A Miracle for the Confident Cowboy (Love in Sweet Bloom)

Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

Sophie stared at the shelter sign out front. She frowned. Every time she’d shown up for a shift, he had been here. She’d been volunteering for a week and each day was filled with one incident or another. Heat seared her cheeks as she thought about the first day. She’d nearly lost her nerve to return after that experience.

Duke was the bane of her existence—the man, not the dog. Duke the dog was actually pretty sweet when he wasn’t being returned to his kennel. She’d spent some time playing with him out in the yard.

A brisk breeze ruffled her hair and she pulled her jacket tighter around her. It wasn’t nearly as cold as it was in Montana this time of year, but she also hadn’t expected it to get this cold here.

Her hair lifted and danced in the cold wind and she turned her gaze to the sky. Clouds were rolling in. They didn’t look stormy—not exactly—but they did seem to say that today wasn’t the typical December afternoon that Texas usually offered.

She sighed, turning her focus once again on the building. Duke’s truck was parked out front. It was hard to miss now that she knew what it was.

Of course he drove the most obnoxious truck. It was a huge, candy apple red, Chevy 2500. It was just as obnoxious as he was and yet she couldn’t help admiring the color. If she could have something in that color—but sporty—she might actually go for it. Either that, or a VW bug.

Another bout of wind wrapped its way around her, prompting a shiver. She needed to get inside before she froze.

Once inside, she did her best to avoid him. That first day, she’d asked to work with the dogs so she didn’t have to interact with demon spawn—namely the cats. Unfortunately, working with Duke had been worse. And he always seemed to be in the room with the dogs.

She crossed her fingers he wasn’t in with the dogs today then she headed down the hall and pushed the door open.

So much for making that wish. Maybe she was doing it wrong. Maybe it wasn’t about the crossed fingers. Maybe Pippa was right and she needed to throw a coin into the well.

Sophie snorted to herself, drawing Duke’s curious attention. She frowned at him, arms folded. “I thought you said you like cats. Why are you always in here?”

He quirked a brow in her direction. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware we were on speaking terms.”

“Geez, answer the question,” she muttered, pulling on some oversized rubber boots. She wasn’t going to let him be the reason she quit volunteering. And if she were honest with herself, she’d admit it was too quiet when they weren’t talking.

“Gus doesn’t like it when I come home smelling like other cats.”

She glanced at him. “Gus is your cat?”

He nodded, not missing a beat as he continued to work. Today he was refilling the large barrels of food from the bags. His arm muscles twitched and rippled, mesmerizing her and setting off fresh electrical currents through her body. He glanced at her and she immediately turned away, praying he hadn’t caught her admiring his physique. “Does your dog…”

“Care? Oh, heavens, no. Daisy is the most easy-going dog there is.” She smirked at Duke. “I thought we went over this. Cats are little jerks. I wouldn’t be surprised if Gus is jealous you’re not spending time with him.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Duke murmured absentmindedly.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Can I ask you something?”

He peeked at her. “Shoot.”

“Why do they call you Duke.”

His lips twitched but he didn’t pull them into a full smile. “Somehow I think you’re only going to get irritated when you find out.”

“Try me,” she insisted.

He put what he was working on down, then faced her. “When I got here—from England—no one else had my accent.”

The temptation to roll her eyes was strong. Back to the accent thing again. But this time, she refrained.

“Anyway, the guys all thought it was hilarious. You don’t know how embarrassing it is to realize just how many words are the same but mean things completely different.”

“Oh, like napkin?” Sophie snickered.

“Exactly like napkin.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “I can’t remember exactly why I needed one, but I had to pick up an eraser at the store.” He eyed her for a second, as if gauging if she already knew what the alternate word would be. When she continued looking at him with a blank stare, he continued. “I was in a hurry. I didn’t have time hunting for the office supply aisle. So I went right up to the nearest store clerk and asked for a rubber.”

Sophie gaped at him then let out a loud guffaw. “You didn’t.”

“In my defense, I had no idea it would mean something else. That, and I was fresh off the boat.” He looked like he was going to say something more, the amusement in his eyes making him even more handsome. But the door opened and the lead vet tech entered, cutting him off.

He glanced to Duke. “Bad news. There’s a problem with the fence around the pen. We’re going to have to exercise the dogs the old-fashioned way. Can you take a few down the street to the dog park?” He glanced to Sophie. "You'll need to help, too. I have a repair guy coming out tomorrow bright and early.”

Duke and Sophie nodded in unison. She didn’t mind going for a walk—as long as she didn’t have to hold Duke’s leash—the dog, not the man.

Sophie didn’t know how it was possible, but it was colder outside than it had been when she’d arrived. She shivered and zipped up her jacket before pulling her hood over her ears and lifting her eyes to the sky. “Do you think it’s going to rain?”

Duke walked a few feet away. He lifted his gaze as well then shook his head. “Nah, I think that’s gotta be snow.”

She stopped dead in her tracks then regretted it immediately as the dogs in front of her continued their pace, causing her to lurch forward. She turned wide eyes to Duke. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

He frowned. “About what?”

She shut her eyes briefly. “Snow. Please tell me it doesn’t snow down here.”

He chuckled. “I would, but if you recall, I’m not a liar.”

Sophia stuck out her tongue at him, and he chuckled again. She glowered at the darkening sky. “It’s not fair! Why does it snow down here?”

“Well, it gets colder and the clouds move in and?—”

“That was rhetorical,” she snapped.

“What’s the matter? I thought you were from a place where it snows a lot?” He murmured.

“Why do you think I came down here?” she groaned. She wanted to stomp her feet, to yell at the looming storm clouds, and curse them all into oblivion. “Snow doesn’t belong in Texas!” she hollered just as the first few flakes drifted lazily around her. A growl escaped her lips and this time she did stomp her feet.

They’d made it to the dog park and let the dogs loose. “Hey, it’s fine. It rarely even sticks. And when it does, it melts off by mid-day.”

Irritated, she scowled at Duke. “It’s the principle of the thing. It shouldn’t snow here because it’s freaking Texas!”

His chuckle grated on her in ways that made her skin crawl. He was laughing at her. What a total jerk! Her hands shook at her sides with fury. Normally, this wouldn’t bother her. She could take it all in stride. But between the stress of her blog, the stress of seeing Duke every day, and now this? She was done. So. Totally. Done.

“You should probably calm?—”

“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Sophie shot back at him, pointing a finger at him. “Don’t you dare tell me what to do.” She was frustrated and totally at a breaking point. It was probably a bad idea to come to the shelter—but hindsight was definitely twenty-twenty. She needed to get out of the penned area. She needed to get away from Duke. She needed—space.

Sophie pushed the gate open and let it slam shut. She hated how this happened sometimes. It was like the opposite of a panic attack. Or maybe it was exactly the same as a panic attack—only with anger.

She saw sparks in the back of her eyes and her breath came out hot and heavy. She made it to the edge of the sidewalk and stepped out onto the road only for a heavy hand to tighten on her arm at the exact same moment a loud horn blared through the air.

Sophie gasped as she was yanked from the street back to the sidewalk. She collided with a tall, firm body. She didn’t have to guess who it belonged to, because at that moment, Duke spun her around.

His green eyes were clouded over with a fury she hadn’t seen even when they’d been arguing at the restaurant. “What were you thinking ?” he hissed.

She blinked several times. “I?—”

“Do you have any idea what could have happened if…” His voice trailed off and his voice mirrored the darkness in his eyes. His hands still gripped her upper arms as he lectured her. His words sounded muffled and heavy. She couldn’t make out a single one of them as he railed on about the dangers of not paying attention to where she was going.

Her heart thundered in her chest making every other part of her body weak from too much blood flow. That was a thing, wasn’t it?

“Sophie!” He said louder. “Are you even listening to me?” This time Duke’s face nearly matched the color of his annoying truck. He gave her a little shake and that was enough to snap her out of her daze.

Sophie tore away from him and rubbed her arms—not because he’d hurt her, but because the warmth of his touch had done something strange to her. She scowled right back at him. “I’m fine,” she muttered.

“Are you? Because that?—”

“I’m. Fine .” She emphasized. “I don’t need some guy with a hero complex trying to come to my rescue.”

“Hero compl—” He snapped his mouth shut, the muscles in his jaw working overtime. Then he threw his hands in the air. “Forget it,” he muttered as he strode toward the dog park gate. He gathered the dogs—both his and hers—in record time. “I’m going back. Maybe you should call someone to take you home. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be out here alone.”

She scoffed, but then her thoughts shifted to the truck she hadn’t seen coming. Duke was already several yards down the sidewalk when she turned her attention to him again. He’d saved her life. She could have died.

On top of that, the snow flurries had only continued to fall, but nothing stuck to the ground yet. The cold soaked through her jacket and she briefly thought she should have worn a heavier one. What a silly thing to set her off. Now she looked like a total idiot who couldn’t handle herself.

Well, this was just great.

Sophie swiped her hood back over her head then shoved her hands into her pockets and followed Duke back to the shelter. She wasn’t going to call anyone to get her because she had her car. Besides, the only people who’d be able to pick her up wouldn’t be happy knowing she’d been so reckless.

When she returned to the shelter, she went straight to her car. She called the front office from the driver’s seat to let them know she needed to leave early. Then she pulled out of the parking lot. So much for not letting Duke get under her skin.