Wings of an Angel

by Shanna Hatfield

  And that was why she needed to keep her distance.

  Despite Drake’s convincing arguments and heartfelt pleas she spend Thanksgiving with him, she refused, mumbling some nonsense about already having plans.

  Just so she wouldn’t be caught in a lie, she quickly booked a hotel room in Portland at a child-friendly hotel near a shopping mall. She and Nick braved the snowy roads down the mountain as soon as he got out of school Wednesday afternoon and spent two nights in Portland. They ate out, went to the movies twice, and Angela took her son to visit Santa at the mall in the midst of all the Black Friday madness. Multiple times she tried to wrangle out of Nick what he asked Santa to bring him for Christmas, but he remained maddeningly tight-lipped on the subject, reminding her that if he told, Santa wouldn’t bring it.

  Here it was the Monday after Thanksgiving, with a blanket of snow outside and the temperature far below freezing, and Angela was terrified to face her best friend. She’d blown off his efforts at including her in what most likely would have been a wonderful day full of good food and friendship.

  Angela had heard through the grapevine at church yesterday that Drew brought Joy Cooke to Thanksgiving dinner. She was glad Drake’s brother had taken an interest in the sweet woman. Joy lived up to her name, shining with a special glow from the inside that touched those around her. Drew deserved happiness and Angela sincerely hoped he’d find it with the lovely young woman.

  While she was thinking of it, Angela tapped in a note in the planner on her phone to drop by and see Joy. The woman had injured her knee after the first big snowstorm and Drew had found her in the backyard, unable to get inside her house to call for help. Although Angela didn’t have time for baking, perhaps she could run by the store and pick up a few things to take Joy. From what she understood, the poor girl had been ordered to stay completely off her feet for a few weeks.

  Nick yanked on the hem of her shirt, drawing her attention back to him. “Can’t we please take, Jasper, Mom? Everyone will love meeting him.”

  Angela knew it was too cold to take the bird out, knew she’d have to face Drake. But she also knew taking Jasper to school would make Nick’s day.

  Hard choice, a sarcastic voice in her head whispered.

  “Let me text Mr. Miller first,” she said, surrendering to Nick’s pleas. “If he says it’s okay, then we’ll take Jasper.”

  “Yes!” Nick did a little happy dance while Angela sent Drake a text. He quickly replied that bringing the bird was fine.

  She’d half hoped Drake would say it wasn’t a good idea and let her off the hook. No such luck. Actually, Drake had asked about the bird a few times and Nick had faithfully provided updates about Jasper to anyone who would listen.

  “It looks like Jasper gets to go to school today,” Angela said, smiling at her son. It was hard to be in a bad mood when his excitement was so infectious. “Hurry and brush your teeth, then pull on your coat and boots while I get Jasper ready to go for a ride.” She tucked her phone into one of the pockets of her fleece-lined cargo pants. It annoyed her she couldn’t find the pants in women’s sizes and had resorted to ordering men’s pants online. In the winter, the fleece lining kept her warm when she was out on a call in the cold while the assortment of pockets were perfect for holding supplies she needed at hand. They did nothing to bolster her confidence or make her feel feminine, though. Not that any of that mattered anyway.

  With a sigh, she gathered what she’d need for the day and carried it out to her pickup in the garage.

  Jasper cooed at her and flapped his wings, as though he knew something was about to happen. “Silly bird,” she muttered as she walked past him and returned inside the house.

  She tossed one of Nick’s fleece blankets in the dryer to warm it then filled a resealable bag with birdseed and dropped it in one of her pockets. While Nick pulled on his coat and boots, she went through the house to make certain everything was turned off that was supposed to be. Assured everything was fine, she joined her son in the laundry room where he zipped up his coat and rammed his hands inside his gloves.

  “I’m ready, Mom.” Nick picked up his backpack and took it to the pickup, setting it in the back seat. He skipped back to her as she slid her arms into her coat and grabbed the blanket from the dryer.

  “Okay, baby. Here’s what we’re going to do.” Angela found it always helped to explain her plans to Nick if she expected his full cooperation. “I want you to climb into your seat and buckle in. I’m going to wrap Jasper in this nice, warm blanket and bring him to you. You’ll have to hold him all the way to school. Can you do that?”

  “Sure, Mom!” Nick ran to the pickup and climbed into the back seat, buckling himself into his booster seat. “I’m ready!”

  “That makes one of us,” she grumbled to Jasper as she removed the bird from his cage and gently wrapped the blanket around him. Jasper snuggled down into the warmth and cooed as he looked up at her. She swore if he could have smiled, he would have.

  She hastened her steps to the pickup and handed the dove to Nick. “Just keep him warm and calm.” Quickly shutting Nick’s door, she opened the garage door then started the pickup with her remote so it would be warm when she backed out. She picked up the bird’s cage and set it in the back of the pickup then grabbed Jasper’s ball, tucking it in one of her pockets before she slid behind the wheel and backed out of the garage.

  “How are you two doing back there?” she asked as she pushed the button and watched the garage door close as Brutus and the two cats stared with rapt attention as it rolled down.

  “Great, Mom. Jasper closed his eyes, like he’s going to take a nap.”

  “Good,” Angela said, distracted. Nerves popped around in her stomach like popcorn kernels in a hot skillet. It was ridiculous to feel that way about seeing Drake. He’d been nothing but kindness itself the past three years. And he was her best friend, the best she’d ever had.

  Why, then, did the thought of seeing him today make her want to run back inside her house, lock the door, and never leave again.

  “Because you’re being an idiot,” she whispered as she drove through Faraday.

  “What’d you say, Mom?”

  “Nothing, honey.” Angela pointed to the decorations hanging from the streetlamps. “Aren’t the decorations they put up for Christmas pretty?”

  “Yep! When are we going to put up our decorations, Mom? Are we going to get a real tree this year? Can we make a paper chain to put on it? Evan’s mom helped him make a paper chain to count down to Christmas. Can we do that? Do we have paper, Mom? I bet we could get some at the store tonight. Can we, Mom? Huh?”

  Angela swallowed back a sigh. “We won’t be able to do any of that tonight, baby, but we’ll definitely put up a tree before Christmas and some decorations. We’ve got almost four weeks before Christmas arrives, so there’s no need to rush.”

  Nick remained quiet the rest of the way to school. Angela hated to disappoint him, but she couldn’t think about decorating the house right now. It was bad enough she’d promised Tiffany she could decorate the clinic today. Angela would have to climb up in the storage shed where they’d stored all the decorations and find the box for the clinic. Maybe she could send Brad, her vet tech, to do it.

  “Okay, baby. I’m going to get out and carry in Jasper’s cage. I want you to wait right here with him until I come back. We can’t let him get cold, so be sure you stay in the pickup where it’s warm.”

  Nick rolled his eyes. “Duh, Mom. I know.”

  “Hey, buster, you need to dial down the sass, or I’ll take Jasper back home right now.”

  “Sorry, Mom.” Nick appeared repentant as he held the bird.

  Angela got out, but saw Nick whispering to Jasper. She had no doubt he complained about his mean, grouchy mom. She retrieved the cage and carried it inside the school, heading straight to Drake’s classroom. The door was open so she didn’t bother knocking.

  Instead, she stepped inside and watched as he wrote the day’s
assignments on the white board. That man could make an oxford shirt and a pair of dark slacks sure look good.

  Suddenly, he turned around and caught her ogling him.

  Heat seared her cheeks, but she ducked her head and held up the cage. “Where would you like to put Jasper?”

  “How about on this table?” Drake moved a caddy full of craft supplies from a large table near the window.

  “Perfect. Do you have some newspapers?” she asked, carrying the cage across the room.

  “No, but I’ve got a bin full of papers that need to be recycled. Jasper can have them.”

  “That’ll work.” Angela had Drake set papers down on the table before she added the cage. The cage didn’t take up a lot of space width wise, but it was as tall as many of Drake’s students with three different perches, giving Jasper plenty of room to fly and move. Angela lined the bottom of the cage with the papers Drake handed to her then filled Jasper’s little food dish with birdseed she took from the bag in her pocket. While Drake took care of getting water for the bird, she dug in another pocket for his ball and set it in the cage.

  “Nick’s waiting in the pickup for me with the dove.” Angela cleared her throat, finding it hard to speak when Drake stood with his arms across his chest, giving her a look she couldn’t interpret. All she knew was the light glowing in his gorgeous blue eyes and the smile accenting the dimple in his chin made her want to obliterate the distance between them, both literally and figuratively. She longed to give in to her heart’s demands and kiss him.

  But her heart had been wrong before and had lost its voting rights, as far as Angela was concerned. She spun around and hurried outside to where she’d parked in front of the door. If she didn’t hurry and move, she’d be blocking the school buses when they started to arrive.

  She opened Nick’s door and took the bird from him. Her son jumped down, grabbed his backpack and held out his hands for Jasper. For a moment she hesitated to give him the bird, but decided to trust him. He’d get the dove safely to the classroom. “Go straight to Mr. Miller’s room, okay? No dilly-dallying.”

  Nick didn’t say anything, but she caught the roll of his eyes as he turned around and carried Jasper inside the school.

  Angela hurried to park her pickup in the parking lot then jogged back inside. She returned to Drake’s classroom to find him kneeling on the floor near the table with the cage, holding Jasper while the bird cooed.

  “Look, Mom! Jasper remembers Mr. Miller from the day we rescued him. Isn’t it cool?”

  Angela seriously doubted the bird remembered Drake, but she wouldn’t correct her son. Not when the bird looked perfectly content in the man’s strong hands.

  “It’ll take a minute for the cage to warm up,” Angela said, removing her coat and draping it over one of two chairs in the back of the room where parents visiting the classroom sat. “We shouldn’t have brought him out on such a cold day, but Nick really wanted to share him for show-and-tell today.”

  “I think Jasper will settle in just fine.” Drake continued to stroke a light hand over the bird’s back. “If you like, you can leave him here all day. It won’t bother me to have him and it might be fun for the students.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. It might upset Jasper with all the noise and activity.”

  Nick ran over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, tipping his head back to stare into her face with the most adorable smile. “Please, Mom? Can we keep Jasper all day?”

  Inclined to say no, she gave Drake a questioning glance. When he nodded his head, as though urging her to agree, she felt outnumbered by the man and boy she loved. “Let’s see how Jasper does during show-and- tell. If he seems fine, he can stay. If he’s upset, I’ll take him when I leave.”

  “Deal,” Nick said, giving her a tight squeeze before going back to stand next to Drake. “Jasper is going to love it here.”

  “You can go outside and play until school starts, if you want, Nick,” Drake said, smiling at the boy. “I’ll take good care of your bird.”

  Nick tugged his stocking cap from his pocket and yanked it over his head as he ran toward the door.

  “Walk indoors, Nick. Walk!” Drake called after him with a chuckle.

  Angela felt like her feet had taken root to the floor when Drake stood and made his way to her, still holding the dove. He didn’t say anything, just melded that mesmerizing gaze of his to hers until he stood directly in front of her.

  Unsettled, she wanted to back away, but couldn’t force herself to move.

  “Did you have a good Thanksgiving?” Drake asked in a conversational tone.

  “It was nice,” Angela said, realizing she spoke the truth. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been to Portland. Doc Johnson had promised to be on call in case anyone needed a vet over the weekend, which no one did. Desperately, Angela had needed time away from Faraday, time to hang out with Nick and enjoy her little boy.

  “Nick told me about all the things you saw and did. It sounds like he had a great time going to the movies, eating out, and visiting Santa at the mall.”

  Angela nodded. “By chance, he didn’t tell you what he wants Santa to bring him, did he?”

  “Nope. And I feel it’s only fair to warn you, some of the kids have been debating whether Santa is real. Nick has been a staunch supporter of Santa, but I thought you ought to know in case he brings it up.”

  No longer believing in Santa? Angela sank down on a little plastic chair and drew in a long breath. She’d been seven when she decided Santa no longer existed. Nick was only… six. Tears stung her eyes as she thought about how quickly her little boy was growing up. First he’d stop believing in Santa and the Easter Bunny, then she’d blink and he’d be asking for the car keys to take a girl out to the prom.

  “No, no, no,” she said, burying her face in her hands, distraught as she envisioned how rapidly the future would fly by and it would be no time at all before Nick would leave for college.

  “Hey, Angel, are you okay?” Drake asked, hunkering down next to her and rubbing comforting circles across her back.

  The touch from Drake that was meant to be comforting sent every nerve ending in her body into a frenzied dance. There was only so much she could take before something had to give.

  “I’m great,” she croaked in a voice that sounded strained, even to her ears.

  “If you say so,” Drake said, then stood and moved back a few steps.

  She sucked in a cleansing breath then looked up at him. Darn it! Why did the man have to get more handsome every time she saw him? How unfair was that?

  She was sure she looked like a disaster and she hadn’t even dealt with a patient yet today. Her hair was twisted into a messy bun at the back of her head, she didn’t have on any makeup unless a quick swipe of mascara counted, and she’d grabbed the first clean scrub top her hand found that morning, yanking it on over a purple long-sleeved thermal shirt. The scrub top just happened to be one with a flurry of cute little forest animals on it, with everything from foxes and owls to bunnies and lavender-backed hedgehogs.

  Even if she’d wanted to catch Drake’s eye, which she most certainly did not, a harried mom wearing outrageous scrub tops with men’s winter cargo pants didn’t exactly scream dating material for a good-looking single guy.

  “How about you? Did you have a good Thanksgiving?” she asked, wishing the bell would ring and the students would pour inside so she’d have an excuse to remain silent.

  “It was okay,” Drake said. He stared at her as though he searched for something in her expression, as though he could see into her mind and heart.

  Troubled by the intensity of his gaze, she turned and looked out the window at the children on the playground. “Only okay? Didn’t you have a good day with your family and friends?”

  Drake moved beside her. Good grief, he even smelled delicious. There, among the fresh scent he managed to maintain in his classroom and the wafts of glue, crayons, and paper, she caught a whiff of som
ething masculine and entirely enthralling. What was he trying to do to her?

  She shoved her hands into the front pockets of her scrubs before she did something crazy like wrap them around the back of Drake’s neck and pull his head down for a sizzling kiss.

  When he cleared his throat and shifted away from her, she wondered if he’d somehow read her mind. “Everyone was there, except my best friend and my best little buddy.” He gave her a pointed glance. “I really did miss you being there, Angela.”

  “I’m sorry, Drake. I just needed to get away for a day or two and spend some time with Nick.”

  He nodded. “I know and I can’t fault you for it. In fact, you really are a great mom to Nick and he’s an awesome kid because of it.”

  Surprised by his compliment when she so often felt like a huge parental failure, Angela placed a hand on his arm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you for saying that.”

  “I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” Drake cleared his throat again and looked down at the bird he continued to hold. “Drew brought Joy Cooke to dinner. That was something of a shock.”

  “Do they make a cute couple?” she asked, turning back to the window then glancing at Drake when he chuckled.

  “Cute? Drew would have an acute attack of something if someone referred to him as part of a cute couple. But yeah, they do make a cute couple. It’s obvious they care about each other. Drew acts as though he’s finally found a missing piece of himself and Joy seems equally as loopy over my brother.” Drake offered her a rascally grin. “There’s just no accounting for some people’s taste.”

  “Oh, give Drew a break,” Angela said, knowing Drake was only teasing. The affection and devotion the Miller brothers shared ran deep, and was evident to anyone who knew them. “He deserves to grab onto whatever happiness comes his way and I like Joy. She’s one of the nicest, happiest humans I’ve ever met.”

  “She really is. I helped Drew over at her house a few times since she got hurt. She really is an upbeat, sweet gal. And she’s got that weird donkey and equally strange pup.”