I can tell. Look at him, he’s petrified of you. That’s pretty bad when a dog doesn’t like his owner. Did you abuse this poor animal?”
Outrage rivered through Hank at the accusation. Hank bent over to peer at the golden dog, who growled. “I would never harm an animal. I might have been a little sharp with him when he deliberately lifted his leg on a chair. He pees a flood. It took two towels to clean it up. He jumps the fence. I didn’t know he could do that until this morning.”
The voice was still syrupy sweet. “And I suppose you think I’m going to believe that…that ridiculous story. Let’s get real here.”
Hank was at his wit’s end. His toe was killing him. “Are you always this nasty so early in the morning, or were you born this way?”
Four things happened at that precise moment before Amy could respond. Mason opened the front door to get the newspaper, Miss Sadie beelined out the door and ran at the speed of light to the Carpenter front porch, at which point Churchill leaped up to greet his new best friend and toppled the ladder. The know-it-all slipped and fell.
“Oh, shit!”
“Oh, shit, is right,” Nanook of the North said as she rolled over in her down coat to survey the damage. Somehow or other the two dogs were now tangled in the string of Christmas lights that were twinkling off and on.
Churchill growled, his ears going flat against his head, a sure sign that he was perturbed at something.
Hank took that moment to stare at the woman on the floor, who was laughing hysterically. So this is what she looks like. Something teased at his memory then, something he couldn’t put his finger on. She was so pretty it took his breath away. And she had the nicest laugh he’d ever heard in his life. He knew that laugh. Or he remembered it from somewhere. The question was where? “Do I know you?”
Amy was on her feet when she looked up at her old childhood friend. “I don’t know, do you?” She bent down then to try to untangle the string of lights the dogs were bent on chewing.
Hank wondered if a buffoon-slash-clown would do what he was doing, which was holding out his hand. “Hank Anders. I’m visiting next door for the holidays.”
Amy stopped what she was doing, stood up straight, and looked him dead in the eye, hoping she wasn’t giving away the delicious feeling coursing through her. “Mandy Leigh. It’s been a long time, Hank.” She crushed his hand in hers and saw that he tried not to wince.
“Mandy! It is you! Well, damn! In my wildest dreams I never thought we’d meet up again. You broke my heart when you moved away. I wanted to write you a hundred times, but no one knew where your aunt took you. California, we all thought.”
“That’s right, California,” Amy said. “I’ve lived there ever since.”
“Mom said your aunt Flo was a world traveler. We just assumed…no one ever came back. I thought the house was sold. Hell, I don’t know what I thought. Look, I’m sorry about…about calling you names. This…it’s a long sad story. Can we go for coffee or something? God, you’re beautiful! You look just like I remember.”
Amy laughed. “Is this where I’m supposed to say you’re handsome?”
“Wouldn’t hurt. Mom always said I was good-looking. So, can we do the coffee? I’ll help you with the lights when we get back.”
“Why not?” Why not indeed. Oh, be still my heart, Amy said to herself as she tidied up the porch, then replied, “Let’s go to my house. I can make coffee, and I have some sticky buns. The kind Mom used to make when we were little.”
As they walked toward the Leigh house, a light snow started to fall to the dogs’ delight.
“Then you aren’t mad at me?”
“Nah. I was just venting. I’ve been upset about Mr. Carpenter’s passing. He was so good to us kids growing up. It’s always especially sad when a person dies during the Christmas season. That’s why I wanted to string up the lights. He used to love Christmas. Remember how we always made him a present?”
“Yeah. Yeah, I remember,” Hank said softly. “I remember everything about that time. You really did break my heart, you know. By the way, Miss Sadie, the little fur ball, belonged to Mr. Carpenter. Ben gave the dog to him after his wife died. Churchill is Ben’s dog. You’re probably right about him not liking me. I was more or less thrust on him out of the blue. I might remind him of Ben. By the way, Ben is in Iraq.”
“Sounds like you and I have a lot of catching up to do,” Amy said, opening the front door of her house. And he has no clue that I’m a movie star. How wonderful was that? Pretty damn wonderful, she decided.
Chapter Five
Amy felt like she was walking on legs of Jell-O as she shed her outerwear on the way to the kitchen. Hank wasn’t married. He was right behind her. In her very own kitchen. And he looked every bit as good as she dreamed. He was here. She was going to make him coffee and sticky buns. How good could life get? But the absolute best was, he had no clue that she was a movie star. A mighty sigh escaped her. She whirled around, not realizing how close he was. They literally butted shoulders. She looked into dark brown eyes that she remembered so well. She could smell minty toothpaste. In a liquid flash she could see something in his eyes, the same thing she was feeling. He blinked. She blinked, then Churchill broke the moment by jumping between them. Flustered, Amy backed away, and Hank sat down on one of the old wooden kitchen chairs.
The exquisite moment was gone. Hopefully it would return at some point.
Amy reminded herself that she was an actress. She could carry this off until she saw which way the romantic wind was blowing. “You know, Hank, I can make you a full breakfast if you like, or we can go with the sticky buns and coffee. Your call.”
Hank looked up at the stunning woman towering over him. He wanted to reach out and grab her. The old Mandy would have smacked him for taking such liberties. He’d almost kissed her. And his heart and his eyes told him she would have been receptive to the kiss. This was a new Mandy. Maybe he should step back and not be so…pushy. Pushy? He cleared his throat. His voice sounded like a nest of frogs had settled in his throat. “Whatever is easiest. Let’s just talk.”
“Great! Then it’s sticky buns, juice, and coffee.” As Amy prepared the coffee and turned on the oven, she threw questions at Hank. “So bring me up to date. Do you come home here to Apple Valley every Christmas? This is my first time back.” Was her voice too breathless, too giddy-sounding? Maybe she should be more cool, a little aloof, instead of this flighty person she’d suddenly become.
As Hank talked, Amy set the table with her mother’s old dishes. Plain white crockery with huge red strawberries in the middle. Her mother had had a passion for strawberries for some reason. Everything in the kitchen had to do with strawberries: the cookie jar, the canister set, even the place mats were in the shape of strawberries.
“I remember these dishes. Your mom always served us cookies and sandwiches on them. You always said if you had to eat something you didn’t like it made it okay because the dish was so pretty.”
Amy stopped what she was doing. “You remember that!”
“Well, yeah. I guess I considered it an important thing in my life at the time. I don’t have one bad memory of growing up here in Apple Valley. Ben doesn’t
