Kathie DeNosky - Rescuing Christmas - Holiday Haven / Home for Christmas / A Puppy for Will

“Oh?” Ben continued to run a finger along Brutus’s silky fur. He’d forgotten the pleasure of such a simple caress. “Why is that?”

“Have you ever been in a roomful of cats, cats with toys and branches to climb on, not to mention tunnels, and shelves and all that stuff?”

“Can’t say that I have.” He was intrigued by the concept. “Don’t they fight?”

Cindy gave a shrug. “Not so much.”

“But they do fight sometimes,” Tansy said. “We watch for that and only allow the aggressive ones in for short visits until they settle down.”

“Even if they fight a little,” Cindy said, “it’s still so much better than cages.”

Ben levered himself to his feet. “Then I’d better go get my camera.”

“Good.” Cindy seemed pleased with that decision. “If you don’t, you’re gonna kick yourself, because you’ll get in there, and one of the cats, like Moppet or Nifty, will be doing something adorable, because they are constantly doing funny stuff, and you’ll miss it.”

Tansy unzipped her parka as if she meant to stay here while he retrieved his equipment. “I didn’t think to ask,” she said. “Are you going to take video or stills?”

“Both, but if I get something with the video camera, I’ll use a single frame, not a sequence. We’re only putting one shot up on the screen at a time.”

“Which is why they have to be really fantastic shots,” Cindy said.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it.” Tansy shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket and smiled at him. “We need someone with a magic touch.”

Ben’s heart lurched. Unless his instincts were wrong, she was flirting with him. The invitation in her eyes was subtle, but his response wasn’t. He wanted to accept the invitation. Good thing Cindy was there, because he had no business accepting anything from Tansy.

But that didn’t stop his traitorous mind from imagining what it would be like to step closer and cradle her face in both hands. And then he’d kiss her, very gently, taking it slow at first. After that—

“Ben, do you want me to go with you? I think you can find your way easy enough. There’s a sidewalk that leads around the house to the parking lot.”

He snapped out of his dangerous daydream. “Not if you have something to do here.”

“There’s always something to do here. There are path lights, but if you want me to show you I’ll be happy to go along.”

“I’m sure I can find my way. It’s getting lighter every minute. I’ll get my equipment and be right back.” He slipped out the door, cursing himself for being a fool. Kissing Tansy would be a huge mistake, both personally and professionally.

He was a cameraman on a job, and that did not include getting cozy with the subject. He could get fired for that, and rightly so. But even without considering his job security, he couldn’t afford to get carried away.

Kissing her would open him up to God-knows-what. Yes, he was drawn to her and wanted to find out what made her tick. But then she would demand to know what made him tick, and he wasn’t about to let her or anyone get that close. If she tempted him, he’d just have to get over it.

“I LIKE BEN. HE’S CUTE.” Cindy held Brutus in the crook of her arm as she carefully got to her feet. The little cat worked his way up to nestle against her shoulder but didn’t try to squirm away.

“I suppose.” Tansy congratulated herself on that neutral response when two minutes ago she’d been on the verge of flinging herself into Ben’s arms. Cindy had been an excellent chaperone, for which Tansy was grateful. Mostly.

She took off her parka and hung it on a hook beside the door before walking over to check the towels in the dryer. Ben was not immune to the charms of animals. She’d known that from the way he’d cradled Ewok against his chest on Monday morning, and today he’d voluntarily made overtures to both Max and Brutus. Ben was a real puzzle, one she desperately wanted to solve.

“I think he likes you.”

Tansy ducked her head and began pulling towels out of the dryer because she didn’t want Cindy to see her blush. “He’s just a friendly person doing his job.”

“Maybe so, but when he looks at you, there’s more than friendship going on. You may have missed it because you haven’t been dating recently. I have, and I know that look.”

Tansy folded towels as if her life depended on it. “Have you been talking to Rose, by any chance?”

“As a matter of fact, she called me last night.”

Tansy stopped folding and turned to stare at the teenager. “About Ben?”

“Yep. We both agree you need a love life, and she wanted me to check this guy out and see what I thought of him. I think he’s pretty cool.”

Tansy shouldn’t be surprised that the two were in cahoots on this. Of all the shelter volunteers, she was closest to Rose and Cindy. “Are you supposed to report back to Rose?”

“Of course. She’d promised that gentleman friend of hers, Mr. Hobson, that she’d help with his Christmas shopping or she would have found an excuse to drop by this morning. She’s dying of curiosity.”

Tansy picked up the stack of warm towels and hugged them to her chest. “Then tell Rose that we have a potential glitch.”

“He’s in a relationship?”

“I’m not sure. If he is, that would be a deal killer. I don’t poach.”

“If he’s in a relationship, then he has no business looking at you the way he did. I say he’s not. So what’s the potential glitch?”

“When he first arrived this morning, he told me point-blank that he’s not interested in having animals in his life.”

Cindy’s mouth dropped open. “Really? After the way he was loving on Brutus?”

“I can’t explain that. Or the fact that I caught him scratching Max’s head.”

“You’re making that up. Max never lets us pet him.”

“I know, but he hopped up on the counter and started purring while Ben and I were in the office looking around. That was surprising enough, but then I went to get my coat, and when I turned back, there was Ben, scratching behind Max’s ears.”

“So why doesn’t he want animals? Maybe he lives with somebody who’s allergic. Not a girlfriend, but somebody else. I know what that’s like.”

Tansy considered the possibility and rejected it. “He would have said so. I mean, take you, for example. You tell everybody that’s why you don’t have animals at home.”

“Yeah, I do. Wow, it makes no sense.”

“It doesn’t.”

“I’ll stick around while he’s filming. Maybe I can figure out what his problem is.”

“That’s an excellent idea.” Tansy opened a cupboard above the counter and laid the clean towels inside. “You can supervise while I go back to the office. I need to post an update on our Facebook page and talk to Faye about a few things.”

“Wait. I didn’t mean for you to leave.”

“I know.” She grabbed her parka and put it on. “The truth is that I am attracted to the guy.”

“Aha!”

“But if he’s really closed to the idea of having animals around, then it’s better if I don’t spend too much time with him.”

“I guess. If I find out anything, I’ll—” She stopped speaking when the door opened a crack, letting in a swirl of cold air.

“All clear?”

Tansy wished hearing his voice didn’t make her flush with pleasure. She glanced at Cindy. “Got a tight grip on Brutus?”

“He’s secure.” She clutched Brutus against her shoulder.

“Come on in, Ben.” Tansy’s heart thumped as she zipped her jacket. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a strong physical reaction to a man. Ben made her feel as if she were Cindy’s age again and had developed a major crush on the captain of the football team.