“It’s your turn, Trudy,” Ava announced. “Please arrange Buttons and Thimble in Santa’s lap.”
“Caleb?” Trudy asked. “Could you lend a hand?”
“Sure, sure.” He helped Trudy get her dogs settled on poor Zach’s lap for their picture and then scooted out of the frame.
He evaded Ava’s gaze. He didn’t need to see her. He knew what she looked like. Even after ten years, he still remembered every detail about her.
She was beautiful. Always had been and always would be in Caleb’s eyes. She had a smile that lit up a room, soft honey-colored hair and amazing brown eyes that sparkled and danced with mirth ninety percent of the time. Ava liked to laugh, and she had a great one.
He missed her laugh most of all.
While Ava took the photos of Trudy’s dogs on Santa’s lap, Caleb sneaked a surreptitious peek her way. She was still the most stunning woman he’d ever seen. He had thought that from the moment he walked into freshman English at Kringle High School and headed for the back of the room.
On the way past her where she’d been sitting in the front row, his hip had brushed her elbow and he’d been a goner.
“Caleb, can you help Trudy to her car?” asked Dr. Chloe Anderson, the young vet who operated the Kringle Animal Clinic.
Caleb was a big fan of Chloe’s. She was one smart cookie and she was terrific with his livestock—calm, sane, and sensible. He and Chloe had even dated briefly when she’d first moved to Kringle, but as much as they admired and respected each other, they both agreed they were too much alike to make a suitable match and they’d ended up just staying good friends.
“Sure thing,” he said, taking Buttons from Zach as Trudy tucked tiny Thimble in the crook of her elbow and shouldered her oversized purse.
He and Buttons were becoming good pals. He looked down at the little dog. Buttons almost seemed to roll his eyes at the whole strange affair. Caleb chuckled at the Min Pin’s expression.
“What’s funny?” Ava asked brightly. “I want to laugh too.”
“Nothing worth mentioning,” he mumbled.
He kept his focus on Trudy and her dogs, helping the senior citizen get outside and settled in her car. As he turned to go back in, Trudy leaned out the open driver’s side window and fixed him with a serious stare.
“You watch out, Caleb Sutton,” Trudy said. “Lord knows, we all love Ava, but she’s flighty as a hummingbird. Please take care of your heart and steer clear.”
Huh? Had Trudy picked up on his uneasiness around Ava? Before he could ask her what she meant, the older woman gave him a quick pat on the cheek and put up her window.
Caleb watched her back out of the parking spot. Yeah, Trudy was right. No doubt about it. He agreed completely.
When it came to Ava Miller, he was treading lightly.
“Why don’t we get some shots of the rescue dogs now?” Dr. Chloe said after the paying customers had dwindled.
The photography event had been about raising extra money for the clinic to offer free spaying and neutering, where the locals could have pictures of their pets with Santa.
Chloe had contacted Ava months ago and recruited her as the photographer for when she came home for the holidays. Always up for a fun challenge, especially when the proceeds went to a noble cause, Ava had immediately said yes.
“Sure, sure.” Ava blinked and turned from the window that looked out onto the parking lot where Caleb had gone with Trudy.
“Pining over Caleb?” Chloe teased with a twinkle in her eye. “He is one tall drink of water.”
“No, no,” she said, just a little too adamantly. “Just woolgathering.”
“That’s some mighty fine wool.” Chloe chuckled.
“Pfft.” Ava waved a dismissive hand. “Caleb and I were over a decade ago.”
“You sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“You don’t look so sure.”
Really? What had Chloe picked up on? Could she tell Ava’s heart rate kicked to the rafters when Caleb had bent over to put Buttons in his backseat harness, giving Ava a magnificent view of his backside? Chloe was a doctor after all, even if it was in veterinarian medicine.
“What’s Caleb doing here?” Ava asked.
“Your parents brought in a couple of dogs for a comprehensive today,” Chloe said. “Caleb is doing them a favor and picking them up while they’re in Fort Worth at your dad’s doctor’s appointment.”
“Oh,” Ava said. She hadn’t even known her dad had a doctor’s appointment until she’d woken up that morning in her girlhood bed and found a note on the nightstand from her mother, telling Ava they’d gone to Fort Worth for a consultation with a specialist, but not to worry.
That made her worry even more.
She’d gotten into Kringle so late that her parents had been on their way to bed and they’d had little in the way of conversation. She couldn’t help wondering why her folks hadn’t asked her to pick up the animals on her way home from the photoshoot rather than roping Caleb into the task.
“Don’t you normally go out to Kringle Kritters for intake examines on the strays?” Ava asked Chloe.
“Usually, yes, but I simply don’t have a spare moment this week.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Just take those brilliant pictures! I’ll take Abby and we’ll bring in the rescue dogs for their time in front of the camera.” Chloe winked and motioned for Abby to follow.
A few minutes later, Chloe and Abby brought in six dogs from the kennels. They were all on the scruffy side, as were most of the strays when they first arrived at Kringle Kritters Rescue.
“Let’s give them a quick makeover,” Ava said. “Glamour shots will increase their chances of getting adopted.”
“Great idea!” Abby sang out and immediately started gathering scissors, combs, and brushes, along with handkerchiefs and bows to spruce them up.
“Hey, Caleb, wanna help?” Chloe called to Caleb, who’d ambled back inside.
Ava couldn’t resist peeking over her shoulder. So far, Caleb had done a magnificent job of avoiding her. Did he feel as awkward around her as she felt around him?
Caleb looked uncomfortable. “Um, I’ve got—”
“Oh, please, please, please,” Abby begged, pressing her palms together. “We need all the help we can get. These dogs are shaggy!”
No joke on that score.
“Twenty percent off your next vet bill,” Chloe wheedled.
With a quick glance in Ava’s direction, Caleb shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
“Yay, yay, yay!” Abby danced around the room.
Caleb met Ava’s eyes directly for the first time. “This kid’s unbridled enthusiasm reminds me a lot of you.”
A compliment? From Caleb? Knock her over with a feather.
“Great!” Ava waved the FURminator grooming tool at him. “Why don’t you brush the big guy. He’s just your size. Make him handsome and debonair.”
Caleb arched an eyebrow and looked down at the unkempt mixed breed whose mismatched appearance suggested a heritage from German shepherd, collie, pit bull, and Labrador stock and then back at Ava. “That’s a tall order, peanut.”