by Ava Summers
“What are you talking about?”
“We left town together at six in the morning on Monday. He went to an annual veterinary convention while I was shopping in the city.”
“He could have written it before and gave it to someone else to deliver it.”
“Sweetheart, could you show me this letter? I know his handwriting.”
“I… Well, okay.”
***
“It wasn’t written by Chris. It was written by a woman, most likely.” Florence gave the letter back to Samantha.
“And how do you know that?”
“Honey, I was a high school teacher for forty years. I can tell your future by your handwriting.”
“Do you want to say that someone else wrote this letter and delivered it here? Why would she do that?”
“To make you hate him?”
“Who would do that?”
“Victoria?”
“I… I don’t know. Could she really be so… so cold?”
“You better talk with Chris. It’s time for me to go, anyway. Oh, and thank you for the book. I really liked it.”
Florence left Samantha’s house with her beagle trotting right beside her leg. Winston didn’t even bother to get up and say goodbye to his dog friend. He appeared preoccupied with Samantha.
“What do I do now, Winston?” The dog just stared at her with a thoughtful look on his face, as if he was considering his options.
Chapter 13
The next day, when Samantha sat down to write a new chapter of her new novel, she realized she didn’t have her favorite green tea. Fortunately, it was already three in the afternoon, so she wouldn’t run into Chris at the store. She kept avoiding him, unsure if she should trust him again. She had been betrayed by a man once, and she didn’t want it to happen again.
When she got back home thirty minutes later, Winston was gone.
This time she didn’t waste her time and went directly into the forest. An hour later and with a sore throat after shouting for Winston a gazillion times, she realized the dog wasn’t in the forest or she would have already found him.
She went back home to grab her car keys. If the dog wasn’t in the forest, he had to be at Chris’s place. Just what she needed.
When she parked at Chris’s driveway, the dog was nowhere in sight. She rang the doorbell. Nobody answered, not even Elsa with her barking. Samantha took out her cell phone to call Chris. The battery was dead.
She hopped back into her car and drove to the clinic. When she pulled into the parking lot, she was surprised to see a “closed” sign on the door. It was five, so it should have been opened for another hour or two.
Samantha drove to the animal shelter to ask James and Melinda. If there was anybody in the town who knew everything about lost dogs, it was James and Melinda.
“Chris is looking for you. Winston is with him,” James said.
Samantha rushed back to her car and headed home.
When she parked on her driveway, she saw Elsa and Winston playing in the backyard. She felt an immediate relief, until she noticed Chris sitting in her garden chair. When Chris saw Samantha leave her car, he rose up from the chair and walked to her car.
“Hi Samantha.”
“Where were you? I looked for you… I mean for Winston, for hours.” She pointed at the dog who was so busy playing with Elsa he didn’t even bother to say hello to her.
“Imagine this… A patient leaves my office. And who do I see sitting right beside the door? My dear Winston… with Elsa.”
Samantha told Chris where she had been looking for Winston.
“I brought Winston here, but he didn’t want to stay. So I took him and Elsa to the forest to look for you. Then I went to the shelter. And then I just got back here and sat down in the chair hoping you’d be back soon.”
“Thank you, Chris.” She wanted him to hug her, but at the same time she was afraid to open her heart yet again.
“Don’t we have something to talk about? I read the letter.”
“You did what?”
“I left out one part from my story… When I saw Winston at my clinic, he had a manila envelope in his mouth.”
“Victoria’s letter?”
“Do you believe me now? Victoria faked the letter. She faked the kiss, too. Everything to keep me away from you.”
“Chris, I’m not ready for another disappointment.”
“I won’t disappoint you.”
“My ex-husband had been known to say the same things. And then he left me.”
“I have never met a woman like you in my entire life.”
She stared at him, unsure what to say. Risk yet another disappointment or trust that this time it would be different?
“Samantha, I’ll do everything to regain your trust.”
His pleading eyes melted her heart. There was something in his eyes that made her realize he fought for her. She was important to him.
“Please kiss me,” she whispered.
He grabbed her by the forearm and pulled her to him. His lips met hers and they kissed with wild passion, as if they haven’t seen each other for years.
“I missed you so much,” Samantha said.
“I missed you, too.” His gentle hand brushed her hair.
“I read your book,” he whispered to her ear.
She pulled away from the hug to look into his eyes.
“You did? And what do you think about it?”
“I loved it, but I think the last scene needs a bit reworking. You know, the one in the bedroom. I can show you how to fix it.”
Samantha looked at his thoughtful face and burst out laughing.
“What? You could really use some help rewriting this scene,” he said, pulling her by the hand into her home.
Chapter 14
When Chris entered Black Bean Café, several people sent him a wink. Victoria had been spreading rumors, there was no other explanation. He ignored their gazes and walked over to the counter.
“Hi, Larry. Is Victoria around?”
“Nope. She’s no longer working here.” There was a hint of amusement in his voice.
“What happened?”
“Your aunt hasn’t told you?”
“No. What happened?”
“Yesterday she came here and yelled at Victoria in front of the entire café. Said something about faking a letter and destroying your love life. If you only saw Victoria’s reddened face,” he chuckled. “She ran away. Her notice was on the front door in the morning.”
Chris left the café, got into his car and drove to Victoria’s home.
He rang the doorbell. Victoria opened the door. Her face was tired, as if she had a sleepless night. Chris noticed moving boxes standing in the hallway.
“We should talk,” he said.
Victoria nodded and let him in. They walked to the living room with a lone sofa and armchair standing in the middle of the room. Victoria sat at the sofa. Chris chose the armchair.
“I’m so sorry, Chris. I made a mistake.”
Chris looked at her with astonishment. Did she really just apologize? Out of all the things he would expect from Victoria it was the last thing on the list.
“You’ve probably already heard what happened yesterday in the café.”
“I have.”
“Well, there’s not much to add. Your aunt was right. I only thought about myself, not about you.”
Chris sat in silence and weighed his words. Had his Aunt really accomplished something he couldn’t accomplish for the last three years?
“I was a bitch to you and made myself the laughingstock of the town. Chris, can you forgive me?”
Chris gazed deep into her eyes. She really felt guilty.
“I… I forgive you.”
She exhaled a long breath. Her face muscles relaxed.
“Friends?” She extended her hand.
“Friends.”
They shook han
ds. Chris rose up and walked down the hallway to the front door. Victoria followed him. He opened the door and turned around.
“I wish you the best, Chris. I hope you’ll be happy with Samantha.”
“Good luck, Vic.”
***
Samantha hung up the phone.
“This will be the last one. Everything scheduled for tomorrow,” she said.
“Thank God. I don’t mind the puppies, but seven was definitely a little too much,” Chris said.
They were sitting in Samantha’s living room. A litter of seven gray puppies with white and brown spots lay down in a makeshift bed Chris made from a plastic crate and old blankets. Proud parents, Winston and Elsa, guarded the puppies day and night.
“Now that we took care of the puppies, there’s one more thing we need to talk about,” she said.
“What’s up, honey?”
“Elsa has been practically living with me for the last two months.”
“I will take her home tomorrow.”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I was thinking that maybe… maybe you should move in.”
Chris looked at her with wide eyes.
“My home and backyard are bigger than yours and our dogs are an item. It would make things easier,” she continued. Doubt crept into her mind. Did she want too much commitment from him?
“Samantha, there’s nothing in the world that would make me happier than waking up beside you every single day.”
If Samantha had any doubts about his feelings, they were all gone the instant he gave her a passionate kiss and pulled her in a tight embrace.
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Ava
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Books by Ava Summers
Lucky Dog Series
Love Me, Love My Dog
Forty-three-year old Samantha Anderson is a romance novel writer who has recently moved to a small town of Maple Hills to escape the bad memories of her divorce. There, she finds a friend in an intelligent Irish Wolfhound.
When her dog gets ill, she takes him to a local veterinarian, who turns out to be a good-natured and handsome thirty-something man. What role will her dog play in making them cross her path with the vet again? Would Samantha be able to open her heart after being left by her husband for a much younger woman?
Every Dog Has Its Day
Thirty-five-year-old Laura Rogers is a freelance writer who has been living as a single woman her entire life in a small town of Maple Hills. Her best friend is a Bernese Mountain Dog named Lucky.
When her dog disappears, Laura’s life turns upside down – until the moment the muscular thirty-something personal trainer Richard Tanner finds Lucky wounded in the woods and reunites the dog with Laura. Would she be able to break her lifelong habits and let Richard stay in her life for longer than a brief moment?
A Dog’s Life
Thirty-four-year-old Ashley Madison is a freelance web designer working part time at the local Italian restaurant. After breaking up with her unfaithful boyfriend Spencer, she lives a dull and unsatisfying life. She shares it with her female Irish Setter Violet and animals from the local animal shelter where Ashley volunteers.
Ashley’s life is turned upside down when her dog is almost ran over by Matt Hansen, a thirty-seven-year-old retired wealthy businessman who has just moved to the small town of Maple Hills.
Will Ashley be able to overcome her distrust of men, call off the dogs and let Matt enter her life?