Page 2 of All It Takes

Uncertainty chased through her eyes as she held my gaze. Her fingertips were still worrying the hem of her shirt, and that urge to protect flashed inside.

“I just moved back recently,” she replied.

Alice called over, “She’s the one.”

“She’s all yours.” I tore my attention away from Tiffany.

A short while later, I watched as they walked out with the newly named Honey who was dancing happily on her lead at Alice’s side.

Tiffany’s hips swung with her easy stride. She looked over her shoulder, catching my eyes from a distance and once again sending a jolt through my system. When I turned away to close the door, I told myself I didn’t have time to think about any woman. As if to prove my point, my cell phone vibrated in my pocket with a text coming in.

ChapterTwo

TIFFANY

I powered down the computer in the reception area at the veterinarian clinic where I was the office manager. I’d started this job last autumn, not long after moving back to my hometown of Willow Brook, Alaska. Just a few weeks ago, we had started closing early one day a week. It gave Alice, my boss, and the veterinarian here, time to catch up on documentation.

Walking down the hallway, I peered into the break room where she was situated with a sandwich and a fresh cup of coffee from Firehouse Café, a local favorite coffee shop.

She glanced up, her gaze thoughtful. “Should I be paying you more?”

I eyed her curiously. “You already pay me above market rate for my position,” I pointed out.

“Is there such a thing as a market rate for an office manager at a vet clinic in a small town in Alaska?”

My brows hitched up, and I shrugged. “Not specifically, but I’ve worked in human resources before, and you’re paying me more than I got at my last job in Seattle. Trust me, I’m good. Why are you asking?”

She took a swallow of coffee before replying, “Because I was just reviewing that checklist you made for me for my daily paperwork and realizing I don’t know how I could’ve done this without you.”

Alice Hall had grown up in Willow Brook, just like me. We’d both moved away for college and found ourselves returning to town around the same time. Alice had been offered the opportunity to fully take over this veterinarian clinic after the last owner had developed dementia and was no longer able to run it. While Alice was fully trained to handle all of the veterinarian aspects, she’d immediately searched for someone to help with the business side of things. That someone was me. I loved working here because organizing things was my jam.

I smiled, feeling a flush of pride. “I’m glad to help. It’s my job.”

“Well, thanks for everything. And don’t stay out after dark tonight. There’s supposed to be a snowstorm coming in.”

“This is Alaska. There’s a snowstorm almost every week.”

She rolled her eyes. “Be careful anyway.”

ChapterThree

WES

I stared down at the little boy standing in front of me. The moment my eyes collided with his dark-brown gaze, I felt as if I’d been punched in the chest. The jolt of familiarity was shocking. The little boy, who I’d just met seconds ago, eyed me. His gaze was assessing and curious with a hint of guardedness to it.

The woman waiting beside him cleared her throat. I realized I hadn’t said a fucking word since I’d opened the door.

“Hi, I’m Wes,” I finally said. “Come on in.” I opened the door wider and gestured them through. I breathed a silent sigh of relief that the house was clean. Even though I was a bachelor, I was not a slob.

The woman, whose name had promptly flitted out of my thoughts, placed her palm gently on the little boy’s shoulders as they walked in. The potentially tense moment was saved by the overenthusiastic rescue dog I was fostering, who came galloping in from the kitchen. The dog in question, Nilla, spun in a circle around my legs before greeting the visitors with her nose.

As Nilla sniffed up and down the little boy’s legs, a smile cracked across the boy’s face. When he peered up at me, the hesitance and innocence in his gaze twisted my heart. “Can I pet her?”

I chuckled. “Her name is Nilla. I don’t think she’s going to let you avoid it.”

The boy knelt beside the dog. Nilla was a sweet girl and happily rolled on her back, showing off her belly and licking his palms.

The woman smiled at me, offering, “Sorry this is such short notice.”

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