by Mia Ross
She finally remembered the camera in her hand and began snapping pictures of them together. Later she’d flip through and choose the best one or two to go with the article that was already writing itself in her head. A cute guy who was kind to animals? She was habitually jaded, and even she was impressed. Kaleidoscope’s female readers would go bonkers over this sweet, touching story.
When Cooper was out of treats, he stood and dusted the crumbs off his hands. The dog glanced from him to the water and back, whining uncertainly.
“I’m not gonna force you,” Cooper told him as if he were a human who could respond. “But you can come with me if you want.”
“Are you nuts?” Bree protested in fury. “You can’t just leave him here.”
“This guy probably weighs close to two hundred pounds. It’s not like I can carry him to the car.”
“But if he stays here, he’ll starve to death.”
“He’s smarter than that.” Breaking contact with her, he looked down at his new friend. “Aren’t you, Sammy?”
The Newfie barked agreement, and Bree sighed in frustration. Here she stood, in an abandoned town on the edge of nowhere, outnumbered by a loony lawyer and a mutt. What on earth had happened to her nice, orderly life?
Cooper waited a few more seconds, then turned and started back up the dock. After a last longing look out to sea, the dog followed him like a puppy. A really big, really dirty puppy.
Climbing the steps like he’d done it a million times, he trotted over and sat politely in front of Bree.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” she grumbled, shaking her head. “Sorry, dude, but you’re a mess.”
Unfazed, he barked and lolled his huge tongue out, making dust devils on the ground with his tail. He was huge and filthy—and completely irresistible. Laughing, she stowed her camera and reached out to pat his head. “Good boy.”
Delighted, he barked again and wriggled in place as if he was dying to jump up and hug her. Someone had trained him well, she thought with admiration. A beast like this could hurt someone without even trying.
Giving in, she set her bag on the ground a couple of feet away and held out her arms. “Gimme your best shot.”
With a delighted yip, he rose up and circled his massive paws around her waist. At that height he easily planted a wet kiss on her cheek, and she couldn’t keep herself from returning the friendly gesture.
They had something in common, she mused as she hugged her unexpected new friend. Circumstances had left them on their own to fend for themselves, and they were doing the best they could.
Chapter Five
“Okay, Sammy boy,” Cooper commented when he pulled into the Holiday Harbor Animal Clinic. “This is our first stop. Think you can behave yourself?”
From the backseat, he heard thump-thump-thump and took that for a positive response. As he swung out of his seat, Sammy dropped down neatly beside him and sat, obviously looking for instructions. This was one smart dog, Cooper thought while he waited for Bree to join them. Someone had done a remarkable training job. He hated to consider how tough it had been for the family to leave their beloved Newfie behind.
“Hey, Cooper,” the receptionist greeted him. When Sammy woofed and sat down in front of the counter, her brown eyes widened in surprise. “Whoa. Who’s your enormous friend?”
“Collar says Sammy,” he replied, handing it over. “We found him wandering around Sandy Cove. I’m hoping he’s got one of those ID chips so we can figure out where he belongs.”
“We’ll give it a shot.” She offered her hand to Bree. “You must be that Richmond reporter. I’m Lucy Wilson. Welcome to Holiday Harbor.”
“Nice to meet you. Bree Farrell.”
Lucy turned her attention back to Sammy. “So what are we doing with this cutie pie?”
Since the dog couldn’t really answer, Cooper assumed her question was directed at him. “A bath first off, then find the owner.”
“And if we can’t?”
When he didn’t answer right away, Bree snorted, “Oh, come on! You’re already half in love with this walking carpet.” To Lucy, she added, “He ran away from wherever he’s been, and if we take him back there, he’ll just keep running off. He’d do better with Cooper.”
“I agree,” Lucy told her. “Our mayor’s got a real soft spot for dogs, you know.”
“Yeah, I noticed.” Grinning, Bree gave him a little wave. “You’ve got that meeting at your office, so I’ll wait here for Sammy and we’ll catch up with you later.”
“There’s no way you can handle him on your own,” Cooper argued. Clearly insulted, Sammy woofed again, cuddling up to Bree as if she was his favorite person ever.
“Looks like you’re outvoted, Cooper,” Lucy teased, lifting the hinged counter to come around front.
“Traitor.” Cooper’s scolding got him a thigh bump that almost knocked him off his feet. Laughing, he shook his head. “Fine. Just add it all up and send me the bill.”
As he turned to go, the dog began whining. He glanced back to find Bree coaxing Sammy toward the back, murmuring reassurance as they went. The Newfie shot a hesitant look over his shoulder, and Cooper stopped in his tracks. Sadly, he knew how it felt to be cast aside by someone you trusted.
Human or animal, the more intelligent someone was, the more sensitive they were to what went on around them. Clearly this dog recognized that he’d been taken from his home and wanted nothing more than to return. Since that wasn’t possible, he seemed to have latched on to the first person to show him some understanding.
Cooper recalled feeling that way in New York, adrift in a sea of strangers, searching for something— anything—familiar. Once the novelty of the Big Apple had worn off, he’d missed his hometown. He’d longed for the easier pace, chatting with people on the street rather than pushing past them because he was in a hurry to get where he was supposed to be. He’d tried to fill those emotional holes with Felicia, and for a while she’d been exactly what he’d needed.
Until the day he’d realized that he was living someone else’s life.
Oh, yeah, he thought while he stared back at the stray Newfie, he knew how it felt to be completely lost. Although Bree was here, Cooper felt a strange connection to the loyal dog, and he simply couldn’t leave Sammy and walk out the door.
Turning back, he smiled and ruffled those muddy ears. “You know, I can talk to my clients while I wait. I’ll be here when you’re done, boy.”
Sammy yipped, jumping up to plant a sloppy kiss on Cooper’s cheek. Then, happy as a clam, he obediently trotted away with Lucy.
Cooper sat down on a nearby bench and took out his phone. While he scrolled through for the right number, Bree dropped into a chair shaped like an overturned tortoise shell, and he could feel those penetrating eyes on him. Without looking up, he asked, “What?”
“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.” He glanced over to find her beaming at him. “You, Mayor Landry, are a very nice man.”
“You sound surprised.”
“I am.”
He’d gotten accustomed to her firm way of speaking, so the softness in her tone caught him off guard. She was a full arm’s length away, but the warmth in her eyes reached the vulnerable part of him that had shut down when he’d finally accepted that Felicia loved her career more than him. He couldn’t fathom how Bree had connected to it so quickly, but he couldn’t deny she’d found her way there.
Since this was dangerous territory for him, he switched topics. “So why don’t you tell me what you’re planning to write about Sammy?”
“How did you know?”
He laughed. “I can almost see the wheels spinning in that quick mind of yours. It’s a great story, right? Loyal dog waiting on a deserted dock for his owner?”
“Readers will ea
t it up with a spoon and beg for more,” she confirmed. “But people’s eyes usually glaze over when I talk about my writing with them. Are you sure you want the details?”
In answer, Cooper spread his arms across the back of the bench and got comfortable. While she described her evolving article, he found himself experiencing it all over again. Only this time he saw Sammy and himself from her perspective, which was a real eye opener. For some insane reason he was pleased to discover the jaded reporter was guarding a soft heart behind her flinty exterior.
As he got lost in the story she was telling, Cooper got the sinking feeling that it wouldn’t take much for this remarkable woman to get under his skin. And this time, reminding himself she was leaving soon had no impact whatsoever.
* * *
It took two handlers more than two hours to spiff up the runaway Newfie. The vet confirmed that Sammy was neutered and updated his shots, just to be safe. He also found a chip and agreed to contact the owners, but warned Cooper not to get his hopes up.
“Based on Lucy’s description of him when he got here,” the man said kindly, “he’s been on his own awhile. His former owners might have put the chip in, and that means it won’t help us now.”
Bree couldn’t help feeling sorry for the dog, sitting so politely in the middle of the lobby. Freshly washed and groomed, he was an impressive sight. His fur appeared even darker now, and powerful muscles rippled under his skin when he moved. She simply couldn’t believe no one wanted such a wonderful animal, and it made her unspeakably sad.
Never one for brooding, she couldn’t miss the fact that Sammy’s situation mirrored her own: so much to offer, but desperately searching for a place to call home. While it had national distribution, the fully digital Kaleidoscope wasn’t anywhere near her first choice. She was accustomed to a massive audience, with readers all over the world, but for the time being Nick’s fledgling magazine was all she had. And right now, she and Cooper were all Sammy had.
Crazy as it would have seemed to her only yesterday, she was head over heels in love with this dog. Since that emotion would get her absolutely nowhere, she pushed it aside and concentrated on choosing a sturdy leather leash that matched his collar. Not that she had any delusions about walking this beast, she grinned to herself. But Holiday Harbor’s mayor couldn’t exactly flaunt his own leash laws, could he?
When she glimpsed the bill, she gulped and braced herself for some kind of fit. She was pleasantly surprised when Cooper calmly handed over his credit card and smiled down at the dog. “I guess you’re worth it.”
Sammy wagged his tail in agreement, and they both laughed.
In town the sidewalks were full of afternoon traffic, and people stopped them every few yards or so to ask about their furry companion. Cooper was endlessly patient with them, even though he’d told Bree he had a call scheduled in a few minutes. She was accustomed to people zooming through their days, barely acknowledging anything outside their tunnel view. Cooper’s laid-back way of dealing with everyone—human and animal alike—impressed her beyond words.
When they finally arrived at the law office next to Julia’s shop, the neighboring door opened and Julia stepped out. No longer dressed for rehab work, she wore a silk tank and pale blue capris with a pair of dainty ballet-style shoes. Her china-blue eyes warmed when she saw the young lawyer.
“Hello, Cooper. Bree, it’s nice to see you again.”
Soft and faintly accented, Julia’s cultured voice and classy appearance made Bree feel downright grungy in her rumpled traveling khakis and T-shirt. If the woman wasn’t so nice, it would take no effort at all to hate her. “Nice to see you, too.”
“I haven’t talked to you since you got back from Martha’s Vineyard,” Cooper said. “How are your parents?”
She consulted a watch that probably cost more than Bree’s last car. “On their way to Stuttgart for some symposium. They’ll be gone the next few months, so I wanted to spend some time with them before they left.” Bree recalled events like that well. Too well, actually. They’d grab a day or two as a family before Dad jetted off to some foreign country for who knew how long. She’d considered it fun until she got old enough to realize his long absences were breaking her mother’s heart.
“On my way to the bank, then,” Julia said. “You two enjoy your day.”
The woman even walked with a lilt, Bree grumbled silently. She’d give anything to be a tenth as polished as Julia Stanton.
“Don’t let her get to you,” Cooper murmured. “She makes all us mortal folks look like crumbs.”
Astonished that he’d guessed her general train of thought, Bree spun to face him. “How on earth did you know what I was thinking?”
He flashed her a grin that had probably melted its share of female hearts. “Bree, you’re many things, but coy isn’t one of them.”
Responding to the teasing in his voice, she batted her eyelashes and fanned herself with her hand. “Why, counselor,” she simpered in her best imitation of a Georgia peach, “you surely know how to flatter a girl.”
Laughing, he opened the ornate antique door etched with Judge George Landry in bold lettering. Before going in, he considered Sammy with a thoughtful expression. “Can you behave yourself?”
In reply their furry companion sat and wagged his tail in a you-can-count-on-me way. Hoping to help him out, Bree crouched and put an arm around him. “Of course he can. He sat still for all that poking and prodding at the vet’s, and he didn’t whimper even once when they gave him those nasty shots. You’re such a good boy,” she added, flopping his ears around the way he seemed to enjoy.
“Oh, I know all that.” Chuckling, Cooper pulled the door open. “It’s Mrs. Andrews you have to convince. She’s a cat person.”
As they entered the lobby, Bree was taken aback by what she saw. Done in old-world mahogany and leather, the place smelled like leather and books. Tons of them, arranged on recessed bookshelves that were probably made from the same trees as the wainscoting framing the entire space. Large Oriental rugs softened oak floors darkened by age, and the exquisite but heavy furniture was straight out of some millionaire’s mansion.
Ponderous was the word, she decided, and it didn’t suit Cooper at all. Yale and NYC aside, he struck her as more rugged than refined, and hard as she tried, she couldn’t picture him working here.
When she gave him a questioning look, he shrugged. “Granddad’s taste, not mine.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“Sure. He started the firm and worked here after he retired from the bench, so it’s my way of making sure he stays part of it.”
In those heartfelt words she heard the love and respect he had for his grandfather. The way he and other folks in town talked about him, the judge sounded like a real character. She wished she could have met him.
Before Bree could say anything more, they were joined by a white-haired lady wearing a tailored navy skirt suit and what Bree would describe as schoolmarm disapproval on her face. She didn’t say a thing, but Cooper laughed. “Heard we were coming, huh?”
“Ten minutes ago.” She eyed Sammy over her rimless half-moon glasses. “What is this?”
As Cooper relayed the Newfie’s sad story, her expression warmed considerably. “You couldn’t exactly leave the poor thing in Sandy Cove, could you?”
“No, ma’am.”
After a few more seconds she relented. “All right, but if he makes a mess, I’m not cleaning it up.”
“Yes, ma’am. Any messages for me?”
She handed over a few pink message slips. “A courier service delivered a package from Hartford about half an hour ago. It’s on your desk.”
“I’m not expecting anything. What is it?”
She straightened with a practiced grace that brought to mind a golden-age screen star. “Since it’s addressed to you, I w
ouldn’t know. I don’t open your mail, Cooper.”
“Not even to peek?” Bree asked.
“Certainly not,” she answered in a precise, frosty manner. “Confidentiality is the cornerstone of a lawyer’s relationship with his clients. I would never do anything to endanger that.”
“Of course not,” Cooper said smoothly. “Bree was only kidding.”
Taking the hint, Bree jumped in. “I have a weird sense of humor, Mrs. Andrews. Please forgive me if I offended you.”
“Forgiven, dear.” The tone wasn’t exactly warm, but it was no longer glacial, either. Bree let out a sigh of relief when the woman turned back to her boss. “Dale Hawkins just called to say he’ll be in around four to sign those estate papers. Judging by the static on his phone, he’s out at Shadow Lake.”
“Tracking Big Wally, no doubt.”
“Oh, that fish,” she scoffed, dismissing it with a wave of a slender hand accented by antique rings.
“Who’s Big Wally?” Bree asked.
“The stuff of legend,” Cooper explained while he flipped through his messages. “Folks who’ve seen him say he’s a ten-foot trout that can snap any fishing line ever made.”
“Folks who’ve seen him,” Mrs. Andrews chimed in while she filled two china teacups with coffee, “are highly unreliable.”
“That doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”
Setting the cups on saucers, she added them to a gleaming silver tray that held a fancy sugar bowl and real cream in a little pitcher. “I’ll believe it the day someone brings him in. Cream and sugar, Miss Farrell?”
Bree hadn’t introduced herself, but she’d gotten accustomed to people knowing all about her before they laid eyes on her. Smiling, she said, “Actually it’s Bree, and coffee that smells this good is fine straight out of the tap.”
Mrs. Andrews’s expertly made-up face crinkled with a smile that showed plenty of laugh lines. Stern as she appeared on first glance, this woman clearly enjoyed her life enough to show the marks. An interesting detail and Bree mentally tagged it for later.