"Are you sure about this?" Spencer hesitates at my open front door.
Frankie tugs on her leash, ready to come in, but he doesn't hand her over. "Sure!"
I may have the next three days off from the hospital, but Spencer doesn't. He's hard at work, helping to catch whoever left a dead body in the woods.
"I'm not sure how long I'll be gone." Frankie makes another jump at me and Spencer tugs her back, his face washed with concern.
"Spencer, we will befine." I snatch the leash when his head is turned and his guard is down.
He lets go reluctantly. "I'll call tonight to give you an update."
"Go. Catch criminals." I wave him away.
I’m not going to lie, standing on my front stoop waving Spencer off while he leaves to go fight the bad guys and come home a hero is really hot. He may not be in uniform, but I totally understand why woman have a thing for guys that wear one.
I woke up next to him this morning—even if there was a big black Frankie sitting between us—I can still say I slept with a former SEAL.
A hot former SEAL.
One who delivers babies on planes and rescues dogs in the woods. He’s the stuff movie heroes are made from.
A moment of worry tightens my chest. Let's hope my life hasn’t somehow become a movie adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel.
"Be safe!" I yell right before Spencer closes his truck door. He gives me a quick wave out his front window before putting the truck in reverse and backing out of my driveway.
I cross my fingers and hope chasing after suspected drug dealers has become a safe endeavor. Ridge’s latest theory is the crime crew located somewhere in New York has found a new way to distribute their drugs across the Canadian border. Ridge, and his team broke up the ring earlier this year, but now there's concern criminals have used the holiday rush as a cover for their new operation.
I don’t unbuckle Frankie from her leash until the front door is closed and locked—I’m not taking any chances of this dog getting out on her own. My plans for us consist of a nice, quiet, calm day at home—one where I watch happy shows on TV. There’ll be noCSIor Investigative Discovery Channel in this house today.
My plan works for about three and a half minutes. I have just enough time to sit down on the couch, wrap myself up in a blanket, and turn on the TV. In the same amount of time, Frankie patrolled the entire house, making sure to bark before entering every room. She jumped on the couch, tipped over the trash can, and knocked over my clothes hamper. Her energy level didn't decrease until she was sitting next to my legs, her head on my lap, a soft whining coming from her.
"Do you want to go outside?" It's a silly question. Does any dog ever want to do anything besides go outside?
She answers by jumping from the couch to the floor and back again.
"Okay, okay. Let's go for a walk." With a defeated sigh, I throw the blanket on the back of the couch. It takes me a few minutes to locate my big, thick coat, hat, and a pair of gloves. Frankie continues her excited hopping following me from location to location as I bundle up.
I lock the door behind me and attempt to lead Frankie in a walk around the block, but she's not having any of it. Instead, she tugs me in the direction of Main Street and the downtown shops. Pelican Bay is beautiful in winter.
It can be pricey to live in the main section of Pelican Bay. I'm not even close to the ocean, but the purchase price on my home would leave some people in tears.
It left me in tears.
I never wanted to leave Pelican Bay, so it was worth the money to stay close to the place I love. I didn’t even go far away for college. Instead I attended the nursing program at our local university. When they offered me the job at Pelican Bay General, there was no way I could turn it down. The chips of my life all seemed to fall into place at the right time.
This is where I want to be and this is where I plan to stay.
Frankie and I turn the corner onto Main Street as a light snow falls, the perfect, white flakes an inspiring backdrop to watch my little town transform during the holiday season. Old snow, left behind from the last storm, covers the peaks and gutters of the little shops along Main Street.
There's the bakery on the corner, the diner, and the school further down. Each building with a matching evergreen wreath tacked to the door, complements of the chamber of commerce. The streetlights are wrapped in evergreens, and little red bows sit atop each light post. Christmas music feeds from the buildings, all the stores tuned to the same radio station. I'm not sure if it's a requirement of owning a shop or if they've just agreed to it, but it makes our walk more picture-perfect.
The bakery, a new addition to our downtown area, is filled with decorative cheer inside. The warm lights in the building escape out the large front window. A group of elderly ladies sit at a table in the front, sipping tea from little cups by a fake fireplace. Unbelievably, they are not the crowd normally found in this corner shop.
On any given day, you're more apt to find the bakery full of big tall, muscular men who work for Ridge and his security firm. Today, the place is absent of their presence, and I know why. Ridge has called anyone and everyone to take care of the person who left a dead body in a cabin outside of town.
Seven blocks later, we pass the beach and head back to my house. Finally, Frankie stops walking, turning back to give me a look I'm choosing to read as "it's time to go home". I smile in appreciation. My nose is frozen, and all attempts to cover it and provide some heat with my knitted glove have failed.
My steps quicken. I’m ready to get out of this cold. I unlock the front door and unleash Frankie as soon as the doors close behind me. She runs off, ready to do another check of every room in the house. Thank goodness, it's only a three-bedroom.
