The Twelve Dogs of Christmas

by Lizzie Shane

Ally’s eyes widened. “Charge?”

  “Kaitlyn is obsessed with Romeo,” Isabelle interjected wryly, her eyes glinting with humor.

  “He’s an influencer,” Kaitlyn insisted, before her gaze landed back on Ally. “Do you have a studio set up here? Or do you take the photos off-site? This time of year, I’m sure you’re swamped with all the people who want Christmas cards with their babies, but it is so sweet that you’re doing the charity stuff for the shelter, too. I’m sure you’re booked past Christmas, but whenever you can fit us in—and of course I would tag you. Do you have Instagram? You must, right?”

  Ally had been caught off guard, but she rallied quickly, a smile spreading across her face. “You know, I’m still getting the business set up here in Pine Hollow. I’ve been working out of New York for the last several years, and this is a new location. Doing the photos for Furry Friends was a good way to promote the shelter—such a good cause—and also show people what I can do.”

  “Oh my goodness.” Kaitlyn beamed. “So smart. I should have known you were a pro opening a new location. I mean those photos. Gorge.”

  “So you’re moving up here?” Isabelle asked. “I’ve heard all sorts of conflicting reports.”

  Ally flushed, reminded that this was Ben’s ex. She didn’t really know the details of how things had ended between them. Only that it had coincided with him gaining custody of Astrid. Did Isabelle want him back? Was that why she was back here? He was the king of mixed messages—was it possible he wanted that, too? “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but Ben and I aren’t…”

  “Oh, honey, no. I’m not jealous. That was two years ago, and it’s probably good we figured out we weren’t a match when we did. I won’t pretend I wasn’t pissed at him for a while, but now I just want him to be happy. If you make him happy—if he actually lets you—more power to you.”

  She wasn’t sure how to react to being given the blessing to date a man who might not actually want to date her. Sure, she might have feelings for him, but that had to go both ways.

  “We’re just friends,” she insisted. For now. “So you’re back in Pine Hollow…”

  “Just for the holidays. My family’s here, and I never miss it. Will we see you at the pageant tomorrow?”

  “Yes?” She meant it to sound definitive, but it came out as more of a question.

  Isabelle smiled. “Excellent.” She nudged Kaitlyn. “We should probably get going.” She lifted up the box she was holding. “My siblings are waiting for these pastries, and if I don’t get back with them soon there could be open warfare.”

  Kaitlyn whipped out a business card with Romeo’s wrinkly face on it. “Here’s all of Romeo’s information. Whenever you can fit us in.”

  Ally accepted the card, trying to restrain her unprofessional glee. “I’ll look at my schedule.”

  She had a feeling a slot might magically open up next week, just as soon as she had a chance to set up a proper studio, as opposed to the makeshift ones she’d been using for the dogs. There was that empty storeroom. Or she could take over one of the empty guest rooms in the farmhouse.

  “Merry Christmas!” Kaitlyn and Isabelle called, and Ally echoed them, biting her lip and trying not to bounce.

  She caught a few townspeople watching her and was sure the interaction with Ben’s ex would be all over town before nightfall, but she couldn’t make herself care. She had a plan.

  This could work. And once she had the studio set up, she could use it for human portraits, too. Headshots for local actors and models, family portraits…the possibilities were endless.

  Kaitlyn might be the same woman who Instagrammed her children’s lunches at Astrid’s school, but Ally wasn’t about to hold that against her, since she’d just given her the epiphany of her life.

  It felt like a sign. The universe telling her she could stay in Pine Hollow. With her grandparents, her new friends…and Ben.

  She began walking quickly back toward Furry Friends, excitement hurrying her steps as her thoughts churned.

  Why limit it to photography?

  She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of this before.

  What if the shelter wasn’t just a shelter? What if they didn’t have to rely on the town for their funding because they were pulling in a profit from pet photography and training classes? Yesterday Elinor had complained that the closest obedience trainers and doggie day cares were in Burlington. What if Ally arranged for someone to come out to the shelter once a week to teach all the local pet owners? What if they provided boarding and doggie day care services when the runs weren’t full of rescues?

  She didn’t dare tell her grandparents yet. She didn’t want to get their hopes up before she’d worked out all the details, but her own hopes were sky high.

  She needed to tell Ben.

  She rounded a corner, nearly bumping into a slow-moving couple shuffling along the sidewalk with a pair of slow-moving dogs.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Johnson!”

  “Well, if it isn’t the young Miss Gilmore.”

  Ally smiled, crouching down awkwardly with her burdens to greet Fred and Ginger. “I didn’t expect to see you. How are you enjoying Fred and Ginger?”

  “They are a delight.” Mrs. Johnson beamed. “We were just discussing what we could bring to the shelter as a thank-you present.”

  “Giving them a good home is the best thank-you I could ask for.” Ally straightened from her crouch, noticing the Johnsons were holding hands again.

  “Where’s your young man this morning?” Mr. Johnson asked.

  Ally flushed. “He isn’t my young man.” But she wanted him to be. Her gaze flicked down to those linked hands. “How did you know you wanted to spend the rest of your lives together?”

  Mr. Johnson smiled. “I felt like I’d won the jackpot. Like I was pulling one over on fate because I got to be with Verna.”

  “And I felt the exact same way. I was so sure I was the lucky one.”

  “That’s the ticket. When you both think you’re getting the better end of the deal,” her husband added. “When you can’t believe you got so lucky.”

  “Of course, I still want to throttle him half the time because he’s a doddering old man who can’t seem to stop sitting on his glasses, and those things are expensive,” Mrs. Johnson fussed, and her husband smiled.

  “You thinking about your young man?” he asked.

  “We’re just friends,” Ally repeated.

  Mrs. Johnson beamed. “That’s the best kind of person to fall in love with.”

  Her husband winked. “Just some unsolicited advice from a nosy old couple.”

  They continued on their way, and Ally stared after them, nerves and excitement warring inside her. Ben had thrown on the brakes again and again. He didn’t want the town talking about them. He didn’t want Astrid getting invested. But he’d never said he didn’t want her.

  Ally had never been able to picture a future with Matthew, but when she closed her eyes and thought of front porches and dogs, Ben and Astrid were always there with her in her mind’s eye. He would be a partner. He was the one she could imagine holding hands with when they were both ninety and she was probably blind as a bat.

  And now she had a plan, a way to make that vision of the future come true. She’d never gone after what she wanted because she hadn’t known what she wanted, but now…

  If there was ever a time to go after what you wanted most in the world, wasn’t it Christmas? Wasn’t this the season of miracles? She’d found her place in the town. But she wanted more. She wanted Ben.

  Energy coursed through her. She had a rehearsal to get to.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The backstage area of the Pine Hollow Community Theater was a maze of props for various shows. Astrid had met Ally at the stage door and taken Peanut and Partridge to the pageant directors to be introduced to the actors who would be handling them for their moment in the spotlight. Deenie was already here with Maximus—who had yet to be picked up by Connor,
so Deenie declared he would make the perfect ass for the nativity. Maximus, not Connor.

  Ben had apparently been conscripted to fix some snafu with the lighting system backstage, but Ally had yet to find him. She could hear the actors rehearsing onstage, loudly projecting their Christmas cheer, but as she navigated the maze backstage, all she saw were the darkened shapes of prop tables and curtains and what looked like a giant gilded throne—but turned out to be nothing more than painted Styrofoam when she ran her fingers over it.

  “Ben?” she called softly, pulling back a heavy velvet curtain to reveal another heavy velvet curtain.

  The sound of a muttered curse lured her past a courtroom set. Ally veered around a stack of chairs and finally spotted her target standing in front of a lighting panel with a flashlight clenched between his teeth, his shoulders bunched as he worked.

  “I see they put you to work.”

  Ben straightened, took the flashlight out of his mouth, and grimaced. “This is why I learned years ago to avoid the pageant at all costs. Something always goes wrong at the last minute, and I always seem to be the one who has to fix it.”

  Ally stepped closer, frowning at the lighting panel. “Do you know anything about theatrical lights?”

  “Not a thing. But apparently ‘IT’ means I must be good at everything to do with electricity or technology.”

  “That’s quite a skill set.”

  “Unfortunately, I think I actually found the problem, and since I fixed it, I’ll only reinforce this misguided belief that they should ask me to fix things.” He flicked something closed on the lighting panel and turned off the flashlight, pocketing it. “The dogs here? Astrid was bouncing off the walls waiting for you.”

  “I couldn’t find parking.” The community theater was like Grand Central Station this afternoon. “But she’s got Partridge and Peanut now.”

  “Partridge still hasn’t been claimed?” Ben gathered up the tools she hadn’t noticed at his feet.

  “I’m shocked, too.” She was making small talk. Chitchatting with him. This wasn’t why she’d sought him out. He started to move back toward the stage, and Ally put out a hand. “Ben…”

  He paused, his eyebrows going up. The light was dim back here, but she could still clearly see the question in his eyes. “Yeah?”

  “I…” She had a million things she wanted to say to him, but all the words were jumbled up in her head, refusing to sort themselves out.

  “Is everything okay?”

  “See, the thing is…I…” She looked up at him, his brow wrinkled in a frown as he waited for her to finish. Carolers belted “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” from the stage, demanding a figgy pudding right now—which had to be the rudest Christmas carol in the history of Christmas carols, but suddenly she understood their impatience as a reckless impulse surged through her.

  “I’m crazy about you,” she blurted—and once the words started, she couldn’t seem to stop them. “And Astrid. And I know we agreed that we were going to do the friends thing, because of Astrid and the town, but everyone thinks we’re dating anyway, and I don’t want to tell people that we aren’t anymore, because I want to. I want to stay. I want to be with you. I even have a plan—to take photos of dogs and offer training and provide services so Furry Friends doesn’t have to rely on the town for funding. I haven’t thought it all through yet, but I want to try, and you aren’t saying anything, which is making me really nervous, but hopefully you feel lucky like I feel lucky, because I want you on the front porch with me—” She couldn’t seem to stop speaking. The words spilled out of her mouth without any forethought or direction from her brain—but luckily Ben knew how to stop them.

  He stepped forward, closing the distance between them—and both of his hands cupped her face, tipping it up to him as his lips landed firm and smooth and perfect on hers. She gripped his forearms, going up on her tiptoes, relief pouring through her.

  And then his arms were closing around her, drawing her tight against his body until her toes lifted right off the ground. Ally arched into him, flush against him, and that dizzy relief was chased by a searing, heady heat as Ben tilted his head, fitting his mouth so perfectly to hers.

  This. No more will-they-or-won’t-they. They would. Oh her sainted aunt, would they ever.

  Ally clung to his sweater, his warmth folding around her, his tongue teasing and tangling with hers, and the rightness of the moment sank into her skin. It was like a cog that had been slightly out of alignment for years had finally clicked into place, and the satisfaction of it settled into her soul. Family, community, love, all the missing pieces interlocking like some kind of Christmas miracle—

  “Uncle Ben?” called a high voice nearby.

  Ben jerked his lips from hers and whirled, dropping Ally back on her feet so fast she was still steadying herself when one of the heavy velvet curtains was yanked in front of her.

  “I’ll be right there, Astrid!” Ben called from the other side of the curtain.

  Ally stared at the heavy red velvet. Had he seriously just shoved her behind a curtain?

  “There you are,” Astrid spoke nearby, her voice muffled by the velvet. “Have you seen Ally?”

  “I was working on the lights,” Ben said quickly, dodging the question. “I think I’ve got ’em going now. I just need to check one more thing, and I’ll be right out.”

  “Okay.” Astrid’s footsteps retreated, but Ally barely heard them. She was too busy replaying the last thirty seconds in her mind.

  She’d told Ben she wanted to be with him, and he’d started kissing her, and then he’d literally shoved her behind a curtain so Astrid wouldn’t see that they were together. He hadn’t just tried to keep Astrid from seeing them actively kissing; he’d flat-out panicked at the idea of his niece seeing them standing next to each other, and his reaction had been to get rid of the evidence as fast as possible—i.e., get rid of Ally.

  Not exactly the actions of a man wildly in love. Unease shifted inside her chest, along with something darker.

  The curtain yanked back, and Ben raked a hand through his hair. “That was close.”

  Ally’s jaw worked, but no words came out. She couldn’t seem to quite put into words what felt so wrong about the last two minutes, because suddenly everything felt wrong, like something slimy had crawled over her skin. “Did you just hide me?”

  “Astrid was coming. It was instinct.”

  “To hide me,” she repeated. “Your instinct was to hide me.”

  Ben’s brows pulled into a frown. “Obviously we don’t want her to see this.”

  “Obviously…” Ally echoed, though it was anything but obvious to her. Did he mean the public displays of affection? Or was the “this” he was trying to keep from Astrid even broader than that?

  He answered her questions before she could ask them. “I’m sorry. I thought we were on the same page. We still have to be careful…”

  Ally frowned, the realization of how different their expectations were sinking down to the marrow of her bones. She’d thought they’d cleared the last hurdle once she told him she was staying. She’d thought this was it. She looked up at him, her brows knit together. Did he think she didn’t mean it? Didn’t he understand what she was saying?

  “I got an email for an interview this morning,” she explained. “The one I was waiting for. The job that was my dream job a month ago—”

  His expression locked down, somehow pulling away from her without moving. “Are you taking it?”

  “No, that’s my point. I didn’t even really consider it—I didn’t open it—because this is what I want. Not New York. Pine Hollow and you and Astrid. But you have to want it, too.”

  “I do,” he insisted. “I just don’t want Astrid getting attached before we know what this is. I have to be careful.”

  Ally nodded, but she wasn’t sure what she was agreeing to, her thoughts still spinning.

  Back when she’d been dating Matthew, she’d always let him dictate their re
lationship. She’d gone along with his wishes. She’d never asked for what she wanted, because she’d never known what she wanted. But this was different. This hurt.

  She’d been looking for a partner, that person who would stick with her for sixty-five years and still want to hold her hand, and Ben was hiding her behind curtains. He was hedging his bets. She knew better than most that the future wasn’t guaranteed, but she wanted someone at her side who at least wanted to try. The cog shivered out of place, cracking under the strain.

  “I’ve been falling by myself, haven’t I?” she whispered. Ben wasn’t looking for a partner. He always wanted to do things himself. She’d done it again. She’d been lonely and desperate and latched on to someone who didn’t want what she wanted. Who didn’t want her. “You were never going to let me in.”

  * * *

  Ben raked a hand through his hair, wondering how he’d gone from the best damn kiss of his life to a conversation spinning out of control in the space of less than five minutes. “It isn’t about that,” he argued, the words sharpened by the unfairness of the accusation. He’d already let her in. Farther than just about anyone in his life. “It’s about Astrid.”

  “No.” She kept shaking her head. “Don’t blame this on her. You’re the one who has this unrealistic idea of who you need to be for her. And you are the one too scared to let anything you can’t control into your life. But you miss out on living when you do that. You don’t need a huge yard to have a dog. Just like you don’t need a guarantee that we’ll last forever before you let yourself go on a date. Astrid is a smart kid. She understands. And if we don’t work out, yes, I’m sure she’ll be disappointed, but kissing someone isn’t a binding lifelong contract, and I’m pretty sure she gets that.” Ally folded her arms tightly. “You are making this choice.”

  “I’m not making any choice. I just think it doesn’t hurt to be cautious.” If she gave up her dream job for him and things didn’t turn out the way she wanted, she would resent him forever. “Maybe you should do that interview in New York.”

  “That isn’t what I want,” Ally snapped. “Haven’t you been listening?”