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“No. I have one tucked away somewhere. I’m sure it still works.”
“If for some reason it doesn’t, let me know because I have an extra.”
“Thanks, Ma.” I give her a kiss on the cheek as she hands over the bag of supplies. Fallon is going to be so excited.
Once in the truck, I make my way across the property to my house. I call Jasper, the owner of the only heating and cooling company around here.
When he answers, I fill him in on the problem with my pilot light.
“I’m pretty backed up at the moment, but I can put you on my waitlist. Might be a couple of days, though.” He sounds just as tired as me.
“I figured as much. I have a fireplace, so I’m not freezing, but it’s not enough to warm the whole house. Anyway, I appreciate your help.”
“No problem. I’ll come and take a look as soon as I can. Now, getting parts is a whole other issue.”
“I know how it is,” I offer before we say our goodbyes. Honestly, I should’ve remembered to get the furnace serviced months ago, but it slipped my mind once the season started. On the rest of the drive, I call every hotel in town. The inns and bed and breakfasts are also rented until after the new year. As I suspected, nothing is available.
When I finally arrive home, exhaustion takes over. I grab my things, then make my way inside. Dried paw prints are on the floor, and I follow them toward the living room.
Fallon’s fingers fly across the keyboard, and she doesn’t stop until she finishes her thought. Then she looks over her shoulder at me. I move toward the fire and warm my ice-cold hands. I’m proud of her for keeping it lit all day.
“Oh, you’re ridiculous.” I look at Dasher sprawled out on the couch and take steps toward him. When I pet his head, his tail wags under the blanket she wrapped him in. “Oh, you stink.”
I turn to Fallon, who’s dressed in tight joggers, at least two pairs of fuzzy socks, and a hoodie.
“How was your day?” I ask, knowing he probably wore her out.
“Horrible,” she mutters, and I hand her the bag of goodies. She struggles to untie the handles that are in a tight bow.
“It couldn’t have beenthatbad,” I say. “At least not any worse than mine.”
“Debatable.” Her eyes widen once she opens the bag. “You brought me coffee? Oh my God.”
Her mood immediately changes.
“Compliments from my mama,” I offer.
“I’ll have to personally thank her,” she says genuinely, and I know my mom will like that.
“So tell me how my precious little boy was a demon.” I smirk, knowing just how rambunctious he can be.
“First of all, he brought me that ball and forced me to throw it for nearly an hour.”
My face cracks into a wide smile at her emphasis onforced.
“And then, when I let him out, he kept playing in the snow and slush. Every time I tried to get him to come in, he’d act like it was a game, but I absolutely was not chasing after him. I finally just left him out there until he pawed on the door to tell me he wanted in,” she explains. “Also, I’m sorry he’s gross. I made a valiant effort to clean up the paw prints but eventually gave up. It was useless.”
Now, I’m laughing. Her defeated tone is pitiful.
“It’s not funny!” She scolds. “He’s worse than an actual child, and I’d know because I’ve babysat my nieces! They acted more obedient.”
“Don’t listen to her, Dasher. You’re a good boy.”
Fallon shakes her head, then puts her laptop down before standing. She sashays to the kitchen carrying the bag. “Where’s your coffee maker?”
“Damn, I knew I was forgetting something,” I mutter, keeping a straight face.
“Should’ve known it was too good to be true,” she grinds out as she tries to walk past me.
