Page 12 of The Sheikh’s Christmas Baby

The dog handler wasn’t wrong. As soon as she was through the gate, the atmosphere changed. The dogs jumped around her, licked her, and chased her, but they never did anything to hurt her, and if she accidentally fell, they all surrounded her to make sure that she was okay.

“Does Kristy still train them?” he asked curiously.

“She trains the new pups, but she doesn’t have time to look after them like she used to. I do most of the conditioning, but she checks up on me, and I’m very good at what I do.”

Henry clearly thought Kashif was concerned about the dogs, but really, he was concerned about Kristy. She used to love training the dogs. It was important to him that she be happy.

“Dusty and Jane are retired, and Punkin is still too young to race, but you’ve got some great choices here.”

“Punkin?” Kashif asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Kristy let Arella pick the name. First choice was Doody, so I figured Punkin’s not so bad.”

Kashif laughed, and shook his head. As he leaned over the fence, he heard Arella talking seriously to the dogs. “I’m a princess. You hafta curtsy to me.” She then demonstrated an awkward curtsy before she promptly started to topple over. Before she hit the ground, one of the dogs gently righted her with his nose, and she continued on her princess tirade.

“Henry!” Kristy said sharply as she marched up the path. “What is Arella doing here? She’s supposed to be inside!”

Henry shrugged, and Kashif frowned. “I brought her out here. She said she wanted to play with the puppies, and Julia said that it was okay.” He watched her closely. She looked more than just frustrated. Was that fear he saw in her eyes?

“Well, it’s not okay,” she snapped. “Arella. Go inside. You can take Dusty and Jane with you.”

The girl pouted and started to cry, but Kristy didn’t sway. She simply crossed her arms and stared. When she realized that pouting wouldn’t get her anywhere, Arella stopped crying and called to Dusty and Jane. The faithful older dogs dutifully followed her out, and the rest of the lot immediately started grappling with each other.

He searched her face for a clue to what she was thinking, but she was completely closed off now. “I can always run the dogs tomorrow,” he said softly.

“Well, now you’ll have to,” she said crossly. She caught his puzzlement and straightened. “Arella has been sick. I don’t want her to catch another cold. I’m sorry if I snapped. Henry, you’re welcome to grab your lunch now.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The young man grinned as if he knew what was going on and walked inside.

Without saying anything else to him, Kristy grabbed an empty basket and stomped away. She moved away from the farm. His interest piqued, he followed her.

“Thought it would be a good day for a walk in the forest?” he asked teasingly as his long strides caught up to her rapid pace with ease.

“Are you following me?”

“I am. We didn’t get to finish our conversation from earlier.”

“There’s nothing else to discuss.”

“Sure there is. You hate me, and I’m trying to resolve that.” He caught up to her easily and slowed down to match her steps. When she bent down to pick up a pine cone, he watched as she inspected it before discarding it. “What are you doing?”

“Arella said she wanted to make a Christmas wreath,” Kristy said shortly. “I don’t have time to run all the way into town to get her some supplies, so I figured I’d grab some stuff out here, so she can make a natural one.”

“You’re a good mother,” he said softly.

Her initial anger deflated, and she sighed. “I don’t understand what you’re doing here. Why didn’t you go stay at the other fancy lodge?”

“I’m here for the race,” he said evenly. “That other lodge doesn’t have the best dogs. You do. More importantly, that other lodge doesn’t have you.”

Before she could respond, he bent down and captured her mouth. She was as soft and sweet as he remembered. When her lips parted in surprise, he took advantage and swept his tongue inside. For a moment, she leaned against him, and he got carried away by her touch and the memories.

She’d been so sweet and innocent four years ago. It’s what had drawn him to her. At home, he was always surrounded by women intent on becoming the next sheikha. None of them were real. They simply said whatever they thought that he wanted to hear.

Kristy Cohen was real, and the kiss reminded him of that. Urgency rose in him, and he knew that he needed more of her. Just as he deepened the kiss, she stepped back and gasped.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she whispered.

“I’m reminding you of what we had,” he said softly. “I’m reminding you of what we lost. Something has been keeping us apart, and I mean to remedy that, Kristy.”

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