She crawled out with an iPad tucked under her arm, then stood, her red pigtails lopsided. Evie’s face was one hundred percent Megan, but the little girl had a quirky spirit all her own. Evie wore a knight’s costume with a princess tiara even though Halloween had already passed and Thanksgiving was rapidly approaching. Her mother smoothed a hand over her head affectionately, gently tightening the left pigtail to match the one on the right. “Miss Abigail wants you to sit with her for a few minutes, okay? I’ll be through soon.”
Evie waved shyly, green eyes sparkling, then sprinted out to the front desk, carrying her iPad and a foam sword.
Megan gestured for him to step inside the small office, then closed the gate again. “You mentioned writing a check, and I’m not bashful about accepting on behalf of the animals. I’ll get you a receipt so you can write it off on your taxes.”
“Where will you put this cat if you’re already full?” he asked as the beagle sniffed his shoes.
“I guess we’ll learn if she gets along with dogs since she’ll have to stay in my office for now.” She crouched down with the cat in her arms. The pup tipped his head to the side and the cat curled closer to Megan but kept her claws sheathed. Nodding, Megan stood and settled the cat onto her office chair.
“She likes dogs better than she likes me, that’s for sure.” He shook his head, laughing softly.
“I guess not every female in this town likes crawling into your arms.” She crinkled her freckled nose.
He would have thought she was jealous. She had been avoiding him since the tornado. He would have attributed it to her being busy with cleanup, but his instincts shouted it had something to do with that impulsive kiss. “I feel bad for adding to your load here. Could you use more volunteers to help with the extra load here? I’m sure some of my buddies at the Texas Cattleman’s Club would be glad to step up.”
“We can always use extra hands.”
“I’ll contact Gil Addison—the club president—and get the ball rolling. Maybe they’ll adopt when they’re here.”
“We can only hope.” Her hand fell to the cat’s head and she stroked lightly. The cat arched up into the stroke, purring loudly. “I’m working on arranging a transport for some of the unclaimed pets to a rescue in Oklahoma. A group in Colorado has reached out to help as well, but we’re still trying to find a way to get the animals there. And since the Colorado group is a new rescue, I need to look over their operation before entrusting our animals to their care. Except I don’t know how I’ll be able to take off that much time from work for the road trip, much less be away from Evie for that long. She’s still unsettled from the trauma of last month’s storm. But, well, you don’t need to hear all about my troubles.”
“My personal plane is at your disposal,” he said without hesitation.
“What? I didn’t realize you have a plane. I mean I know you’re well off, but....”
Her shoulders braced and he could almost see another wall appearing between them. He appreciated that she wasn’t impressed by his money, but also hated to see another barrier in place.
Still, the more he thought about flying the animals for her, the more the idea appealed to him. “Make the arrangements with the rescue and whatever else needs to be done as far as crating the animals. I assume you have procedures for that.”
“Yes, but....” Confusion creased her forehead. “I don’t know how to say thank-you. That’s going above and beyond.”
“There’s nothing to thank me for. This is a win-win.” He got to help the animals, score points with Megan and spend more time with her to boot.
“But the cost—”
“A tax write-off, remember? Fly animals as far as you need them to go and your time away will be reduced considerably.” This idea just got better and better, not only for the animals, but also by giving him an “in” to see Megan, to figure out where to take this attraction. “This isn’t a one-time offer either. You’re packed with critters here. If there’s help out there, take it and my jet will fly them there.”
“I can’t turn you down. The animals need this kind of miracle if we’re going to find homes for them by the holidays.” She exhaled hard. “I need to get to work placing calls. There are rescues I hadn’t considered before because of the distance and our limited resources. Rescue work happens fast, slots fill up at a moment’s notice.”
“And this little gal?” He stroked the cat’s head and for once the calico didn’t dig her claws in. Perched on the back of the chair, she arched up into his hand and purred like a race car.
“Are you sure you don’t want to keep her?”
He pulled his hand away. “I can’t. I’m at work all the time, which wouldn’t be fair to her.”
“Of course.” Megan looked disappointed in him, even though he’d just offered her thousands of dollars’ worth of flight hours.
But then, hadn’t he said it? Offering his plane was easy. Taking care of another living being? Not so easy.
“I should let you get to work on lining up those rescues.” He pulled a business card from his wallet and plucked a pen from the cup on the edge of her desk. He jotted a number on the back of the card. “This is my private cell number and my secretary’s number. Don’t hesitate to call.”
When he passed her the card, their fingers brushed. He saw the flecks of awareness sparkle in her eyes again. He wasn’t mistaken. The mutual draw was real, but now wasn’t the time to press ahead for more.
“Thank you again.” She flipped the card between her fingers, still watching him with suspicion, their old conflicts clearly making her wary. “Would you like to name your kitty cat?”
“That’s not my kitten.”
“Right,” she answered, a smile playing with her plump lips that didn’t need makeup to entice, “and she still needs a name. We’ve had to name so many this past month, we’re out of ideas.”
He thought for a second then found himself saying, “Tallulah.”
“Tallulah?” Her surprise was a reward. He liked unsettling her. “Really, Whit? I didn’t expect such a...girly name choice.”
“That was the name of my mom’s cat.” She was briefly theirs, but when they’d moved, the cat ran away. Then his father had said no more pets. Period.
“It’s a lovely name.”
He nodded quickly then turned to leave.
“Whit,” she called, stopping him short, “about what happened after you helped me get to Evie that day....”
Was she finally acknowledging the impulsive, explosive kiss? The thought of having her sooner rather than later... “Yes?”
“Thank you for helping me reach my daughter.” She looked down at her shoes for an awkward moment before meeting his eyes again. “I can never repay you for that...and now this.”
“I don’t expect repayment.” The last thing he wanted was to have her kiss him again out of gratitude.
The next time they kissed—and there would be a next time—it would be purely based on mutual attraction.
* * *
The stroke of Whit Daltry’s eyes left her skin tingling.
Standing at the shelter’s glass door, Megan rubbed her arms as she watched Whit stride across the parking lot back to his truck. His long legs ate up the space one powerful step at a time. His suit coat flapped in the late afternoon breeze revealing a too-perfect, taut butt. Her head was still reeling from his surprise appearance, followed