Winter in Snow Valley (Snow Valley Romance)

by Anderson, Cindy Roland

  Tomi snorted. “Says the girl who’s dressed like a lumberjack.”

  One of the puppies whimpered as Anastasia aggressively licked it clean. It reminded Piper of what she needed to do. “I need to go talk to my neighbor before it gets too late.”

  “Be nice. Didn’t you say he’s divorced or something?”

  “I don’t know what happened to his wife. Just that he’s a single dad with two kids.”

  Piper ended the call with the promise to let her sister know the outcome of the visit.

  After slipping on her snow boots, she put on her gloves and opened the door. The icy air stung her cheeks as she stepped outside. At least the wind wasn’t blowing right now. In fact, in spite of the glacial temperatures, it was a beautiful, clear night. Stars glittered overhead, shining much brighter than they had been when she’d lived in the city. The copious amounts of snow that had fallen over the past two months sparkled under the light. She followed the pathway she’d cleared with the shovel and walked the short distance to her neighbor.

  She stood on the porch for a few seconds, debating about knocking or ringing the bell. Since she wasn’t completely heartless, she decided to knock so it didn’t awaken his children if they were asleep. Several seconds passed as Piper rehearsed what she was going to say. Yelling at the guy wouldn’t be a smart move. It would put him on the defensive and she’d learned a long time ago that the saying you could catch more flies with sugar than vinegar rang true.

  Just when she was about to knock again, the door creaked open. Only it wasn’t Gabe Wesson who had answered. Instead, Piper stared into soft, brown eyes that belonged to the most adorable little girl. Dressed in a silky red nightgown, her dark hair, nearly the same shade of auburn as Piper’s, hung in loose curls almost to the child’s waist.

  “Hello,” Piper said, quickly scanning the area for the girl’s father. Surely, he had to be nearby. “Is your daddy home?”

  “Are you a stranger?” the little girl asked.

  “Well, yes, but I’m also your neighbor.”

  Wrinkling her button nose, the little girl squinted. “Why are you wearing my daddy’s coat?”

  Piper smiled, knowing it was useless to point out she was wearing the female version of the hardy outerwear. “I’m not wearing your daddy’s coat. Just one that probably looks like it.” She made another quick perusal of the room, hoping Mr. Wesson would show up. “Can you please go tell your daddy he has a visitor?”

  Leaving the door wide open, the little girl nodded her head and then darted across the room, her red nightgown flowing behind her as she bounded up the stairs.

  Piper didn’t know what to do. Did she step inside so she could close the door or did she close the door while remaining outside? A sudden gust of wind kicked up a flurry of snow and helped make her decision. She quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

  She welcomed the warm air that radiated from the fireplace in the open family room and was tempted to curl up on the comfy looking sectional to enjoy the fire. Glancing around, she noted the room wasn’t exactly messy, just appeared to be lived in. There were a few Barbie dolls scattered in front of a dollhouse with a model horse inside a fence. Judging by the Star Wars Legos strewn around the corner of the room, Piper guessed the little girl who answered the door likely had a brother.

  Next to the Legos sat a beautiful mahogany baby grand piano. Piper’s fingers itched to touch the ivory keys. Music soothed her in a way not even chocolate could. She missed playing the piano and wished she hadn’t been forced to sell her piano to help pay the bills when she lost her job.

  “Lindsey, you know you’re not supposed to open the door,” a male voice said, sounding more frightened than angry. “You’re not even supposed to be up. Please go get back in bed.”

  “But, Daddy, you were in the shower and I had a bad dream.”

  There was a beat of silence and then, “I’m sorry, baby. Let me go see who’s at the door and then I’ll come and snuggle you, okay?”

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  Piper’s anger drained away and she desperately wanted to leave. She hadn’t bothered to be neighborly, not even during the Christmas holiday. Now she was going to blast the guy about his wayward dog. She should’ve waited until tomorrow to talk to Mr. Wesson. Better yet, she should’ve just sent the man a nice letter explaining what had happened. Anyone who was that kind to his child had to be a decent guy.

  He descended the stairs and Piper sucked in a quick breath. She’d only caught a glimpse of her neighbor a few times, but she didn’t remember him being so handsome. His light brown hair was damp from his recent shower and looked deliciously disheveled as if he he’d just towel dried it, which he probably had. The dark shadow of whiskers covering his jaw indicated he’d either opted not to shave or he hadn’t had time. It was an incredibly good look for him.

  She suddenly wished she’d at least put on a little makeup or chosen to wear her much more attractive and fitted gray wool coat that Tomi had given her for Christmas. Not that she was interested in forming any kind of relationship with him, but a girl still liked to look somewhat presentable.

  He glanced her way, his deep blue eyes assessing her. Judging by the confused look on his face, he clearly didn’t recognize her either. Or maybe he thought the same thing his daughter had… that she’d stolen his coat.

  “May I help you?” he asked, stopping a few feet in front of her.

  Licking her lips, she held out her gloved hand. “Hi, I’m Piper Jensen. Your closest neighbor.”

  Uncertainty clouded his eyes as he stared at the thick mitten she proffered. Piper quickly removed the glove. “Sorry.” She held out her hand again.

  “Gabe Wesson,” he said, giving her hand a firm shake.

  The warmth of his skin startled her and she quickly pulled her hand away. That earned her another strange look.

  “Is there something I can help you with?” he said, his brows drawing together.

  “Um, I just needed to talk to you about your dog.”

  His gaze narrowed. “My dog?”

  “Yes, your dog. I believe his name is Rascal.”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, Ms. Jensen, if he got into your trash then I’ll make sure my son, Shane, comes over to clean it up.” He pinned her with an annoyed look. “But it’ll have to wait until tomorrow. He’s asleep.”

  The irritated way he said it put her on the defensive. “I wouldn’t expect him to clean up the trash tonight, Mr. Wesson.” She narrowed her own eyes. “However, Rascal didn’t get into my trash.” She paused, not sure how to word what Rascal had actually done. “You’re aware that your dog frequently escapes your yard, correct?”

  “Yes, but we just had an invisible fence installed and he hasn’t gotten out all week.”

  So that’s why she hadn’t seen the culprit lately. She’d thought it had been because of the snow. “Well, it wasn’t soon enough, sir, because Rascal is now the father of five puppies… and I’d like to know what you’re going to do about it?”

  Chapter 2

  What he was going to do about it? Gabe stared at the woman, feeling the pounding headache he’d tried to get rid of coming back. He rubbed the back of his neck again and let out a big breath.

  “Ma’am, with all due respect, how do you know Rascal allegedly fathered the puppies?”

  Anger snapped in her hazel eyes. “It’s fairly obvious, considering Anastasia is a purebred black and tan Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. The male she was tied with is papered and has the same coloring. All five of the puppies are as golden-white as Rascal.”

  Gabe did not need his uptight, recluse of a neighbor to add to his stressful day. This had already gone down as another bad day in the life of Gabe Wesson. His ex-wife, MaryEllen, had upset his kids again by making a FaceTime call with them while he was still at work. She’d wanted to show them how cute their little brother was taking his first steps. All it had done was make Shane angry and Lindsey clingy and insecure. If he
didn’t need the nanny so desperately, he would’ve fired her on the spot for allowing the call to go through. Especially when Gabe had made it clear there should be no communication with MaryEllen unless he was present.

  He glanced up at his neighbor and thought about her accusations against him. She was clearly laying culpability at his feet. He could offer to reimburse her for the stud fee, but then he’d be on the hook for other expenses. And if she was seeking monetary restitution, she might not stop at the reimbursement. His years practicing as an attorney had made him skeptical of people’s motives. Everyone was always looking for a way to make an easy buck.

  “I’m afraid the puppies simply looking like my dog is only circumstantial evidence, Ms. Jensen. Until you have DNA prove that Rascal is the father, then there is nothing more I can do.”

  The look in her eyes made him feel like a snake of a lawyer, but he didn’t know this woman from Adam. Actually, no one really knew this woman. She’d moved to Snow Valley in November to housesit for Gabe’s long-time neighbor, Juliet Williams and kept to herself. Granted, Gabe hadn’t made any efforts to befriend her or welcome her to the neighborhood, so he had no idea what her occupation was. For all he knew she was a person who earned money by making erroneous charges against people.

  “Fine,” she said tersely. “I’ll talk with the vet to see what needs to be done to have Rascal tested.”

  “You do that.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “But next time you plan to sling out erroneous accusations, please make sure to call on me at a decent hour.”

  Gabe regretted the harsh words the second he said them. He could almost swear the woman flinched as if he’d struck her. The color drained from her face, leaving her naturally olive skin tone a pasty white. Her eyes grew bright with moisture.

  Nice, Wesson. You just made a girl cry.

  Before he could apologize for being a jerk, she spun around and pulled open the door. Icy air swirled around him and he could feel his damp hair start to freeze. She hesitated, like she might say something else, but then pulled the door closed

  “Daddy?” Lindsey said from behind him. “Why were you so mean to that lady?”

  Gabe hung his head. He was failing at just about everything these days. “Because…” What excuse could he offer? Turning toward his six-year-old daughter, Gabe crouched down in front of her. “You’re right. Daddy was mean, and now I need to apologize.”

  “Did Rascal do something naughty again?”

  Yeah, the rascal had done something very naughty. However, it was way too late at night to get into a discussion about the dog’s new role as a father to five puppies with his inquisitive daughter.

  Running a hand over his face, he sighed heavily. Why on earth had Gabe agreed to let Shane adopt the dog from Ian Davies? The vet had named the abandoned dog Rascal for a reason. But, Shane had fallen in love with the dog and the counselor thought it would help Shane heal from the hurt his mother’s desertion had caused him.

  “Don’t worry about Rascal. The new collar he wears will keep him from getting into anymore trouble.” He scooped Lindsey into his arms as he stood up. “Now it’s bedtime for a certain little princess.”

  Lindsey circled her arms around his neck, and he breathed in her strawberry scented hair as she snuggled in close. He loved his children so much and couldn’t understand how their mother could’ve abandoned them.

  “Can I come with you when you say sorry to the lady?” Lindsey asked as he carried her up to her bedroom. “I want to see the puppies.”

  Stifling a groan, Gabe delayed answering her right away. He knew that both his kids would beg him for a puppy the minute they saw them. He wasn’t even sure he’d be able to resist. And he and his children were all still grieving the loss of the baby boy MaryEllen had denied them all by leaving before the baby was born.

  “We’ll see, but for now you need to go to sleep.” Gabe tucked Lindsey back into her bed and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I love you, Lindsey Lou-Lou.”

  She giggled. “That’s not my name, Daddy.”

  “I know, sweet pea.” Gabe smoothed her hair with his fingers, marveling it was no longer tangled and snarled by the end of the day. Those months following MaryEllen’s absence had Lindsey looking like a street urchin until Gabe had watched enough YouTube videos to help him with some basic hairstyles for little girls. “Now go to sleep.”

  Her eyes were already closed, and within a few minutes Gabe knew she was asleep. If only he could fall asleep so quickly. Careful not to awaken her, he eased up off the bed and exited her bedroom.

  Shane’s room was across the hall, and Gabe cracked the door open a little further to check on his son. The ten-year-old was fast asleep with his dog sleeping on the floor next to him. One of Rascal’s eyelids slowly lifted, and he stared at Gabe with a completely innocent look.

  “Yeah, I know what you’ve been up to, buddy,” he whispered to the dog. “You should’ve stuck to knocking over the trash.”

  Rascal closed his eye and readjusted himself. The canine had a pretty good life. And despite the mischief he’d gotten into with some of the other surrounding houses, Gabe was glad Shane had bonded with the dog. Not only had the kid lost his mother and his baby brother last year, he’d also lost his best friend, Kyden, when he’d moved to Billings with his mother and her new husband.

  Exhausted, Gabe backed away and headed back downstairs instead of to his bedroom. His headache was back, and he needed to lock up and turn off the television Lindsey had turned on while Gabe was showering.

  After taking some over-the-counter pain reliever, he turned off the television, locked the door and then moved next to the window to get a glimpse of Mrs. William’s house, now occupied by Piper Jensen. A soft light lit up the only part of the house visible from this viewpoint. He wondered if she were still awake and whether or not she’d accept an apology.

  A shadow passed in front of her blinds and immediately the wounded look in her eyes flashed in his mind when he’d spoken so harshly to her. Guilt pricked his conscience when he thought about his rude behavior. Despite what he’d said, he would make restitution for Rascal’s misconduct.

  Rolling his shoulders back, he stepped away from the window and made his way to his bedroom. He’d always been so even tempered, but MaryEllen’s betrayal had taken its toll on him this past year.

  Although he tried not to go there, thoughts about MaryEllen crowded his mind. He still recalled the day she’d told him she was pregnant. It hadn’t even occurred to him that she’d gotten that way by cheating on him. He’d honestly believed he was one of the slim percentages of men where the procedure he’d had done to prevent having any more children had reversed.

  The kids were so excited they were getting a baby brother or sister and Gabe was happy about adding another child to their little family, but MaryEllen was furious with him and vowed this was absolutely the last time.

  She’d been so hostile that Gabe had gone to the doctor to see about getting the procedure done a second time to appease her. However, the routine tests Dr. Taggart had ordered prior to the simple operation revealed he didn’t need to have the second surgery because it hadn’t been reversed.

  MaryEllen came clean that day, revealing she’d been having an affair with an old flame she’d reconnected with on social media. She moved out the next week, devastating their children. She obviously didn’t want Gabe anymore, but she hadn’t wanted the kids either and had granted Gabe full custody.

  Feeling much older than his thirty-four years, Gabe brushed his teeth and climbed into bed. He hated sleeping alone. But since he wasn’t the kind of guy to sleep around and he never planned to marry again, he figured it was time he got used to the sleeping arrangement.

  Morning came too soon. The kids were grumpy and didn’t want their usual breakfast of waffles and strawberry milk. They ended up barely getting to school on time, making Gabe late for an important meeting. His law partner was already in the meeting when he’d slipped in. After th
at, it seemed like Gabe was playing catch-up all day long.

  By the time he got home, he had another headache. He really hoped his children were in a better mood than they’d been in this morning.

  “Hey, Doreen, how are the kids doing?” Gabe asked when he walked in the door and found his nanny sitting on the couch, glued to her phone.

  “Oh, hey, Mr. Wesson.” She put her phone down and stood up. “They’re doing great. Shane’s homework is all done and Lindsey wanted to wait and read with you.”

  “Thank you.” He loosened his tie, expecting the kids to greet him like they usually did. “It’s awfully quiet. Where are they?”

  She grinned. “Lindsey was begging me to take her next door to see the new puppies so I walked them over there a few minutes ago. Ms. Jensen is super nice and when the kids didn’t want to leave, she said they could stay there until you got home.”

  Gabe stared at his nanny in disbelief. “You left my kids with a woman I don’t know?”

  The girl’s face went ashen. “B-b-b-but Lindsey said Ms. Jensen came over last night to tell you about the puppies. She said you were planning on going over there when you got home from work.”

  Head throbbing, Gabe clenched his back teeth together so he didn’t yell at the girl. It wasn’t her fault, not really. He watched her eyes fill with tears. Awesome. He’d made two girls cry in less than twenty-four hours.

  “Do you want me to go get them?” she asked in a shaky voice.

  “It’s okay, Doreen. I was just surprised. I met Ms. Jensen for the first time when she came over last night and introduced herself. But Lindsey was right. I do need to talk to her again.” He just hadn’t planned on talking to her until his kids were asleep. Even though his daughter was getting a horse for her birthday in April, she would beg him for a puppy. “You can go on home and I’ll run over and get them.”

  The girl sniffed. “I’m really sorry, Mr. Wesson. Next time should I text you if something like this comes up again?”

  He forced his mouth into a smile. “That would be great. Thank you.”