Forever Fall (22 page)

End of Fall

Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and Christmas is right on its heels. Seems like just yesterday that my spring crocuses were pushing through the snow. I guess, when you get to be my age, time has wings on its feet.

Alyce’s little Lili’s sitting up all by herself now and jabbering away to beat the band. I can’t understand a thing she says, but that doesn’t seem to stop her. I finally talked Alyce into moving in with me until she gets her schooling done with. She passed her GED with flying colors, thanks to Luc Michaels, got herself a scholarship and is going to school in Charleston to become an LPN. I couldn’t be prouder of her. Too bad her daddy can’t see what a fine woman she’s become. The darn fool is missing out on some of the best things in life because of his stubborn snobbishness.

Speaking of babies, I’m gonna be a great grandma come spring. Becky and Nick are expecting. Next week she’ll find out if it’s gonna be a boy or a girl. Nick says he doesn’t want to know. Wants it to be a surprise. Becky says it’s just practical to know so she can decorate the nursery in the right colors. Me? I just hope the little tyke has all the fingers and toes and everything else the good Lord intended.

Catherine Daniels had asked me to go with her to see that Jonathan Prince fella who just built that big house outside of town. I’m on a committee with her to raise money for an abused women’s shelter here in Carson. Seems, since Becky and Mandy found Catherine’s girl for her, she feels obligated to pay them back, and the shelter is Mandy’s and Becky’s pet project. They’ve been trying to figure out how to raise money to build it. Catherine came up with the idea of a fundraiser. Jonathan Prince has agreed to fund it for them. Nice man, that Mr. Prince. I plan on telling him just that when I go out there to give his aunt quilting lessons.

Mandy and Luc are building an addition on their house. They said they just need more room for Luc’s home office. But a nursery’s my guess. Now, they haven’t officially announced anything yet, but I’ve been around long enough to know that when a woman gets that glow about her, there’s only one reason for it
 . . .
motherhood.

Come spring, there’s gonna be a lot of new young’uns around Carson. Aside from all the human babies, Davy’s Sadie is gonna have puppies. He’s not sure if she found a male wolf or if Hank’s German Shepard did the deed. Davy’s over the moon at the idea of having a litter of puppies to care for. Lydia hasn’t quite decided if this is a good thing or not. I’m sure she’ll come around. Little ones—puppies or babies—are impossible to resist.

Well, Lili’s fussing. Must have woke up from her nap. I’ll have to run, but you all need to stick around. Christmas is coming, and here in Carson, aside from the beautiful decorations in the town square, the Christmas carols blasting from the speakers at Keeler’s Supermarket and the smell of pine in the air, Christmas around here tends to be a magical time when anything can happen
 . . .
and often does.

Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Much love,

Granny Jo

(Continue reading for an excerpt of
Summer Rose
by Elizabeth Sinclair)

Book Two of the Hawks Mountain Sweet Romance Series

by Elizabeth Sinclair

Excerpt

Hunter kissed her again. “It’s time you told me what you’ve been hiding from me, or at least give me some hints. I’ve run out of guesses.”

Rose took a deep breath. “I’m pregnant. With twins.”

A tragedy transformed Rose Hamilton from a surrogate mother for her beloved foster sister into a single mom expecting twins. But when she walks into Dr. Hunter Mackenzie’s West Virginia wildlife rehab clinic—with her pregnancy still a secret—all he sees is a gorgeous, likable woman applying for a job.

Rose doesn’t want a romance with a handsome veterinarian who doesn’t suspect that she’s expecting and who’s already got plenty of trouble, thanks to a mayor who wants to rid his town of Hunter’s lion cubs and injured wolves.

Why would a man who obviously loves the wild life want to fall in love with a ready-made family?

Summer

Hi, ya’all,

So you took my advice and came back to our little town for another visit. But even if it’s your first visit to Carson, you’re not gonna be disappointed. Now that the temperatures have heated up, it seems things around town are doing likewise.

George Collins, Carson’s windbag mayor, is harassing Doc Mackenzie about all the wild animals he has out at the Paws and Claws Animal Clinic and Wildlife Sanctuary. George says they’re a danger to the community. Doc says George has bees in his bonnet, and there’s nothing dangerous about any of his animals. Can’t convince the darn fool mayor that they’re just babies, and they’re not gonna hurt a soul. Doc’s holding his ground, but if George has his way, Doc will have to get rid of them. Personally, I think it has a lot to do with Davy, George’s boy, working at the sanctuary.

Rumor has it that Doc’s new assistant and Davy have something up their sleeves, but no one knows what it is, not even Laureene Talbot, which is a minor miracle considering there’s nothing in this town that old busybody doesn’t get wind of. Guess we’ll all have to wait and see.

Becky and Nick’s wedding plans are in full swing and should be ready to go right on time for their late summer wedding. Last I heard Becky’s ordered daisies for the entire wedding: church, bouquets and all. She says there’s something special about them little white flowers that means something to her and Nick. Won’t say what. Her and Nick just smile and kiss whenever I ask.

There’s a new gal working at the social services office with Becky. Name’s Amantha James. Goes by Mandy. My Becky says she’s a real go-getter and has a plan for the school that’s gonna turn a few heads. But that’s a tale for another day.

The house that Jonathan Prince fella is building outside town is really coming along. It’s gonna be a big one, too. A mansion, some say. One of the young men Nick’s training to be an EMT works for the construction company building it, and he says, outside of the big hotels in Charleston, he’s never seen anything this size before.

Well, I have to go now. It’s time for Lydia Collins’ radio show, and I never miss it. After that, I’m off to Charleston with Becky to have lunch at one of those big, fancy restaurants, and then we’re gonna pick out her wedding gown. But don’t you go away. I have a feeling things around Carson are going to get real interesting, real fast, and you won’t want to miss a minute of it.

Love,

Granny Jo

She took one look at him and gagged.

The reaction of the stunning, auburn-haired woman, who’d just entered the Paws & Claws Animal Clinic and Wildlife Sanctuary, surprised Dr. Hunter Mackenzie. He’d never thought of himself as particularly handsome, but he wasn’t
that
bad either.

As he stared at her, she clamped one hand over her mouth and pressed the other one to her flat stomach. She closed her startlingly blue eyes and swallowed repeatedly.

Deciding her reaction had been physical and no fault of his, he pressed the telephone’s mouthpiece, into which he’d been talking when she’d entered the clinic, against his shoulder. “Are you all right?”

Swallowing one last time, she coughed lightly, and then removed her hand from her mouth. “I’m fine. I think I may have eaten something for lunch that didn’t agree with me.”

He studied her for a moment. “Are you sure?” Though her face remained pale and drawn, she smiled wanly and nodded. To be certain, he waited a moment before going back to his phone call. He motioned toward the waiting area at the side of the room. “Why don’t you have a seat while I finish my phone call?”

She nodded and walked to the grouping of plastic chairs lining the clinic’s waiting room.

Hunter’s alert and decidedly appreciative gaze followed her shapely form across the waiting room, noting almost absently that she had no animals with her. Once she’d safely seated herself, he removed the phone’s receiver from his shoulder. With a sigh of resignation, he went back to his conversation with the mayor of Carson, West Virginia, George Collins.

“George, none of the sanctuary’s animals have ever escaped or attacked any of the townspeople. What keeps making the council think they’re a safety risk?” Stupid question. Hunter knew who kept the belief alive. Since he’d become mayor of Carson, Collins had launched a ridiculous crusade to shut down the sanctuary. Hunter would make book on it that George had browbeaten the council members into agreeing with him. The odd part was that Hunter had no idea why George was so hell-bent to shut it down.

“Listen, Mackenzie, we know you took in an African lion the other day. We can’t have that kind of threat living on the edge of a populated community.” Collins’ voice boomed from the phone into Hunter’s ear.

The frustration building inside Hunter threatened to overwhelm him. He took a deep breath, and then leaned forward, planting his forearms solidly on the desk. “Good grief, George, why don’t you people call me before you get yourselves all in a lather? The lion is a cub, orphaned when its mother died. He’s just a few weeks old. It’ll be quite a while before he poses a risk to the town or anyone in it. By then, I’ll have found a zoo that will take him.”

“The cub will soon be gone, but that doesn’t solve the problem of the other animals you keep out there and the ones that will inevitably replace the cub.” The mayor’s voice gained volume again. “They’re wild, too, and dangerous. They . . .”

While Mayor Collins again listed all the reasons for closing the sanctuary, arguments Hunter had heard every time he obtained a new animal, he assessed his female visitor.

She busied herself by leafing through a magazine she’d found on the side table. Unfortunately, because of her bent head, a thick curtain of auburn hair obscured her face from his view. As if she’d heard his thoughts, she swept back her shoulder-length hair and tucked it behind her ear. The color had begun to return to her cheeks, and he noted that her skin had a peaches and cream quality that he’d only read about in books.

“Mackenzie, do you hear me?”

George’s irate voice blasting into Hunter’s ear pulled him abruptly from the pleasurable view. He sighed and dragged his attention back to his tormentor. “Yes, I hear you. What I’m not hearing are any new arguments to convince me to close down the sanctuary. I don’t know how many ways I can say this, but those animals are not dangerous. Most of them are babies who’ve lost their mothers, either naturally or with the help of some fool with a gun. The others are sick or injured and in no shape to hurt anyone.” Hunter took a deep breath and repeated the words he’d been saying to George for six months now. “I will not shut down the sanctuary because a few people think a bunch of baby animals are going to sneak out in the middle of the night and eat them.”

“You’re a pigheaded man, Hunter Mackenzie, but this is not the end of this.”

Click!

The line went dead. Hunter stared down at the humming phone. “I’m sure it’s not.” He shook his head, and then placed the receiver in the cradle.

“Problems?”

Her soft voice drew his attention. “Nothing I haven’t heard before.” He relaxed and folded his hands on the desk. “Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m afraid my assistant picked this week to elope, and I’m trying to be vet, receptionist and assistant.”

She stood, and then came to stand before him. Straightening her back, she reached in her large, black tote bag, pulled out a folded newspaper and then laid it on the desk in front of him.

“I want to apply for the job you advertised in the want ads.”

The ad he’d placed two days ago in the
Hawks Mountain Herald
glared back at him from inside a thick circle of red ink.

She stuck out her hand. “Rose Hamilton.”

He grasped it and had to pause before speaking. The odd sensation of warm water swamping him from head to toe then sucking him beneath its surface came over him. The tension fostered by the mayor’s phone call ebbed away as if it had never existed. Hunter hung onto her hand overlong, enjoying the total peace her touch had brought to him.

From beyond the wall behind him, a dog barked and soon a cacophonous chorus of
woofs
and
yips
could be heard.

Hunter shook himself free of the residual effects of her touch, released her hand, and then stood.

“Hunter Mackenzie,” he said loud enough to be heard above the racket. He smiled apologetically. “Excuse me.” Stepping back, and with a balled fist, he hit the wall once. The dogs quieted, except for a few stray
yips
that quickly died away. “Normally, that doesn’t bother me, but I’m not up to that noise right now. That phone call managed to produce the start of a headache.” He rubbed a forefinger on the side of his temple.

“Stress.” She flashed a radiant smile at him. Suddenly, the sunshine illuminating the room seemed to brighten considerably. “I’m a nurse. A licensed practical nurse.”

He continued to stare, mostly at her full lips. He tore his gaze away. Reaching into her voluminous tote bag, she extracted her wallet. Taking a small white card from her billfold, she handed it to him.

Finally able to rouse himself from his uncharacteristic fascination with the shape and color of her eyes, he coughed and scanned the card that verified her nursing credentials. “So, you want the job as my assistant? And you think nursing sick humans qualifies you to nurse sick animals?”

“Dr. Mackenzi—”

“Hunter.” He motioned for her to take the seat facing the desk, and then passed the card back to her.

“Hunter,” Rose went on, her heart beating a wild tattoo against her chest. She took the seat, grateful to get off her shaking legs, and prayed silently to find the right words to convince him to give her the job. “Nursing is nursing, be it with animals or humans. They all need the same care, the same attention and the same compassion.”

He smiled again, and she felt something inside her drop to the bottom of her stomach.
Oh, no.
She couldn’t be sick again.
Not now
. When he looked away for a second, she realized the sensation she’d just felt had nothing to do with her stomach upset, and everything to do with the man smiling at her.

“I can’t argue that point, Ms. Hamilton.”

“Rose.”

“Rose,” he repeated, then licked his lips as if tasting the sound of her name. Her stomach flipped. “Did you bring a résumé.”

Once more she delved into her tote. This time, she pulled out the folder she’d tucked in there that morning before leaving the motel. Handing it to him, she said, “I think you’ll find everything you need in here.”

While he scanned her work record, Rose assessed the doctor. Age? About thirty-four or thirty-five. Laugh lines around his hazel eyes and mouth. A good sense of humor? His immaculate lab coat told her he believed in a clean, antiseptic working environment. The open-necked, white-and-blue-striped shirt beneath the lab coat could mean a casual, relaxed personality. His brown hair showed attempts at waving despite the smooth comb he’d given it.

Then, to her surprise, her perusal shifted, became less impersonal. Shoulders wide enough to support another man, or a woman with some heavy burdens to carry. Full lips and an expressive mouth. Good kisser?

Acutely aware that she had just trespassed into dangerous territory, Rose stopped the inventory abruptly.

“Your resume is quite impressive.” He handed the folder back to her. “Why aren’t you looking for a job in a hospital?”

She had anticipated this question. Replacing the folder in her tote, Rose stalled for time while she silently rehearsed her carefully prepared answer.

Finally confident, she looked him in the eye. “Because, when I came to Carson, I found it to be exactly the type of town I’d love to settle down in. Unfortunately, you don’t have a hospital, and I don’t want to commute. Besides, my car is far from reliable, and I can’t afford a new one right now. I’m afraid I’m not trained to do anything else, so working as your assistant is the closest I could come in Carson to finding a job in my field of work.”

She said a silent prayer that her explanation sounded as convincing now as it had when she’d composed it before the motel’s bathroom mirror that morning.

The vet stared at her for a long moment. Was that skepticism she saw in his expression or just her imagination? She really hated subterfuge, but if he knew the truth, he might not hire her, and she
needed
this job.

Rose had been about to add that she’d grown up in a small town, when the door opened. A young boy of about ten careened into the room. His freckled face glowed with a heated flush, and his midnight-black hair shot out in all directions. Through the open door behind him, Rose could see a dusty, red bike lying on its side, the front wheel still spinning.

“Whose car is that?” The boy pointed toward the parking lot.

“Mine,” Rose said.

“Boy, it’s sure a wreck.”

She certainly didn’t need that to be pointed out. The car had been on the verge of dying for weeks now, and she’d prayed it would hold out for just a bit longer. Just until she got a job and could get it fixed. Rather than explaining all this to the boy, she just smiled.

He turned to Hunter. “My mom said you have a lion cub. Can I see him?”

“And hello to you, too.” Hunter smiled at the young boy. “Rose, this is Davy Collins, the mayor’s son, who normally has very good manners.”

“Sorry.” The boy dipped his head, and then looked at Rose from beneath his long, black lashes. “Hello, ma’am. Nice to meet ya.”

Social obligations seen to, Davy swept past Rose. She got a whiff of fresh air, sunshine, and something chocolate flavored that she assumed came from the candy bar protruding from his back pocket.

“Can I see the cub now, Doc? Huh?” His young face transmitted the urgency of his request.

“I don’t know, Davy. Your dad would skin me alive if he knew I let you near that animal.”

The boy frowned. “I won’t tell him. Beside, since he and my mom got divorced, he doesn’t care about me anyway.” The brightness in the boy’s eyes dimmed a fraction.

Hunter frowned. “Davy, as long as he lives, your dad will care about you.”

Davy shrugged.

Hunter drummed the eraser end of a pencil on the desktop. Rose got the feeling Hunter wanted to say more, but didn’t. “Does your mom know you’re here?”

“Yup. She said I could come over as long as I didn’t get too close to the animals and didn’t get in your way. Now, can I go see the cub?” His scuffed sneakers shuffled on the spotlessly clean linoleum, as if they had a brain of their own and couldn’t wait to be off to this new adventure.

Hunter glanced at Rose. “I’m kind of busy right now, and you can’t go alone. You’ll have to wait.”

“Aw, Doc.”

Rose winked at Davy, then looked at Hunter and smiled. “If it’s okay, I’d like to see the lion cub, too.” Rose stood and moved to stand beside Davy. “Why don’t you show both of us, and that way you won’t have to worry about Davy.”

Hunter couldn’t believe the impact of that smile on his equilibrium. If she’d requested he set fire to himself, he wasn’t sure he could have refused her. “No fair. That’s two against one.” He looked from one to the other. “Okay, we’ll go see the cub.” He activated the answering machine, stood, and then circled the desk. Stopping Davy’s plunge for the door with a hand on the boy’s slim shoulder, Hunter looked down at him. “You have to do exactly as I say. The cub may be little, but his claws are still dangerous. Deal?”

Davy looked up at Hunter with pure love and admiration shining from his dark brown eyes. “Deal.” He held up his hand, the palm stained with chocolate candy. “Promise.”

The three of them left the office and walked toward a large, fenced-in enclosure several hundred yards from the office. On the way, they skirted Rose’s less-than-reliable old Taurus, and then passed a very small, but lovely house with a wide front porch and a two-story garage.

“Yours?” Rose asked.

Hunter nodded. “I wanted to live close by. I’m the kind of guy who likes to roll out of bed, grab a cup of coffee, and then roll into the front door of my work place.”