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“That sounds like Peanut,” he said. “She’s an heiress reincarnated as a dog.”
She arched a brow, but of course he couldn’t see it under her hat. “Is she?”
“Pretty sure. How else do you explain her love of rhinestone-studded collars and outrageously priced sweaters?”
A laugh escaped, surprising Bree. Except with Dr. Will, she hadn’t laughed spontaneously while in the presence of another human being in… she didn’t know how long. Ever? Her dogs made her laugh all the time, but in her experience, people were mean more often than not. She didn’t laugh around people. Especially not strangers, but Ellis made it easy.
He was like his dad, after all.
God. She didn’t want to like this man, but his obvious love for that weird little dog was charming. He caught her watching him and his smile changed, became just a little bit naughty. She wasn’t experienced in relationships, but she’d have to be completely blind to miss the spark of interest that lit his eyes.
She had to remember who he was and what the rumors said about him.
Not that it mattered. As soon as he saw her face, that spark would fizzle out. Always did.
“So, you got me here,” he said, spreading his arms. “The last place on earth I wanted to revisit. What’s your plan and how can I talk you out of it?”
She sighed. Whether or not she liked him, he didn’t appear to be leaving any time soon. “Let’s go inside.”
Inside meant she’d have to take off her scarf and hat, but she might as well get it over with. Like ripping off a bandage. Let him see her face. That would cool the simmer between them, and then she could focus on what was important—finding Dr. Will.
“Norte, come.” She whistled to her dog and waited while he said his goodbyes to the pack. He was the only one who slept in the house. While she loved all of her dogs, Norte was special. He had been her first, rescued from the shelter in Ohio as a puppy during a very dark time in her life. They had moved to Alaska together, started a new life together. She liked to say he had rescued her as much as she had him.
With Norte falling into step beside her, she led the way to her cabin. “Do you want coffee?”
“Hell, yeah. I’d love some.”
She noticed he was shivering and bit back a smile. “You’ve been away too long. Your blood’s thinned out.”
“No use for thick blood in L.A.”
“I suppose not. Do you like it there?” She’d always been curious about other places but hated to travel. She drew too many stares from strangers in airports and on the street. She’d only ever lived two places in her life—her tiny hometown in Ohio and her people-less haven here in Alaska.
“It has its perks.” He released a sigh when he stepped inside the warm cabin and went directly over to the wood stove to thaw his hands. “Mind if I put Peanut down? She’s house-trained. Mostly. I think.”
“Sure.” She rubbed a hand over her dog’s head. “Norte won’t bother her.”
“Wasn’t worried,” Ellis said as he untucked Peanut from his jacket and set her down on her spindly legs. “I can tell he’s a good dog. Very well trained. And he loves you.”
“The feeling is very much mutual.”
Bree didn’t think Norte would mistake the tiny dog for a rat or a squeaky toy like Moonbeam and Diggy had, but she still waited to see how they would react to each other while in Norte’s territory. Just in case. Peanut was so fragile. She’d hate for Norte to accidentally break her by playing too roughly.
The big dog and tiny one cautiously sniffed each other. Peanut tried to puff herself up, all but standing on her toes and arching her back like a Halloween cat. If she had hair, it would be standing on end. Norte sent a bemused look over his shoulder at the humans before gently bumping the puppy with his nose. She fell over rather dramatically, which seemed to amuse Norte. He crouched down and inched toward her, his tail wagging playfully.
Satisfied, Bree walked the handful of steps into the kitchen to feed the wood stove and start the coffee. She still hadn’t taken off her layers even though she was starting to sweat. It was stupid, but she wanted Ellis to see her as normal for a little bit longer. She dreaded seeing the pity and revulsion in his eyes when she finally showed her face.
He followed her. “You do have a plan, right?”
“Of course. It’d be suicide not to.” She wished she had more to do with her hands while the coffee brewed. She got the mugs down from the cupboard, then just watched the pot burble, willing it to hurry up. “I’m flying to Solitaire and then taking the dogs from there. Best I can tell, he dropped off radar near Ophir. The dogs and I know that area. We’ve raced through there.”
He leaned a hip against the counter and gave an impressed whistle. “You’ve done the Iditarod?”
“For the last five years. This was supposed to be Norte’s retirement year, but finding Dr. Will is more important.”
“Why?”
“He’s my friend.” Her only friend, really. But she wasn’t about to tell Ellis that.
