Page 22 of The Christmas Lodge
Lacy blinked, the unexpected question throwing her for a loop. “What about cats?”
“You know, as a pet. They do pretty well with plenty of alone time during the day. Have you ever thought about getting a cat?”
The idea was so ludicrous that Lacy couldn’t hold back a sudden peal of laughter. “Emphaticallyno.”
“My bad, my bad,” Derek backpedaled, laughing too. “I didn’t realize you were so passionately anti-cat.”
“Anyone who knows me, knows that cats and I don’t get along.”
“Are you saying I don’t know you?” Derek demanded, pretending to be offended.
“One hundred percent yes. We only met a few days ago.”
“I’m crushed. After all we’ve been through!” Derek shook his head, raising an eyebrow and tossing a look her way. “Not only have we met several times, I’ve even saved your life. That kind of experience bonds people for life.”
“Saved my life?” By now, Lacy’s shoulders were shaking with laughter. “You mean, endangered it! You almost ran me over.”
“‘Almost’ being the key word,” he reminded her with a sniff. “Notice that I did not, in fact, actually run you over. Ipso facto, I saved your life.”
Lacy threw her hands up in surrender. “How can I argue with that logic?”
“You can’t.” Derek shot her a satisfied smirk. “So, what’s the deal with you and cats?”
“Well, for starters, cats don’t listen to you. They just do whatever they please, and it drives me nuts. Seriously, I’m a dog person through and through.”
“Lacy Preston, you are truly a woman after my own heart.”
Lacy’s breath hitched a little at his words, but she covered it by quickly petting the puppy again so she could regain her composure. Her cheeks began heating with what must surely be a blush, and she mentally ordered herself to get herself together and stop reacting to the tiniest compliment like a schoolgirl with a crush. To her relief, Derek didn’t seem to notice her reaction.
“Of course,” Derek continued. “Dogs do come with their own set of challenges.”
“I bet you’ve got some good stories.”
“Oh, I do, believe me. Do you want to hear about the time when a dog I was training chewed on each and every one of my shoes in one night and I had to wear mangled shoes until I could buy new ones? Or, how about the time I went to get the newspaper wearing only a towel when one of my dogs grabbed the towel to play? That one ends with me, standing on my porch in nothing but my birthday suit just as my elderly neighbor got home from early morning Mass.”
By now, Lacy was chortling, her sides beginning to hurt from so much laughter. “No way,” she gasped between gales of hilarity, her eyes streaming. “That did not happen!”
“Oh, believe me,” Derek said grimly, though his eyes twinkled, “that story is very, very true. My neighbor is probably scarred for life, poor woman.”
Lacy considered his muscular frame. “I doubt it—you probably gave her the thrill of a lifetime.”
As soon as the words slipped out of her mouth, Lacy wanted to reel them back in and never, ever let them see the light of day. Her eyes widened with mortification as she realized what she had just said, unthinking, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
“Lacy Preston, for shame,” Derek pretended to scold, but she could see he was fighting a losing battle with the smile that was threatening to break free.
To her relief, they pulled into the parking lot of the town’s pet supply store just then, and Lacy pretended to be wrapped up in unbuckling her seat belt and opening the car door. Not waiting for Derek’s help, she jumped down from the truck’s step, still holding the puppy, and waited for Derek to join her. They walked through the sliding glass doors together and that particular odor of pet food and animals that pervades every pet store greeted them. An eccentric-looking middle-aged woman wearing chunky beads and thick teal-framed glasses hurried up to them. She smiled wide, revealing a small smear of her magenta lipstick on one of her teeth.
“Well, look at this cute little puppy,” the woman gushed, her hands to her chest. “Just who is this little munchkin, Derek?”
“Penelope, this is Lacy Preston, she’s visiting,” Derek said, introducing the two women. “Lacy, this is Penelope Archer. She owns the store.”
“Nice to meet you,” Lacy said. “As for this little lady’s name… we haven’t actually picked one out yet.”
“So the two of you are sharing this puppy?” Penelope looked between them, looking intrigued and ready for some juicy gossip.
Lacy felt her neck heating up, but Derek stepped in and handled the situation with an ease Lacy couldn’t help but admire.
“No, Lacy found this sweet little gal abandoned and brought her to me, since you know I take in plenty of strays and train them to be sled dogs. She was just kind enough to come with me to grab some supplies.”
