“Thank you so much for coming. Please, come in. Can I take your coats?”
The large, stoic-looking man beside Sam helped her off with her coat before removing his. Though Kate had never met him, she had seen him before. The first time was at Santori’s café, where Sam used to work before the place burned down. More recently, he’d been outside Handelmann’s the last time Chris was in.
Depending on who she listened to, Sam’s beau was either her guardian angel or the evil villain who had lured her away from her people. Kate preferred to believe the former. In her opinion, the people of Sumneyville hadn’t been very kind to Sam over the years. That was one of the reasons she’d made it a point to stop in Santori’s several times a week and say hello. Also, Sam’s coffee and muffins were to die for.
“Kate, it’s so good to see you again,” Sam said. “I brought Steve with me. I hope that’s okay.”
“Of course.” She held her hand out. “Hi, Steve. I’m Kate.”
His grip was firm but gentle. Like Chris, he seemed to be more of the strong and silent type.
Kate took their coats and hung them on the old-fashioned coat rack next to the door. It was a monstrous thing, nearly seven feet of hand-carved oak with no less than eight brass hangers.
Sam appreciatively eyed it with appreciation. “I haven’t seen one of those in a while. My grandparents used to have one.”
“My great-grandfather made it out of an oak that came down in a storm one summer,” Kate said proudly.
“This used to be your grandparents’ house, right?” Sam said, recognition dawning. “Hans and Gertrude Handelmann?”
“Right. It was my great-grandparents’ before that. A Main Street original. There’s even hand-hewn beams and a dirt floor in the basement.” Kate clamped her lips together, aware that she was babbling again.
“Hey, Kate,” Chris said, the ghost of a smile playing against his fine male lips.
“Hey yourself.”
“What smells so good?”
“Turkey chili.”
His brows drew together. “You cooked? I’m supposed to be taking you out.”
“I did, and you are. The chili is for them, not us.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Sam said.
Kate shrugged. Having food on hand when someone came by was just common courtesy in her book. “It’s the least I could do. You’re doing me a huge favor and giving me peace of mind by dog-sitting. Want to see them?”
“Absolutely!”
She took them over to the dining room, where several of the pups were nursing.
Sam practically melted right then and there. “They are so precious!”
“Right?”
Feeling like a new mom, Kate gave Sam a quick rundown on everything she might need and where to find it. “The pups don’t do much besides sleep and eat. Mama Dog’s got everything under control, but I like to give her a five-to-ten-minute break to do her thing every so often.”
“What about the big guy?” Sam asked, looking at Duke.
Since Duke had already vetted Sam and Steve at the door, Kate wasn’t worried about leaving him with them. “Don’t worry about him. He comes and goes as he pleases through the doggie door in the kitchen, though he’s been sticking pretty close to Mama Dog these days.”
“Got it. Piece of cake.”
“And please, make yourselves at home. TV’s in there. Chili’s in the slow cooker, and rolls are staying warm in the oven. Here’s my cell number if anything comes up.”
By the time she paused to take a breath, Chris was struggling not to smile and gently nudging her toward the door. “Relax, Kate. They’ve got this.”
She didn’t fully exhale until they pulled away from the curb. Sitting next to Chris in his truck and breathing in his subtle, spicy scent had an instant calming effect.
He reached between them and entwined his fingers with hers like it was the most natural thing in the world. “Dinner first? Or shopping?”
“Shopping first, if that’s okay. Then, we won’t have to rush through dinner to get to the store before it closes.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
He held her hand as they drove through town, releasing only when he had to shift and then reclaiming it as soon as he had. She wasn’t complaining. His hand was warm, his grip both firm and gentle at the same time. It was nice. Really nice. She liked to think that he craved the contact as much as she did.
She was disappointed when they reached their destination and had to let go, but she focused on the positives. Namely that they were going to be spending the next couple of hours together.
They made their way up and down the aisles. Chris pushed the cart while she added item after item—massive bags of food for Duke and Mama Dog, several tubs of nonallergenic gentle wipes, waterproof pads, and other things she’d need to get her through the next two weeks.
As they went, she created a new list of items she’d need to get when the pups got a little older, like special puppy food, bowls, collars, leashes, toys, teething aids. The longer they shopped, the longer the list grew. Kate could already feel her bank account shrinking, and she hadn’t even factored in the upcoming vet bills. The fees for the initial exam had left her reeling. She didn’t want to think about their next visit, which would involve shots as well.
She wasn’t poor, but she didn’t have a huge nest egg either. Working for her father wasn’t the same thing as working for someone else. In fact, he hadn’t even paid her a regular wage until she moved into her grandparents’ house at the age of twenty-one, and even then, her salary was the bare-bottom minimum allowed by law since, technically, he owned the house and let her live there rent-free.
Rent-free wasn’t the same as free-free, and old houses weren’t cheap to maintain. She didn’t pay rent, but as part of their arrangement, she was responsible for upkeep. In the past year alone, she’d had to replace the furnace and all the outlets in the kitchen, both of which cost thousands of dollars. The place needed a new roof, too, but since the last estimate had come in at over twenty thousand dollars, she was putting that off for as long as possible.
That was why, when Chris stopped in front of a display that looked like a sophisticated doggie playhouse, she didn’t even think of adding it to her list. It was adorable but not doable with her already-stretched budget.
“It’s a little pricey,” she said carefully.
“Outrageous, you mean. But they can get away with it because they know purse strings are often attached to heartstrings. I could build something like this for a fraction of the cost,” he said matter-of-factly.
“Mad skills, huh?”
“Architectural engineer, remember?” He grinned. His smile was devastating, hitting her right in her heartstrings, before he continued on, “Plus, I know this really cute girl who works at a hardware store in town. I bet, if I gave her a list, she could get the materials at an employee discount.”
If she hadn’t already been falling hard and fast for him, she would have in that moment.
“Hmm. Should I be jealous?”
Right there in the middle of the discount pet store, Chris put his arm around her waist, kissed her soundly, and said, “Not even a little.”