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“Mom?” Dylan’s voice pulled her off the X-rated trail she’d been dancing down in her mind.
“What?” She looked down at him, forcing herself to continue walking toward the SUV.
“Should we get Gram something from the farmer’s market?” He pointed to the town square where locals set up booths to sell their wares on Saturdays. She’d gone a few times herself to sell Silver Moon Wolf Sanctuary items—T-shirts, sweatshirts, jewelry. Trinkets, really, but they got the sanctuary’s name out there and usually brought in more donations.
“Umm, looks as if she’s already getting herself something.” Brandy pointed to Meredith’s car parked several spaces up from their SUV.
Dylan handed the pet store bag to Brandy. “Can I go find her?”
“Sure. Just pay attention.”
He took off like an arrow. The beauty of living in Canville, Vermont was the safety the small town offered. Brandy rarely worried about danger when it came to letting Dylan wander away from her, but she did always remind him to be aware of his surroundings. She hoped he’d want to stay in Canville when he grew up, but knew he might choose to go away to college or something. She wanted to teach him that some places were safe, but it was always smart to pay attention and keep an eye out for trouble.
Watching him now, she laughed when he snuck up on Meredith and she whirled around in surprise. Her heart swelled as grandmother and grandson laughed together. When Dylan shook his head and patted his stomach, Brandy knew Meredith was offering to buy him food from the organic booth nearby.
Ugh.The notion of putting any more food in her own belly made her feel green. The strawberry and whipped cream she’d had on her enormous Belgian waffle at breakfast had tasted heavenly on the way down, but she’d have to run with the wolves through the woods for two days continuously to work it off.
Better than running on a treadmill.She did love a more natural workout regimen, though the very idea of running anywhere with her stomach still so full made her cringe.
Brandy took a step forward to join Dylan and Meredith, but something—some strange prickling of the skin on the back of her neck—stopped her. Instead, she slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder.
The tall man was on the sidewalk a mere few feet away.
Is he following us?
She looked back at Dylan and Meredith, wondering if she should collect them and get the hell out of there. When the man smiled, however, her feet became firmly rooted to the spot where she stood. She couldn’t have moved if someone set her shirt on fire.
Speaking of fire…
Good Lord, this man was gorgeous. She’d considered him attractive when she’d gotten a quick glimpse of him at Pete’s, but up close?Attractivedidn’t do him justice.
He was… he was god-like.
That dark beard framed full lips that appeared capable of doing amazing things. His somewhat messy black hair looked extremely touchable and that green T-shirt hinted at a delicious view hiding beneath the cotton.
And his eyes. Oh, his eyes were this foresty green and amber mix that hypnotized Brandy. She’d never seen such an amazing shade of eye color on any human.
“Why are you following me?” Her cheeks immediately scorched over the way she’d blurted out the question. On the other hand, she was impressed with herself for getting to the point instead of asking him to rip off her clothes and ravage her right there on the town green.
He held up the orange tire toy. “You dropped this back there, lass.”
Holy hot Irish accent, Batman!His low voice made her insides shiver. Brandy could barely tear her eyes from the way his large hands gripped the toy. Large, capable, man hands that would no doubt be quite adept at finding all the right spots on her body. She nearly let loose the moan threatening to rumble out of her throat.
She peeked into the pet store bag Dylan had passed to her and sure enough, the tire toy was absent.
“It must have fallen out.” She held out her hand. “Thank you.”
This mysterious stranger nodded once and hung the toy around her wrist. “Aye. Looks wonderful with your outfit.” Again, his lips were turned up in a grin and that Belgian waffle had to make room for the butterflies fluttering around in her stomach.
She twisted her arm one way then the other as if showcasing the tire-toy-turned-bracelet, amazed at her ability to engage in a playful exchange when this guy was much too beautiful to actually talk to.
“Some lucky pup at home going to get that present?” He took a few steps closer, and Brandy felt something a little magnetic make her sway toward him. Shit, he was tall. Like six-foot-four-inches tall.
Get a hold of yourself, moron.She closed her eyes and mentally slapped her cheeks to bring herself back to planet Earth. Clearly she’d slipped into another dimension entirely.
Only when she opened her eyes, he was still standing there. He. Was. Real.
“Lass?”
