in the front, he’s the pack leader. I’d go for one of the browner ones.”
Dylan picked up the pack leader and cradled the dog against his chest. “German shepherds,” he said to Cami as if she couldn’t tell the most popular breed of dog just by looking.
She smiled but didn’t crowd into the limited space. Dylan put the bigger, blacker dog down and picked up a brown one. The pup licked his face, and he laughed. Cami liked hearing his happiness, seeing the joy in his eyes, and she told herself it was worth having an un-potty trained dog in her yard for a month if Dylan wanted it.
And she knew, once again, that she was in love with him.
The real question now was: When could she tell him?
He hadn’t told her again that he loved her, and she’d sort of been waiting for him to do that. Then she’d have an easy way to get her feelings out without having to bring it up.
“This one,” Dylan said. “I want this one.”
“What are you going
to name him?” Boone asked, retreating to the spot where he’d left his clipboard on the counter.
Dylan looked at Cami, but she shrugged. “I’m not naming your dog.”
“I don’t know,” Dylan said. “Let me think about it.” He put the dog back in the enclosure with his siblings. “When will they be ready?”
“Next Friday,” Boone said.
Dylan slung his arm around Cami’s shoulders. “See? It really will only be a couple of weeks by the time we get to take him.”
Cami went out to Rivers Merge the next morning, bright-eyed and fresh from her kick-boxing workout. Her first job for Rogers wasn’t until ten, and she figured the gym was closer to the build than her house, and she could get the phase two specs, and then head home to shower.
She found several trucks parked in front of the trailer, which was a bit odd for how early she was. But undaunted, she went up the steps and opened the door.
“She’s here,” someone said, but Cami couldn’t identify who, as there were several men standing in the trailer, most of them with their back to her.
Gerald rose from the desk and everyone seemed to part and turn and look at her at the same time. Gerald wore an indiscernible look on his face. “Site five, six, and seven have flooded.”
Horror infected Cami, from her toes to her forehead, as the words landed like bombs in her ears. She couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Her thoughts spun, trying to figure out what she’d done wrong in those three homes that she hadn’t in the others. Her mind couldn’t settle onto any one thought.
“We should’ve hired Wadsworth,” someone said, a suit from the building company, and Cami finally got her neck to wrench in his direction.
“It’s not too late,” another man said.
Cami faced all men. Always all men.
“No,” she managed to croak. “I didn’t do anything wrong in the rough plumb of any of the sites.”
Every eye stared at her, and she felt vastly outnumbered. But she was the right one for this job, and she wasn’t going to let Wade Wadsworth come waltzing in here and take it from her.