of the cats who’d been taken from the hoarding situation, and the great photo ops that would be possible with so many fascinating subjects.
Fat snowflakes drifted down, sparkling in the white lights outlining the yellow Victorian and settling like bits of lace on Ben’s hat and coat. Tansy glanced over at her house, where she’d strung tiny multicolored LEDs along her porch railing and placed a small decorated tree on each side of her front door.
Both houses looked festive and ready to celebrate. The crisp scent of damp evergreens hung in the air. As a delicate snowflake landed on her cheek like a kiss, a rush of joy told her that once again, Christmas had arrived in her heart.
“It feels like Christmas,” she said.
Ben laughed. “Is that all it takes? A couple of cat trees?”
“No, I wasn’t thinking of the donation you made, which is wonderful. It’s the combination of the snow, And the Christmas lights….” And you walking beside me. But she wasn’t about to say that, so she improvised. “And how generous everyone has been to The Haven. All of a sudden the Christmas spirit hit me like an incoming snowball.”
“That’s great.” His tone was wistful. “I envy you.”
She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “Hey, it’s only the middle of December. You have lots of time to get in the mood.”
“Not everybody gets in the mood, you know.”
She hesitated. “You don’t?”
“No.”
“Not ever?”
“Can’t say that I have.”
She thought she should drop the subject because it seemed to be a touchy one, so she remained silent.
“The thing is…”
“Mmm?” She didn’t even want to use an actual word to prompt him, for fear he’d clam up completely. She sensed that whatever he’d started to say wasn’t something he mentioned to many people. Maybe not to anyone.
He sighed. “Never mind.”
He’d retreated. His behavior reminded her of animals who’d come from bad situations and were afraid to trust. She let the silence stretch between them and figured that was the end of his willingness to share something personal. Then, to her amazement, he spoke again.
“I think you have to have a store of good Christmas memories to draw on from when you’re young.” He cleared his throat. “That’s how I think you get the Christmas spirit, tapping into that.”
Her heart ached for him, but she kept her voice light. “I’ve never looked at it that way, but that could be true.” What had his childhood been like, that he had no happy memories of Christmas? More than anyone she knew, this man needed the unconditional love of an animal…or a person.
She led the way up her porch steps and reached for the front door latch.
“You don’t lock it?”
“I don’t bother if I’m right next door and I have an alarm like Ewok and an enforcer like Wookie in residence. Besides, I’m sure even burglars know that anyone running an animal shelter is probably broke. Don’t expect cut crystal wineglasses and fine china at my house. My family and friends know to give me stuff for the shelter or a donation to whatever fund-raiser we have going.”
Ben smiled. “I can hear your fan club coming.”
She could, too. Ewok’s toenails scrabbled on the hardwood floor as he raced toward the door. Wookie was coming, too, but he signaled his happiness with a noise in his throat that was somewhere between a moan and a whine. She opened the door. “Honeys! I’m home!”
Ewok danced with joy and she gathered him up in her arms, but she managed to reach out a hand and stroke Wookie’s head at the same time. “Good to see you, guys. And look who I brought with me, Ewok. Your friend from the TV station. Doggies, meet Ben Rhodes, top-notch photographer. Come on, Ben. We need to let them out in the yard for a bit, and then we’ll get started on dinner.” She set Ewok back on his feet.
The dogs knew the routine, so she followed them through her living room with its secondhand furniture and the small dining room with more of the same. Then she turned left into the kitchen. The door at the end of it opened onto a porch and a fenced yard. Both dogs stood waiting impatiently in front of the door.
“Cozy place,” Ben said as he followed her.
“I actually love it. The house belongs to the foundation that runs The Haven and can’t ever be mine, exactly, but it’s mine for as long as I do a good job.”
“Then it should be yours for a very long time.”
“Not if we go broke with the roofing repairs.” Tansy opened the back door. “Okay, guys, out you go!” Ewok shot out first, and then Wookie padded through the doorway and took the porch steps in one bound. She stepped out on the porch and glanced over her shoulder at Ben. “I usually stand out here until they’re ready to come in, but you don’t have to.”
“Sure I do.” He joined her on the porch and closed the door behind him. “I’m not going to cower in the warm house while you’re out here in the cold. In fact, if you want to go in and start heating up that soup, I’ll supervise the operation here.”
She gazed over at him. “You really are famished, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Something in the way he said it made her heart beat faster. But he was probably talking about food. It was late, well past most people’s dinner hour. “Okay, if you’re willing to watch them, I’ll go turn on the stove.”
“Excellent.”
Ducking inside, she took off her coat and hung it on a peg by the back door. Then she pulled the soup pot out of the refrigerator and set it on a burner. Soon the aroma of carrots, onions, diced tomatoes and potatoes filled the kitchen.
She buttered several slices of her favorite cheddar cheese yeast bread, wrapped them in foil and popped them in the oven. The meal wasn’t fancy, but adding a bottle of wine would make it a little more gourmet. She wondered if he liked wine, and whether he preferred red or white.
Opening the back door, she stuck her head out to ask him and discovered he was no longer on the porch. The sound of his laughter filled the air, mingled with happy dog barks. When she walked out onto the porch, the glow from the porch light revealed a scene that made her heart squeeze.
Ben, who professed not to want animals in his life, was romping with her dogs. Snow fell around them as all three leaped and ran through the cold night air.
As if sensing her presence, Ben skidded to a stop and glanced in her direction. “They were really amped up and I figured they’d give us some peace if I played with them a bit. Was that okay?”
“Of course it’s okay!” She smiled. “But dinner’s ready.”
“We’re a mess.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll
