Currant Creek Valley - By RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,43
walked into the kitchen, leaving him and Ethan alone. After she left, he felt a moment’s misgivings. Buying a house was a huge decision. Buying a house in a completely new community felt monumental.
No, he wouldn’t second-guess. Moving to Hope’s Crossing was the right decision, for him and for his son.
“What did you think about that creek we saw on the way in? What are the chances we can hook some trout in it?”
Ethan appeared to give the matter serious thought. “There are too many variables for me to be able to answer that. We don’t even know if there are trout in it, for one thing.”
He laughed. “It was a figure of speech, son. That’s all. What do you say we go take a look at it, see if we can find any.”
“Sure.”
They headed into the April sunshine and Ethan slipped a hand in his, his fingers small and vulnerable.
“Does it snow a lot here?” Ethan asked as they headed across the street to an area where the creek ran close to the road before curving through the trees.
“More than in Denver, that’s for sure. You think you’ll be okay with that? You’re going to have to learn to ski or snowboard. I think it’s the law.”
Ethan frowned. “I don’t think that’s possible. It wouldn’t be constitutional, would it?”
He laughed and rubbed Mr. Literal’s head. “Maybe not the law. Maybe it’s just a strongly worded suggestion. Don’t worry, I think you’ll like it.”
Before Ethan could answer, a very familiar dog came bounding across a nearby yard toward them with single-minded intent. Ethan gasped and edged behind him. For all his talk about wanting a pet, he wasn’t a fan of big, strange dogs.
“You don’t have to worry about this dog. He’s friendly.”
“How do you know?”
“We’ve met before.”
“Is he a stray?”
“The answer to that particular question is a little complicated. Leo, what are you doing up here?” he asked. “Did you run away again? Don’t you know you had a good thing going?”
The dog looked at him for a moment out of those beautiful hazel eyes then barked happily and turned back around the way he had come, heading up the street in the slanting afternoon sunlight.
Sam muttered an oath but cut it off when he caught Ethan watching him carefully. He wasn’t at all in the mood to chase down a dog, but he also knew he couldn’t let Leonidas wander aimlessly.
“Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“To catch that rascal of a dog,” he answered.
“Really?” Ethan’s eyes were huge. “Are we going to keep it?”
When they were a little more settled, maybe they could consider getting a dog, but that seemed months away.
“Right now the dog belongs to someone else. Come on, let’s see if we can grab him before he gets too far.”
They hurried down the street, Ethan’s hand still in his, past a couple houses that showed clear signs of children living there, with bikes parked beside the garage, and a trampoline in one backyard. Finally the dog paused at a particularly charming small log home, almost hidden from the street by trees.
“Oh, I like this house, too,” Ethan declared. “Maybe we could buy this one instead.”
“Looks like somebody already lives here. See, no for-sale sign.”
The dog slipped around the side of the house as if he belonged there and cut through a gap in the fence. Sam felt a little weird about going into someone’s backyard but he was afraid if he took time to knock on the door to ask permission, the dog would escape through some other gap and Alexandra would never be able to find him.
“Where have you been?” He heard a low, exasperated voice as he turned the corner of the house and suddenly there she was.
Alexandra was on her knees next to a flower garden that bordered a wide flagstone overlooking the river and the mountains. She had one hand firmly around the dog’s collar, the other still holding a gardening spade.
She wore pink flowered gardening gloves and a floppy straw hat and he was seized by a powerful urge to toss it off and throw it into the garden before he pulled her against him and kissed her once more.
Fortunately, he managed to tamp it down.
She hadn’t spied either of them yet as she continued to talk to the dog. “I don’t want to use a chain on you or lock you in the garage when I’m outside but I will if you run off again. How are we ever going