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

Annie leaned down and patted Muggles. The gray and white striped cat purred loudly. “I’ve got some news,” she said.

“Sounds serious.” Molly took a photo of Muggles and smiled. She showed Annie the photo, then moved around to Sally. “I hope you haven’t got another box of donated dresses hidden in your bedroom?”

Annie shook her head. “Not today. Dylan asked me to marry him, and I said yes.”

Molly’s mouth dropped open and Tess coughed into her hand.

Sally sat down on a chair. She couldn’t believe Annie was getting married. Last she’d heard, Dylan was still having issues with touching people. She knew he’d come a long way, but still…Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder wasn’t something you took lightly.

She looked closer at Annie. The soft blush and excited smile on her friend’s face made her feel guilty for thinking she was crazy. “When did you fall in love with him?”

“I’ve loved him for a long time. I just didn’t realize it.”

“Are you sure you want to get married?” Molly looked shocked. They all knew Annie’s first marriage had ended in disaster.

“I’m sure.” Annie sighed. “He’s an amazing man. I want to spend the rest of my life with him.”

Tess frowned. “What about touching him? How are you ever going to…you know...”

Annie’s blush deepened.

Tess laughed. “How did you keep
that
a secret?”

“It wasn’t easy,” Annie muttered. “You’re all going to be my bridesmaids, so you’d better get used to the idea.”

Sally smiled at the determined look on Annie’s face. “Dylan’s a great guy. He’s lucky to have found you.”

Annie hugged Sally close. “Thank you. I feel lucky, too. If it hadn’t have been for Tess falling in love with Dylan, I might never have met him.”

Sally grinned at the tears in her friend’s eyes. “I guess the next big question is, when are you getting married?”

Tess passed Annie a box of tissues. “Please don’t tell me you’re getting married in two months’ time?”

Annie shook her head. “We thought we’d get married in November after you get back from your honeymoon.”

“We can try on different bridesmaids’ dresses for your wedding,” Molly said. “Goodness knows there are enough of them to choose from.”

Sally pushed the plate of cookies away from her. “You know what this means, don’t you?” When everyone stared at her with blank looks on their faces, she sighed. “I’m going to be on a cookie-free diet from now until November. My life won’t be the same.”

“You’ll never make it.” Tess laughed. “Cookies make up half of your calorie intake each day.”

“It just takes willpower.” Sally frowned at the envelope in her hand. “I know I can do without cookies, but I’m worried about Max.”

Annie patted Muggles. “Max shouldn’t eat cookies. It’s bad for his health.”

Tess laughed. “I’ve seen what Sally feeds him. Believe me, cookies don’t get anywhere near his bowl.”

Molly frowned. “So if Max isn’t eating cookies, what’s wrong with him? I thought you were taking him out to Todd’s ranch?”

“I did.” Sally watched Muggles wrap his super fluffy body around Annie’s legs. “Max was happy to stay there, but I’m not so sure that Todd’s the right person to look after him.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Annie asked.

“I don’t know. He just doesn’t seem like the type of person who’d want a big dog around.”

Molly passed Sally a cookie. “You can start your cookie-free diet tomorrow. It sounds to me as though you’re missing Max. Why don’t you ask Todd if you can visit him?”

Sally put the cookie back on the plate. “He’ll think I’m strange. No one visits a dog they’ve adopted out.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Tess said. “What have you got to lose?”

Sally thought about visiting Max. Todd already thought she was over-protective of the big Irish wolfhound, so he might not be surprised with her weird request. She just wished she’d thought of it before she’d left his ranch. “Todd will think I’m paranoid.”

Molly took an envelope out of the box. “You can’t be any more paranoid than the rest of us. We’ve just been planning how we’re going to reply to every bridesmaid’s letter so we don’t miss someone out. A lot of people wouldn’t care.”

Sally changed her mind about a cookie. Molly was right - her diet could wait until tomorrow. “Who cares what Todd Randall thinks? I’ll give him a call tomorrow and go and see Max.” She bit into the chocolate chip cookie and smiled. “At least Max will be glad to see me.”

Tess picked up her coffee mug and saluted Sally. “Here’s to happy reunions, and to Annie and Dylan, proof that true love is closer than we think. Whoever said life gets dull and boring in Bozeman needs to see what happens in our lives.”

“I’ll second that,” Sally said. Whether Todd Randall knew it or not, she was about to spend more time on his ranch. And she had a feeling he wouldn’t be impressed.

CHAPTER TWO

“What are you doing here?” Todd stood beside the four-wheeler he’d been driving. With his hands planted on his hips, he looked about as happy as Sally thought he’d be.

She closed the door of her truck with a bang. “I thought I’d visit Max.”

“Did you consider calling first?”

Sally had been feeling guilty about not calling him ever since she’d left town. But that hadn’t stopped her roaring along the highway toward his ranch. “I thought I could spend time with Max without bothering you. Am I interrupting something?”

Todd tilted his hat to the back of his head. He had a scowl a mile wide on his too-handsome face. “Does it look as though you are?”

Sally’s gaze traveled over his dirt-stained t-shirt and worn jeans. He looked hot and bothered, and too much of everything that she didn’t want to think about. “It looks as though you’ve been working hard. I brought you something.” She opened the back door of her truck and took out a plastic container. Before she could change her mind, she passed it to him.

He glanced at her before taking the lid off. “Muffins?”

“Raspberry and chocolate. I’m sorry for not calling. I guess I was worried that you’d say no.”

“So the muffins are a bribe?”

Sally shrugged her shoulders. “More like a peace offering. I made them as soon as school finished. I thought you’d probably be back home by now and not halfway across your ranch.”

“I arrived home an hour ago. Max is in the living room if you want to say hello.”

Sally glanced at the home that could only be called a work in progress. “Is he all right?”

Todd sent her a loaded stare. “You left him with me three days ago. He’s fine.”

“Is he eating his kibble? He’s a big dog and the food the vet recommended has got extra vitamins and minerals in it.”

Todd started walking toward his front porch. “Max is eating enough to sink a battleship. He also likes my chickens.”

Sally stopped in the middle of the yard. “He’s not eating them, is he?”

Todd’s short, sharp, burst of laughter surprised her. “He sits beside the door of their coop and waits for them to come outside. He spends half his day herding them around the ranch.”

“And they do what he wants?”

Todd opened his front door and frowned. “Sort of.”

As soon as the door opened, Sally saw a big brown blur hurtling toward her. She opened her arms and braced herself for the impact. Max skidded to a halt, but not before he’d knocked her to the ground and planted slobbery doggy kisses on her face.

“
Max, down.”
Todd tried pulling Max off her face.

Sally giggled and hugged Max tight. “He’s okay. I love you too, boy.” She ruffled his fur and slowly got to her feet. Max sat down, staring at her with big brown eyes full of mischief. She’d never missed any of her foster animals as much as she missed Max. But then he wasn’t like the other animals.

Todd left the muffins on the coffee table and wiped his hands down the side of his jeans. “I’ve been taking Max for a walk beside the creek each afternoon. You’re welcome to join us?”

Sally smiled at Todd. He didn’t return her smile, but then she hadn’t expected him too.

He reminded her of the strays they put up for adoption at the shelter. He was cautious, too preoccupied with making the right choices to live spontaneously. She didn’t know if he was afraid of getting too close to someone, or afraid of what would happen if he did.

She tried smiling again. “That sounds great, but I don’t want to bother you. I could take Max for a walk to save you the trouble?”

“Max isn’t any trouble,” Todd muttered. He headed toward the front door and Max took off, catching up to his new owner in four easy strides.

Sally glanced at the door Todd held open. “I’m not going to kidnap him, or anything.”

“I never thought you were. I need the walk as much as Max does.”

Sally didn’t know why he wanted to add more exercise to a day that probably burned more calories than most people used in a week, but she wasn’t going to argue. If the only way she’d get to spend time with Max was with Todd, she’d take it.

Todd waved her through the door and pointed toward the path that Max had found on the first day she’d visited. “That way.”

Max was already halfway across the yard, heading into the tall grass like a lion stalking his prey. A flurry of feathers and panicked squawks filled the air.

Todd shook his head. “Max hasn’t been pecked yet, but he’s heading for trouble if he takes on Milly.”

Sally wasn’t sure she’d heard right. “Milly?” A black and white stripped chicken with a red head stepped out of a patch of wildflowers. She took a step forward, then turned around and flapped her wings at the determined Irish wolfhound standing behind her.

Todd called Max back to him, but he wasn’t listening. “Milly’s the queen of the coop. She bosses everyone around, including the two roosters.”

“She looks pretty.”

“She’s a bantam chicken. Out of all of my hens she lays the most eggs and keeps everyone on their toes.”

Sally watched Max hunch down into a crawling position, then wiggle closer to Milly. The chicken didn’t look as though she was impressed. She flapped her wings and shrieked at Max before high-tailing it toward the barn.

Max looked over his shoulders at Sally. His tail wagged backward and forward, flicking against the grass like a flyswatter whipping through the air.

Todd pulled his hat low. “He thinks he’s saved you from Milly’s sharp beak.”

“He’s my hero.” Sally laughed at the cute expression on Max’s face. “Every now and then a girl likes to be saved.”

Todd didn’t say a word as he walked toward Max.

Sally didn’t know what she’d said to annoy him, but he didn’t look happy. “Are you sure you want to come for a walk? I’ll understand if you’ve got other things you need to do.”

“Walking is fine.”

By the time Sally caught up to Todd, he was standing beside the creek, watching Max splash in the water.

“You’re lucky you’ve got the creek. Dad had to buy extra water for his ranch last week.” She thought that was a nice, safe, reasonably intelligent observation to make.

Todd glanced quickly at her, then back at Max. “The water in the creek is from Emerald Lake, further up the valley. It’s one of the reasons I bought the ranch.”

“What were the other reasons?”

“It’s quiet. No one bothers me out here.”

Sally clamped her mouth shut. She wasn’t exactly quiet and she knew it. There were lots of things she valued in life, but silence wasn’t one of them. Being left alone sounded a bit weird and creepy to her. “Don’t you get lonely?”

Todd whistled and Max’s ears pricked to attention. “Being alone and lonely are two different things.”

“Maybe, but you didn’t answer my question.”

Max lumbered through the water. He stood beside Todd, tongue hanging out and water dripping everywhere. With a casual shake of his enormous body, he managed to shower them with enough water to drown in.

Sally jumped behind Todd, sheltering behind his wide shoulders.

“You can come out now,” Todd said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Are you sure it’s safe? Max sometimes surprises me with a double shake.” She looked at Todd’s face. “You thought I didn’t know what he was going to do, didn’t you?”

A blush skimmed along his jaw. “I was waiting for the shrieks.”

“I’m a country girl. We don’t scare easily.” Sally didn’t wait for Todd. She started walking along the bank. Max followed her, happy to listen to her chatter as she filled him in on what had happened since he’d left.

Unfortunately, Max had the attention span of a squirrel. A rustle in the trees was enough to send him leaping through the grass toward his next adventure.

“Sounds to me like The Bridesmaids Club has got a major distribution problem looming,” Todd said from behind her.

Sally waited for him to catch up. “I didn’t know you were interested?”

“Hard not to be when two of my friends are engaged to women you work with. Every time we get together they mention the boxes of dresses that keep arriving.” Todd looked toward the trees Max had disappeared into. “I’d better go and see what Max’s up to. He’s still getting used to the ranch.”