A car door slammed somewhere nearby, the sound echoing through the trees. Bash’s ears perked up, and before Doreen could grab his collar, he bolted across the parking area toward the woods.
“Bash!” Jake called, his voice rising with panic.
“Stay right there!” Doreen ordered, her stomach rolling with fear as she scrambled out of the car, nearly slipping on a patch of ice.
“Need some help?” A deep voice came from behind her.
Doreen turned to find herself face to face with a tall man in a sheriff’s department uniform. His slate-blue eyes assessed thesituation quickly, taking in her distress and the runaway dog in one efficient glance.
Those eyes. Calm. Capable. Comforting in a way that made her breath catch.
And a little too perceptive.
“My nephew’s dog,” she explained breathlessly, pressing a hand to her chest. “He’s not used to the woods, and he just…”
“I saw,” the deputy said, already moving. “He headed toward the maintenance shed. Dogs usually follow their noses. There’s probably something interesting over there. Squirrels most likely.”
Together they jogged toward the edge of the property, Doreen calling Bash’s name while the deputy whistled low and steady. They found the golden retriever barking frantically at the base of a pine tree, where a squirrel chittered defiantly from a high branch.
“Bash, come!” Doreen commanded, her voice rising with anxiety. The dog ignored her completely.
Jake came running up behind them, breathless. “He never listens when there are squirrels.”
“Let’s try something,” Deputy Pike said, kneeling to Jake’s level. “Think you could help me with a special police technique for dog rescue?”
Jake’s eyes widened. “Yes, please!”
The deputy showed Jake how to make a specific whistle-click sound with his tongue, then positioned himself on one side of the tree while directing Jake to the other. “Now we’re going to close in slowly, making that sound. Dogs can’t resist investigating two different sources.”
Doreen watched as Jake mimicked the deputy perfectly, his small face serious with concentration. Within moments, Bash’sattention wavered, his head swiveling between Jake and the deputy until, with a final bark of farewell to the squirrel, he bounded toward Jake.
“You did it!” Doreen exclaimed, something twisting in her chest as she watched the easy way Deputy Pike high-fived her nephew. She probably would have just grabbed for the collar in panic, maybe even scared Bash deeper into the woods. Some substitute parent she was turning out to be.
But watching Jake beam under the deputy’s praise helped, and she found herself smiling too.
“Team effort,” the deputy said as he turned toward her, his eyes lingering on her in a way that made her shiver with excitement. There was something intensely focused in the way he looked at her—steady, warm, far too intimate for a first meeting, and yet she couldn’t look away.
“Thank you,” she managed, suddenly aware of how disheveled she must look after the chase. “I’m Doreen. Doreen Whitlow, and this is my nephew Jake and his dog Bash.”
“James Pike,” he replied, extending his hand. The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile that sent an unexpected warmth through her chest. “Deputy James Pike. Welcome to Bear Creek.”
She slipped her hand into his. His palm was warm against her cold fingers, calloused in places that spoke of work beyond the badge. Their eyes met over their clasped hands, and the world around them seemed to recede—the barking dog, her nephew’s excited chatter, even the biting cold—all fading to background noise. His eyes were the deep blue of mountain lakes, steady and clear. Something passed between them, a current of recognition so unexpected it left her momentarily speechless.
Destiny? Fate? Or just a hint of possibility? Of hope.
His thumb brushed almost imperceptibly across her knuckles before he released her hand, though neither looked away. There was something in his gaze, something trustworthy and solid that she hadn’t encountered in years. One second stretched into three, then five, until Doreen realized she was still staring, still feeling the ghost of his touch on her skin.
“Doreen!”
The moment was shattered as Sorcha’s voice rang out across the parking area. Doreen turned to see her friend hurrying toward them, bundled in a bright red coat, her face glowing with happiness.
“You made it!” Sorcha embraced her, then pulled back with a grin. “And I see you’ve already met our local hero.”
“Just doing my job,” Deputy Pike said, tipping his hat.
“James is nothing but modest,” Sorcha said. “But he’s always around to help people out and keep them safe.”
“Well, you helped us,” Doreen said.
