by Katie Ruggle
“Yeah?” Hugh sounded fascinated, and Otto had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. It wasn’t that uncommon. “You have a thing for her? The last time you had a thing for someone, it was that dispatcher who moved to Cleveland right after you got up the nerve to ask her out. What was that—two years ago?”
“Three,” Theo corrected, his gaze not leaving Otto’s face. “Consider doing a background check before you get in too deep.” Otto gazed at him evenly, and Theo gave a half smile and a shrug. “Do as I say, not as I do.”
“If you like her,” Hugh said, “you’re not the right one to be investigating her. Things get fuzzy when there are emotions involved. I should know. Want me to dig around for you?”
“There will be no digging,” Jules stated as she pulled a chair from a nearby table and plopped down next to Theo. “Hey, sweetness. I’m on break so you can kiss me now.”
Theo gave her a smile and obliged. Otto focused on his coffee until they came up for air.
“Okay.” Jules sounded a little breathless. “Now what’s this about digging?”
“We were talking about gardening,” Hugh lied easily, and Otto held back a snort.
“Uh-huh.” Jules sounded as skeptical as she should be. “Gardening. In November.”
Hugh gave her a sweet smile. “Never too early to start planning.”
“Right.” After giving Hugh a suspicious look, she turned to Theo. “What were you really talking about?”
“Otto likes Sarah.”
Mouth open, Otto stared at Theo. He’d expected Hugh to spill the beans, but Theo? “What the hell?”
Looking completely unrepentant, Theo laid an arm over the back of Jules’s chair and picked up his coffee mug with his free hand. “I would’ve just told her later.”
“That’s true,” Jules said, leaning forward with the same gossip-loving expression as Hugh. “He knows better than to withhold juicy tidbits. It’ll be useful to have me in the loop, though. I can talk you up to her, arrange ‘coincidental’ meetings, let you know her date preferences, and all that.”
Otto groaned, tipping his head back and closing his eyes. Why had he even bothered getting out of bed that morning? He could be wallowing in embarrassment with puppies sleeping on him, rather than wallowing in embarrassment with a growing crowd of amused, overly helpful friends.
“I’ll find out today what she thinks about you.” Jules was still talking.
“Please don’t.”
Hugh was snickering. “Fair warning, buddy. I have to tell Grace, too.”
Opening his eyes, Otto turned his best glare—one that transformed even the surliest suspect into a compliant heap of goo—on his partner, but it only made Hugh grin wider.
“Sorry, but if she found out that she was the last to know, my life wouldn’t be worth living anymore. Grace would make sure of that.” Hugh made a mock-terrified face.
“I’m not interested in Sarah.” Otto held back a wince. It sounded like a lie, even to him.
It didn’t help when Jules and Hugh started laughing. Even Theo looked amused.
His only hope was to change the subject. “Jules, I need a favor.”
She bounced a little in her chair. “Do you want me to ask Sarah what her favorite flower is?”
“No. Can you take care of the puppies tonight during my shift?”
“Puppies?” Jules still looked excited, even though he’d shut down her matchmaking. “Of course. Dee is going to be out-of-her-mind thrilled.”
At the mention of the little girl, Otto managed a smile. “How’s the cat?”
“He’s great. Turtle is quickly becoming the king of the house.”
“Turtle?” Hugh repeated. “Interesting name for a cat.”
Jules shrugged. “It involved about eight hours of discussion over two days. Once everyone agreed on a name, I wasn’t about to argue.”
“Jules!” Megan, the diner owner, yelled from her spot by the window. “Break’s over. The Silver Fork Casino bus just pulled up.”
Making a face, Jules pressed a quick kiss to Theo’s cheek before standing. As she returned her chair to its rightful spot at the neighboring table, she said, “See y’all later.” She winked at Otto. “Drop the puppies off anytime this afternoon. I’ll make sure we’re all home.”
The emphasis reminded Otto that Sarah would be at Jules’s house, and he almost groaned. A part of him was eager to see her again, but facing her after his super-creep act the other day would be uncomfortable. He gave Jules a slight nod, hiding his apprehension, and then turned back to his partners.
When he saw their smirks, he braced himself. Breakfast was going to be rough.
Chapter 7
He was there, at her house, and he had puppies.
Sarah leaned against the wall outside the living room, frantically fanning her face. She needed to cool her hot cheeks, or he’d instantly know how much he affected her. Dee chattered about the puppies, and listening to her calmed Sarah down. Blowing out a silent breath, she squared her shoulders. Stop being silly and get in there.
Pivoting around the doorjamb, she ran straight into what felt like a wall. Bouncing off a hard body, she started to fall backward, but Otto caught her arms in an iron grip and held her upright. Sarah swallowed a groan. Of course she had to run into Otto. A dignified entrance was too much to ask.
“Sorry,” she said as he released his grip. Even after he moved his hands, she could still feel the ghost of his fingers warming her skin.
He dipped his chin, not saying a word. Sarah had run their encounter at the store through her brain a thousand times, until she worried that she’d just made the whole thing up, that the trauma of escaping her brother had forced her into some fantasy land where beautiful, dog-loving Viking lumberjacks thought she was pretty. Tearing her eyes from the way his tanned skin stretched over his cheekbones and jaw, where a hint of stubble marred the smooth texture, Sarah turned toward the puppies. She desperately needed a distraction from the man in front of her.
“Oh!” she exclaimed when she saw them, moving over to where Jules, Grace, and the kids sat on the floor. Each one of Jules’s siblings held a puppy, although Jules and Grace looked as if they wanted to steal one of their own. Sarah sat on the floor between Dee and Jules, reaching out a finger to stroke the puppy Dee was holding. “They’re like little furry sausages.”
Dee’s puppy blindly rooted against her middle, making squeaky grunting sounds. The little girl laughed, tucking the puppy closer. “I think this one’s hungry, Otto.”
“They’re almost due for their next feeding,” he said, and Sarah felt heat bloom in her belly at the sound of his gravelly voice. He had a distinctive way of speaking, as if picking each word carefully, and it made her want to listen to him for hours. He could read the dictionary to her, she decided. She’d expand her vocabulary and get to hear that wonderful voice at the same time. “They eat about every three hours.”
“Can they sleep with me tonight?” Dee asked Jules.
Tipping her head toward the cat that was perched on the back of the couch, looking affronted at the entire situation, Jules said, “Don’t you think Turtle might be a little hurt?”
Dee gave the cat a sheepish look. “Sorry, Turtle.”
“I’ll k-keep them,” Sam offered. “That w-w-way they w-won’t w-wake anyone d-downstairs.”
“Sure?” Jules sounded concerned.
“Yeah. N-no school tom-morrow.”
Not looking convinced, Jules absently started petting the puppy sleeping in Ty’s lap. “You have to get up early to work at the kennel, though.”
“I’ll do it.” Sarah was surprised to hear herself volunteer—what did she know about taking care of dogs? It wasn’t as if she’d ever been allowed to keep one. “I don’t have to go anywhere tomorrow, so I can sleep after Otto picks up the puppies.” She glanced at him, unable to keep her gaze of
f his face. Even puppies couldn’t keep her attention when Otto was in the room. “You’ll need to show me what to do, though.”
Otto walked all of them through preparing the formula in the tiniest bottles Sarah had ever seen. They looked like something that would come with a doll. After Otto fed one of the puppies for a minute, he handed the dog and bottle over to Sarah. She felt oddly nervous that she wouldn’t do it right, especially in front of Otto, who was so incredibly competent. It was trickier to bottle-feed than she’d expected, and the puppy flailed, searching blindly after the nipple slipped out of his mouth for the third time.
“Here.” Otto reached around her, his chest to her back, and put his hands over hers. Sarah stopped breathing as he guided her hands, one on the bottle and one on the puppy. “Rub the sides of his head like this.” His breath brushed her cheek, warming her skin. Exhaling in a rush, she forced herself to concentrate on what he was showing her. The puppy was sucking enthusiastically, and she gave a wondering laugh.
“This is amazing.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t seem that way at two in the morning, though.”
Sarah huffed another quiet laugh. Even though she had gotten the hang of feeding the puppy, Otto didn’t move away. Instead, he shifted his hands so they were wrapped around her forearms. It reminded her vividly of the feel of him gripping her waist, the way he held her with such care and strength, as if she was something precious. Looking down at his hands, at the way they covered almost her entire arm from elbow to wrist, she knew that it was too late to save herself from hurt—she was already addicted to his touch.
The puppy grunted as he ate, drawing her attention. Even as she marveled at the tiny creature eating so voraciously, milky bubbles forming around his nose and mouth, Sarah was hyperaware of Otto’s warmth, of the way his body wrapped around hers. Unable to resist, she allowed herself to subtly lean against his chest. He was so hard and warm against her back that she shivered a little, delighting in how amazing it felt to be in his arms. His grip on her tightened for just a moment, as if he’d felt her tremble, as if he knew how much touching him affected her. Her heart thundered so hard in her chest that she wondered if he felt that, too.
“Otto,” Dee said, and Sarah was brought back to reality with a snap. “Could you help me?”
He moved away, and Sarah’s back and arms felt cold. She couldn’t help but sneak glances at Otto, at the gentle way he taught Dee how to hold the puppy and the bottle. She shivered a little—from disappointment rather than pleasure that time. He was so careful and patient with Dee. It made Sarah like him even more, but it also made her wonder if she’d imagined his response. What if he’d just been teaching her how to feed the puppy? The heat, the attraction… Had he felt it, too, or was he just being kind to a friend of Jules’s?
Sarah glanced over at Jules and saw that the other woman was grinning at her. Raising her eyebrows in question, she gave Jules a what? look, but she only got a wider smile in response. Something about the look made her blush, though. When she looked over at Otto again, she saw him quickly turn his head away.
That speedy movement made Sarah’s insides do a little jump. Had he been sneaking glances at her? It could’ve been that he was simply curious about the newcomer, or that he found her odd, but a tiny bubble of hope still formed inside her.
Could her lumberjack Viking with a soft spot for puppies possibly have a soft spot for her, too?
* * *
The grunts and squeaks woke her before her alarm did, and Sarah groaned into her pillow before squinting at the clock. She’d only gotten to sleep for fifty-two minutes that time. Why had she volunteered to take the night shift?
The puppies’ tiny noises increased in volume, and Sarah sighed as she rolled out of her warm nest of a bed. She’d volunteered because she’d been entranced by Otto and the furry sausages. That golden glow had dimmed after the ten p.m. feeding, been tarnished even more by the next one, and now, at just after four a.m., all warm and fuzzy feelings were pretty much gone.
Grabbing the handle on the top of their crate, she unplugged the heating pad and carried them down to the kitchen. She tried to mix and warm the formula with her eyes closed, but Sarah quickly found out that was a bad idea when she spilled milk replacer all over the counter.
“Shoot,” she whispered, reaching for a paper towel to mop it up.
“Want a hand?”
Sarah jumped a foot and knocked over the bottle, spilling the little bit of formula remaining.
“Sorry.” Grace gave her a sleepy smile as she crossed the kitchen to where the puppies were frantically paddling their uncoordinated limbs, trying to find the source of their breakfast.
Cleaning up the last of the mess, Sarah smiled back. “No need to be sorry. I’m just…jumpy.”
“Understandable.” Folding her long legs beneath her, Grace sat on the floor in front of the puppies. “You should’ve seen me my first week or so here. I was scared to leave the house.”
As she prepped more milk replacer, Sarah gave Grace a curious glance, not able to imagine the other woman living in fear. She seemed too confident, too self-assured, to be anything other than majorly kick-ass. “Really?”
“Oh, yeah.” Grabbing an old but clean towel from the pile Sarah had put on top of the dog crate, Grace spread it over her lap. “It took a pep talk from Sam before I managed to go into the yard.”
“From Sam?” Sarah laughed, incredulous. The teen was so guarded and quiet that she couldn’t imagine him giving a pep talk.
Grace looked up from the pile of puppies she’d pulled into her lap, where they squirmed and crawled, still searching for their food. “I know, right? I think it shocked the fear right out of me.”
As Sarah laughed softly, Jules walked into the kitchen, a huge yawn taking up her entire face. “Hey, Sarah. Oh, hi, Grace. Didn’t see you down there.”
“Good morning, sunshine,” Grace said.
“Sorry, Jules.” Four bottles in hand, Sarah sat down next to Grace. She’d found it easier to prep four separate bottles. That way, she didn’t have to worry about how much each puppy got. They could suck down the whole thing and, as long as she didn’t double up and give one puppy two bottles, it worked pretty smoothly. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“You didn’t.” Jules took a seat on the other side of Grace. “A very annoying alarm clock did. I’m opening today.”
“Does it bother you? Opening?” Grace accepted a bottle and started feeding one of the puppies.
“A little, but it helps that my stalker hangs out in the parking lot until Vicki or Megan arrives.” Jules also grabbed a bottle and a puppy, and Sarah gave an internal sigh of relief. With three of them feeding, this would go faster. She might even manage to get an hour and a half of sleep before she was woken up again. Picking up the largest of the puppies—whom she’d mentally been calling Bruce—Sarah popped the nipple in his mouth.
Belatedly, Jules’s words registered in her sleep-deprived brain. “Wait. Your stalker?” Her voice shot up in alarm, and the puppy startled. Sarah rubbed his head in silent apology, and he concentrated on sucking down as much milk replacer as possible in the shortest amount of time.
“I’m kidding.” Jules gave her a smile. “I’m just talking about Theo.”
“Oh.” Sarah felt a little silly for not immediately getting the joke, but she knew that everyone living at the house had been sent there by Mr. Espina. That meant that Sarah wasn’t the only one who’d had something bad happen to her, something that forced her to run away from everything she knew. Still, she asked, “Why would opening bother you?”
Jules grimaced. “Some really bad things happened when I opened for the first time.”
“Oh.” That answer just made Sarah more curious, but she didn’t want to push if Jules didn’t want to share. After all, it wasn’t really her business.
With a dry laugh, Grace sa
id, “Bad? Yeah, I’d call getting locked in the walk-in cooler and almost getting blown up pretty bad.”
“Wait. What?” Forget any of that not-her-business nonsense; this sounded too interesting not to hear.
Jules waved a hand in dismissal. “I’ll tell you the whole story sometime. Right now, though, I want to talk about Otto.”
“Oh yes! We do want to talk about Otto,” Grace echoed as Sarah felt her face heat.
“I saw some interesting looks going back and forth between the two of you yesterday.” Jules looked like she was holding back a smile. “What’s the story there?”
“No story.” Sarah pretended to concentrate on Bruce, although he didn’t need any help eating. After a second of silence, though, she couldn’t stand it and peeked at Jules. “What looks?”
Jules’s grin broke free. “I’m pretty darn sure the big guy is smitten.”
“He’s not.” Now Sarah couldn’t hold back her own smile. “Is he?”
“Hugh thinks so, too.” Grace leaned forward until her puppy squeaked in protest. “Sorry, sweetie. It’s just a very interesting bit of gossip.” Once the dog was eating happily again, she looked at Sarah, her eyes alight. “Do you and Otto have a thing?”
“Oh no.” Her face was so hot she could’ve warmed the puppies’ formula on it. “We’re not… I mean, it’s not a thing, really.”
“Do you want it to be a thing?” Jules asked.
“Yes.” The truth was out before she thought, and she blushed even hotter. “No. I don’t know. I was pretty sheltered in my old life. There wasn’t really any opportunity to meet…well, anyone. This is all new to me. I don’t really know how I feel. Plus, I’ll be leaving eventually—or sooner than eventually—so I shouldn’t get involved, right?”
Jules met Grace’s gaze and both women made the same rueful face. “You’re asking the wrong people,” Jules said. “I knew I shouldn’t get involved with Theo, but I didn’t have any choice. It just…happened.”
“Same. Only with Hugh, of course.” Grace looked at Sarah. “If you were planning to stick around, would you be interested?”