No Place Like Home (8 page)

“Samantha and I are fools for this stuff.” Rubbing the burro between the eyes, Lilly looked at Dottie. “Come by and see us when you have a chance. We're going to have all kinds of animals.”

“I'll do that.”

Lilly turned to leave then spun back. “Hey, you're going to be here for a few days, right?”

“Ah, sure. As long as it takes to get my RV back up and running. I hope the mechanic comes home soon.”

“You can't leave until you come out for supper.”

Cassie walked up and caught the conversation. “You mean like a barbecue?”

“Sure. Would you like that?”

“Would I? Oh, yeah.”

“Then that's what it'll be. See y'all later. Be sure and come see the petting zoo.”

“She's nice,” Cassie said as they walked back to the
RV. “And those animals are hilarious. You know, Lucky used to be Loser.”

“Do what?” Dottie asked.

“His name. It used to be Loser, but Lilly renamed him. Cort had given him his original name.”

Dottie shook her head. “Leave it to a man to slap a name like that on a poor unsuspecting animal.”

“Yeah,” sighed Cassie. “My dog's name was Waldo.”

Dottie wasn't sure if Cassie realized she'd just given out information about herself. Not wanting to see her backtrack, she chose to say nothing. Every little piece of the puzzle would help her discover who Cassie was. The best scenario would be for Cassie to finally trust her enough to tell her about herself. But she was running out of time. If Brady didn't find out something soon then she was just going to have to chance spooking the girl by asking her some point-blank questions.

“Are we going out to Sheriff Brady's place to finish the candy today?”

Brady. She'd tried not to think about what a blast they'd had making brittle. And that kitchen. If she had a kitchen that size and that layout in California, cooking class would be a dream.

“Earth to Dottie. Earth to Dottie.”

Oh man, she had to stop daydreaming. Cassie was staring at her as if she'd been doing cartwheels and getting no recognition for the effort.

“Sorry. Brady said he'd be here to pick us up as soon
as he came back from Ranger. He was going to drive over there first thing and check on Paul, the truck driver, at the hospital, and see how he was doing.”

“He's so sweet. You two make a good couple. Kind of like me and Jake make a nice couple. Boy, I like him.”

What was it with this town? Something was in the water and that was for certain. “Cassie, I know I'm just the person who gave you a ride to town—”

“And a place to stay,” Cassie added with a crooked grin.

“True, but something tells me that there is an entire town that would give you a place to stay if you needed it.”

“True, too,” she agreed. “But I don't think I'd have my very own ritzy loft anywhere else.”

“True, also. But I was going to say, I hope you, well, what I mean is—you said you came out here looking for a husband…and one minute it's Bob then Jake and you haven't even met Bob.” She swallowed, glancing down toward the petting zoo and the cowboy Lilly had called Bob. She was glad for the moment Cassie hadn't heard that exchange.

“Dottie, don't worry about me. I'm
going
to find a husband. And Jake might be my man. He is so cute, and yesterday I got to pet a calf, and he showed me some that were being bottle-fed. I came out here for Bob, but a girl has to keep her options open.”

Dottie sighed. “What would your mom say about you wanting to get married so young?” There, she'd said it. Just threw the question out there and took a chance.

“I don't need my mom's permission!”

Her anger startled Dottie.

“I'm
nineteen
years old! I'm my own person, Dottie. And I'm getting married. Do you realize that some people have lived enormous lives by the time they're nineteen? Enormous
happy
lives. I want to be a mother and a wife. Pronto! And I want to live in Mule Hollow with Lacy and Adela and Norma Sue and Esther Mae and all the rest of the lovely people who live here.”

It hit Dottie that the girl had a point. One she herself was beginning to gravitate toward even after only two short days…Who
wouldn't
want to live in Mule Hollow?

B
rady walked toward his house and could smell something sweet as he took the steps onto the wide porch two at a time. Memories of coming home as he grew up filtered across his mind. Tramping into the house as a boy, stealing cookies straight off the cookie sheet, his mother's laugh as she swatted at his hand.

But this was different, even though the scents and the welcoming light brought back childhood memories, this was very different. This felt like he was coming home to Dottie.

He stopped in his tracks.
What are you doing, Brady?

Dottie was everything he'd ever wanted in a wife. She had a good heart, a strong faith and a nurturing spirit. She was beautiful inside and out…and she was leaving in a couple of days. It didn't make any sense to follow this attraction he felt for her. The best thing he could do was back off. Back off and let it go.

The laughter trickling through the door leading into the kitchen was like a slap in the face. It would have pleased his mother that there was life in her kitchen. She'd built this house to be lived in.

And he'd barely been existing in it.

“Hey, Brady,” Cassie yelled as he stepped into the kitchen. “Thought you'd never get back. Get on in here and tell me what happened. I want all the juicy details.”

He hung his hat on the rack and ran a hand through his hair, which was damp with sweat from standing out in the sun trying to settle a dispute between two vendors. The vendors were arriving today to set up for the Trade Days opening tomorrow. And thus his job's headache had begun. But being out there was nothing compared to the headache of facing Dottie and the emotions he felt when she was near.

He focused instead on Cassie, and though he could feel Dottie's gaze he didn't look at her.

“Everything turned out fine. Red, the hot-dog man, got a tad hot under the collar because he was placed beside Harlen, the taco guy. As it turns out, they were beside each other at a fair up in San Angelo where Red had accused Harlen of unplugging his compressors so that all his hot dogs went bad.”

“So, did they fight?” Cassie asked, an unabashed grin on her face. She hunkered down at the table and set her chin in her palm. “Who threw the first punch? Was it a good one?”

“Cassie!”

Dottie's exclamation drew his attention. She was smiling and his reflex was to smile back.

“Hey,” Cassie declared. “So I like boxing, sue me. It's fun watching people act goofy. You know they know they're acting bad, so why not enjoy the show? They obviously like the attention.”

Brady laughed. The kid had a point. Sort of. “Red threw the first punch.” He shook his head when her eyes lit up and she let out a whoop. “Of course, Harlen immediately started yelling and that's when Ms. Belle stepped in. I got there just in the nick of time.”

“Ms. Belle, who's that? And why'd she jump in there like that?”

“Cassie!”
Dottie said again, laughing.

“She's the corn-on-a-stick lady. It seems many of these vendors hit the same circuit and these fellows both have their eye on Ms. Belle.”

“Oh, a little competition.”

“Hey, competition's a good thing, Dottie,” Cassie said. “I'm gonna drum some up some myself— Oh, I hear Jake now. That boy can read my mind.” She dropped the bag she'd been tying with a ribbon before Brady had distracted her. Hopping off her stool, she gave Dottie a quick hug then dashed out the door. Just as the screen door slammed, she suddenly twirled around, stuck her head back inside and grinned at him “Bye, Brady. Didn't mean to ignore ya! Oh, did you arrest them?”

He laughed. “No, I warned them.”

“Good.” Her expression of glee was comical. “Maybe there'll be some fighting tomorrow and I can watch.”

And then she was gone, just like that—leaving him alone with Dottie.

“When she's done, she's done,” he said, glancing at Dottie. She was looking especially nice today in jeans and a gold-colored shirt. She was concentrating on slicing a piece of fudge from the slab she'd made, so he concentrated on not focusing on her. Taking Cassie's vacated seat, he picked up the cellophane wrapper she'd been working on and tried to tie a bow. He needed to leave. To drop everything and walk out. Now.

“Have you heard anything?”

He looked up from his sad bow to meet her inquiring gaze. “Nothing. Someone should have missed her by now.” It was true. He hated to say it, but if anyone cared about Cassie, someone would have reported her missing by now.

Dottie laid a hand across her heart, looking away out the window over the sink. But he saw the worry in her eyes.

“I—I know her dog's name is Waldo. She let it slip in conversation earlier. I think the more comfortable she gets, the more she'll tell. She might eventually confide in someone. Don't you think?” She turned back, hope in her expression.

Brady dropped the bag, giving up on the bow. It looked as if it had been run over by Jake's mud tires. “We need to talk to her. It's time.”

She eased onto the stool across from him and studied his attempt at the bow, lost in thought. Then she nodded. “I'll talk to her tomorrow. She'll be okay.”

He reached out and covered her hand before he could stop himself. This woman had been through so much and yet her heart was constantly thinking of helping others. When she lifted her eyes again to his, time stopped for a moment.

He swallowed. She took a small breath. And the clock over the stove ticked away the seconds.

How it happened he couldn't say. He leaned toward her and kissed her. When she answered the kiss it was like a gift.

One he couldn't accept.

Abruptly he stood and moved away. Leaving her dazed and wondering. Her eyes clouded.

“This can't work,” he growled, like the animal he knew he'd just behaved like.

“You're right. It can't.”

Her quiet answer wasn't exactly what he was expecting. He turned back to her and she was watching him.

“I'm attracted to you,” she said bluntly. “But I have a life waiting for me in L.A. and you have a life in this wonderful place. What you're doing here is admirable.”

Brady wasn't certain that he liked that she could kiss him the way she had, then calmly state all the reasons why this connection between them should be cut. It wasn't as if they were discussing light switches!

But looking into her clear hazel eyes, sparking more amber than green, he knew that's exactly what she'd done.

There wasn't anything he could offer her. He didn't want or need romantic entanglements, so he should have been happy.

He wasn't.

 

Dottie had never been as glad to hear a vehicle drive away as she was now. The sound of Brady's engine faded and blended into the sounds of the night and she collapsed in the wicker chair in front of her RV.

Her nerves were shot. Shot!

What had she been thinking?

That kiss. Oh, that kiss.

It had taken her by surprise and the emotion that wrapped around her heart had scared her with its intensity.

No Place Like Home was waiting for her. Needed her. But in an instant… Oh, she was horrible, because in that moment, if Brady Cannon had shown the slightest inclination that he wanted what her crazy heart was wishing—she'd have abandoned her mission for a life with him.

How fickle was that?

Her name truly could be Dottie Marie Fickle Hart. It was no longer a joke! She'd been tempted to toss over everything the Lord had done for her. And everything she needed to do for Him. For the love of a man.

But that hadn't happened because Brady had made it extremely clear that he was married to his job.

Once they'd gotten over the initial shock of sharing the kiss, they'd gone about finishing up wrapping all the candy. They'd worked predominantly in strained silence, the ease that they'd shared gone.

Finally unable to take it any longer she'd started to talk. Expounding more fully than before about the miracle of her rescue. Thinking that if she could let him glimpse her heart it would make things easier between them. It also reminded her that she would have to come to her senses—that she shouldn't turn her back on her mission.

She knew this especially when she told Brady that she hadn't been alone down in that dark pit. God had been right there beside her. Even after her carelessness, He'd watched over her. It had been such an amazing, life-changing experience. Terrifying, but amazing. She'd heard of instances of devastation where survivors said they knew death was upon them and they gave in to it…then miraculously they'd survived. She'd told him how she'd felt the same, that instead of fighting she'd given over to the peace. To Jesus saying He was with her, that everything would be all right.

Dottie reached out and drummed her fingers on the patio table, watching the drooping flowers jiggle in the vase in its center. Brady had listened quietly, his beautiful brown eyes full of compassion.

Especially when she went on to tell him how she'd started reviewing her life leading up to the point that had led her to stay behind in the hurricane. That despite repeated warnings to evacuate her small coastal town,
she'd been so determined to watch the storm. Foolishly, like there was anything she could have done to protect the home she'd inherited from her dear grandfather who'd just passed away.

Her grandfather who'd urged her to step out and experience a full life. To take a risk. On further reflection, she didn't think he'd meant a risk so foolish.

Dottie laughed even now, sitting under the stars thinking about her ninety-three-years young granddaddy spouting off that when the Lord intended on taking him out of this world it would happen. That it didn't matter if he was climbing Mount Everest or sleeping in his bed or riding out a hurricane. That when his time on earth was done, he was outta here.

Brady had sympathized with her when she'd revealed that she'd figured out, while lying beneath the rubble, that she'd been trying to share an experience with her granddaddy by riding out a hurricane in his home. She'd been trying to hold on to him a little longer.

When they'd finally finished and he'd dropped her off at the RV, he'd grown quiet again, and she felt weary, sad and totally confused watching him drive away. She realized at this moment she wanted nothing more than to get this weekend over, have her RV fixed and get moving toward California.

It was time to get out of Mule Hollow. And away from the man who could very easily own her heart if she allowed it.