Page 17 of Second Chance Christmas

A hooded look shuttered his eyes and a muscle in his jaw ticked like he was considering something. “Yeah. I know. I wanted to see your eyes light up.” His grin grew into a deep smile as he reached out and ran the back of his finger down the length of her cheek.

She needed to remember real-life problems awaited her the second she left Aspen’s company. She had no time for one-time lovers. But he was more than a lover and that fact was hard to ignore.

There went her heart again. Fluttering so hard it felt like it would leave her chest any second.

He killed the engine. “Kade, myself and a couple of the men at the firehouse all chipped in as a thank-you for putting up with our thick-headed ways back in high school. When Ms. Lucille retired, the only thing she wanted as a parting gift for over thirty years on the job was a decommissioned school bus. A few of us decided to help make her dream a reality. Full peace and quiet is all she wanted.

“Very clever. She always did think outside the box.”

“Wait until you see inside. It has everything from a fireplace and A/C to a full bathroom and living room.”

“No way.” The interior decorator in her itched to take down notes and map out every detail. “You think I could snag some pics?”

Ivy pulled the handle on the old-timey Ford and the door creaked open. She slipped from the warmth of the truck when a golden bounding ball of fur nearly took her to the ground.

A scrabbling of paws and joyous barking made her smile and her heart lighten. She scooped up the furry face in her palms and scratched around the squeaky ball he refused to drop.

“Aren’t you a happy puppy. My goodness.” She threw her hands out and laughed at the exuberant licks and a tail that whipped so fast nothing stood a chance against its might.

Damp with globs of snow, her newfound friend pressed cold paws into the material of her jeans and soaked through immediately. His weight almost as much as her own, Ivy didn’t stand a chance at pushing the energetic dog off her before he squished her into the space between the seat and door. And it was all she could do not to land flat on her butt in the mounting snow.

Sloppy wet kisses came like rapid slaps with wet noodles every place their furry greeter could reach and he was a pushy one so that meant everywhere.

Laughing, Aspen took his sweet time walking around the front of his truck. “Think you can help?” She dodged the unruly doggy tongue. “You know, by pulling Old Yeller here off me?”

“Come here, boy.” Aspen, clearly amused by the puppy love, opened the door the rest of the way and eased the golden retriever back so she could stand.

“Charlie McDuffy gets a little excited when new company comes by. Sorry about that. I completely meant to warn you,” he said with a wink.

She didn’t buy Aspen’s playful grin of innocence for an instant. “Sure you are. What a peculiar name for a dog. You threw me out there as a distraction.”

She mentally ran the dog’s name through her mind. McDuffy? Hmm. The name rang a bell. “I was almost a Bonafede sacrifice while you got away from the wet doggy love,” she said, turning her face up to Aspen’s.

Aspen’s gaze softened as he gave his signature smile that made her heart quicken. “A cute one too,” he added, offering her a hand up from the doorjamb where Charlie held her captive to his wet kisses.

She gathered the dog’s happy face in her gloved hands and scratched, loving the devoted look in its eyes. How sweet that animals loved so easily.

“They don’t get many visitors outside of myself and Rocco from time to time so she gets a little carried away in showing his appreciation.”

“Who’s Rocco?” She dusted off a few clumps of snow. Just then, the overgrown pup took off for the woods, the squeaky sound of his ball between his teeth like a radar tracker in the distance. He disappeared from sight, barking and creating a ruckus in the newly fallen snow.

“Aspen? Is that you?”

They both turned toward the front of the bus as a woman rounded it with her arms laden with a fresh pile of firewood. A ‘busted’ look flashed across her face before a big grin took over.

Ivy stepped away from the truck and tried to straighten her clothes. She probably had muddy doggy paws from toes to chin but that didn’t matter, she had to remind herself. The stuffy suits and high heels of Seattle required a polished look, but out here, everyone accepted you no matter how you came.

“Charlie never lets me sneak up on you, Ms. Lucille.”

“That’s it!” Ivy rounded on Aspen. “Charlie as in old man Charlie McDuffy?” Her hands flew to her mouth and she laughed until tears wet her face. “The dog is named after our old school principal?”

Ms. Lucille fed the fire with more wood and left a few pieces to the side for later.

“He sure is!” answered Ms. Lucille with a laugh in her tone and the same steely-eyed look to her gaze as though daring anyone to try to change her mind. “But my boy behaves better than that old coot ever will. Besides, he’s got little ones looking up to him now.” Ms. Lucille stroked a hand down the dog’s back with a loving touch. “He’s a daddy, now. Now get over here, Ivy, and let me get a better look at you.”

Ms. Lucille reached for her and like a glove, she slipped into the soft embrace of an old, familiar hug.

Her once red hair, now faded by age to a cool gray, was pinned high in her signature bun with the flare of a side wave and her blue eyes still as bright and sharp as the day she caught her and Aspen exchanging notes during English class.

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