Harlow wasn’t interested in a serious relationship or anything that might tie her to Mistletoe, but she was attracted to Nick. What would be the harm in getting to know him better?
Chapter Five
Life was full of serendipitous moments. If Nick had learned anything at all in his life, it was the importance of chance and fate. Harlow Jones kept popping up in his orbit. Granted, Mistletoe was a small town, but crossing paths with her at his brother’s house made Nick feel as if the universe was trying to tell him something. He couldn’t think of the last time he’d had such a whimsical feeling about a person. On a normal day, Nick didn’t sit around thinking about such things as destiny, but today was different. He was different.
Everyone in Mistletoe knew that Nick was a widower as well as the tragic details of Kara’s death. After dropping off Miles at preschool one morning, the car she’d been driving had been hit head-on by a drunk driver running a red light. He wasn’t used to telling people about being widowed. It was common knowledge in his hometown. Sharing that information with Harlow made him feel as if he’d taken a few steps forward.
Much to Nick’s surprise, Miles had turned on the charm and greeted Harlow like an old friend the moment he spotted her.
“I remember you from the park. Zeus acted naughty and jumped on you,” Miles said, shaking his head at the memory. “I didn’t say it that day, but I’m sorry he acted up.”
“It’s okay. Zeus seems like a sweetheart. I work with dogs on a regular basis, so I know they can be a bit unpredictable,” Harlow said with a smile. “One time I had a dog come in covered with porcupine quills.”
Miles shuddered. “Ouch. That sounds painful.”
“For real,” Harlow said with a nod. “I took out every quill one by one, making sure not to hurt him.” Harlow’s features were animated as she spoke. “Right after I took out the last one, he bit me.” For dramatic effect, Harlow widened her eyes.
“Noooooo,” Miles said in a disbelieving tone. “That makes Zeus look like an angel. Did it hurt?”
Harlow shook her head. Her dark curly hair bounced around her shoulders. “Not really. He barely broke the skin. He was scared and that was his way of letting me know. It taught me to always expect the unexpected with animals. So all things considered, Zeus isn’t a bad dog. He just needs a little training.”
Miles looked up at him. “Did you hear that, Dad? Zeus is a good dog.”
Nick frowned. His son was twisting Harlow’s words a bit. It remained to be seen if Zeus was going to walk the straight and narrow in the Keegan household. This morning Nick had found his leather slippers chewed up and destroyed. It had taken all of his restraint not to yell at the dog. “That’s not exactly what Harlow said, Miles, but I see where you’re going with this.” Miles was afraid that Nick was going to send Zeus back, so he felt the need to constantly hype the dog up.
“He’s my best friend. I’ve got to have his back,” Miles said, looking over at Harlow for approval. She smiled down at him and said, “That’s great.”
Nick tamped down a burst of jealousy. Once upon a time, he’d been his son’s best friend and Miles hadn’t hesitated to tell anyone who would listen that he was the best dad in the world. He knew that Miles was growing up and that it was normal for his son to branch out and shift allegiances, but for Nick, it was a little bit of a heartbreak. He’d gotten used to it being him and Miles against the world.
A few minutes later, Luke walked over to Nick and pulled him into the kitchen. Once they were alone, Luke didn’t waste any time getting down to business.
“Hey. Stella wants me to ask you what you think of her friend. I get the feeling she’s playing matchmaker,” Luke sheepishly explained.
“Harlow,” Nick murmured. “Her name is Harlow.”
Luke raised a beer to his lips and took a long sip of the amber-colored ale. “Right. Harlow. So, what do you think?” Luke was no doubt waiting to report back to his wife, who might potentially tell Harlow what he’d said.
“I think she’s incredible.” The words slipped out of his mouth before he could rein them back in.
Luke let out a laugh. “Seriously? She must have made quite an impression. You just met her.”
“Not exactly,” Nick admitted. He hadn’t previously mentioned the daring rescue to Luke or the stunning woman who had been in harm’s way. There had been a lot of action with search and rescue in the last few weeks, including ones that had ended up being recoveries, so their focus had been on those events.
“When did you meet her?” Luke asked, his brows knitted together in a frown.
Nick hesitated for a second, then said, “Harlow and I met on a rescue.”
Luke’s reaction was immediate. His eyes practically bulged out of his head. “Get out of here. You’re pulling my leg.”
He shook his head. “I’m not. Remember Brandon and Mandy were talking at work about the rescue where a woman had crashed through the guardrail?”
“That was Harlow?” Luke asked in a loud voice.
“Will you stop talking so loud?” Nick asked, feeling annoyed at his brother. “I’m not trying to spread her business all over town. She strikes me as a fairly private person. And it sounds like she didn’t mention it to Stella, so clearly it’s not something she wants to advertise.”
“You’re right about that. Stella would have passed it on to me.” Luke shook his head. “What a small world. The woman you rescued is Stella’s close friend.”
Nick reached into the aluminum cooler for a beer. “You don’t know the half of it. She’s also going to be our vet at Paws. Heads up, since I’m sending you the first bill.”
