Season of Wonder

by RaeAnne Thayne

  She pulled away, painfully aware of Ruben’s ragged breathing, his dilated pupils.

  “That was...”

  The aroused rasp in his voice rippled down her spine but she firmly ignored it. “Not supposed to happen. I know. I think we’re both acting a little irrationally tonight.”

  “Speak for yourself, Dr. Capelli. I knew exactly what I was doing.”

  What did he mean by that? She couldn’t seem to make her brain cooperate enough to figure it out. Her face felt hot, her skin tight, her nerves as frayed as Winky’s favorite blanket.

  “Then you have to know that was a mistake. I shouldn’t have... We shouldn’t have... Oh. This is the most embarrassing night of my life.”

  He stopped her words by the simple yet profound gesture of grabbing her hand. “Would it make any difference if I told you I’ve been wanting to do that since you moved to town?”

  Her fingers trembled in his. “You have not.”

  “I’m an officer of the law, Doc. I always speak the truth.”

  She managed to hold back a snort. “I don’t believe that’s a job requirement for any law enforcement officer I’ve ever met.”

  “Well, I’m sorry for that. In this case, I mean everything I say. You might as well know it. I’ve wanted to kiss you since we met. I’m afraid now that I’ve done it, I’m only going to want to kiss you more.”

  He might tell the truth all the time. She, on the other hand, was not only the ex-wife of a man who had been a convicted felon and worse, but she had been a juvenile delinquent in her own right when she had been a wild, angry foster kid lashing out at the world.

  She had no such compunction toward honesty, especially when so very much depended on him believing her lie.

  “Let’s both do our best to forget what just happened. Tonight has been...strange, to say the least.”

  She rose, hoping against hope that he would get the hint. Dani was suddenly desperate for him to go. She needed time to figure out what had just happened here, how she could have been so stupid as to let him under her defenses, even for a moment.

  To her relief, he rose as well and stood watching her for a long moment, the Christmas lights reflected in his eyes.

  “I’m afraid I won’t be able to forget the taste of you anytime soon,” he said, his voice rough, and she had to curl her hands into fists against the urge to wrap them around his neck and go for round two.

  What kind of masochistic fool was she?

  “I’m afraid you’ll just have to be content with your memories, Deputy Morales, because it won’t happen again.”

  “Coming from any other woman, I would consider such a bold statement something of a challenge.”

  “I am not any other woman. I mean what I say.”

  Though her voice sounded firm enough, she wondered if he could see her hands tremble. With any luck, it was so dark in here, lit only by the Christmas tree, that he wouldn’t have a clue.

  To her vast relief, he seemed to take her words at face value. “You do know how to wound a man, don’t you? I’ll remind you that you kissed me first.”

  “I know. I shouldn’t have.”

  “Why did you?”

  She didn’t have an answer for that, at least not one she understood herself.

  “It doesn’t matter. I’m grateful for all you’ve done this weekend. It was very kind of you to help us clean up the graffiti yesterday and to invite us to your sister’s concert and your family party afterward, and I appreciate you letting me make a fool of myself by crying all over you tonight. Let’s just say I let my emotions get the better of me.”

  His expression told her plainly that he didn’t believe her but he didn’t press. “Are you still willing to let Silver and Mia help me with the Secret Santa project?”

  She had a feeling it would be in all of their best interests to restore a careful distance between her little family and Ruben Morales but she had already told him Silver would help.

  She couldn’t avoid him. They lived next door to each other and his father was her boss. She tried for a casual tone, hoping to restore things to a more stable footing. “We’re both adults here. Things don’t have to be...awkward because we shared one little kiss, do they?”

  He gave a rough laugh. “Again, you do know how to wound a man.”

  She wanted to tell him she didn’t consider the kiss little, that it had rocked everything secure and safe in her world. She couldn’t, of course, so she said nothing.

  “Fine,” he said after a moment. “If you’re still good with Silver helping out, we’ll start the Secret Santa campaign on the evening of the thirteenth. As soon as I figure out what time will work, I’ll let you and Silver know.”

  “I’ll have her ready. Thank you.”

  He gazed at her, his expression unreadable. He looked as if he wanted to say something more but he finally sighed. “Good night, then,” he said.

  “Good night.”

  He grabbed his coat off the back of the armchair, gave Winky one last pat, then headed out into the snow.

  She closed the door behind him and fought the urge to sag against it, desperate for a moment to regain her composure. Instead, she made herself go into the kitchen to replace Winky’s water and add a little more kibble to the bowl.

  The dog deserved a big, juicy bone. If not for Winky, Dani might have let things go much further and made a terrible mistake.

  She had to keep her distance from Ruben, no matter how difficult. The stakes were too great. After tonight and that heated kiss, she could no longer deny this attraction simmering between them. It wasn’t only one-sided, that much was obvious. If she gave in to it, if she explored this heat and hunger between them, the results could be disastrous.

  She had spent the last three days talking to Silver about how each action had consequences. It was an important lesson for Dani as well, one she couldn’t afford to forget.

  * * *

  He couldn’t get that kiss out of his head.

  As Ruben pulled up in front of the veterinary clinic the following Thursday afternoon, he was uncomfortably aware of his sweaty palms and the low ache of anticipation curling through him.

  He couldn’t remember the last time a woman had left him so tied up in knots.

  That kiss had haunted his dreams. Dani had haunted his dreams. Each time he closed his eyes, it seemed as if she was waiting for him, with her vulnerable eyes and her secrets and the sweetness she tried to conceal beneath a thin, crackly veneer of stiff reserve.

  She worked so hard to hold herself apart. Why? Was it self-protectiveness on her part? What was she trying to hide?

  He had stayed away as long as he could manage, until the need to see her again became too overwhelming, and so he had finally manufactured an excuse to see her again.

  Now, as he sat in his patrol vehicle on his lunch hour, he wondered what the hell was wrong with him. She had made it clear she didn’t want anything more than friendship with him, so why couldn’t he manage to get her out of his head?

  He was here now. He might as well go in and talk to her. That anticipation grew stronger as he climbed out of his vehicle and headed inside the clinic.

  The reception area was empty except for Gloria McCoy, his dad’s longtime receptionist. She smiled broadly when she spotted him. “Hey, Ruben honey. How are you?”

  “Good. Good.”

  Gloria probably didn’t need to know he hadn’t slept well since Sunday because of a certain doctor of veterinary medicine who was somewhere in this very clinic right now.

  He leaned on the reception counter. “How are you? How’s your family?”

  “Oh, you know. Hanging in there. Randy’s wife is having my third grandbaby in a couple weeks.”

  “Oh, congratulations.”

  “And my Jen broke up with her boyfriend. Good riddance, I say. He was n
o good.”

  Her oldest daughter, Jen, was a few years younger than Ruben. Though she had grown into a lovely woman, he still always saw her as the pigtailed brat who used to throw snowballs at him and once rear-ended him in the school parking lot a few weeks after she got her driver’s license.

  “I saw her a few weeks ago at the hospital when I had to take an inmate at the jail in for an X-ray. She’s a radiology technician, right? Does she enjoy it?”

  “She loves it. She makes a good living, too.” Gloria’s features suddenly turned crafty. “Now that she’s available again and has come to her senses, you may want to think about asking her out. She always had a little crush on you, you know.”

  He hadn’t known that—and now he wished she had never told him. Jen probably wouldn’t appreciate her mother spilling that particular can of beans. Ruben wasn’t sure how comfortable he would be joking around with Jen, the next time he had to take an inmate in for medical care.

  “I’ll, uh, keep that in mind.”

  “You do that.” Gloria beamed at him and Ruben shifted uncomfortably. He liked Jen but had never been particularly interested in her romantically—unlike a certain other woman he could name.

  “If you’re looking for your dad, he’s not in today. You’ll remember, this is one of his regular days off, since the new doc came. I think he and your mom were going Christmas shopping in Boise. Your mom said she needed another present for your brother’s girl. Esme, right?”

  Gloria always seem to know more about his family goings-on than Ruben did. “That’s right. Thanks, but I’m actually not here for my dad. I was hoping to catch Dr. Capelli, unless she’s gone home for her lunch hour.”

  Gloria gestured vaguely to the back rooms of the veterinary clinic. “That one rarely takes a lunch hour, unless her girls are out of school. You’re more likely to find her eating a brown-bag lunch while she walks one of the dogs or cuddles a cat.”

  He couldn’t discern from Gloria’s tone what she thought about that behavior. He pictured Dani doing both those things and found the image rather adorable.

  It suddenly occurred to Ruben that Gloria would likely be an incredibly helpful fount of information about the new veterinarian. She had worked with her since Dani came to town and Gloria wasn’t known for being subtle about probing for information about a person.

  She probably knew more about Dani than anyone else in Haven Point—including Ruben’s dad.

  He had dozens of questions he wanted to ask, but they all caught in his throat. He couldn’t interrogate his father’s nosy office manager, no matter how tempting. That would be inappropriate and intrusive. Right?

  “Could you let her know I’m here?” he said instead.

  “I’m waiting on a phone call from an insurance company. Do you mind just going on back and finding her? I imagine she’s either in her office or in the treatment area. In case you didn’t know, her office is right next to your father’s.”

  “Thanks.”

  He went through the double doors leading from the reception-waiting area to the treatment rooms and offices. The door next to his father’s office was open and the light was on but when Ruben poked his head inside, he found it empty. Down the hall, he could hear crooning, a sweet alto voice singing a Christmas carol.

  He paused for a moment, enjoying the impromptu concert. Who would have guessed Dani Capelli sang Christmas music? She had a beautiful voice, too. Something gentle and tender unfurled in his chest as he paused there in the hallway. For all her sharp edges, this confirmed his suspicion that Dani was a softy at heart.

  He received further proof when he walked farther down the hall to the doorway of the treatment room where animals were kept for observation postsurgery or if they were ill.

  Dani sat on the floor in front of one of the cages that lined the wall. In her arms was the biggest bunny Ruben had ever seen, a soft gray with ears that flopped down. She was singing “Away in a Manger” and the rabbit seemed to be enjoying every note.

  He had to smile. The woman was making it damn hard to resist her.

  She didn’t notice him at first, but continued singing to the creature. Ruben wondered for a moment if he ought to slip back out. He didn’t want to scare Dani and, in turn, scare the creature.

  He waited too long to decide, however. She must have sensed his presence, because she paused in her singing, looked up and gave a little gasp that did indeed have the rabbit jolting in her lap.

  “Easy. Easy,” she said, in a low, soothing voice that did ridiculous things to Ruben’s insides. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you.”

  In one graceful movement, she rose with the huge bunny in her arms and placed him back inside the largest of the cages. “There you go,” she said in that same soothing tone, before closing the cage door and turning to face Ruben.

  “Sorry I startled you.” Taking his cue from her, he kept his voice low, unthreatening.

  She moved closer. “It’s not me you need to worry about. Cecil can be fierce.”

  “I’m assuming Cecil is the giant killer bunny.”

  “Not a killer. He’s a particularly big French lop who had a little run-in with a bull terrier yesterday when he was out for a walk with his owner. I think Cecil is still suffering a little PTSD.”

  Ruben fought a smile, not sure why he found that amusing. Poor bunny. “How’s he doing now?”

  “Better. He should be ready to return to his family in another day or two.”

  “That’s good. Who wants to be without their giant bunny at Christmastime?”

  She made a face as she led him out of the room and into the hallway. “Your father’s not here. He and your mother went Christmas shopping in Boise.”

  “That’s what I hear. I’m not looking for my father, though.”

  “Oh?” He was almost positive he saw her blush. Her gaze danced to his mouth then quickly away and Ruben was instantly hot.

  She remembered their kiss as well. He was certain of it.

  “Have you had lunch? I was thinking about running over to Serrano’s to grab a bite.”

  She looked briefly tempted, then shook her head. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I have appointments scheduled again in twenty minutes.”

  “Another time, maybe. I should have asked in advance.” It was a spur-of-the-moment invitation anyway.

  “Guess I’ll run home and grab a sandwich, then,” he said.

  She started to nibble her bottom lip then seemed to catch herself. “I have a turkey sandwich in my office. You can share it with me, if you want.”

  After more than a decade in law enforcement, few things had the power to astonish him anymore. Dani’s lunch invitation would now top that list, especially after the way she had left things between them Sunday night. “That’s very sweet of you. Thanks. I would love to take you up on it.”

  Looking as if she regretted saying anything, she went to the sink to wash her hands, then led the way back to her office. She gestured to the visitor chair before pulling a small insulated lunch bag out of a minirefrigerator in her office. The bag was decorated in vivid orange and pink flowers, offering a bright little spot of femininity in the otherwise clinical office.

  She reached into the bag and emerged with a hoagie sandwich then handed him half.

  “All I have to drink are water bottles. Do you mind?”

  “It’s perfect. I’m on duty anyway.”

  She handed him a cold one from the refrigerator, grabbed one for herself, then opened the cap and took a long drink.

  “Thanks for this,” he said. “I probably would have ended up buying fast food before I head back to Shelter Springs. This is a much healthier option.”

  “You’re welcome. Oh, I have hummus and some vegetable sticks, too, if you want”

  “Thanks. You’re too generous.”

  She shrugged. “I always make too
much lunch and end up wasting half of it.”

  He chewed a delicious bite, flavored with exactly the right ratio of mustard to mayonnaise, took a swig of his water bottle, then set down the water bottle, reminding himself he needed to get to the matter at hand.

  “I really didn’t come here for free lunch, I promise.”

  “I know.”

  “While this is delicious, I actually stopped by because today is the thirteenth.”

  She gave him a blank look for a moment before her confusion gave way to understanding. “Oh. Right. The Secret Santa project.”

  “According to my mother’s long-standing tradition, we need to start giving out the gifts for the twelve days of Christmas today if we want to wrap things up by Christmas Eve. Are you still okay with Mia and Silver helping out?”

  “I don’t think I could stop that particular train now, even if I wanted to,” she said ruefully. “They’re planning on it. Mia, especially, is excited to help. She’s talked about it every day since Sunday night.”

  Again, her cheeks suddenly seemed to turn a dusky rose and she avoided looking at him, focusing on the sandwich in front of her.

  Was she remembering what else had happened Sunday night? He suspected so but couldn’t be sure.

  He certainly was remembering their kiss, especially when she nibbled on her delectable bottom lip again.

  He wanted to be the one doing that.

  Memories of those delicious few moments they had spent in her darkened living room pushed to the front of his mind. Her soft curves wrapped around him, her mouth sweet and eager against his, the soft, surprising peace he had found with her in his arms.

  Too bad he also recalled so clearly what she had said afterward: I’m afraid you’ll just have to be content with your memories, Deputy Morales, because it won’t happen again.

  She didn’t want to kiss him again. He would have to be content with that. Something told him Dani needed a friend and if that was all she wanted from him, he would do his best to respect her wishes, no matter how tough that was to remember—especially when she was sweet enough to offer him half of her lunch.