Puppy Love in Thunder Canyon

“Oh.” She paused. “Hi there.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a no-show tonight.”

She released the air from her lungs, while the ache in her stomach that she’d insisted was due to lack of food eased. “Did you get lost?”

“I never left the hospital.” His voice was low and a bit husky. “I was called into an emergency surgery this afternoon and didn’t have time to try to get ahold of you. I didn’t expect it to take this long, but there were complications.”

Stuck at work. She’d never even considered that. “Was the surgery a success?”

“Yes, it was.” He sounded surprised. “Thanks for asking.”

“Are you still at the hospital?”

“Sitting in the men’s locker room. I called as soon as I got out of the shower.”

Trying not to picture Thomas standing in front of a locker dripping wet and wearing nothing but a towel was as impossible as stopping Smiley from hogging the bed at night.

So she didn’t even try.

“You must be exhausted,” she said. “I can hear it in your voice.”

“I am, but it’s a good fatigue, sort of like a runner’s high after completing a marathon. I feel like I could run ten miles.” He sighed. “Not really, but that’s the only comparison I can think of.”

An idea popped into Annabel’s head, so crazy it just might work. “So, I’m guessing you didn’t have a chance to eat dinner either?”

“I’ll probably grab a burger at a drive-thru on my way home—wait, did you say ‘either’?”

“How about meeting me at The Hitching Post? Say in about twenty minutes?”

“The what?”

“The Hitching Post. It’s on Main Street in Old Town. You know the place, right?”

Silence filled the air. Annabel crossed her fingers. On both hands.

“Ah, yeah … I mean, yes,” Thomas finally said. “I know where it is.”

Annabel jumped up and began rifling through her closet. “Great! I’ll see you there!”

Thomas slowed his silver BMW to a full stop at the curb, surprised to find an empty parking space so close to The Hitching Post on a Friday night.

He’d never been here before, but he’d heard his coworkers rave about the local hangout. Once owned by a lady with a questionable past, the place was now a restaurant and bar, a modern-day saloon right in the middle of Thunder Canyon’s Old Town, an area that proudly retained its Western heritage.

A section of town Thomas rarely spent time in. Then again, he rarely spent time anywhere other than his condo or the hospital.

Stepping out of his car, he thumbed the button to lock the doors and set the alarm, then headed for the sidewalk.

He hated to admit it, but his plan had been to take Annabel someplace outside of Thunder Canyon where the walls didn’t have ears and the gossip didn’t travel at the speed of light.

Things at the hospital were finally quieting down, but to be seen together here tonight … Who knew what kind of rumors would fly?

Asking her out in the first place had been crazy enough. Agreeing to meet her here? That he blamed squarely on the fact she’d surprised him by not being angry at being stood up.

And the fact he wanted to see her again as soon as possible.

He started for the front door then realized the place was completely dark.

Geez, how late was it?

He glanced at his watch and then noticed the sign stuck in the front window. Closed for Renovation. What the heck was going on—

“Hey there!”

He turned and found Annabel standing on the corner, cradling two large paper bags in her arms. She was dressed casually in jeans and a distressed leather jacket, her hair in loose golden waves.

Thomas again felt that familiar zing at the sight of her. “Hey, yourself. Looks like this place is shut down.”

“Oh, I knew it was closed. At least temporarily. My uncle Frank and my cousin Matt have been overseeing the renovation for Jason Traub and his new wife, Joss, who are the new owners. I only named it as a meeting place.”

Meeting place for what? He must be more tired that he thought. “What’s with the paper sacks?”

“Dinner!” Annabel beamed. “A care package chock-full of ribs, chicken and steak fries from DJ’s Rib Shack. Come on, I’ve got the perfect place for us to eat.”

He joined her, not knowing what smelled better, the food or that sexy floral scent he’d noticed the first time they met.

“Here, let me take those,” he offered.

Annabel handed over one of her parcels. The heat from the cooked food warmed his hands. They headed up the street and Thomas was curious as to where they were going. His first thought had been her place, but she’d given him an address that was on the southeast side of town.

At the end of the next block she crossed the street and walked toward a large two-story stone building.

“The Thunder Canyon Library?” He read the sign as they walked past the front steps. “We’re eating here?”

“My second favorite place in town.”

“Pardon my ignorance, but isn’t it closed, too?”

“Don’t worry. I have a key.” Annabel smiled and led him around the corner to a tall wooden fence. He followed her directions to open the gate. “Latch that behind us, okay?”

Thomas did as she asked and they entered a shadowed courtyard. Thanks to a full moon, he could see a grassy area to one side with trees and benches and a wooden jungle gym on the other. Straight ahead was a wall of glass doors covered with blinds.

“This is the back way into the children’s section. Don’t worry, a security light should come on—” A bright spotlight shined down on them, illuminating the area. “And there it is. Come on, this way.”

Annabel punched a code into a hidden keypad and pushed open the closest door. She held the blinds to one side and Thomas followed her, watching as she then did the same thing with another keypad on an inside wall. “The outside light will go off in a few minutes.”

“Are you sure it’s okay for us to be here?”

“What’s the matter, doc?” She turned, that same saucy smile on her face. “Haven’t you ever broken a few rules?”