Christmas In Mustang Creek

“She doesn’t know,” he said. It wasn’t a question.

“Not yet,” Mrs. Klozz told him, still blithe. “I’ll handle it. Now, if I were you, I’d take the larger one on the east side of the house, but then, I’m an early riser and I like a good dose of sunlight first thing.” She paused, regarded him with a smile. “Come along, dear. I don’t have all day.”

Despite his reservations, Jax climbed the stairs.

When he reached the top, Mrs. Klozz led him down a long, well-lit hallway. There was more fine woodwork, all of it intricately carved, and a huge stained-glass skylight cast beams of dancing color everywhere.

The place was almost magical, and Jax knew Charlotte loved every plank and pane and peg of it.

Then, why had she left? Meanwhile, Millicent launched into the tour. “Wouldn’t this house make an excellent B and B?” she said with an expansive gesture and a contented sigh. “That’s the bathroom door,” she informed him, pointing. “It doesn’t latch properly, so you might find Mutley in there once in a while. He likes to sleep next to the register. He’s a darling, but he sheds. You don’t mind pets, do you?”

Considering his vocation, he should hope not. “Um, no, ma’am.”

Her smile was back on high beam. “Of course you wouldn’t, you’re a veterinarian. I swear, sometimes I don’t think my memory is any better than Geneva’s, bless her heart. You’ll want to watch out for Can-Can—the cat—because she finds men irresistible and likes to lounge on the window seat in your room in the morning. It’s the eastern exposure, you know.”

His room. Right.

Until Charlotte came home.

“Naturally, Mutley will adore you,” the lady prattled on. “He’s a sweet soul, like most dogs. Still, enough can be enough, and if you forget to close your door at night, you might find him in bed with you. Can-Can, too.” Before Jax could wedge in a comment—he was still playing along, humoring the old woman—she continued. The merriment was gone, and she looked just plain sad. “They miss Geneva. And so do I.”

Jax opened his mouth to say something kind—he hadn’t decided what—but he missed his chance.

Millicent had brightened again. “Come to think of it,” she said, “Mutley could use a walk. Would you mind once you’ve got a minute? I worry about icy sidewalks at my age.”

Jax replied that he’d be glad to walk the dog. He looked down at their furry escort and smiled.

Mrs. Klozz stopped in front of a door and opened it, gesturing for Jax to step inside. The early riser’s bedroom, he assumed.

He went in. The room was big, the floor hardwood, and instead of the flowery wallpaper he might have expected in a house inhabited by women, there was just paint. No frilly curtains at the bay window, either, and the cushions on the built-in seat underneath were plain, too. The bed was antique, a brass four-poster, covered with a colorful homemade quilt. An old hope chest sat at the foot, and he saw a sturdy desk and chair on the far side of the room.

Jax could imagine living here, sleeping in this room, working at the desk, surveying the snowy landscape from the window seat.

This game, he thought, was getting out of hand. Charlotte would never agree to Millicent Klozz’s plan.

But he found himself wishing she would.

Once again Millicent seemed to be reading his mind. “Don’t you worry about a thing, young man,” she said quietly. “Charlotte is a sensible woman, and she will see reason.” A confident sigh followed. “She’ll be gone a while longer, though, handing out cookies and catching up with Geneva. In the meantime, would you mind taking Mutley out for that walk?”

Jax, still bewitched and bewildered, was grateful for the distraction. “No,” he said. “Not at all.”

They went downstairs, closely followed by Mutley. He was aging—at least ten, Jax figured—and obviously going deaf. The name suited him, since he was of no discernible breed. Millicent produced a leash, attaching it deftly to the dog’s collar.

“When you get back,” Millicent said, “you can have a look at that bathroom door.”

“Er—right.”

“Wonderful!” Millicent trilled. “Now, I have something in the oven, so please excuse me. I don’t want it to burn. It’s for the church bake sale.”

Mutley was waiting eagerly, tail sweeping back and forth.

Jax smiled and bent to ruffle the dog’s ears. “I guess we’re out of here,” he said.

Mutley all but dragged Jax to the front door. There was some terrier in the little guy, he decided. Maybe some spaniel. Could be some border collie in there, too. He was probably too small to be part Airedale...

Jax was like that. He analyzed.

By then, Mutley was definitely ready to roll; he was high-jumping at the door.

“Whoa, slow down,” Jax said with a grin. Good thing he’d never gotten around to taking off his coat. “The great out of doors isn’t going anywhere, buddy.”

It was snowing again, not blizzard-style like last night, but in fat, showy flakes, drifting lazily from a heavy sky.

It all looked perfect. Too perfect.

For a short while, though, he could pretend that walking Mutley was his job. Ditto, fixing the latch on the upstairs bathroom door.

Yep. He could do that.

That and a whole lot more, if Charlotte gave him half a chance.

What he had to do now was relax, trust, let things unfold.

Easier said than done. After all, he’d made a huge emotional investment, moving to Mustang Creek, pretty much staking the rest of his life on a relationship that might be one-sided.

Still, he thought, watching Mutley trot through the snow at the end of his leash, it hadn’t seemed one-sided last night. He was hardly a player, but he knew when a woman was thinking about sex, especially when that woman was Charlie. She’d been...well, thinking.

There was a chance, a good one. If he’d believed there wasn’t, he wouldn’t be here, walking Charlotte’s aunt’s dog through mountains of snow. Wouldn’t be looking forward to starting the new job, finding a place to live, any of that.

There he went, analyzing again.

Time to shake it off. “So what do you think, Mut? Am I wrong? Stupid? A stalker?”

The dog didn’t even look at him, just pitched his ears forward, sniffed the sidewalk and wagged his tail.

No help there.

He was on a conversational roll, though, so he went right on talking. “Let me ask you something else. What should I get her as a gift? Charlotte, I mean.”

Mutley turned, spotted a dog across the street and tried to make a break for it, barking excitedly.

Jax had to laugh. The other dog looked like a beagle mix to him.

A sign?

Okay, part of his shopping list was done.

Charlotte was getting a puppy for Christmas.