Page 77 of The Holiday Gift

She wanted to gulp again, feeling very much like some ridiculous maiden aunt.

Which she was.

“I shouldn’t have come so early. I was just...concerned about how you made it through the night.”

He shrugged, though she thought she noticed a little spark ofsomethingin the depths of his blue eyes. “Not too badly. Luke slept most of the night. I imagine he’s going to be ready for a walk around the yard soon.”

That must have been why he had cleared away the snow around the sidewalk. She had wondered why that had been a priority, especially because he had told her the clinic would be closed that day.

She fought the little burst of warmth in her chest.Get a grip,she told herself. She wasn’t interested in some prickly veterinarian who jumped to conclusions and made snap judgments about people before he knew the facts.

Even if he did have a flat stomach she wanted to trail her fingers along...

She blushed and looked away. Her dog. That’s why she was here—to check on Luke. Not to engage in completely inappropriate fantasies about a man who would be living just a stone’s throw away from her.

“I can take him out if you’re sure he’s up to it.”

“We made one trip out in the night. He seemed to handle it okay. Let’s try again.”

She headed to the crate where Luke lay. As if sensing her presence, his eyes opened and he tried to wag his tail, which just about broke her heart. “Shhh. Easy. Easy. There’s my boy. How’s my favorite guy?”

The dog’s black tail flapped again on the soft blankets inside the crate. He tried to scramble up, then subsided again with a whimper.

“He’s due for pain meds again. I was planning to try to slip a pill in some peanut butter.”

She unlatched the door of the crate and reached in to rub his chin. “I hope you didn’t keep Dr. Caldwell up all night.”

“Not too bad.” Ben hadn’t shaved yet and the dark shadow along his jawline gave him a rugged, rather disreputable air. He probably wouldn’t appreciate her pointing that out—and hedefinitelywouldn’t be interested in knowing about her unwilling attraction to him.

“We had a few rough moments.” He paused, giving her a careful look. “To tell the truth, I wasn’t completely convinced he would make it through the night. He’s a tough little guy.”

“It helps to have a good vet,” she said. Even Doc Harris wouldn’t have stayed all night. It was a hard admission, but honesty compelled her to face it. As much as she loved the old veterinarian, she had noticed he sometimes had a bit of a cavalier attitude about the seriousness of some cases.

Apparently that wasn’t the case with Dr. Caldwell.

“Sometimes all the veterinarian skills in the world aren’t enough. I guess you would know that, as an animal lover.”

That was her big worry right now with Sadie. Her old border collie, the very first dog who had been only hers, was thirteen. In border collie terms, that was ancient. As much as she loved her, Caidy knew she wouldn’t be around forever.

“Luke seems alert now. That’s a good sign, isn’t it?”

He joined her in petting the dog. Their fingers accidentally touched and she didn’t miss the way he quickly lifted his hands. “You can call him Lucky Luke.”

“My brother and his family already have a dog named Lucky Lou,” she said with a smile. “He survived being hit by a car.”

“Your brother?”

She rolled her eyes. “No, but there was a time plenty of the scorned women of Pine Gulch would have gladly tried to run him down. No, Lou. He was a stray, a little corgi-beagle mix who used to wander around our ranch. I was trying to lure him in so I could find his owner, but he was pretty skittish. Then one afternoon he didn’t move fast enough and some speeder hit him. He’s doing great now and is extremely spoiled by Taft’s kids.”

Stepchildren, actually, but Maya and Alex had quickly been absorbed into the Bowman clan.

“Well, you can add this one to your collection of lucky pups.”

“When can I take him home?”

“Maybe later today, as long as he remains stable.”

“That would be great. Thank you for everything.”

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