Puppy Love at Mistletoe Junction

Chapter Eighteen Somewhere Only We Know

On Saturday morning, Lucy and Sasha fueled up Sasha’s Subaru—the obvious choice as her car was newer and had heated seats—and loaded up on coffee before hitting the road. They were about an hour from Atlanta when Lucy attempted to eat her sandwich, but her appetite had gone out the window, the bread getting stuck to the roof of her mouth.

Lucy wrapped the sandwich back up and put it in the cooler Lorraine had packed. She’d made sure they had enough food for the drive there and back. Even though they were in their thirties, the mothering didn’t stop.

But Lucy didn’t want it to. And judging by the progression of Lorraine’s relationship with Wes, the mothering wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The two were pretty much inseparable. Lucy just wondered how long before Lorraine was officially her stepmother.

“Are you getting nervous?”

Sasha asked, reaching over and turning the music down.

“I don’t know what I am.”

Lucy shook her head. “I don’t know what I want to happen. If I want this guy to like me and sign me, or if I want to finally be able to move on from this dream of a singing career.”

“Well, you don’t have to move on from singing, Luce. I feel like you’ve been doing a lot with it these last couple of months, and maybe it’s because you haven’t been under a bunch of pressure in trying to be something for everyone. You’ve gotten to do your own thing, and not somebody else’s thing. You’ve been inspired. You’ve been happy.”

“Well, it’s a lot easier to be happy when you aren’t under the constant strain of trying to prove yourself.”

“Well, that and regular orgasms.”

“Yes.”

Lucy grinned. “Those have helped a lot too. Being with Theo has changed everything. It is very apparent that the man likes me, imperfections and all.”

“Um, I believe he loves you,”

Sasha corrected.

“He does. I wasn’t prepared for him to love me, or for me to love him back. But I don’t think I could’ve ever been prepared for what’s happened with Theo.”

“I don’t think you can prepare yourself for falling in love, Luce.”

“No, that’s for damn sure.”

Lucy nodded, looking out the window, watching as the trees passed by.

“Okay, talk to me. There is more going on in that head of yours.”

“I just . . .”

Lucy shook her head as she looked back to Sasha. “My whole life I’ve had this idea of what I wanted, to be a musician, to get to sing for a crowd of people and make them feel something from my words. That was why I picked LA; it was a place with a music scene where I could get a fresh start.”

“And it was as far away as possible from Cruickshank?”

Lucy frowned. “It wasn’t that. I love it in Cruickshank. It’s my home in every way, and always will be. I just knew that I couldn’t pursue singing there. Not in the same way, at least, not on the same scale. So, I thought that if I stayed, I’d . . . get stuck. But I don’t feel that way anymore. I don’t feel stuck.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

Sasha asked.

“I think I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that what I want has changed, and trying to reconcile that I might’ve wasted seven years of my life chasing something that was never for me.”

“You didn’t waste those seven years.”

“But what if I did? What if I’d stayed here and pursued things with Theo? Where would we be now?”

“You might not be anywhere with him, Luce. What if seven years ago wasn’t the right time for you two? If you’d never gone to California, you would’ve always wondered. Isn’t that what today is about, making sure there isn’t a what if?”

“Yeah, that’s why Theo wanted me to come. He doesn’t want there to be a doubt in my mind.”

“Did you guys talk about it any more last night?”

“Not really.”

Lucy shook her head. “I don’t think he wants to influence me, though that isn’t possible. He did say he doesn’t want to hear how the meeting goes over the phone. He wants to talk about it in person. After what happened before, he doesn’t want to take any more chances on us misunderstanding each other, and not being face-to-face leaves a lot to be interpreted.”

“That’s smart.”

Sasha nodded. “So, if something happens today, you guys will cross that bridge when you come to it?”

As they were literally crossing a bridge as Sasha said it, Lucy couldn’t help but laugh.

“What?”

she asked.

“It’s silly, but Theo and I have had this thing the last couple of months about literal clichés. When we see them, we cross them off our imaginary bingo card and we were crossing a bridge as you said it.”

Sasha glanced over at Lucy, a little smirk on her mouth. “You’re right, it is silly, but it’s also pretty cute. God, I bet it’s killing him today, not knowing what’s going on.”

“I know it is.”

Lucy nodded as she looked back out the window, because it was killing her too.

* * *

Theo was doing his best not to look at his watch, but invariably, he checked it about every fifteen minutes. In his mind’s eye, he saw Sasha’s car making its way down to Atlanta like it was one of those pieces from the Game of Life.

Lucy had texted him that they’d gotten there safely, and about an hour later that they were leaving. He really wished they weren’t on the road. There was a storm blowing in and it would be hitting within the hour. Their driving through it wasn’t doing anything to help his current state of mind. Especially as there’d been an awful accident on I-85 and they’d gotten diverted to back roads.

But nothing was really helping him at the moment. He was now regretting telling Lucy that he didn’t want to know how the meeting went until she was back, because it felt like the last two hours had been the longest of his life. But while he was regretting the not knowing, he didn’t regret encouraging Lucy to go.

He wanted her to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this was the life she wanted. That she wanted to be here, with him. And if she didn’t want to be in Cruickshank, they’d figure it out, because it wouldn’t be his choice to let her go again. That much he was damn sure of.

It was a little after three when Theo finished decorating his last batch of vanilla chai cupcakes, lining them up on the tray for his dad to take out to the display. His phone started ringing in his pocket, and as the ringtone was Taylor Swift, he knew it was Gia. She’d stolen his phone months ago and set it up.

“Hey, Gia.”

“Bear is in labor.”

“What?! Are you sure?”

Both of his parents looked up at his tone, freezing in place.

“Well, as she just had one of her puppies, I’m pretty sure.”

Gia’s voice was slightly frantic, but not in a full-on panic.

“I’m leaving right now.”

Theo untied the back of his apron. “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

He hung up the phone and slid it into his pocket. “Bear is in labor. I’ve got to go.”

“We got it.”

Isaac waved him off. “Get out of here.”

“We’ll come over as soon as we finish up and we’ll get dinner.”

Juliet kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t speed home either. It’s already raining out there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Theo headed for the door, grabbing his coat before he pushed through to the main part of the bakery.

When he stepped outside, he was blasted with a wave of freezing-cold air, big fat raindrops hitting him in the face. He didn’t let it faze him, running around the corner to the little lot that the shop owners used to park.

Once he got out of the downtown area, he called Oscar, his friend’s voice coming over the speaker.

“What’s up, man?”

“Bear is having her puppies. Gia just called me and I’m on the way home.”

“Damn it, I’m out at the Johnsons’ farm. Apparently, it’s the night to have babies. Their mare is in labor and she’s having difficulties, so I can’t leave.”

“Where’s Dr. Carter?”

Theo asked of the other vet who worked at Mountain View.

“She has the flu. Listen, when you get home, assess the situation. Bear is probably doing fine. Mothers usually know what to do on instinct. If there are complications, call me, and I will walk you through it. I talked to Sasha and Lucy about half an hour ago, and I think they’re probably still an hour out if not more.”

“Yeah, they got delayed.”

Theo turned his windshield wipers to a higher speed as he made a left.

“Theo, everything is going to be fine. If you’re this freaked out now, it’s going to be really interesting when you and Lucy actually have a kid.”

Theo’s hands gripped the steering wheel at that comment.

“Did I freak you out even more?”

Oscar asked.

Theo cleared his throat, trying to think properly given the current image that filled his mind: Lucy pregnant. How cliché was it that she was barefoot and in his kitchen? But she wasn’t cooking. No, they were dancing, his hands on her belly as they moved around. Her hair was down, swaying across her back, and she was laughing.

Something tightened in his chest, and it was hard to breathe.

“Theo?”

Oscar called out.

“I’m fine,”

he lied. The very last thing he was, was fine.

“Look, I’ll call my mom. She and Wes went to get some dogs at an overrun shelter, but she should be done in a couple of hours. If she gets back before I can get there, she can help. She knows what she’s doing. She’s delivered many a puppy.”

“Okay, thanks, I’ll call you in a bit.”

He pressed a button on the steering wheel, ending the call before pressing it again. “Call Lucy,”

he commanded.

The phone rang four times before going to voicemail. “Hey, it’s Lucy, sorry I missed your call . . .”

Theo wasn’t surprised he couldn’t get through. Cell service could be intermittent in the mountains. Those back roads Lucy and Sasha were on would take them through a lot of valleys, which meant it was even worse.

“Hey, babe,”

Theo started after the beep. “So, Bear is in labor, but everything is under control,”

he managed to say, keeping the creeping panic at bay. “I’m on my way back to the house, and Oscar is going to come when he finishes up. Drive safely and I’ll see you in a bit . . . I love you.”

He hit the end button just as he pulled into his driveway. In the five minutes it had taken him to get home, the skies had opened up, and he was soaked when he walked in the front door. Gia and Chloe turned, relief filling their faces as he shut the door behind him.

“The first one is a girl and she looks to be doing well.”

Gia stood up from where she was sitting by the box. “Bear’s got her all cleaned up.”

“I think her contractions are getting closer together,”

Chloe said. “She’s going to have another one soon.”

“All right, good.”

Theo nodded as he pulled off his jacket, hanging it on one of the hooks by the door before kicking off his shoes. “Oscar can’t come for a bit, so we’re going to have to do this together. Are you two going to be okay?”

he asked as he crossed over to them.

“Yes,”

they said in unison, but while Chloe sounded confident, Gia looked upset.

Theo focused on his sister. “What’s wrong?”

“I just feel like I missed something.”

She started to cry, her lip trembling. “Like I should’ve known that she was going into labor. She was pacing earlier, but she’s always restless when you and Lucy are gone. And she wouldn’t eat, but she’s been finicky about eating for days now. And I—I . . .”

“Hey.”

Theo put his hands on Gia’s shoulders, looking into her face. “Everything is fine. Oscar wouldn’t have been able to be here even if you had called an hour ago. And this little girl looks to be doing well.”

He glanced into the box to see the brown and white puppy that was already nursing. “Let’s get her dry, and I’m going to start a fire so it’s warmer in here.”

“You need to get dry too,”

Chloe said as she threw one of the towels they’d grabbed over Theo’s shoulders.

“Thanks.”

He smiled at her, some of the nerves he’d felt on the drive leaving him. There was no more time to worry, he had to take care of Bear now.

* * *

It was after four thirty when Sasha and Lucy drove into Cruickshank. There was still an hour or so of daylight, but as the sky was covered up by thick storm clouds, it was already dark and gloomy. The worsening weather had done nothing to help either of their anxieties.

Sasha was worried about her own four-legged babies. Pistachio and Maraschino were her dogs, a bonded pair who’d been owner surrendered a couple of years ago. They weren’t Sasha’s first foster failure; she had a soft spot for older dogs. But their age wasn’t the only reason it had been hard to get anyone to adopt them. Pistachio was a grumpy little guy and didn’t like to be handled too much. He’d gotten comfortable with Sasha, though, and she’d become his person.

Neither dog liked storms and both usually needed antianxiety meds when one hit. The problem was no one was there to give them any. Sasha knew that Oscar and Lorraine weren’t going to be around to help her dogs as they were both busy with their own day’s activities.

The last hour had been the worst, Lucy feeling like she was in her own personal purgatory. She just wanted to get back to Theo, wanted to tell him about the meeting, and how it had cemented everything in her mind. But the meeting went by the wayside as they drove through the city limits, both of their phones lighting up. Lucy reached for hers, seeing a dozen texts and three voicemails.

“Crap,”

she said as she scrolled through them. “Bear’s in labor. She’s already had three puppies.”

“Is Theo there?”

“Yeah, but it’s just him and the girls. Oscar’s still at the Johnsons’ farm helping with that mare delivery.”

“Do you want me to go straight there?”

Sasha asked.

“No, you need to check on Pistachio and Maraschino. I’ll grab my car and go to Theo’s.”

“Okay, and as soon as I can, I’ll come over and help.”

“Crap, crap, crap, I can’t believe I’m not there.”

“Luce, I’m sure everything is fine. Like you said, Theo’s there. What do his texts say?”

Lucy paused for a second before looking over at Sasha. “That everything is fine.”

Sasha had her eyes on the road, but Lucy watched as her friend’s mouth curved up into a grin. “See, you’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Call him and tell him.”

“No, I don’t want to distract him, he needs to focus on Bear. And like you said, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

It was only another mile to Sasha’s house, but it felt like forever for them to get there. The second they pulled into the drive, Lucy didn’t even hesitate to jump out of the car, her keys already in her hand.

“Text me when you get there,”

Sasha called out.

“I will!”

Lucy said before she slammed her door shut. The rain hadn’t let up at all in the last hour and the wind was only getting worse. The temperature was dropping too, and it was now in the mid-thirties. She really hoped they wouldn’t get hail. At least there wasn’t any thunder and lightning.

Lucy was cautious as she drove. Theo’s house was on the exact opposite side of Cruickshank as Sasha’s, about three miles outside of the downtown area. It was on a windy two-lane road that went up to the lake and the houses that had been built around it. Not the safest on a normal day, and definitely not tonight.

But it didn’t matter how carefully Lucy was driving, as there was no way in the world she could’ve prevented the deer that appeared out of nowhere from slamming into the side of her SUV. She lost control in an instant, the tires going off the side of the road. She must’ve hit an icy patch of water because there was no course correcting. Her car was going down into the ditch whether she liked it or not.

“Fuck!”

Lucy screamed as it plowed through the shrubs that separated the forest from the road. By some miracle she was able to steer the car away from the bigger trees, pressing the brakes to slow down before it finally hit a park bench, which made her come to a stop.

The hit wasn’t powerful enough to deploy the airbag, but Lucy was jerked hard enough forward that she was pretty sure she had whiplash. Her death grip on the steering wheel loosened, and she took a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself.

“It’s okay, you’re okay. You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re okay.”

Her hands were shaking as she turned the lights on above her. Her purse had flown to the floorboards and she unbuckled her seat belt as she stretched over the center console and grabbed it. Ripping it open, she searched around for her phone, and couldn’t find it anywhere.

Had it flown somewhere in the crash? Did she even have it? She thought she’d thrown it in her purse in her rush to get out of Sasha’s car, but she couldn’t remember. Her only thought had been to get to Theo and Bear.

Lucy looked out her side window. It was cracked from where the deer had hit it. The road was up an embankment, and even if she could get up the steep slope with its rain-soaked grass, that road was dangerous to walk along on a normal day, let alone on a rainy night with limited visibility. It didn’t help that she was wearing jeans and a gray coat. She’d be really hard to see.

“I can’t just sit here. No one is going to find me,”

she told herself as she looked out the passenger side window and to the hiking trail that was just visible through the trees.

Lucy knew that trail, she walked on it with Bear every single day. She was probably a mile from Theo’s house . . . a mile and a half at most.

If she was going to go, she had to go while it was still light outside. “Which means I need to get going now,”

she said as she looked around the back seat for any supplies.

There was no point in searching for her umbrella because she knew it wasn’t there. No, it was currently sitting by Theo’s front door. Nor did she have her yellow raincoat. There was, however, a blanket in the back seat; she’d had it spread out for Bear. It and the flashlight and bear spray in her trunk were the only supplies that would be helping her.

Lucy jotted a note to leave on the steering wheel in case anyone found her car. She then took just a few more seconds to fortify herself before she opened the door to the freezing rain and biting wind.

* * *

It was after five when Theo grabbed his phone, looking for a missed call or text from Lucy, but there was nothing. Bear had just had her fourth puppy, and he could tell she was getting ready to have the fifth.

Oscar had been right; as each baby was born, she cleaned them up and got them to start nursing. It was much warmer now with the fire behind them, but he and the girls still did their part in getting the pups as dry as possible.

Theo was lucky things were going well, because as each minute ticked by, he was getting more and more worried. Lucy should be here by now. He’d just pulled up her name and was about to press dial when Sasha’s picture popped up on his phone and he put her on speaker.

“Hey, Sash,”

Theo said as a wave of relief washed through him.

“I was just checking on Lucy. She was supposed to text me when she got there, and I haven’t heard from her. I called her phone but keep getting her voicemail.”

“Lucy isn’t here. When did she leave your house?”

There was a pause on the other side of the phone, and just that quickly Theo’s relief turned to fear. “Theo, she left half an hour ago.”

Gia and Chloe looked at each other, their eyes going big with worry.

Theo turned to the window that showed his front yard, as if he’d see her SUV pulling in at that moment, but the only vehicle there was his truck.

“Okay, okay.”

His mind started reeling. “Maybe something happened on the road . . .”

Oh, god, what if she was in an accident?

“Theo, what do you want me to do?”

The panic in Sasha’s voice was clear. Apparently, she’d had the same thought.

“I’m going to call my dad,”

Chloe said as she fumbled with her own phone. “He’s working tonight.”

Theo turned to Gia. “If I go look for Lucy, are you going to be okay here with Bear?”

“Yeah.”

Gia nodded, looking completely freaked out. Theo wanted to again reassure her that everything would be okay, but this time he wasn’t so sure.

“I’ll be back.”

Leaning forward he pressed a kiss to Gia’s forehead.

“I’m going to head that way.”

Sasha’s voice echoed in the room.

“I don’t want you putting yourself in danger too.”

Theo got to his feet, heading to the door. “If something happened to Lucy—”

He stopped dead at the thought, suddenly feeling very lightheaded.

No, she was fine. Lucy was fine.

“I’m leaving now, Theo, see you soon.”

Sasha hung up the phone.

Theo grabbed his boots, pulling them on as fast as he could. He made quick work of the laces before he snatched his rain jacket from the hook and the flashlight he kept by the door. The second he stepped outside he was assaulted with the bitterly cold wind. It sunk into his clothes in an instant, but it was made so much worse when he stepped out into the rain.

“Jesus Christ, it’s freezing,”

Theo swore as he snapped the buttons closed under his chin to keep the hood in place. It didn’t matter how bad it was, though. He’d go out into a fucking hurricane to find Lucy.

He was running to his car when out of the corner of his eye he saw it, a flashlight in the distance over by the trees. It was right by the trailhead that was a few hundred feet from his house. He always got that feeling at the back of his neck when Lucy was near, and it was no different in that moment. It wasn’t the cold making his skin prickle.

“Lucy!”

He bellowed her name as he started running in that direction.

The muffled call of “Theo!”

was enough to make his heart stop. He didn’t even hesitate as he sprinted toward her.

The beam from the flashlight bobbed, and it looked like Lucy slipped, but a second later she was running straight at him. They almost collided in the middle of the path, a blanket falling from Lucy’s shoulders as she reached for him. Theo wrapped his arms around her and crushed her body to his.

They just stood there for a moment, Lucy crying as she held on to him. Wave after wave of relief crashed through him. She was here, she was in his arms, she was here. It was only then that he realized her teeth were chattering, her entire body shaking.

“Come on, Luce. Let’s get you inside.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead before he pulled her toward the house.

The second they stepped inside, Chloe and Gia were on their feet. “Oh my god! What happened!”

Gia ran toward them.

“D-d-deer h-hit-t-t-t my c-c-c-c-car,”

Lucy barely got out. “W-w-w-went off the r-road.”

“You hit a deer?”

Chloe repeated.

“N-n-n-no.”

Lucy shook her head. “It hit-t-t-t me.”

“I’m calling Dad again.”

Chloe reached for her phone. “They were already down the road. Lucy needs to get checked out.”

“She needs to get warm,” Gia said.

“Stay with Bear. Chloe, when your dad gets here, send him to my room.”

Theo led Lucy through the house, both of them leaving a trail of water and mud behind them.

The second they got into the bathroom, Theo started to undress her. It was a bit of a struggle to get her out of the sopping wet coat. He threw it to the tiled floor before he pulled off her sweater. Getting down on his knees, he started to unlace her shoes, pulling them off along with her socks. Once he got her completely undressed, he grabbed her robe, throwing it over her shoulders instead of putting it on her.

Lucy wasn’t tan by any means, but her ivory skin was even paler than normal. She was still shaking, her teeth chattering even worse.

“It’s going to be okay, baby. You’re going to be okay.”

Scooping her up in his arms, Theo carried her into the bedroom. He sat her on the bed. “Don’t move.”

“I-I-I don’t th-th-think I’m g-g-going anywhere.”

Moving to his dresser, Theo pulled out two pairs of his thickest socks, a pair of sweatpants, and a sweatshirt. And then he was back in front of her, kneeling at her feet. He pulled everything on, getting her dressed as gently as possible.

It was then that Theo heard the front door open, and loud footsteps coming down the hallway. Captain Savage came in the room caring an EMT kit, two other firefighters behind him.

“Oh, good, you didn’t put her in the shower. That’s always a common mistake,”

Harrison said as he rounded the bed.

“Yeah, I know that one from experience.”

Theo was reluctant to move away from Lucy, but he knew they could take better care of her than he could. Besides, he didn’t feel like arguing when Harrison pointed at him a second later and said, “You need to get dry too. Go change while we check out Lucy.”

“Okay.”

Theo nodded, pressing a kiss to her forehead before he took a step back. It was only then that his adrenaline of the last ten minutes started to drain, and he realized he was shaking too.