That was a dagger right through his heart. His hurt must have shown on his face.
She slapped a palm over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“You’re entitled to your feelings.”
“I was irritated. You are who you are. It’s not my place to judge you and it’s really not your place to judge me either.”
“You’re right. We’re so different. It’s hard for us to see the other person’s perspective.”
“We’re night and day.”
“You gallivant.” He offered a small smile to lighten things up.
“You root.” She anted up a brighter smile than his.
“You’re a butterfly.”
“You’re a tree.”
“Good thing we didn’t get married,” he mumbled.
“Good thing,” she echoed.
“Look,” he said. “Something we can finally agree on.”
“Yay us.”
Her gaze hit his with the impact of a sledgehammer. “I better get to work.”
“Me too.”
“Bye,” she said without moving.
“So long.” He didn’t move either, and instead watched the pulse at her neck tick.
“See you around.”
He had to get out of here before he told her about her father. “Take care, Ava.”
Her expression shifted from one of pugnacious levity to suspicion. “You’re not acting right, Sutton. What’s up?”
“Nothing. I’m just afraid your Home for the Holidays event will be a big bust.”
“So what if it is? At least I’ll take a shot.”
He notched up his chin and narrowed his eyes. “Meaning?”
“Sometimes, Cabe, you’ve simply got to act.” And with that, she turned on her heel and walked back into the kennels, setting off a fresh cacophony of barking.
Chapter 3
Caleb’s comments got under Ava’s skin. She tried not to think about him as her mother showed her around the kennels the following day, introducing her to the dogs she’d be trying to find homes for during the impromptu holiday event she and Abby Owens had created on the spot.
While following her spontaneous impulses occasionally landed her in trouble, more often than not, there was a serendipitous quality to action. Taking calculated risks usually set her on the path to adventure that almost always worked out in her favor.
The journey might not be smooth, but hey, the bumps in the road were where the interesting things lurked, right?
Caleb had never understood that. He believed you shouldn’t roll over in bed without a plan and that attitude, in her estimation, killed the thrill of discovery.
“You’ve added more kennels since last year,” Ava observed as they strolled the facility.
“Yes, we can house sixty dogs in here. The cat kennels next door can take double that. We took out the closet and converted the space into two dozen extra kennels and had the shed out back installed for storage. The shelter has grown a lot since you…um…took a detour with your life.”
Ava sighed. Her mother was tiptoeing around ancient history. Why? The past was over and done with.
“Mom, I left,” Ava said. “Just accept it. I was supposed to marry Caleb, and instead, I walked away to travel the world. I was eighteen years old. I wasn’t ready to get married. I loved Caleb with all my heart, but I didn’t know who I was.”
“Do you know now?” her mother asked softly.
“Yes, I do.”
“And what is that?”
“I understand how I fit into the world. From behind a camera, photographing the far corners of the world, I’ve gained perspective on my life that I would never have gotten if I’d stayed in Kringle.”
“Can you sum it up for me?”
Ava tapped her chin. “I discovered people are the same no matter where you go. They all want the same things. To be happy and safe and loved.”
“Caleb loved you.”
“I know, but I until I left town, I couldn’t trust my feelings. I’d only loved one man. I had nothing to compare it to.”
“And now you do?”
Ava had spent the last ten years on the road. She’d had a handful of romances. She’d had fun. She’d enjoyed herself, but she had found no one who meant as much to her as Caleb once had. Sometimes that kept her awake at night, thinking about what she’d thrown away. Ironic that the only way to know what she’d had was to walk away from it.
“I appreciate that you’ve grown so much as a person, done so much with your life already, but honey, I’m so worried about your future. Are you going to spend the rest of your life roaming the world alone?”
Ava had no idea.
“Don’t worry.” Ava hugged her mom. “I’m okay. I promise. I was young. I was impulsive. I wasn’t ready to settle down in Kringle. I wanted to see the world and I did. Mission accomplished.”
“Does that mean you’re finally ready to settle down?” her mother asked hopefully.
Ava shrugged. Truthfully, she was at a crossroads in her life. She’d lost her last job due to the company she worked for going out of business and nothing new had shown up, although she’d applied to three jobs in three different countries and was waiting to hear back.
“I’m taking some time off from work.”
“Oh, my!” her mother exclaimed, looking so happy that Ava felt a bit guilty. She knew leaving Kringle had hurt her and Dad as much as it had hurt Caleb. “That’s fabulous. How long will you be staying?”
“I’m not sure. Definitely through the new year.”
“I see.” Her mother looked disappointed. “I thought maybe you meant you were going to take six months or a year away from the travel.”
“I’m playing it by ear, if that’s okay. Don’t worry, I won’t be in your hair. I’ll rent a place in town.”
“You’ll do no such thing. This is your home. You’ll stay right here.”
“And help with the shelter.”
“We’d love that so much.”
“Me too, Mom. Me too.”
“I’m so glad you’re home.” Her mother held out her arms.
Ava hugged her mother amidst the serenade of barking dogs.
“While we’re in a hugging mood, do you want to hug the animals? It’s time for their daily cuddles.”
“Absolutely. I thought you’d never ask.” Ava giggled.
“Let’s start with Moses and Tiny.” Her mother crouched in front of the kennel containing an elderly basset hound and nodded for Ava to free the Great Dane from the oversized pen behind her.
“C’mon, Tiny,” Ava said, suspecting that her father had named the dog.
Sometimes the rescues came in as nameless strays, and Ted Miller was famous for giving them ironic monikers. Other times, as with Moses, the pets were owner surrendered. Her mother had already told her that Moses’ owner, a local elderly woman who used to teach art at Kringle High, had developed Alzheimer’s and could no longer care for him.
Only three kennels remained unoccupied out of the sixty available. Ava petted the lively Tiny, who wagged his massive tail so hard it slammed into Ava’s mother’s back.