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

Ben glanced at her. “He’s really never been on anybody’s lap? That’s so hard to believe.”

“It’s as if he doesn’t trust us enough,” Tansy said. “We’ve tried playing with him, giving him treats, catnip, you name it. He tolerates us, but barely.”

Faye took another picture with her phone. “Maybe he was just waiting for the right person to show up. None of us were the right person. You are.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not—”

“How about just for the Christmas holidays?” Tansy didn’t want to give him a chance to finish the sentence that would end all hope. “You heard my pitch at KFOR. There’s no expense other than some food and litter, and no obligation. If you could socialize Max, he would be more adoptable. You could help him find a true home.”

Ben met her gaze. “I wish I could help you, but I can’t.”

Anger stirred in her. “You mean you won’t.”

“All right. I won’t.” Gripping Max firmly, he pried the cat from his thigh and set him on the floor. When Max crouched as if ready to spring back into his lap, he quickly stood. Max rubbed against the leg of his jeans and continued to purr.

It broke Tansy’s heart. She stood and faced him. “Can’t you see how much he wants to be with you?”

Ben lowered his voice. “Sorry, Tansy, but I’m not taking Max home with me. I don’t want an animal in my house, and besides, I have plans. I’m going skiing with friends over Christmas.”

Faye suddenly found chores to handle at her desk.

Taking a deep breath, Tansy curbed her anger. Having an animal did complicate travel plans. No denying it. But animal lovers usually decided the rewards were worth the bother.

Clearly, Ben didn’t feel that way, and no good would come of challenging his attitude. He’d spent the morning taking pictures that might help several animals be adopted. Sure, he’d been paid to do it, but he’d thrown himself into the project, and because of his enthusiasm he’d come up with some wonderful shots.

She cleared her throat. “You’re right. Sorry. It’s never a good idea to coerce a person into taking an animal, even if it’s only for a trial period.”

“No, it’s not.”

Doing her best to ignore Max’s desperate bid for attention from his idol, Tansy focused on the business at hand. “Your pictures are fabulous. I know the station owns them, but if they’d be willing to let me use a few for The Haven’s Facebook page, I’d be very grateful.”

“I’ll check with Paul.” Ben put on his sheepskin coat. “I’m sure you can work something out.”

She turned back to her desk and retrieved his hat. “I’d appreciate it.”

He looked at the cat at his feet. “If for some reason he doesn’t want to give you any pictures, I could come back on my own time and take some for you.” He put on the hat and tugged the brim over his eyes before picking up both cameras.

Although she longed to fling the generous offer in his face, she couldn’t afford to do that. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

“I’ll be in touch.” As he walked away, Max trotted after him.

“Max, no.” Tansy followed behind and scooped up the cat. Max twisted and growled his displeasure. “You can’t go,” she murmured into his orange fur. “He doesn’t want you.”

And if Ben didn’t want Max, then Tansy didn’t want Ben. Simple as that.

BEN KNEW HE’D GONE from hero to jerk in sixty seconds. But what was he supposed to do? He fumed about it all the way back to the station and for days afterward. He kept picturing the flare of anger in Tansy’s eyes when she’d said, You mean you won’t .

But he hadn’t been born yesterday. She was a pro at this adoption game. She knew as well as he did that once he allowed Max into his home and into his heart, the cat would be there for life—Max’s life, which would probably be short. Ben wasn’t going through that again.

If Tansy had immunized herself against that pain, then bully for her. She was definitely in the right line of work. So was he, for that matter. While she was comfortable with the passing of time, he was in the business of freezing it.

The images he captured with his camera stayed that way. The playful cats and the bouncy dogs would be young forever in the pictures he’d created. Maybe he was denying reality, but he didn’t care. His decisions worked for him.

He’d be wise to forget Tansy Dexter. She wanted too much of him, and would make him more vulnerable than any animal could.

But she wasn’t easy to forget. Besides his own vivid memories, he was assaulted by promo spots for The Haven. Each morning the six o’clock news included a chart showing the number of animals with temporary homes for the holidays and the progress toward reaching the financial goal necessary to build another Kitty Condo.

Both campaigns were going well, which made for a feel-good Christmas atmosphere in the newsroom. Ben was happy for Tansy that the public awareness campaign was working, but he’d be so glad when Christmas was over and he wasn’t being constantly reminded of her.

They’d had one email exchange since he’d left the shelter that Saturday morning. On Monday, he’d sent her a file containing the shots Paul had released to her for The Haven’s Facebook page and website. She’d responded with her gratitude, copying Paul. But he knew the warmth in the email was for Paul and not for him, though. Although Tansy occupied his thoughts most of the time, Max wasn’t far from his mind, either. The cantankerous cat would spend Christmas day alone in that office, no doubt. No one would volunteer to take him home, and he probably wouldn’t want to go with them, even if they did.

Max had his preference and it happened to be Ben, or somebody very much like him. His adoration was touching, and Ben had spent more hours than he cared to admit searching through his contacts looking for somebody who might fit a similar profile. He wasn’t that unique. But he hadn’t found a good match.

With all his effort to push Tansy out of his mind, he’d also forgotten the angel card he’d shoved in his coat pocket. On Thursday morning he pulled his gloves out of his pocket and the card he’d plucked from The Haven’s tree came out, too, badly crumpled.

Taking the card had been an impulse, but he still wanted to honor it. He wasn’t interested in adoption, but there were other ways he could support the animals. After the way they had parted on Saturday, returning with gifts might seem like he was trying to get back on Tansy’s good side, but he couldn’t help that.

At least Christmas was still a couple of weeks away. He would have hated finding that card during his ski trip. He vaguely remembered what was on the card, but he checked it again to make sure. Yep, a large carpeted cat tree.

He’d seen a couple of them in the rooms of the Kitty Condo. Most of the carpeting had been shredded by busy claws and replaced with remnants, so the cat trees were now a patchwork of colors with a few bald spots. Considering the plans for a second cat building, The Haven clearly needed more of those things.

Mickey had never had one. After the first few times the cat had dug into the furniture, Ben’s aunt and uncle had banned him from the house. By the time Ben was old enough to buy Mickey a cat tree for scratching, he preferred the real trees he found as he roamed the neighborhood. It would have been a waste of Ben’s hard-earned cash.

But these days he had the money to spend. He could get at least two. He had a truck, so hauling them over wouldn’t be a problem.

Seeing Tansy again might be.

And yet he wanted to see her again, fool that he was. He missed her infectious smile and her sunny outlook. He missed her , which was not a good sign, but it was the sad truth.