Joy to the Wolves (Red Wolf #1) - Terry Spear Page 0,8
You are brothers?”
“Yes, that’s Josh. My twin brother, five minutes older than me,” Maverick said. “He texted me to say you had Jingles.”
“Ohh-kay. If you’ll both excuse me, I need to bring out some more food for the customers.”
“Thanks for taking care of Jingles,” Maverick said.
“You’re welcome.” She gave Josh a disgruntled look. “At least one of you is nice enough to say so.”
Josh smiled at her. That was the first true smile he’d offered her, and despite not wanting it to happen, she felt her insides melting under his observation.
She noticed the reindeer had finished off a good amount of his water and probably needed to go outside to relieve himself. “Hey, you might want to take Jingles out back in case he needs to…”
Too late.
“Uh, do you want to do something about that?” she asked Maverick.
“You’re the one who brought him into the shop and got the publicity for it. We ought to charge you for the rental of our reindeer,” Josh said.
She ground her teeth. “Your reindeer? I thought it was his reindeer.” She motioned to Maverick.
“The reindeer ranch is family-owned and operated by the two of us. We may be brothers, but I’m the nice one. I’ll handle it,” Maverick said.
“Thanks.” She served more scones, then returned to the checkout counter. Two news reporters and the local TV station reporter suddenly walked into the shop. Ohmigod, Brooke couldn’t believe this. She was so thrilled she wanted to howl for joy.
Luckily, Maverick cleaned up the reindeer mess before the cameras got rolling.
“So how did the reindeer end up coming here?” a reporter asked Brooke as she was ringing up another customer’s purchases.
“He loved my holly berries and came right into the courtyard to nibble on a few. He’s been entertaining my customers ever since. Then the policeman and his brother showed up to take him home. I was glad to learn where the calf was from and that he’d be fine.” Except that the police detective and his brother weren’t leaving. She knew Maverick wanted to be friendly, while Josh wanted to question her some more.
Finally, Jingles curled up under the Christmas tree to sleep, and the reporters left. Maverick helped Brooke make more wassail that afternoon, while Josh dealt with crowd control. Brooke couldn’t help but be amused that he finally had to do some real police work. Even though he was a “detective.”
“What are you going to do about lunch?” Maverick asked Brooke.
Josh walked into the shop about that time and overheard Maverick’s question. “I’ll pick us up something. What do you want to eat?” he asked Brooke.
She was shocked. She wasn’t sure if he was serious, but she was taking advantage of his offer. She always had her granola bar for a quick snack for lunch if nothing else. If she had a lull in customers, she could place an order for a sandwich at the bakery across the street and run and pick it up when it was ready. That was where she had gotten her delightful bakery goods for the shop.
“I’ll have prime rib roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied carrots, and no drink. I can have tea here. Oh, and peppermint bark for dessert.” Arms folded across her chest, she smiled.
Josh’s jaw was hanging before he masked his expression, and he glanced at his brother. “You?”
Maverick was grinning. “I’ll have the same, uh, but make the peppermint bark a fudge brownie.”
Josh shook his head. “Whatever happened to hamburgers for lunch?” he said under his breath as he headed out of the shop.
Not only did the meal she asked for appeal, but she would have enough left over to have for dinner—and it would take the detective longer to get the order, so he wouldn’t be underfoot for a while.
An hour and a half later, the detective showed up, carrying a sack of food from her favorite steak restaurant. Brooke was checking out a customer, and Maverick was returning from a trip outside with Jingles. At least the courtyard had a nice-sized patch of grass, something her great-aunt had maintained when she raised dogs over the years.
“I had to take care of a matter at the bureau,” Josh told his brother, setting the food in the kitchen. “The things I do for you.”
“Hey, since you offered and she wanted something special, I figured we might as well all go for it.” Maverick smiled. “I thought you might just get a hamburger for yourself.”
His brother gave him a get-real look as Brooke joined them