Wild Iris Ridge (Hope's Crossing) by RaeAnne Thayne

Author:RaeAnne Thayne [Thayne, RaeAnne]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2014-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

BRENDAN PULLED INTO the parking lot of the veterinary clinic to the sounds of a squeaking puppy and two squealing children.

When, exactly, was his life ever going to return to some semblance of normal? he wondered as he parked his SUV and helped the children out of the backseat.

Since the moment Lucy Drake came back to Hope’s Crossing, nothing seemed the same.

Lucy parked beside him as he was unhooking Carter’s straps. Her younger sister climbed out holding the puppy.

“Guess what?” Carter told her with delight. “Our puppy peed in the backseat!”

Lucy winced. “Sorry,” she muttered to him.

“Makes me glad for leather seats. We got most of it with paper towels and I should be able to scrub down the rest.”

They walked into the clinic, and only after he was inside and spotted the woman standing behind the counter did he realize how awkward this could be. He should have asked Dylan or the receptionist he spoke with on the phone the name of the veterinarian.

Dr. Elizabeth Lynde was a very nice woman in her early thirties who had recently moved to Hope’s Crossing to start a veterinary practice.

Their paths had crossed the summer before at a barbecue one of his firefighter buddies had dragged him to and she had later called him up to ask him out on a date to go to the movies with her.

After his initial shock and, yes, panic, he had quietly thanked her for the invitation but told her he wasn’t quite ready to date yet. When he was, she would be the first one he called.

In retrospect, he should have just gone out with her. She was a nice woman and he enjoyed her company, but the whole dating thing still seemed so strange.

Of course, that didn’t seem to stop him from kissing Lucy until he couldn’t think straight.

He tried to push that mistake of a kiss out of his mind, which wasn’t exactly easy when she stood next to him smelling of vanilla and strawberries and looking lovely in jeans and a white tailored blouse that now had dog hair on it.

He never did get the chance to ask Elizabeth out. Last he heard, she was dating an accountant at the ski resort.

“Hey, Brendan. My assistant told me you called. How are you?” She leaned in and air kissed his cheek.

“Great. Thank you.”

He suddenly wished again he had been able to generate a little more interest toward her. The Hope’s Crossing dating pool wasn’t exactly a deep one and Elizabeth was one of the best swimmers in there. She was attractive, smart, obviously good with animals and small children, and she had her own business. What more was he looking for, for crying out loud?

Why couldn’t she stir his blood like a certain green-eyed brunette he could name? It would be far less uncomfortable, all the way around.

“Elizabeth, this is our neighbor Lucy Drake and her sister, Crystal. They’re living in Iris House.”

“Oh, I love that place.”

“That seems to be the general sentiment,” Lucy said with a smile.

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