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Currently, he lived in the white farm house on the property that used to have beautiful hanging baskets of petunias, blooming bright red all through the summer. Now the entire porch leaned away from the house and had an ornery porcupine living under it. A single rickety rocking chair sat to the left of the door, and Hank’s shotgun was always leaning against the railing, a silent warning to get off his land or he’d blow a hole clean through you.
Brandy had unfortunately encountered Hank on too many occasions lately. She kept spotting his traps set up in the woods just outside the perimeter of the sanctuary. Though they weren’t on her land, she worried about her wolves, her son, and her mother accidently stepping on one and getting seriously injured. She’d heard enough stories about humans losing parts of their legs after getting stuck in animal traps. If anything like that ever happened to Dylan, she’d… she’d… she’d lose it.
She’d called Sheriff Olsen this morning and he’d assured her he would pay Hank a visit and see what he could do. She only hoped Hank would hear the message and pull all his traps for good.
Parker kneeled beside her and the wolf let out a low rumble. “Look, man. I found her first.”
Brandy threw her free arm around Parker’s shoulders. “He’s right, big boy. Parker and I go way back.”
“Yeah, I knew her when she was a dorky little graduate student.” He pulled on her hair.
“I wasn’t dorky.” She nudged him. “I was studious. There’s a difference.”
“It must be a very subtle one.”
“Look, I’m trying to get this wolf to like you, Park. You’re not making it easy. In fact, I’m starting not to like you too.”
“Ouch. Take that back. You love me.”
“Like the brother I never wanted.”
“Like the brother who will set you up on more blind dates if you’re not nice to him.”
Brandy held out her hand. “Truce?”
They shook hands then Parker said, “Chella said she’s sorry it didn’t work out between you and Marshall.”
A small puff of air released itself from her lips before she could contain it.
Parker sat on the floor by the cage, his legs crisscrossed in front of him. “You don’t believe she’s sorry?”
“I believe she wants me to find someone so she doesn’t have to worry about… well… you know…” She did not want to voice her opinion. To date, she’d kept her feelings about Chella to herself. Parker seemed happy and she could support him even if she suspected Chella was not the right girl for him. What did she know about love anyway? If Chella made Parker smile, who was she to say they weren’t a good match?
“So she doesn’t have to worry about us getting together?” Parker’s eyebrows lowered over his warm brown eyes. “I didn’t think you knew about her being jealous of you.”
Yikes.She’d half thought she’d been off the mark on that jealousy thing, but here he was confirming it.
“Chicks can sense these things.” She shrugged, wanting to end this conversation before it got awkward.
“I keep telling her we’re more like family, but she doesn’t see it that way.”
“Does she know we tried dating in college and it didn’t take?” Brandy swiveled and crisscrossed her legs so her knees almost touched Parker’s. The wolf sat in the cage as if listening to the exchange as well.
“Yeah. I told her a while ago and she freaked. I reiterated the part where it didn’t take about a million times, but she said, ‘How could it not work out? She’s beautiful. You’re gorgeous. You’re both interested in naturey stuff.’ Her words.” Parker rolled his eyes.
“Of course. You’d never call what we do ‘naturey stuff.’”
“Nope. Anyway, she didn’t think there was any way you and I wouldn’t work.” Parker blinked at his lap for a minute before raising his gaze back to her face. “Do you sometimes wonder if… I don’t know… if we didn’t give us enough of a chance?”
“Umm…” Brandy swallowed loudly. Now and then, when she was feeling particularly lonely, shedidconsider maybe Parker had been The One. Then they’d work on something together at the sanctuary and she’d go back to believing friendship was the right course for them. “Do you?”
Parker shrugged his right shoulder. “Maybe.”
Interesting.Here she’d been thinking he was head over heels for Cruella Chella, but maybe he had his doubts about her too.
“We could kiss right now and see what happens.” The words left her mouth before she’d had a chance to think about them.
Parker’s eyes bugged. “Uhh, yeah. I guess we could.”
