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And he’d paid a hefty price for his lack of awareness.
“She’s some kind of wonderful, isn’t she?” Piper asked, sidling up to him.
“Who?” Hank asked, feigning ignorance.
“The lady you’ve been trying not to stare at ever since she arrived,” she said, chuckling.
Hank reached out and tweaked her nose. He’d been doing it to his little sister since they were kids even though he knew it bugged her.
“Ouch!” she cried out, swatting his hand away. “Stop trying to divert my attention away from the fact that you’re gawking at Sage.”
“Sage is a nice woman.”
“Nice, huh?” Piper let out an indelicate snort. “Is that your way of saying you’re interested in her?”
“You’re getting way ahead of yourself, sis. She’s only here for a few weeks and I’m not looking for anything romantic. I’ve got my—” he began.
“Yeah yeah yeah. You’ve got your hands full with Addie. You’re beginning to sound like a broken record.” Piper rolled her eyes. “Go on and talk to her,” she said, nudging Hank in the side. “You know that you want to.”
Hank scowled at his sister. “If you don’t stop being so pushy you might end up in a snowbank.”
Piper let out an outraged squeal. “Those are fighting words, Sheriff!”
She picked up a handful of snow and began making a perfectly rounded snowball.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Hank said in his most forbidding voice. “It will not end well for you if you go down that path. That’s a solemn promise.”
Before Piper could respond, Hank felt a hard object smack against his chest. When he looked up, Sage was standing a few feet away from him, with a grin stretching from ear to ear on her face.
Hank sputtered. “Oh, I get it! Girls against boys, huh?” he asked, advancing toward Sage with a throaty laugh.
“I’ve got your back, Sage,” Piper cried out as she raced toward Hank and began pummeling him with snowballs. He held up his hands in surrender. “Let’s call a truce.”
Sage placed her hands on her hips. “What do you say, Piper? Can we cut him a break?” she asked.
His sister put a finger on her chin. “Hmm. Perhaps we can strike a deal with him. If he promises to go get us some hot cocoa, we’ll grant him a reprieve.”
“That sounds very fair to me,” Sage responded, giving Piper a thumbs-up sign.
“I promise! I promise! That’s an easy compromise,” he said, wiping snow off his parka.
Sage walked over and flashed him a playful grin. “No hard feelings, right?”
“Of course not! All things considered, I got off pretty easy. Two hot cocoas coming up,” he said, walking over toward the concession stand. All proceeds from tonight’s event went toward wildlife conservation efforts in Alaska. It was an endeavor near and dear to his heart.
He loved animals of all kinds. At one point as a kid he’d aspired to be a large-animal veterinarian, although those dreams had taken a backseat to his desire to pursue a career in law enforcement. Nevertheless, he always made it a point to volunteer and contribute to animal-protection efforts. He couldn’t imagine Alaska without caribou, moose or threatened species such as polar bears.
Hank found himself whistling a cheerful tune as he stood in line. A festive mood hung in the air and everyone seemed to be in a joyful frame of mind. Including him. He was truly happy...and had so much to be thankful for. His daughter was content and healthy. He’d found his groove as a single parent. Piper was living out her dream of running Jack’s diner. Trudy was moving past her losses and thriving. And despite his reservations, spending time with Sage made him feel good. Getting pelted with snowballs had never been so fun. He almost felt like a teenager with his first crush, and he wondered if Sage had picked up on it despite his efforts to play it cool.
Once he’d purchased the drinks, Hank headed back to the area where he’d left Sage and Piper. As he got closer he spotted Gabriel standing with them.
“Look who I have here. The prettiest girl in Owl Creek,” Gabriel said, holding Addie in his arms with the utmost care. She was reaching up and grabbing his chin, which was a surefire sign she was crazy about him. Her diaper bag was slung over his shoulder. “Trudy asked me to watch her while she helped out with the arts-and-crafts table. Her expertise was needed over there.” There was so much going on around them—music, arts, education, food, entertainment. It was a fun-filled Owl Creek evening that made him feel proud of his hometown.
Hank grinned at the sight of Gabriel and Addie. “I can take her if you want to grab some refreshments,” he offered.
“Are you kidding me? Uncle Gabe hasn’t been able to spend time with Addie in quite some time. It would be my pleasure to watch her while you check out the owls.” He smiled at Sage. “Prepare yourself to be blown away. You’ll never view owls in quite the same way again.”
Hank held out the cups of hot chocolate for Piper and Sage, who quickly took them off his hands.
