Head Over Heels (The Bridesmaids Club Book 3) (5 page)

“They do. Mom and dad own a ranch about twenty minutes from here. Sean and Matthew are two years older than me and live at home. Nathan married Amy last year and Liam is a lawyer in Vancouver.”

“Four brothers?” No wonder Sally was fearless. She would have learned to stand up for herself before most kids knew how to walk.

Sally shrugged her shoulders. “I got used to it. Do you want a cup of coffee?”

“I can’t stay. I’ve got things to do.” He didn’t want Sally thinking he’d come here to spend time with her. All he needed to know was whether she needed help tomorrow. Then he’d go back to his ranch, get his painting gear out and start work on his half-finished bedroom.

The soft thud of something hitting the floor had Sally moving quickly across the room. She disappeared through another door and said, “Muggles, keep off the counter.”

A cat that was bigger than most small dogs shot across the living room, escaping up the narrow flight of stairs in the entrance way. Another cat that Todd hadn’t noticed appeared from behind the sofa. The orange tabby stretched and yawned.

“Sorry about that.” Sally opened a door that overlooked her backyard and the tabby cat ran outside. “I’ve got three cats; Muggles, Tabitha, and Jetson. Out of all of them, Muggles is the most mischievous. He wants to know what I’m doing every minute of the day.”

Todd looked around the living room. A tank of orange goldfish swam in the corner, with a smaller tank sitting beside it. He walked across the room and stared at the two turtles sitting on large rocks. “You could open a zoo.”

Sally sighed. “That’s what mom says. Dad’s banned me from bringing more shelter animals out to his ranch.” Her green eyes gleamed and he stepped away from the turtles.

“No.”

“Why not?”

Todd crossed his arms in front of his chest. “I’m looking after Max. One shelter animal is enough.”

“You said yourself that he loves your new foal. You could adopt another dog or two. Maybe even a cat to keep the rats and mice out of your barn.”

“I don’t need a cat.”

Sally frowned. “Everyone needs a cat.” When he didn’t reply she smiled. “Maybe two. I need a hot drink. Do you want to wait here or come into the kitchen with me?”

“Do you have more animals in there?”

Sally smiled and his heart gave one of its nervous stutters. “You’re safe. The only animals are in the photos on my wall.”

Todd followed Sally into the kitchen. A large board leaned against the kitchen counter. Someone had taken photos of all kinds of animals; cats, dogs, guinea pigs, rabbits, horses, and if he wasn’t mistaken, a snake.

Sally opened cookie jar. “They’re all of the animals I’ve found homes for. I’ve still got to add Max’s photo. Tess made these chocolate chip cookies. Do you want one?”

She wiggled the container under his nose and he took one. “Aren’t you having one?”

Sally put the jar back on the counter. “I can’t. I’ve got five pounds to lose before Annie and Tess’ weddings.”

Todd stopped eating. “You’re kidding?”

Sally shook her head. “I wish I was. The two dresses I’ve chosen to wear are beautiful, but they’re made from satin. The sheen is unforgiving in photos.”

Todd didn’t know what she was talking about, but it seemed important to her. “You could always exercise more.” He clamped his lips shut to stop another profound observation erupting from his mouth.

Sally didn’t notice his blunder. She filled a cup with hot water and cut a lemon in half. “I’ve tried that. I end up heavier.”

Todd didn’t like to point out that muscle weighed heavier than fat. He could get himself into serious trouble if he kept discussing her non-existent weight issue.

“Are you sure you don’t want a hot drink?” she asked.

“No thanks.” Todd watched her squeeze the lemon juice into her mug.

She took a sip of her drink and smiled. “Twelve people are arriving at the shelter at nine o’clock with their trucks. We’re going to move the animals all at once. Molly and I will be at the shelter from eight-thirty, putting the kittens and cats into crates. If you want to give us a hand to take the animals to Pastor Steven’s church, we wouldn’t say no.”

Todd watched her take another sip of her lemon drink. “You like that stuff?”

“Tess said it will cleanse my liver. I’m cutting back on coffee, too. Do you want my cell phone number in case something happens and you can’t make it?”

Todd didn’t imagine there’d be much keeping him away from the animal shelter or Pastor Steven’s church. But he nodded, anyway. Her number might come in handy if he ever needed to be rescued from Max.

“I’ll put it straight into my contact list.” He pulled his phone out and looked at the text message Dylan had sent. The guy had a warped sense of humor if he thought anything was happening between Sally and him. “Do you need me to bring anything with me?”

Sally scribbled her phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to him. “What about an open mind to adopting more animals?”

The grin on her face made him remember, just for a minute, what it was like to have a normal relationship with someone. “You don’t take no for an answer, do you?”

“Not often.” She took another sip from her cup and winced. “I don’t know if I can keep drinking hot lemon drinks. They taste as though they’re too good for me.”

Todd bit into his chocolate chip cookie. On one level, he admired the way Sally threw herself into finding homes for abandoned animals.

On another level, she confused the hell out of him.

***

Sally looked around Pastor Steven’s backyard. The pet adoption day was a huge success. Half of the animals they’d brought across from the shelter had already found homes.

She passed a fluffy white rabbit to the little girl standing in front of her. “Oscar is eight months old. He loves being cuddled.”

The little girl’s face glowed. She held Oscar close to her chest and looked at the lady standing beside her. “Can we take him home with us, mom? Benji and Oscar could be friends. I’d look after him and feed him every day.”

“I know you would, Charlotte. I’m just not sure if Benji is ready for another rabbit in his hutch. He’s been alone for a long time.”

“That’s why he needs a friend,” the little girl persisted. “Oscar is so soft and warm. They could look after each other when it gets cold.”

Sally passed Charlotte’s mom a pamphlet about the animal shelter. “You can always bring Oscar back if it doesn’t work out with Benji.”

The lady patted Oscar, then looked behind her. “What do you think, Tony? Do we have room for another rabbit?”

Oscar snuggled against Charlotte’s shoulder. “Please, dad. I’ll look after him. I promise. Benji will like him just as much as I do.”

Charlotte’s dad looked between his wife and daughter. “As long as Benji doesn’t get worried about having Oscar living with him, then I guess we could look after him. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll bring him straight back.”

“Oscar will be happy with us, dad. Just you wait and see.”

Sally patted Oscar and smiled at Charlotte’s parents. “If you want to take Oscar home today, I’ve got a box you could use.”

Charlotte’s mom smiled. “Thank you. I don’t think Charlotte’s going to let Oscar out of her arms.”

As Charlotte’s mom and dad worked out the logistics of getting a new rabbit home, Sally’s gaze traveled over the people looking at the shelter animals. Today had been worth every minute of the extra time needed to make it a success.

She smiled at Todd as he handed a teenage boy a small dog of dubious origin. Motley had been living at the shelter for three months. The mixed breed dog would never be pretty, but he had character by the bucketload.

Sally didn’t think Todd would have hung around after the shelter animals had been put in their special enclosures. But he’d done more than stay. He’d helped the other volunteers match children and adults with the animals they could take home and love. He hadn’t run a mile as the first wave of children had descended on them. And he hadn’t looked uncomfortable when he’d been surrounded by families wanting to know how to look after their new-found pets.

Todd Randall was an enigma, one of those mysterious forces of nature that you occasionally met and remembered for life.

“Who’s the hunky hero in the blue jeans and black leather jacket?” Molly whispered in Sally’s ear.

Heat streaked across Sally’s face. She purposely dragged her gaze off Todd and looked around Pastor Steven’s yard. “Nearly every man here is wearing jeans,” Sally whispered back. “And there’s more than one leather jacket.”

“But there’s only one man you’ve been staring at for the last five minutes.”

Sally frowned at her friend. “I have not been staring at him. I’ve been contemplating Todd’s transformation.”

Molly laughed. “Is that a fancy way of saying he’s hot?”

“I think so.” Sally sighed as the teenager clicked a leash around Motley’s neck. “But don’t tell anyone I said so. If my brothers think I’m even mildly interested in him, they’ll start digging into his life quicker than anything you’ve ever seen.”

“Sean and Matthew are harmless.”

“Yeah, as harmless as rattlesnakes in long grass. My brothers aren’t known for being subtle.”

Molly looked across at Todd. He glanced their way and a smile tugged at one corner of his mouth.

“Something tells me Todd can look after himself,” Molly said with a softness in her voice. “He’s a fine man.”

Sally thought so, too. But he had things he was hiding, a sadness deep inside him that worried her. She looked at Molly and plastered a smile on her face. “Are you going to surprise me and take one of our lovely animals home?”

Molly shook her head. “My sister would kill me, but I thought I’d come and help. Pastor Steven has got me on coffee duty. Can I interest you in a cup of strong, black caffeine to keep you going?”

Sally picked up her water bottle. “I’m okay with this. Have you seen Rachel? She said she’d meet me here today.”

“I don’t know what Rachel looks like,” Molly said.

“She’s shorter than me and she’s got blonde hair.”

Molly smiled. “And that’s supposed to help me find her?”

Sally looked at the people around them. Her description of Rachel was about as accurate as Molly’s description of Todd. “I see what you mean. How about I introduce you when she arrives?”

“Sounds like a fine plan. I’ll come back after I’ve done the coffee rounds of the volunteers.” Molly disappeared into the crowd, as much as a six-foot tall, dark-haired, Irish beauty could.

Sally checked Charlotte’s parents to make sure they had everything they needed before they left. She had a feeling that Oscar the rabbit would be very happy with Charlotte’s family. She turned to the people on her right and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

“How’s everything going?”

Todd stood beside her, looking even hotter than he had from a distance. Life was so unfair. If anyone could give out an
I’m-not-interested-in-a-relationship
vibe, it was Todd. Hot or not, he wasn’t the man for her. Not that she was looking for a relationship with anyone. Not much, anyway.

She bent down and lifted a guinea pig out of its pen. “So far, it’s been a great day. I don’t think we’ll be taking many animals back to the shelter this afternoon.”

“Pastor Steven is thinking about adopting the black cat with half an ear.”

“Pirate?”

Todd smiled and Sally held her breath. He was utterly gorgeous and he didn’t know it.

The smile slipped off his face. “Is everything okay?”

Sally shook the cobwebs out of her brain and cleared her throat. “Did the teenager decide to take Motley home?”

Todd nodded. “Motley is no longer homeless. I don’t know who was more relieved - Motley or me.”

Sally passed the guinea pig in her arms to a little boy tugging on her shirt. She smiled at his parents and nearly missed the redhead walking quickly toward her. She tried to remember where she’d seen her face before, then realized she was one of the brides they’d helped. Her name was Carol or Carolyn. Sally couldn’t remember when she was getting married, but it couldn’t be far away.

“Thank goodness I’ve found you,” the soon-to-be-bride said. “Tess said to come and see you. I’m Carolyn. The Bridesmaids Club gave us our dresses.”

Sally smiled. “I remember. Your two sisters and a friend are your bridesmaids. You must be getting married soon?”

“That’s why I’m here. Tess thought you might have an idea about what we could do.”

Sally saw tears gathering in Carolyn’s eyes. “What’s happened?”

“There was a big fire in the Emerson Center last night. Wayne and I were supposed to get married there in three weeks’ time. Everything else in town is booked and we can’t find another venue.”

Todd touched Sally’s arm. “I’ve got to go back to the puppy area. I’ll see you later.”

Carolyn looked up at Todd and frowned. “I’m sorry. I was so caught up in finding Sally that I didn’t realize I was…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Todd reassured her. “I can see Sally anytime. I hope you find somewhere to hold your wedding.” He glanced at Sally, then walked away.