Page 3 of Silver Fox in Cedarwood

“I’m fifty-two. You’re what, fifty-three?”

“I’m fifty-nine. Aiden’s thirty-nine. See?” He wasn’t ashamed of his age, but he wasn’t looking to date a man younger than his son. The age difference wasn’t too bad between him and Brandon, but he wasn’t interested in him. Brandon was too forward for his taste.

“Who says we have to be exclusive?” Brandon asked.

“Maybe once I’m all moved in, we could have coffee together.” He’d put getting together off as long as possible. Maybe Brandon would forget.

“Sure, sure.” Brandon ushered him over to a knot of men. “So, guys, this is Len. He lives two doors down from me. He’s middle-aged, fit and looking for a good time. Len, this is Terrence, David, Patrick and Clyde. Oh.” He paused. “And Elise.”

“Elise?” He spotted the lone woman in the group. “Hi.” He nodded. “Nice to meet you, but I’m not looking for a good time. I’m still getting my legs under me here in the development. Brandon assumed he knows what I’m thinking.”

One of the men ushered Brandon aside. Len stayed out of the way. He refused to get involved in a spat.

Elise bumped shoulders with him. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He smiled. “As you can guess, I’m new.”

“I figured it out by the way Brandon held on to you.” She laughed. Her blue eyes sparkled and she had pale streaks of lavender in her hair. She sighed. “What brings you to Cedarwood?”

“My son. He’s a doctor.”Oh God.He sounded like an old person. “I wanted to be close to him and his husband.” Yep, he sounded old.

“Nice.” She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Is he at the hospital?”

“He works in the emergency room. Dr. Connor. Aiden.” He had to learn to talk to people again.

“I don’t know him, but I try not to visit the ER.” She bobbed her head. “I try not to get hurt, either.”

“Smart.” He hated small talk. “Since Aiden and his husband, Matt, live here, I thought I’d come back. Cissy doesn’t care where we live as long as there’s a big couch and space on the bed.”

“Is Cissy your wife?” She crinkled her forehead. “I hope she’s actually a dog. Making someone live on the couch sounds odd.”

“My dog. I met her when I volunteered at the shelter in Springdale. She was there for a long time and I couldn’t pass her up.” He loved talking about Cissy. “She’s older, but you’d never know it looking at her.”

“The older ones, the ones with nuances, are the best. I met my cat, Grover, that way. He’s missing an eye. Almond, my dog, came from a breeder,” she said. “I adopt, but she was going to be put down because she was too old to breed. Made me mad, so I adopted her on the spot. Been the best decision ever.”

“Good for you.”And the dog.

“She’s twelve and going on six. I’ll bet she’d love Cissy,” Elise said. “Almond and I volunteer at the shelter here in Cedarwood. Stone, he runs the shelter, doesn’t turn any animal away and doesn’t put any one down. I’ll give you his number if you’d like to volunteer. We can always use more people.”

“I’d love to help out.” He nodded. Cissy would love having new dog friends to visit.

“Really?” she asked. “We get a lot of people who claim to love volunteering, but once they do it a while, they realize they don’t really love it.”

“I volunteered for five years in Springdale. I used to go over to the shelter when I had rough days in court and after I split from my then-boyfriend.” Len stuffed his hands into his pockets. “The dogs are great therapy animals—even if they don’t have the label. They helped me get through the rough times. Cissy has been the best.”

“Good.” She handed him a card. “Call Stone. He’ll like you.”

“Thanks.” He’d call on the next day the shelter was open. He yawned. “I’m heading out. It’s been a long day of moving and we’re not done.”

“We’re? Is there a boyfriend in the mix?” She grinned. “I hope so.”

“No. My son and Matt helped. The hired moving men will come tomorrow with the majority of my stuff,” Len said. “I didn’t want to burden Aiden and Matt with everything. They’ve got enough on their plate.”

“Understandable,” Elise said. “Since it appears you’re single, don’t let Brandon fool or spook you. He’s always on the prowl. He can’t settle down and doesn’t want to. He wants a good time. If that’s not what you want, then don’t even try with him.”

“Noted, but I hadn’t planned on it. He sort of attached himself to me.” He had his eye on someone else, but that someone wasn’t interested, so he’d be happy being single.

“As long as you know what Brandon’s up to, you’ll be fine.” She patted his arm. “If you yawn again, I’ll get a complex. Go home and rest. You deserve it. See you around.”

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