Puppy Love in Thunder Canyon

by Christyne Butler

  Wednesdays were her late days at the library so she’d taken a run without Smiley this morning—his habit of stopping at every tree made it a bit hard to maintain a good pace. When she’d returned she’d grabbed a mug of freshly brewed java and her mail from the basket in the hall before heading up the stairs to her bedroom.

  Until her father’s pronouncement stopped her in her tracks.

  “Annabel doesn’t have a lot of experience when it comes to men,” came a more feminine voice—her mother. “I’m worried she’s going to get hurt.”

  Unable to resist, Annabel sat on a step and waited, sure her sisters had shown up as well and, like the rest of the family, they’d have no problem stating their own opinions about her love life.

  Or anything else, for that matter.

  “Then why don’t you talk to her?” Zeke Cates said. “No one else is home, including me, because I’m on my way out. You can say your piece without it becoming a major discussion.”

  Bless her dad. He understood how hard it was at times to be part of a big family. Annabel loved her parents and siblings, and living in the house where she grew up made financial sense, but there were times when having space to yourself and a sense of privacy were sorely lacking.

  “But she’ll think I’m interfering.”

  “You are, dear, but that’s your right as her mother.”

  Annabel smiled at her father’s parting words, knowing the following silence was her parents sharing a goodbye kiss.

  Yep, there was the slam of the kitchen door.

  Now, should she go back to the kitchen and find out exactly what was bothering her mother or scoot upstairs and see what Smiley was up to since he hadn’t made an appearance yet? She still needed to grab a shower—

  “Oh, there you are.”

  Busted.

  Annabel took another sip of coffee, enjoying the surprise on her mother’s face. “Here I am. Good morning.”

  “Good morning, dear.” Her mother held on to her own coffee mug with a grip so tight Annabel feared the handle would crack. “How was your run?”

  “It was good.” Annabel eyed the clock hanging on the wall. She had plenty of time before she had to leave for work. Might as well get this over with. “So, tell me why you’re so worried about me.”

  “Oh, Annabel…I’m sorry you overheard that.” Her mother sighed. “I’m just concerned that you’re falling too fast for your doctor friend.”

  Her doctor friend. Well, that was one way of looking at what was happening between her and Thomas. After the way he went out of his way to create such a special dinner—and the way he’d kissed her good-night last Saturday—she’d like to think he was at least a step above being a friend.

  A big step.

  “Thomas and I are…getting to know one another. So I would hold off on ordering the wedding invitations just yet.”

  Her mother walked up the stairs and sat beside her. “You like him.”

  “Of course I like him. The man is smart, funny, caring and gorgeous. What’s not to like?”

  “I will admit he was very nice when we met him the other night, even if he did seem a bit serious. Have you seen him since your date?”

  Annabel wondered where her mother was heading with that question. “Yes, of course I have.”

  “At the hospital.”

  “Yes, at the hospital. I stopped in on Monday to talk about the Tuesday and Thursday sessions I’ll be having with Smiley, and I saw him again yesterday after the session.”

  “Are you planning to go over there today?”

  As a matter of fact she was, during her dinner break. Annabel wanted to check on Mr. Owens, whose visit with Smiley yesterday was cut short because the elderly man hadn’t been feeling well.

  “Yes, I am, but to visit a friend, Mom. Not to see Thomas.”

  “Don’t you think it’s strange that outside of your two dates, you’ve only seen him at the hospital?”

  “It’s where he works. Not to mention where the therapy sessions take place. Doesn’t it make sense that’s where we would run into each other?”

  “It seems to me you are the one doing all the running into, not him.”

  Okay, that hit home. Annabel took another sip from her mug, silently acknowledging her mother had a point.

  She hadn’t heard from Thomas at all on Sunday, even though he’d left with a whispered “I’ll call you” after that mind-blowing, body-numbing kiss that really did make her wish she had her own place.

  Stopping by his office on Monday to see Marge made sense as the secretary was coordinating Smiley’s sessions. Of course, Thomas was there and he did seem happy to see her. They’d even gone down to the hospital café for a light dinner.

  At her suggestion.

  And he’d walked the two of them all the way to her car yesterday after she’d run into him when leaving Mr. Owens’s room.

  He’d teased her about parking in the farthest corner of the lot. She’d flirted back that maybe she’d been trying to lure him away from the crowds.

  His smile had disappeared when he took a step closer, crowding her against her car. Annabel had been so sure he was going to kiss her again. Until Smiley had broken the spell by noticing a nearby squirrel and uncharacteristically taking off in pursuit.

  Okay, so she’d only seen Thomas at the hospital the past few days, but that didn’t stop the man from invading her dreams at night.

  She wanted to kiss him again. She wanted more than that. The idea of stripping off that starched dress shirt and perfectly matched tie to find out just what those shoulders of his looked like—

  “Annabel?”

  Wow, she’d gotten lost there for a moment. “Sorry about that, Mom. Did you say something?”

  “It’s just that your social life has been a bit slow lately and you don’t want to rush—”

  “Slow?” Annabel cut off her mother’s words with a sharp laugh. “Mom, I haven’t dated anyone steady in over three years.”

  “Which is why I’m concerned that you’re doing what you always do. You jump in with both feet when you believe in something, without much thought as to how difficult things might become in the future. Whether it’s upgrading the children’s area of the library or the therapy training with Smiley.”

  Yes, those projects had entailed a lot of hard work and effort on her part, coupled with more steps backward than forward at times thanks to the said “both feet” habit, but she’d accomplished both goals, quite successfully she might add. “Hey, both of those other ventures turned out fine. Better than fine.”

  “Well then, what about when you decided to enter the Frontier Days marathon after only running a few weeks? You ended up in the E.R. with a stress fracture. Or that spur-of-the-moment road trip you and Jazzy took last summer that found you in the middle of nowhere with a busted engine?”

  Annabel let loose a deep sigh. Boy, what were mothers for if not to remind you of your shortcomings? “So let’s add getting a little starry-eyed over a doctor to the list.”

  “I’m just worried you’re setting yourself up for heartache,” her mother persisted, laying a hand on her arm. “Doctors are notorious for not having happy, stable marriages. I want you to be happy, just like I want all my children to be.”

  Surprised at her mother’s claim, Annabel could only stare at her. “That’s absurd. Where did you hear that about doctors’ marriages?”

  “I was chatting with Mrs. Banning the other day—”

  “You talked about me with the neighbors?”

  “Of course not. We were just visiting and she mentioned her daughter’s marriage was ending, and in a very messy way. Her husband is a surgeon. He works terrible hours and wasn’t there for her or the children. Now he’s decided that the woman who supported him all through medical school is t
oo boring to spend the rest of his life with.”

  “I’m sorry for what Mrs. Banning’s daughter is going through, but it sounds as though there are more issues with that marriage than her husband’s working hours.”

  “Mrs. Callahan was with us, too, and she mentioned a friend whose daughter also married a doctor right here in Thunder Canyon, who was crushed when her husband recently announced he was leaving her so he could marry one of the nurses on his staff. A much younger nurse.”

  “Who needs reality television when the Thunder Canyon gossip mill is alive and well?” Annabel rolled her eyes. “What about Cade and Abby? Cade has his own business and he works all kind of crazy hours.”

  “Cade works for his family, he can set his own hours. Besides, your sister was in love with Cade for years before she, or he, ever admitted their feelings.”

  “And Laila?” Annabel pushed harder, bringing up her other recently married sister. “Jackson is an executive at Traub Oil Industries and from what I’ve heard he travels a lot. Are you telling me Laila should be worried because they only knew each other a month before getting engaged?”

  “By the time your sister met Jackson she’d had more experience when it came to men than all of my girls combined, although Jazzy is giving her a good run for her money. When Jackson came to town and swept Laila off her feet, they were both ready for married life.”

  Annabel stood. She was ready for this conversation to be over. Yes, everything her mother said about her sisters was true, but that didn’t mean she was heading for heartache.

  “Well, you don’t have to worry because Thomas and I are…I don’t know what we are, but we aren’t thinking about anything close to marriage. I appreciate your concern, Mom, but I’m an adult and it’s my life and my decision.”

  “Oh, honey, I just want you to be careful with your heart.”

  Evelyn Cates pushed to her feet as well, and Annabel saw nothing but love and concern in her mother’s gaze.

  “I am being careful,” she said, leaning over to give her mom a quick kiss on the cheek. “Trust me, I’m not in over my head. And neither is my heart.”

  * * *

  Thomas was so far over his head he didn’t have a clue what he was going to do.

  About Annabel.

  Intentionally skipping the “Smiley Session” this afternoon had been the right decision. He was a busy man with a lot of work to do, which was why he was still sitting at his desk an hour after his official workday was over. An hour after Annabel and Smiley had left the hospital, thanks to Marge’s report, who was working late herself.

  Because of him.

  The woman never left the office until he did. He’d told her often enough that it wasn’t necessary for her to stay so late. But with her husband gone and her kids moved away, Marge always said the only things waiting for her at home were three cats and they’d survive just fine without her.

  Him? She wasn’t so sure of.

  So most nights he went home with a briefcase full of work or he’d circle back after grabbing a quick dinner off the hospital campus.

  He sighed, leaned back in his chair and scrubbed at his tired eyes. He should get the heck out of here. Reading the same paragraph over and over again in his patient’s file wasn’t helping the information stick in his head.

  Maybe because that space was already filled with images of a perky, bubbly blonde who’d taken his breath away the moment he’d pulled her into his arms and finally kissed her.

  He’d thought about little else after they’d danced at the Gallatin Room. No, that wasn’t true. He’d been thinking about kissing Annabel from the moment he’d met her, but last Saturday, the need and want had been building all night. Until he couldn’t take it anymore.

  There’d been so many chances.

  Like when they’d walked to his car after leaving the resort or when he’d pulled into her family’s driveway and discovered she wasn’t asleep like he’d thought. Not to mention, when he’d set her back on her feet beneath the porch light after he’d carried her to the front door, her body brushing the length of his.

  He’d taken none of those openings, having decided during the few minutes it took to reach her front porch it was best to keep things simple. Say good-night and leave. He managed to do both, but only made it as far as turning on the engine, before the porch light went out after Annabel got inside.

  He’d missed his chance.

  Seconds later, he’d been racing across the yard. The way the door opened immediately said she’d been watching him—waiting. It fanned the flames of his desire for her even higher.

  The sureness of how it felt to hold her had taken its time to settle in, thanks to the passion of that kiss, but when it had, Thomas knew he had to get out of there. So he’d given a simple promise to call and then left.

  Only he’d never called.

  He’d seen Annabel on Monday here at the hospital and they’d grabbed a quick bite together down in the café—not the most private venue—and of course he heard about it the next day from a few colleagues. And while he’d purposely dropped by Mr. Owens’s room on Tuesday to see how the visit went with Smiley, he hadn’t planned on walking her and her dog out to the parking lot.

  It’d just been so easy to talk to her. Thomas rose from behind his desk and walked to the window, drawn to the vivid reds and oranges of the setting sun.

  No matter what the subject, Annabel made him feel relaxed and comfortable. Not to mention the crackle of sexual energy that seemed to surround her, a deep pulsing pull that called to him every time he saw her.

  But late Tuesday night, after he found himself lying alone in his bed, wishing she was with him and, in turn, had berated himself for feeling that way again, he’d realized the simple truth.

  Being with Annabel scared him silly.

  Not that he was with her.

  Two dinners and spending time together at the hospital didn’t exactly make them a couple. Of course, Marge or some of the staff didn’t need much more than to see them together in the hospital café to come to that conclusion.

  Getting involved in a relationship again was the last thing he wanted, or needed, at the moment. He still felt he had to prove himself, to right the wrongs of his past, but he was having a hell of time keeping Annabel out of his head.

  “So, what’ll it be tonight?”

  Marge’s voice from the open doorway cut into his thoughts. He turned and found her flipping through the notebook she kept of take-out menus from the local restaurants.

  “Chinese or Mexican?” she continued, not looking up at him. “Or are you not planning to stick around much longer?”

  He didn’t get a chance to choose.

  “Mmm, go with the Chinese. The kung pao chicken at Mr. Lee’s is to die for.”

  The lilting voice from his dreams drew his attention past his secretary. “Annabel. What are you doing here?”

  Silence filled the air for a moment until Marge cleared her throat. “I think I’ll just go down to the lounge and get myself a cup of hot tea. Annabel, would you like anything?”

  “No, thanks, Marge, but I appreciate the offer.”

  Marge smiled at Annabel, shot him a quick wink over her shoulder that caused his stomach to drop to his feet and left the office area.

  Oh, hell, maybe it was the sight of Annabel walking toward him in a simple cotton skirt, tank top and wedged heels that did that.

  Or the fire-engine red polish on her toes.

  He bit back a groan and forced his gaze back above her neckline. “So, what brings you this way so late?”

  Annabel waved what looked like the remains of a tattered teddy bear in the air. “I had to come back for Smiley’s baby.”

  Her words threw him. “Excuse me?”

  “I know it doesn’t look like much now, b
ut this stuffed bear came with Smiley from the shelter.” As she glanced down at the toy, her long golden curls tumbled over one shoulder. “He carried it around for weeks after I first brought him home. Then he seemed to only need the thing when he went to sleep.”

  She offered a quick shrug, and continued, “I don’t know why he brought it with him to today’s session, but once we got home I realized he’d left it behind. I had to run a few errands anyway. When I pulled into the parking lot, I saw your light was on, so I thought I’d stop by and see if you wanted to grab some dinner…”

  Her voice trailed off when she looked at him again. Thomas swallowed hard at the mixture of desire and awareness he read in her blue eyes as their gazes locked. And just like that his world tilted off balance as uncontrolled need and want washed over him again.

  Shoving his hands deep in his pockets, Thomas broke free and looked away. “Annabel, I’m not sure that is such a good idea.”

  “What’s not a good idea? Chinese? Hey, if you want Mexican, that’s fine with me. I’m easy.”

  Damn it, the last thing she was doing was making this easy.

  Control.

  He needed to get this situation back under control, back to what he was used to, a place of organization—of having power over one’s actions and emotions.

  A place that was familiar to him, ever since his mother pulled him aside after his grandfather’s accident and told him tears were not allowed. At the tender age of seven, she’d expected him to handle what happened to his grandfather with the same dignity and grace that the Norths handled everything else.

  Which probably explained why he’d thrown himself into his studies, determined that when he became a doctor, no one else would suffer the way his grandfather had. Of course, he’d learned the hard way that doctors weren’t miracle workers, but he had a pretty damn good track record so far, at least here at TC General.

  If his affair with Victoria had taught him anything, it was that he had the tendency of letting a woman’s beauty blind him to everything else around. Considering his lack of judgment and having to learn to live with the regret, the last thing he wanted was to make the same mistake.