“I’ve got a better idea. How about I bring Sam down with me? She can watch the puppies while I treat you to dinner and help you get everything you need.”
Silence stretched between them.
“Kate?”
“Yeah, sorry. I’m just not used to ...” Her voice was soft. She cleared her throat and spoke louder, “I would love that. Are you sure? Sam won’t mind?”
“I’m sure. And Sam will be thrilled, trust me.”
“Then ... thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Give me a date and time, and we’ll be there.”
“I will. And, Chris?”
“Yes?”
“Make sure you check your phone tonight before you go to bed.”
He groaned. The last thing he heard was Kate laughing before she disconnected. He might have underestimated her. The woman knew exactly how to ensure he’d spend the rest of the day thinking about her.
Could she be any more perfect?
On that happy thought, he went in search of Sam. He found her in the kitchen, scowling down at her laptop. The brief spark of excitement she’d exhibited earlier was now nowhere to be found.
“Problem?” he asked.
“No. I’m just scouring food sites, trying to plan ahead. I think I might have overestimated my abilities. Running a kitchen and dining hall is a lot harder than running a coffee shop.”
The situation was worse than he’d thought. “How so?”
“The coffee shop had a limited, static menu. People knew what to expect. But this ...” She lifted her hands up in the air. “I don’t want to serve the same boring meals every day.”
“Don’t even think about doing away with your coffee and muffins. We’ll have a full-scale riot on our hands.”
She smiled appreciatively at that. “Thanks. Those, I’ve got covered. It’s everything else I’m having difficulty with. I’m just not creative when it comes to meals, you know?” She sighed and sat back, crossing her arms over her chest, looking defeated. “Maybe I should be searching for a cook instead of recipes.”
Mad Dog immediately thought of the leftovers he’d had at Kate’s and saw his opportunity. “Kate does a lot of cooking. Maybe you can ask her for some ideas when we head down there later this week to see the puppies.”
Just that quickly, Sam sat up straight, her eyes brightening with excitement. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. In fact, I volunteered you for puppy-sitting duty while Kate and I do a supply run. You okay with that?”
“Absolutely,” she replied, beaming. Sam got up from the table, and in a surprise move, she came over and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Mad Dog. Kate is a lucky girl.”
Then, she picked up her laptop and left the kitchen with a spring in her step. He hadn’t asked her about Luther Renninger, but he would later.
“So, I guess we’re puppy-sitting, huh?” Smoke stepped quietly out of the shadows, demonstrating how he’d gotten his call name. He was a stealthy fucker.
“Looks like.” Mad Dog grinned.
Smoke exhaled. “Well, I guess there are worse things.”
There definitely were. Like seeing the woman you cared about doubting herself.
Smoke came closer and spoke in a low tone, confirming Mad Dog’s theory, “Sam’s worried she bit off more than she can chew.”
“She’s doing a great job, but I can understand how she might feel overwhelmed. What about the part-time help she hired?”
“The last one called this morning and said she’s not coming back.”
“Did she say why?”
Smoke shook his head, but Mad Dog already knew the answer, just as he did. The part-timers were locals who were probably getting shit for working at Sanctuary. Things were getting out of hand. They weren’t bad guys. They weren’t unreasonable. They were trying to do something good here. Why couldn’t the locals see that?
Smoke ran his hand through his hair and exhaled. “Thank God Sandy decided to stick around.”
“Agreed.”
Not only did Sandy’s presence mean Heff was back to his usual smart-ass self, but Sam also had another woman to talk to, one who had also grown up in Sumneyville and knew what was what. Plus, Sandy’s restaurant experience was proving to be quite helpful as well. When some of the local suppliers had backed out on them, Sandy had used her connections at Franco’s to hook them up and keep them running.
Mad Dog wondered what it would be like if Kate were there, too and then ruthlessly shoved that thought to the back of his mind. He couldn’t afford to start thinking like that, not if he planned to take things slow.
Instead, he suggested, “What do you say we go find a couple of sledgehammers and start turning some of those single rooms in the west wing into suites?”
“I say, let’s get to it.”
Chapter Fourteen
Kate
Kate was really looking forward to seeing Chris again. Embarrassingly so. Only days had passed, but it’d felt so much longer. The good-night texts and images they’d been sending each other weren’t helping. If he kept sending half-naked pictures of himself, that heat smoldering low in her belly was going to erupt into an all-out raging inferno.
She stirred the pot of turkey chili she’d had simmering in the slow cooker all day and then popped some rolls into the oven. It wasn’t much, but she wanted to have something edible in case Sam and her man got the nibblies. It was the least she could do, seeing as they were driving all the way down to do her a favor. Oh, she knew it was more about the puppies than her, but she appreciated it.
As expected, Kylie had proven unreliable after the initial thrill wore off. Kate could have asked her parents, but her mom really wasn’t an animal person, and it wasn’t fair to keep calling her dad, especially after he’d suggested more than once that she take Mama Dog and the pups to the animal shelter and let them deal with them.
She wasn’t going to do that. They were dogs, yes, but they were also a family, and as long as they stayed with her, they could stay together. Bonus: she could lavish as much love and attention on them as she wanted.
Of course, that meant she also had to make some adjustments to her schedule, like cutting down her daily hours at the store from twelve to ten or less and getting someone to cover her Meals on Wheels route. It was only temporary. According to her ongoing online research on caring for new pups, introducing socialization was recommended at around two to three weeks. At that point, she could start taking the pups with her on deliveries. She thought the people on her route would enjoy that. Who wouldn’t?
Until then, however, she had to swallow her pride, call in some favors, and ask for help.
Duke’s soft woof alerted her to Chris’s arrival. She removed her apron and ran her hands over her sweater, tugging it down over her black jeans. Chris hadn’t said where they were going for dinner, but she knew the outfit was appropriate for anyplace in or around Sumneyville.
She might have been a bit overeager, opening the door and welcoming them before they had a chance to knock.
As usual, her heart did a flip-flop or twelve when she saw Chris. Even more so now that she knew what was beneath all those layers of outerwear, thanks to their nightly text exchanges.