Currant Creek Valley - By RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,28
remembering that cataclysmic kiss.
And if it had affected her, too, why the hell was she avoiding him?
“Oh. Yes.” She looked away and he saw a hint of color climb her elegant cheekbones. “Mom, this is Sam Delgado. He’s finishing up the restaurant kitchen for Brodie. Sam, this is my mother, Mary Ella McKnight.”
He smiled, juggling the to-go container to his left arm so he could shake her hand. She had auburn hair where her daughter was blonde but they shared the same finely etched bone structure, the same slender build.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. McKnight.”
“Hello, Sam. Alex was telling me how quickly the work is going at the restaurant. I do hope you’re enjoying your stay in Hope’s Crossing.”
“I’ve only been here a week or so, but so far everyone has been very kind. Your daughter even gave me a guided tour the other night.”
“Did she?” Mary Ella gave Alexandra a surprised look.
“You know me. Always doing my part to welcome visitors,” Alexandra murmured.
Mary Ella’s mouth tightened and he sensed some current between them he didn’t quite understand. He probably should be on his way but he was loath to leave now that she couldn’t avoid him, hot coffee notwithstanding.
“I saw the sign still up for Leonidas when I came in,” he said. “No luck finding his owner, then?”
She shook her head. “For now, I’ve still got company.”
“Leonidas? That’s the name of the dog you’ve been keeping?” her mother asked.
He probably shouldn’t enjoy sharing this little secret with her but he couldn’t help it.
“That’s what I’ve been calling him, anyway,” Alexandra answered. “Remember those Belgian chocolates I gave you for Mother’s Day last year?”
“How could I forget? I only let myself have one of them a week and savored them until Labor Day. This must be some dog.”
“He is pretty great. I still haven’t had any luck finding his home. Every day I call the two vet offices in town, the shelter, everywhere I can think of. I think they’re getting a little annoyed with me. So far, no one has reported a missing chocolate Labrador. It’s the weirdest thing. He had to come from somewhere. Someone certainly seems to have been taking good care of him, right? He was skinny but not starving.”
Ethan had hounded Sam again for a dog when he talked to him on the phone the night before. His son seemed to think adding a canine member to their family was a given once they finally settled into their own place, after all these years of moving around.
He didn’t have the heart to tell the kid they would be so busy settling in that a dog was somewhere far in the future.
At least he had made a little progress that morning finding somewhere to live. He was meeting with a real estate agent later, and Brodie Thorne had given him a lead on a couple places, including one house on the outskirts of town that needed some work but would be livable in the meantime. It was well within his budget.
He started to ask Alexandra if she knew anything about the neighborhood but she spoke before he could.
“My kitchen is looking fantastic.”
Her approval was gratifying, he had to admit. “I’m glad you think so. Maybe you ought to stop by when I’m there so I can show you a couple things.”
“Sure. I could do that,” she said slowly. “I’ve stopped by a few times but...I guess I’ve missed you.”
That color ratcheted up a notch or two, he noticed. He wasn’t the only one who picked up on it. Her mother was giving her a very curious look. He wanted to ask why she was avoiding him but he couldn’t very well do that with Mary Ella standing there.
“It would be good to have your input a little more directly. Could we arrange a time to...” He almost said hook up but didn’t want her to think he meant that in the sexual sense. “Meet up?” he quickly amended. “I can meet you after your shift at the restaurant, if that works for you. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy.”
“You’ve got the day off tomorrow, don’t you?” her mother said, quite helpfully, he thought.
Alexandra frowned just briefly but long enough for him to pick up that she didn’t appreciate her mother’s input nearly as much as he did. “Yes. Yes, I do. I guess I could swing by at some point in the day.”
“We should be there all day. Come over anytime that works for you.”