Page 49 of Ruff and Tumble

He’d taught her how to cook and also how to avoid the dishes for as long as possible. He’d taught her how to change a tire and fix a leaky faucet. He’d pushed her to go to college even though neither one of them could afford it and had cried harder than all the other parents when she graduated from high school.

He’d taught her how to love. And then he’d died.

“Hey, why are you getting all weepy?” Penny asked. “It’s not anything bad, I promise.”

Hailey shook her head, afraid that speaking would only loosen the lump in her throat and the tears in her eyes.

“You’re like our goddess now, you know. You have the city’s most eligible bachelor eating out of the palm of your hand.”

Hailey finally found the strength to issue a protest. “It’s not like that.”

“Oh, it’s like that. I was at the puppy draft. I saw the way he was looking at you.”

At this, Hailey could feel herself starting to color up. Penny only had half the story. If she knew how Cole had looked at her the other night—the way he’dkissedher…

“That was because you made me wear your jumpsuit,” she said.

“Nuh-uh. No way. I’ve worn that jumpsuit around plenty of men who didn’t want to rip it off my body with their teeth. Helikesyou, Hailey.” Penny paused a moment before adding, “I know you don’t believe me, but everyone at the office does.”

“Jasmine doesn’t.”

Penny laughed. “Okay, maybe not Jasmine, but she doesn’t count. She doesn’t like anyone except her hairstylist.”

A knock sounded at the front door before Hailey could respond. It was loud enough that all six puppies jumped to their feet in excitement, and even Bess lifted her head in inquiry. Hailey could hardly blame them for their enthusiasm—the last batch of visitors had spent hours lavishing them with cuddles and affection. They were starting to get spoiled.

“Is that Charles?” Penny asked. “I told him I was going to stick around and hit you up for a dip in your sweet, luxurious bathtub, but I don’t think he believed me. Men will never understand the appeal of two hours spent in a haze of bubbles and candlelight.”

It seemed likely that her visitor was either Charles or one of their other coworkers who had left something behind, so Hailey didn’t bother looking through the peephole before she pulled the door open. She regretted her mistake about two seconds later.

“Cole!” she cried, delight flooding over her. She tried to subdue that feeling, to resist the magnetic pull of him, but it was no use. She was a gangly, awkward twelve-year-old standing on that front porch all over again. “What are you doing here?”

“Ha!” Penny appeared behind her. “Itoldyou so.”

“Uh-oh.” Cole looked back and forth between them. “Am I interrupting something?”

“No. I mean, yes. I mean, we were cleaning up, but—”

“I told her so.” Penny nudged Hailey out of the way with her hip and pulled the door open farther. The extra space allowed Philip to dart through. Without paying the least heed to Hailey or her guest, he made a beeline for the kitchen gate. “Come on in. I was just getting ready to leave. Pretend I’m not here.”

Cole seemed amused but not surprised to find Penny playing hostess. He also showed zero remorse at leaning down and dropping a kiss on Hailey’s cheek. Under any other circumstances, it might have been taken as a greeting between friends, but his hand pressed against the small of her back, and he sighed heavily. “God, you always smell so good. Like puppies frolicking in a meadow.”

This seemed like a polite way of saying she smelled like a dog, but there was no mistaking the way his body leaned against hers or the way his breath moved over her ear and down her neck. Or, truth be told, Penny’s exhalation of delight at the sight of it, which bordered on a squeal there toward the end.

“That doesn’t sound like someone who’s not here,” Cole pointed out.

Penny laughed. “Sorry. I’ll swoon quieter next time. You two need anything before I head out?”

Hailey felt a strange impulse to beg Penny to stay. Cole’s hand was still on the small of her back, his fingers exerting a gentle yet unmistakable pressure. The thin fabric of her logo-emblazoned T-shirt did little to prevent the heat of his hand from working through to the skin below. She could practically feel each ridge of his fingerprints leaving an impression behind.

There was something possessive about it—something promising. Somethingterrifying.

The last time he was here, Cole had made his intentions pretty clear. This time, his intentions were practically emblazoned in neon above his head.

“I think we can figure things out from here,” Hailey said, blushing as the words escaped her lips. “But thank you for coming over today, Penny. I mean it.”

Shedidmean it, and she sincerely hoped Penny would take advantage of her offer of the bath whenever she wanted, but her coworker waved her off as though the day had been perfectly ordinary. Hailey didn’t know how to explain thatanyof this—the football parties and the football player, the easy friendship that Penny was offering without strings—were so far out of the realm of normal for her that she was starting to suspect this was some kind of out-of-body lucid dream.

It was agooddream, yes, and Hailey intended to enjoy it while it lasted, but she knew enough about life to accept that she’d have to wake up to cold reality eventually.