by Mary Carter
“I can’t take him from a no-kill shelter to a kill shelter.”
“They might find a home for him.”
“They might not.”
“It’s the holiday season. All they have to do is throw some antlers on him and someone will take him.”
Let’s throw some antlers on you, see if anyone takes you. “I can’t take him to a shelter.”
“Of course you can’t.” His sarcasm was as thick as his skull. He took out his cell phone, dialed, and then hung up with a heavy sigh. “Why is the reception so bad in here?”
“Too much concrete,” Hope said, looking at the thick walls.
“Looks like I’ll have to go outside in the damp and cold to cancel our reservation.” He pushed open the door. A burst of cold air rushed in. A few seconds later the door swung open again and a man stepped in. He was tall, around Hope’s age, and good-looking in that rugged, west coast sort of way. Olivia had come through fast.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Hope said.
“You are?” He had a nice baritone voice.
“Are you Olivia’s friend?”
“Yvette’s,” the man answered. Hope frowned. She didn’t know any volunteers named Yvette. It didn’t matter, as long as he was taking the dog.
“Great,” she said. “You’re a lifesaver.” He tilted his head and stepped closer. He had that cowboy look, with brown hair that appeared tossed rather than combed, a leather jacket with a flannel shirt underneath, stone-washed jeans and cowboy boots. He had green eyes and a few days of stubble on his jaw. He was gorgeous but didn’t act like he knew it. That made him even more attractive, which was just ridiculously redundant.
“How’s that?” His voice was warm and genuinely curious.
“I just didn’t think anyone would come for him. My boyfriend was worried I’d be stuck here all night.” For a split second Hope wished she hadn’t said the word boyfriend.
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding,” he said. “Are you Hope Garland?”
“Yes, yes. Sorry. You’re in the right place. Olivia told me you might be coming.”
“She did?”
“Yes.”
“And who is Olivia?”
“She’s the owner.” Hope frowned. Why was she telling him that? He was Olivia’s friend, wasn’t he?
The man held his hands up. “Let’s start over. My name is Austin Rhodes.” He stuck his hand out. Hope shook it. He had a nice grip.
“Sorry. I don’t mean to be rude or rush you. It’s just this woman abandoned the poor guy at the last minute and I’m supposed to be starting my holiday break.”
“Holiday break!” he said, as if he were terribly excited for her. “That’s perfect.”
Hope cocked her head until she realized that she’d probably picked that up from dogs, then casually tried to straighten it before he made the same connection. “Yes, well. Thank you. I’ll just grab the dog.”
“Wait.” He held out his hand and for a second she thought about taking it. “What dog?”
Gorgeous but not very bright. That is too bad. “The dog that was just abandoned,” Hope said slowly.
Austin put his hands up again. “Sorry. I’m not here for a dog.”
“Then why are you here? Who’s Yvette?”
“What dog?” They spoke at the same time.
“Do you like dogs?” Hope asked. Even if he wasn’t sent by Yvette, maybe he was sent by Santa to take the dog.
“I love dogs.”
Was that big smile genuine? Maybe he was a con artist or a criminal. She couldn’t hand the poor dog over to a criminal. God, she hoped he wasn’t a criminal. He was way too good-looking to be an outlaw. Although that would make him a gorgeous bad boy, and what woman didn’t like that? Between his looks and that adorable bloodhound, who knew how many innocent victims he could lure into a van? Hope put her hands on her hips. “Do you have a van?”
He wrinkled his brows in confusion. “No, a truck.”
“What kind of a truck?”
“A pickup.”
Well, that was a relief. Kind of hard to hide a victim in the back of a pickup. Unless . . . “Open back or an enclosed cab?”
“Pardon?”
“Is the back of your truck open or enclosed?”
Austin folded his arms across his chest. “Open.”
Hope breathed a sigh of relief. “Do you want to meet him?”
“I really should stay focused. Are you almost finished? Can we go somewhere and talk?”
Was he some kind of creep? He might have an open pickup truck, but that didn’t mean she would just take off with him, right? She couldn’t. Could she? She glanced outside. As much as she hated to admit it, she wished Michael wasn’t here. She liked the idea of being kidnapped by this cowboy. She’d better get a grip. Plenty of psychopaths had been attractive. “Talk about what?”
“I’d rather tell you in private.” He looked solemn.
“Tell me what?”
The door burst open and Michael barreled in. “Is he taking the dog? Can we finally get out of here?”
“He’s not taking the dog,” Hope said. “Yet.”
“I’m not taking the dog,” Austin said.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Michael said. He began to pace the tiny reception area. “He has to take the dog.”
“He’s not Olivia’s friend. It’s a misunderstanding,” Hope said. Although she still had no idea who he was or what he was doing here.
“Then why are you here?” Michael took in Austin, and squared his shoulders. Was he jealous?
“Michael,” Hope said. In case Austin wasn’t a criminal or a creep, she didn’t want Michael to make him feel bad.
Michael turned to her. “We have plane tickets to Hawaii.”
“What?”
“We leave for Maui tomorrow morning and we’ll be there through the new year.”
“Through Christmas?” Hope said.
Austin held his hand up. “You might want to hear me out first.”
“Surprise,” Michael said.
“But what about my sisters?”
“Exactly,” Austin said. “Think of them.”
Hope glared at him, then turned to Michael. “You booked tickets to Maui without asking me?” Hope said. She couldn’t believe he did that. She’d told him she wanted to see her sisters for Christmas, that she was going to make a real effort this year. Hadn’t he been listening to her?
“I think the words you’re looking for are—Thank you,” Michael said.
“I wanted to spend Christmas with my sisters,” Hope said. “Remember?” Sure they’d flat out rejected her again, but that didn’t mean she had given up. She still believed in Christmas miracles. Sort of.
“Good,” Austin said. “That’s very, very good.”
Hope swung her gaze to him. Who was he to tell her what was good let alone very, very good? “Who are you?”
“I live next door to your grandmother,” he said.
“You live next door to a cemetery in Florida?” Hope put her hands on her hips and arched her eyebrow.
This time Austin cocked his head. “No,” he said. “I live in Leavenworth, Washington.”
Leavenworth, Washington. Hope had heard of the little Bavarian town, but she’d never made it there. Every year she tried to get her sisters to go somewhere with her. There were so many great little trips in this area of the country. Victoria, B.C., Vancouver, Alaska even. But her sisters never wanted to go anywhere. “My grandmother is buried in a cemetery in Miami,” Hope said.
“Yvette Garland,” Austin said.
“No,” Hope said. “Wait. Who?” Garland? He couldn’t possibly be talking about her father’s mother, could he? Goose bumps suddenly raised on her arms, and her stomach clenched as one word flew through her head: Daddy.
“So you’re not taking the dog?” Michael said.
“You know what?” Austin turned to Michael. “I would take the dog for her. But I sure as heck wouldn�
�t do it for you.” He turned back to Hope. “And I sure wouldn’t want you to miss out on Hawaii with Mr. Wonderful here—”
“Hey—” Michael said.
“—but I’m here because your grandmother is dying and her last wish is to spend Christmas with you, and Joy, and Faith.”
“What?” Hope said. Oh God, he knew her sisters’ names. He was talking about her paternal grandmother. Why wasn’t he mentioning her father? Could this really be the year they found him? Now that would be a Christmas miracle. No. He wasn’t alive. He couldn’t be. He never would have abandoned them. Never. Hope’s heart gave a painful little squeeze.
“Who are you and what are you trying to pull?” Michael said.
“My paternal grandmother,” Hope said, testing out the words. Daddy. She’d almost cried it out. No matter how old she got, part of her was stuck at the age where he’d left her. Left them. Did Austin Rhodes know her father? She held her breath, biding her time before she asked, terrified of the answer.
“That’s right,” Austin said. “Yvette Garland. She’s my neighbor.”
“You said that,” Hope said, not unkindly.
“How do you know he’s telling the truth?” Michael said.
“Here,” Austin said. He handed Hope a picture.
She took it and stared at it in disbelief. It was of her and Faith and Joy. Joy was just an infant, Hope was holding her. She must have been at least four in the picture, but she had no memory of it. Where were they? Who took the picture? She peered closer. There was a Christmas tree in the background. Rage swelled in her. “This isn’t real,” she said, thrusting it back. But Austin refused to take it. His eyes remained steady on hers. “Joy never spent a Christmas with Dad. She was born in the summer. He didn’t come for us. Not ever. She never spent Christmas with him.”
Austin held up his hands. “Your grandmother said your father loved Christmas. He put up an artificial tree when she came home from the hospital because he wanted it to be your Christmas card the next year. It was the only time he put up an artificial tree because he preferred the real ones. Me too. I like ’em natural.”
“Are we still talking about trees?” Michael asked.
Austin shook his head as if trying to shake Michael off. He held the picture up. “You’re right. It was summer. She said so.”
“She?”
“Yvette. Your grandmother.”
Hope didn’t know what to believe or what to say. “How did you find me?”
“I Googled you,” Austin said. “You’ve done a lot of good work with the shelter. I was really impressed. Your Whine and Cheese event sounded brilliant.”
Hope was stunned for a moment. “Thank you.”
“Your what?” Michael said.
“Never mind,” Hope said.
“Anybody can Google,” Michael said.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Hope said to Michael. He crossed his arms across his chest and shrugged. She looked at Austin. “What about my father?” She could barely get the question out and her voice cracked.
“You can call your grandmother if you’d like,” Austin said. “Or just about anybody in Leavenworth. They’ll tell you I am who I say I am.”
“What about my father?” Hope asked again. “Is he with her?”
Michael stepped in front of her as if trying to block out the sight of Austin. “Don’t get worked up. This guy could be lying.”
“I don’t know anything about your father,” Austin said. “But Yvette does. She won’t share the details with me, so you’ll have to ask her yourself.”
“Have you talked to Joy or Faith yet?”
“No, you’re the first.”
“Why?”
“Yvette thought as the middle child you’d be most likely to persuade the other two.”
“She was wrong,” Hope said. “They never listen to me.” They’d flat out rejected her again. But would they reject an invitation from their estranged grandmother? Could Hope be getting her Christmas wish after all? From the back room came a very long and very loud howl.
Hope looked at Austin. He held eye contact. The dog continued to howl. “Is my grandmother allergic to dogs?” she asked.
“No,” Austin said. “I don’t think so.”
The dog howled again. Hope smiled. “Good. Put me down for a plus one.”
A smile crept over Austin’s face, the kind of smile that made a girl almost swoon. “You got it,” he said.
“But we have tickets to Hawaii,” Michael said.
“You have tickets to Hawaii,” Hope said.
Michael stared at her. Then pointed at her. Then shifted his weight. Then shook his head as if shaking her off. “We’re done,” he said. “Completely over.”
Oh, thank God. “Peace on earth,” Hope said, and flashed him a smile. He narrowed his eyes, then turned and walked out the door, out of her life. She wished him well and mentally tossed him a fishing pole.
CHAPTER 6
“You can’t seriously tell me you’re getting into a truck with a total stranger and that slobbery beast and taking off for Leavenworth instead of coming to Hawaii with me?” So much for getting rid of him that easy. Michael cut her off just as she was about to climb into the passenger side of Austin’s red pickup. The beast was already in the truck along with Austin.
“I’ve taken precautions,” Hope said. She’d taken a picture of his driver’s license and had posted it on all her social media sites in case he was a serial killer. Austin didn’t put up an argument. Most serial killers probably would. She’d also called Yvette Garland and confirmed Austin was her neighbor and she had sent him. It was probably the shortest conversation of her life, and Hope now had more questions than ever. She had to meet this woman, she had to find out what happened to her father.
“If you do this, we’re over,” Michael said.
“You already ended it ten minutes ago,” Hope pointed out.
“I was hurt. I’m giving you a second chance.”
“No thank you,” Hope said.
“I mean it. We’re done.”
“I understand.” She wasn’t smiling, was she? She would have to be careful not to show her relief.
Michael shifted, thoroughly flummoxed. “I’m just trying to get through to you.”
“She’s my grandmother.”
“Who abandoned you.”
“My father abandoned me. I can’t blame that on her.”
“You’re being manipulated.”
“I’m going to Leavenworth to meet my grandmother.”
“If you make it there alive,” Michael said.
“If he says or does anything weird, I’ll ditch him.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this to us.”
“We’ve only been seeing each other six months.”
“So?”
It looked like Hope wasn’t going to completely get out of the breakup portion of the relationship. “The six-month gift is perfume or a nice necklace—not a trip to Hawaii.”
“You can pay me back.”
“I don’t want to pay you back. I don’t want to go.”
“You don’t want to go to Hawaii, or you don’t want to go to Hawaii with me?” There was hurt stamped in his eyes. She bet he had an extreme fishing adventure planned in Hawaii and that kept her from feeling too sorry for him.
“I don’t think we’re a match.”
“Obviously,” he said.
“Pardon?” She didn’t know why she was letting him goad her. She should just let him say whatever he wanted as long as she ended up free.
“How could you turn down a trip to Hawaii? That’s insane. I even have a deep-sea fishing excursion booked!”
She knew it. “I hate fish.”
“What?”
“I. Hate. Fish.”
“You’re just trying to upset me.”
“No, it’s true. I loathe them. Scaly, slimy, foul-smelling, hideous things. I have nightmares about them.”
“I can�
�t believe you.”
Hope threw her arms open à la What are you going to do? “Well, I’m glad you found out now. Better than slogging through another six months, right?” Or six days. She was never going to fall in love again. It was torture being trapped with the wrong person, pure torture.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I don’t know what else to say. Bon voyage. Mele kilikimaka.”
“What?” Michael said, mouth open.
“That’s the island greeting that they send to you from the land where palm trees stray.”
Michael just stood and stared. Austin laughed quietly in the background. Hope hopped into Austin’s truck. His laughter grew louder.
“What?” Hope demanded.
“It’s sway.”
She had no idea what he was talking about. “What is?”
“From the land where palm trees sway.”
“What did I say?”
“Stray.”
“I did not.”
“You most certainly did.”
Hope opened her mouth to protest again and then laughed. “Guess I still have work on my mind.” This time they shared the laugh. Hope exhaled.
“You okay?” Austin said.
“Let’s go,” Hope said.
“Is he writing down my license plate?” Austin was staring through the rearview mirror.
“And posting it to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Insta-gram,” Hope said.
Austin laughed. “I didn’t understand half of what you just said, but I’m okay with it.”
So he was a mountain man who was also out of touch with the popular world. It made her like him even more. Joy was completely obnoxious on social media and so was her mother. Austin stared at her. She didn’t know what he was waiting for. She felt a flash of heat on her face as they looked at each other. “Where to?” he said at last.
Oh, duh. “My place so I can pack. Then, as long as you’re fit to drive this late, Joy is in Seattle,” Hope said.
“Fit as a fiddle,” he said with a grin.
Hope purposefully avoided raking her eyes over his strong jawline and muscular arms. “But we’re probably going to have to take her by force.”
“As soon as I get coffee I’ll be fit to keep driving, but I’ll leave the force to you,” Austin said.
“May the force be with me,” Hope said. “Got it.”