A Christmas Call of Duty (Sweet Christmas Kisses)

8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Colt

G iven my current situation, I don't know in what parallel universe my dad ever thought taking the bull by the horns was a good idea, but pulling a sneak attack on Shay after disappearing on her earlier this morning has got to be the dumbest idea since Australia waged war against the emus.

I spot Shay the moment we're split into our designated fundraising groups at the shelter, and when our eyes meet, I swear the temperature in the room drops ten degrees. Her body goes rigid, and she turns away so fast I'm surprised she doesn't get whiplash. I take a hesitant step towards her. "Hey, Shay. I didn't know if you'd be here or not. When my dad told me this place was in trouble, I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help."

She doesn't even look up. "That makes two of us," she mutters.

I run a hand through my hair, suddenly unsure of what else to say. Did she find my note? Should I mention it? The silence stretching between us is as thick as it is uncomfortable. "So, uh, Jack's doing a lot better," I try again.

This time, she does look at me, but her blue eyes are like ice. "Good. That's… good. I see you both found your way out alright this morning."

Ouch. I wince, wondering if I made the wrong decision by not waking her up. No way she got my note or she'd never act this cold toward me still. Would she? Our awkward reunion is cut short when a tall guy with spiky white hair and glasses comes up from behind. "Who's your new friend, Shay?" he asks, unaware of the tension between us.

Her jaw clenches as she forces a smile. "Tyler, this is Colt. Colt, Tyler."

Tyler's smile doesn't fade as he reaches out his hand. "Nice to meet you, brother. I'm the lead animal care tech here at the shelter. Thanks for coming out on such short notice. We need all the volunteers we can get. Some turn out, huh?" He turns to survey the room of about forty or so civilians, and I notice how surprisingly strong his grip is.

He's right though. There's a lot of people here. Almost too many for such a small space. "Happy to help. And yeah, I'm surprised to see this many people show up on Christmas."

"Honestly, so was I. But hopefully, that means we'll come up with some good ideas, right? How do you know Shay?"

I glance at Shay, unsure how to answer. Her eyes are drilling holes into the floor like she's hoping it'll open up and swallow her whole. "We, uh, met recently," I manage, rubbing the back of my neck. "At the clinic."

Tyler nods, still grinning. "Cool, cool. Well, welcome to the team!" He gathers the rest of our group around the table, and already, everyone's buzzing with ideas. But that doesn't stop me from feeling like I'm still walking on eggshells.

"Alright, folks." Tyler stands at the head of the table and claps his hands together. "I know this isn't a contest, but I'm a competitive guy. And we've got three other teams trying to outshine us. The shelter needs to raise $350,000 and we have exactly one month to make it happen. So, let's hear what you've got."

As people start throwing out suggestions, I clear my throat. "You know, a lot of my buddies on base love hitting up the casinos around here. What if we hosted a last-minute casino night on New Year's Eve?"

I’m barely through speaking when Shay's voice cuts through the air. "That would never work." I look up just in time to catch a glimmer of irritation in her eyes. Man, I just keep on stepping in it with her. "New Year’s Eve is less than a week away. That’s not nearly enough time to book a venue, let alone figure out where we'd come up with a dozen card tables. We need realistic ideas." Her tone is so hostile it takes me aback. And I can tell by the way Tyler's eyebrows shoot up that I'm not the only one who notices.

Tyler glances between me and Shay with a confused look on his face. "You know, Shay… my uncle owns that party rental company up in Syracuse. If we could find a venue, I bet he could hook us up with some tables and have them delivered in time. There's enough of us here that we could probably even man them ourselves."

The group's energy shifts with people sitting up straighter and nodding their approval. I glance at Shay with a pleading look, but she's still fixed on looking anywhere but at me. Someone with a nametag that reads Donny chimes in. "That's great, Tyler. But we still need a place to host it?"

When the others start tossing out venue ideas, I sink back into my chair. I had another idea brewing—something that could tie in with plans for The Retired Heroes Project—but after seeing Shay react to my last idea, I decide to sit on it for now.

I watch Shay as her expression shifts. She bites her lip, and I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand at full attention. That's when I see her smile for the first time since I left her sleeping on the couch this morning. And boy, does it light up the whole room. "Okay. So, I have an idea. The town's already planning a New Year's Eve party at the community center. And Mayor Donovan has been fostering dogs from the shelter for as long as I can remember. What if we reach out to her and ask if we can use some of that space to set up… assuming we were able to get your uncle to donate some tables for the night?" She looks up at Tyler with wide eyes, and just when I think she couldn't look any more beautiful, she proves me wrong.

Tyler leans in. "Keep talking."

"We could call it… 'Bark in the New Year,'" Shay continues with growing excitement. "It'd be perfect if we could pull it off. They've already got the countdown, a live band, and caterers. And the new community center is massive compared to our old one. We could even add a 'Puppy Kissing Booth' for kisses at midnight— with safety measures, of course—and maybe even set up a small area for a silent auction."

I continue to nod along as Shay lays out her plan, but even with my mind stuck on thoughts about being the lucky dog who gets to kiss her at midnight, my own doubt gnaws at the back of my mind. Three hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a mountain of cash, and a few fundraisers, even good ones, aren't going to cut it. But bringing that up won't benefit anyone right now. Besides, I can't bring myself to burst anyone's bubble. Especially Shay's. The way her eyes light up when she gets another idea, it's like she's glowing from the inside out. I'd do anything to keep her smiling if this is how her happy looks.

"I'll start making calls to the base," I offer. "See if we can drum up some support and any donations for a silent auction."

Shay pauses and looks up at me. It's only a half-smile this time, but hey. I'll take it.

An hour and a half flies by, and already I'm feeling it easy to connect with other volunteers in the group. Outside of my buddies at the base, I can't say I've ever felt this at home around friends. Especially civilians.

Tyler adjourns our meeting when Donny starts talking about his loan shark cousin Robby's ties to the mafia, and his girlfriend Lisa brags about the new Prada bag her dad gave her for Christmas after she caught him running around on her mom. "Alright, everyone, let's reconvene tomorrow at seven sharp. We've got a lot of work to do!"

When he lingers behind to catch Margo, the shelter manager, I decide now's the time to extend an olive branch to Shay. But as I walk her out to the parking lot, my stomach is in knots. I want to say something—anything—to break the silence, but my mind's gone blank. Just before she reaches her car, she turns around to face me, and I can see she’s busy texting someone on her phone. Is it bad that I want to know who she’s texting? When she finally looks up, her blue eyes are blazing. "What, Colt?" she demands.

Caught off guard, I take an involuntary step back and blink. "I… I was hoping you'd let me buy you a cup of coffee."

" Now? " she says, crossing her arms over her chest.

I run a hand through my hair, frustrated for not being better prepared. "I mean, unless you already have other plans."

She taps her foot impatiently. "It's Christmas."

"Right," I say, trying to laugh it off. "I'm sure you already have other plans."

"I don't have other plans , Colt. It's Christmas as in—nothing is open but the Circle K. And I refuse to drink stale coffee from a gas station."

This last part is what throws me off. So… is she saying she would have coffee with me right now if there was a place open besides the gas station? “Look, Shay. About this morning…”

"Yeah… about this morning. Care to explain the note you left on my car?"

So, she did get my note. Now I'm really confused. "Oh. That. Look, I thought maybe you and I had gotten off on the wrong foot. I didn’t think it would make things worse. If anything… I thought it’d make you smile."

She lets out a huff and a puff of steam from cold winter air escapes with it. "Snowberry Creek is a small town. And it’s obvious you and I are going to run into one another. But if you and I are going to be volunteering together, I need to know that you're not going to make things more complicated than they already are. Because… honestly. I don't think my heart can take it right now."

I hold up a hand like it's somehow going to protect me from whatever underlying accusation she's trying to get at. "I'm sorry. I’m not following."

"The note. It was… It was nice.,” she stammers. “But you’re not my boyfriend, Colt. And I don’t need you going around doing nice things that make it hard for me to be around you."

I try hard to suppress a smile. "You thought my note was… nice?"

"Seriously, is that all you heard?" Shay steps one of her feet away from her body in a way that makes me think she’s about to start tapping her toe at me.

"Oh my gosh, you actually liked it. At first, I thought maybe you didn’t see it, but then when you—"

"Look—whatever, okay! Can we not make this a thing?” she says with the cutest smirk I’ve seen to date. And yep. There goes that toe tap. “For the sake of the shelter, I would appreciate it if you and I could keep things strictly professional. So…no more notes?" She pitches me a challenging look and folds her arms across her chest.

"Fine. No more notes," I agree, holding both hands up in surrender. “I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable. And I really am sorry I left like I did.”

"Fine, then. Apology accepted. Truce?" She holds out a glove-covered hand, but even with the extra padding, her hand disappears into mine.

"Truce."

She nods and offers a smile. "So, uh. I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Only if you promise you won't fall in love with me." I shoot a sly smile her way, and she pitches back the same daggers I've come to know and love. "Kidding!"

"Go home, Colt." She rounds the hood of her car and slides into the driver's seat while I turn and head back toward the General.

On the drive home, I make a mental note to start working on some backup plans for raising funds. There's got to be more we can do. Grants we can apply for. Or maybe some bigger donors we can tap. I may not know how I'm going to do it, but no way I'm letting the shelter go down without a fight. Especially if it means getting to see Shay’s face light up the way it does every time she smiles.