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Oh God. Don’t let me look next to her and see Matt.
But there he was. Now staring at her. Glaring at her, actually.
Whoa there, guy.
But suddenly her date was standing up too, and so she had to. Her group would walk right past Matt’s table. There was no way she couldn’t say hello, if not to Matt, then to his sister.
Awk-ward.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Claire’s sister hiss-whispered in her ear as they headed toward the door—toward Matt’s table. “No wonder you’ve been so distracted!”
“Actually, I just noticed him a few seconds ago,” Claire admitted. If she’d known he was there this whole time, she would have excused herself to the restroom to hyperventilate.
“Claire!” Matt’s sister said with a surprised smile as they were about to pass.
Oh hell. Claire paused as her group moved on to the waiting area, collecting their coats from the racks. Her sister was furiously gesturing her over by tipping her head to the side, her mouth in a comical grimace.
“I hear I owe you a big thank-you, Claire!” Laura was saying. She sat across from Matt and next to her husband. “Matt mentioned he ran into you at Furever Paws and that you’re going to help Ellie choose a puppy tomorrow.”
Claire glanced at Matt, who was now sitting with a total lack of expression on his handsome face. Better than the glare? Not really.
“I’m so excited, I’m going to explode,” Ellie said, her hazel eyes shining. “Thank you for helping me! I can’t wait to see the puppies!”
Aww. Ellie was adorable and sweet. “My pleasure,” Claire said.
“Just remember the rules, Matt and Ellie,” Laura said, raising an eyebrow between the two. “Housetrained is a must. And the puppy must know basic commands before he walks into our home. Oh—and no bigger than medium-sized when fully grown.”
Uh-oh, Claire thought. She’d have her work cut out for her there. Did any of the puppies fit the bill? Certainly not the springer spaniel, who’d peed right on Claire’s foot this morning while she’d been fluffing her blanket. Though she was expected to be medium-sized. And the three other contenders were housetrained, but two would be huge, and a consistent “sit” was still beyond all of them, in spite of lots of training with high-value treats.
“Your date is waiting for you,” Matt practically growled, gesturing toward the door.
Her sister was still furiously head-gesturing for Claire to get the hell away from Matt Fielding and join the present and possible future—not be stuck in the past.
Awk-ward, she thought again as she smiled at everyone and dashed toward her group.
But as her date held the door open for her, she dared a glance back at Matt.
And he was looking right at her, his expression more readable now. He was angry-jealous!
He’d dumped her, remember? To live his own life on his terms.
“So, that nightcap?” her date asked, helping her into her coat.
Do not look over at Matt, she ordered herself, aware that he had to be watching right then.
“To be honest, I just saw a ghost,” she said, surprising herself with her candor. “I think I’d like to just call it a night.”
Her sister rolled her eyes and shook her head so imperceptibly that likely only Claire caught it.
Her date looked confused.
“An ex,” her brother-in-law explained to Andrew.
“Ah. I get it,” Andrew said. “Happened to me just last night while on another blind date, and crazy as it was, I ended up with the ex for the rest of the night.” A salacious expression lit his face. “One-time thing,” he rushed to say, seeming to realize he’d said too much.
At least Claire wouldn’t have to feel too bad about ditching him.
As they headed to her sister’s SUV, she could still see Matt’s face so clearly in her mind. How could she not be over him? How? Eighteen years later?
He was coming to the shelter tomorrow. She’d see him again. He had a purpose and so did she, and then he’d leave and that would be that.
Yeah, right.
Corporal McCabbers was telling Matt about his girlfriend back home; Penny was her name, with long red hair and green eyes. He and McCabbers sat in the back of the vehicle, headed for a broken-down US Army truck that they had to get running pronto.
Ten more days and I’m home, McCabbers was saying, and Matt envied his buddy’s ability to lose himself in his memories and hopes for the future—because his woman was still his woman. Matt had a string of hookups and failed off-base, short-term relationships. There’d been women over the years, but Claire Asher’s face was always the one he saw in his dreams, his fantasies.
And home? There’d been no home for almost two decades. Home was wherever Matt was.
“There’s the truck,” he heard the driver call.
He and McCabbers waited for their vehicle to stop, for the all-clear from the driver to duck out toward the truck under cover of night.
No sooner had their boots hit the dry, dusty ground than a burst of flame erupted before Matt’s eyes, the explosion throwing him back hard.
The pain in his left leg was unlike anything he’d felt before. “Fielding!” he heard McCabbers shouting. “Fielding!” And then he’d felt nothing at all.
Matt bolted up, a trickle of sweat running down his chest, his breath ragged and coming hard. He glanced around, and then closed his eyes.
He was home. His sister’s house.
Letting out a breath, he dropped back down on the soft sheets and pulled the comforter up to his chest.
He didn’t have the nightmares as often as he used to. In rehab, where he’d woken up after being unconscious for two days, he’d had the dreams every time he’d fallen asleep. But as his wounds healed and his leg strengthened, the nightmares had lessened. The memories remained though.
He could still picture dragging himself over to McCabbers and tying his shirt around the wound in his buddy’s leg, which had looked a hell of a lot worse than Matt’s own. The driver of their vehicle had been able to get back to them, dragging him and McCabbers into the truck and booking it out of there, saving their lives. McCabbers had gone on to marry his girlfriend six months later in Las Vegas, on one crutch but otherwise alive and well.
Matt had a hell of a lot to be grateful for. And Claire Asher deserved to be happy. Wasn’t that why he’d broken up with her all those years ago? So she could have a better life than the one he’d be able to share with her?
Still, he couldn’t stop speculating about how Claire’s evening had progressed. If it had progressed. If she’d invited Slick home. If he was still there.
None of your business, he reminded himself. Help your niece find the perfect puppy, then pack up and find a place where you belong.
Chapter Three (#u26648ece-d95a-541d-815a-7087705a8363)
“That very good-looking man and a little girl are out front,” Bunny whispered with a smile as Claire came in the back door of Furever Paws on Monday afternoon. Claire returned Sunshine to her kennel and secured the door, noting the time of the walk on the big whiteboard on the wall. The year-old rottie mix had been at the kennel for two days, and was slowly warming up to walking on a leash. “Says he’s here to see Claire Asher about adopting a puppy.” Bunny smiled slyly.
Claire shook her head at Bunny’s expression. “Well, he is.”
“I can’t wait to hear about your date,” Bunny said, her blue eyes twinkling. “Find me later and tell me everything.”
Do I want to be reminded of any of it? No. “There’s nothing really to tell. No chemistry, even if he was great on paper.”
Bunny nodded. “I get it. A blind date, no matter if he’s Pierce Brosnan, can’t compete with a first love on the brain.”
Especially when that first love is in the same restaurant.
Claire glanced at the clock. It was exactly three thirty. She’d practically raced here after finishing up at school, grateful that her last period of the day was monitoring a study hall. She’d wanted to get to the shelter with some time to spare before Matt arrived so that she wouldn’t be flustered. So, she’d taken Sunshine out, grounded herself on her turf and was ready by the time she got back inside.
Claire left the dog kennels and headed to the main lobby. She almost sucked in her breath at the sight of Matt, looking as good as Bunny had noted. He wore a navy-blue Henley, a black leather jacket and dark jeans.
She gave him a fast smile, then turned her focus on Ellie, who was practically jumping in place.
“Hi, Miss Claire!” Ellie said with a huge grin on her adorable face. “I can’t wait to see the puppies! Can you believe my mom finally said okay to me having a dog? I’ve been waiting years!”
“Well, you are only eight,” Matt pointed out, giving her still-crooked braid a playful pull.
“I’ve wanted a dog since I was two,” Ellie said. “But I had to show my mom I could take care of a dog. And I can! And I will!”
Her handsome uncle smiled. “I know it.”
“Well, to the kennels, then,” Claire said, leading the way. This was good. They were both ignoring running into each other last night. “We have four puppies and three dogs between a year and a half and two—they’ve got a lot of puppy in them too. Let’s start with the puppies and see who you like.”
She glanced at Matt, who was quiet.
“Just one rule,” Claire added to the girl. “No putting your fingers in the kennels. Some dogs might nip because they’re a little nervous or need more training time.”
At Ellie’s serious nod, Claire stopped in front of a six-month-old shepherd mix, Tabitha, whose amber eyes darted over at them. She stood and barked up a storm, sending the other dogs into a commotion, and ambled over to the bars of the kennel. She sniffed the air for a treat and when one wasn’t forthcoming, she padded back over to her bed and began chewing on her rope toy. Tabitha had an ear infection that required medication for the next week, and the irritation might have been making her act out a bit.
“She’s really cute,” Ellie said with a bit of a frown. She knelt down in front of the cage. “Hi, puppy. I’m Ellie.”
The puppy barked like crazy again and came over and sniffed the air again, then went back to her bed.
Ellie tilted her head and bit her lip. Claire could immediately tell the girl didn’t feel a connection with Tabitha.
“And next we have a five-month-old springer spaniel puppy,” Claire said, moving to the spinning pooch in the next kennel. In true form, Belle began spinning in circles, trying to chase her tail.
Ellie gasped. She dropped down on her knees in front of the kennel, watching the puppy with delight on her face. “Hi, there! Hi, puppy!”
The puppy stopped spinning and came closer to Ellie.
“Remember, sweetheart, don’t put your fingers in the kennel,” Matt said, and Claire nodded at him.
Belle barked, excitedly wagging her tail, jumping up at the kennel door and trying to sniff Ellie. She sat down and barked at Ellie, then made a play bow.
“She wants to play with me!” Ellie said. “You are so adorable!” she added. “You’re exactly what I dreamed about!”
Belle began barking like crazy and spinning around, desperately trying to catch her tail in her mouth.
Claire widened her eyes and looked at Matt, who was grimacing.
Ellie laughed, her entire face lit up with happiness. “I see your name is Belle, and I know that means beautiful, and you are, but I think you look more like a Sparkle. That’s what I’d name you, Sparkle.” She bolted up. “This is the one! This is my puppy!”
Claire couldn’t remember the last time she saw someone so excited, and she saw excited kids a lot during the course of adoptions.
“Yup, you’re the one, Sparkle!” Ellie said, dropping down to her knees again and smiling at the puppy.
Who squatted and peed right on the floor, the mess seeping into the corridor to the point that they all jumped back.
“Oops,” Ellie said. Then she seemed to remember what her mom said about housetraining, and worry slid into her expression. Her shoulders slumped, and her face scrunched up for a moment. Claire could tell the girl was trying not to cry.
“Well, Sparkle is definitely not housetrained,” Matt said gently, a hand on his niece’s shoulder. “And she sure is noisy and busy. Why don’t we—”
“I’ll clean it up!” Ellie added, looking from her uncle to Claire, and back at the puppy, and then back at Claire. “Are there paper towels or something?”
Claire smiled and got the roll of heavy-duty brown paper towels. “I’ll take care of it, honey.” She quickly mopped up the mess.
“Your mom made her requirements very clear, sweets,” Matt said. “So even though Sparkle is cute, she’s a long way from being trained and she seems kind of hyper.”
Ellie’s little shoulders slumped again, and she sucked in a breath.
Aww. This was always a difficult thing, when someone fell for an animal that wasn’t the right fit for the home. “Ellie,” Claire said, “two kennels down is an adorable chiweenie named Tucker who’s housetrained and knows basic commands. A chiweenie is a cross between a Chihuahua and a dachshund. He’ll be small even when fully grown, so he’s a great size for a kid.”
Ellie followed Claire to Tucker’s kennel, her head hung low. “I’ve never heard of a chiweenie before.” But there was no excitement in her voice.
“Meet Tucker,” Claire said, gesturing at the little dog, who was as calm as could be. He lay on his bed, gnawing on a rope toy. He was very cute, with floppy, cinnamon-colored ears and a long snout, and tended to look like he was smiling.
Ellie gave him something of a smile. “Hi, Tucker. You seem nice.”
Tucker didn’t even glance up.
“He can be slow to warm up to people,” Claire explained.
But Ellie raced back to Sparkle’s kennel and knelt in front of it. “I wish I could take you home, Sparkle.” She sat there and watched the dog chasing her tail.
Claire looked at Matt, whose expression matched his niece’s. This couldn’t be easy, and she probably should have thought to warn him that something like this could happen. She’d been a little too shocked yesterday when she’d seen him at the shelter to even form an extra thought. And last night at the restaurant, all rational thought had poofed from her head.
“Well, let’s look at the other pups,” Matt said, reaching his hand toward Ellie. He glanced at Claire. “I’ll bet there’s another puppy that Ellie will fall in love with.”
“Definitely,” Claire said. “Because guess who’s next, Ellie? A super sweet year-old shepherd mix named Dumpling. I’ll bet you’ll like him. He’s super snuggly.” He was inconsistent on commands, but he did know stay. He was slated to be on the large side of medium, which might be stretching it. Sometimes it was impossible to really know how big a dog would get.
“I guess I can meet him.” But Ellie didn’t get up from where she sat in front of Belle’s cage. And even from here, Claire could see the glistening of Ellie’s eyes. The girl was trying hard not to cry.
“Honey, maybe we could come back next weekend for the adoption event,” Matt said. “These puppies will have had an extra week of training, and you might just fall in love with a dog you barely noticed this time.”
“Okay, Uncle Matt,” Ellie said, but she still didn’t stand up. “It’s okay, Sparkle. You’ll find someone to love you, and you’ll be best friends. That’s what my mom tells me when I’m sad about not having a best friend.”
Claire held her breath and glanced at Matt, whose broad shoulders slumped.
