Graham
The Gingerbread Vet and Animal Clinic takes us right in as Missy and I wait in a claustrophobic glorified closet for the doctor to arrive.
Missy cradles the playful puppy in her arms as if she were a baby, singing lullabies to her, cooing in her ear, and dotting her fuzzy little forehead with kisses. But it’s not the puppy who keeps stealing my attention. It’s Missy. I can’t get over how grown-up she looks, how striking her features are, and that long milky white hair, those creamy curls, not to mention those dreamy curves. I take a quick breath and step back a moment. Should I be looking at Missy this way? As much as my brain wants to tell me it’s wrong, other parts of my anatomy are screaming it’s right. Honestly, I’ve been just about everywhere, seen all types of girls, and Mistletoe Winters is…
“Just beautiful,” I whisper.
Missy looks up with those watery lilac eyes. I have never seen another human with those eyes outside of the Winters women.
“She is beautiful, isn’t she?” Her features soften as she looks to me with a touch of grief. “I don’t think I can part with her if I wanted.”
I offer up a quick scratch to the top of the cute pup’s head. “I don’t think I can either.”
The door glides open, ushering in a cool breeze right along with the doctor. “What have we got here?” A slender gentleman with a goatee and glasses breaks out into a grin as soon as he spots Missy with that puppy. “Quite a family you’ve got.” He offers up a wink my way.
Missy gasps a moment. “Oh, actually, we’re not a family. We’re not even dating. In fact, when it comes right down to it, we can hardly stand one another.” She gives a playful wink my way, but I know she’s only partially kidding. It’s true. Nick and I may have razzed her a little too much over the years, but unlike Holly, Missy always seemed to appreciate the ribbing a bit more. She yelped the loudest, protested far more violently than her sister. In a nutshell, she made it worth the effort, and just the thought brings a twisted smile to my face. It was all in good fun, though, and it sure did sponsor some great memories.
“She’s right. We’re not dating,” I add. “We found the puppy in the back of a home I’m renting.”
He tips his head, perplexed a moment. “Dr. Clemson.” He shakes both our hands. “I’m new in town, and it’s been a pleasure getting to know my neighbors.”
“Missy Winters.” Her eyes brighten, and my insides heat at the sight of them. I don’t remember them being so brilliant in color, so darn stunning to look at. “Welcome to Gingerbread. I’m sure you’ll fit right in.” She’s quick to greet him. “This is Graham Holiday—who is ironicallyonholiday. He turned in his zip code years ago when he officially gave Gingerbread the boot from his life. He’s visiting from New York.”
“Nice.” He looks my way with an easy smile. “I have a sister in Manhattan.”
Missy sputters a tiny laugh, and I know where her dirty mind just went.
“So, the puppy.” I’m quick to change the subject in fear Missy’s misguided mind might be right. I haven’t exactly been holing away in my apartment each night. “How do we go about reuniting it with its rightful owner?”
He takes the tiny bundle of wiggling joy from Missy and performs a quick, routine exam. “She’s not chipped, so there’s no telling who she belongs to. And we haven’t received a single call about a missing puppy. They usually check with the shelter first. I think I’ll have my secretary call over. In fact, I’ll do just that. Why don’t you wait a moment and I’ll be right back.” He takes off, and Missy scoops the antsy puppy right back into her arms.
“She’s shaking!” Missy belts it out as if she just witnessed a beating. “She’s completely afraid of that mean old doctor.” Her voice reduces to that of a three-year-old.
I can’t help but dole out a quiet laugh. “He was plenty nice. And maybe you’d better gird yourself for the fact her owner might come a knockin’.” My heart breaks for Missy because I can tell she’s already too attached.
The puppy looks up at me with a yelp and practically jumps into my arms.
“Whoa, girl!” I pull up, and she washes my face with her slobbering tongue. “Nothing like wet, sloppy kisses.” I pull back with a laugh.
“Bet she’s making you feel right at home.” Missy doesn’t miss a beat with that one.
I choose to ignore her comeback for a moment and look right into this squirmy pup’s dark, soulful eyes. “If she doesn’t have a home, I’m keeping her.”
“You can’t keep her.” Missy jumps up and warms her body to the tiny beast as if she was a fire. “She’s coming home with me.”
The door opens again, and Dr. Clemson holds out his hands, exasperated. “Looks as if no one’s come forth to claim her.”
Missy sucks in a quick breath, and I can practically see the color piquing in her cheeks the way it usually does when she’s excited.
Dr. Clemson looks over the file in his hands. “The shelter is full. Unfortunately, we’ll have to ship her to Denver. That’s her best hope of adoption if her family doesn’t come forth.”
“You can’t send her to Denver.” Missy takes the puppy right back and shields her from the both of us. “She’ll tremble all the way there. No way, no how. She’s coming home with me.”
I wince at the thought of this poor thing getting trucked all the way to Denver myself. “How long does her family have to claim her?”
“Well”—the good doctor starts while shaking his head—“there is no real time limit we put on these things, but seeing that she’s so healthy and is right where we’d like to see her on the weight scale, I’d say she was well cared for right up until this afternoon.”
Missy gives an incredulous huff. “If she was so well cared for, someone would have noticed she was missing by now.”
