Wynn was satisfied with the meeting with leadership this morning. The brainstorming session with Evelyn and Jack had been draining but successful. They’d used a combination of Jack’s and Evelyn’s plans and added a few more cost savings to seal the deal. Leadership wasn’t thrilled at first, but she’d managed to convince them that keeping experienced employees was much less expensive than hiring and training new ones. She’d also proposed a new budget and forecasted sales with regular monthly reviews to back up her plan. Last, but not least, she’d promised that if they didn’t start gaining return on investment in six months, she would resign. To her surprise, both Evelyn and Jack joined her in that promise.
Leadership indicated they’d like Wynn to be the new COO, but she refused to take on the responsibility alone. Wynn had the technology business sense and Evelyn had the compassion necessary to be in the position, a perfect balance. It was agreed that together they would bring the company back into the blue. Jack would bump up to IT Director and would handle all day-to-day operations and struggles. All in all it was a good mix.
Wynn had been home for close to an hour waiting nervously for Carly to arrive and was in the driveway getting her Jeep Wrangler ready for the dogs. On her way home from work, she’d stopped by the pet store to pick up dog food and a crate that would fit in the cargo area. She wasn’t making the mistake of leaving the dogs free again. The Jeep had been an impulse buy last year. She’d been hoping to take advantage of its off-road capabilities but hadn’t had the opportunity to undertake any adventures since the purchase. Maybe Shadow and Carly would change that. She was getting way ahead of herself. She had to get out of this fucking time loop first.
She glanced at her watch as she finished situating the blanket she’d placed in the crate. Not long until Carly arrived. She went to the front door and let Shadow out, who immediately raced to the lawn and started sniffing. What else could she do to keep herself busy for the next fifteen minutes?
“Taking a vacation day, finally?” She heard Mrs. P’s voice and glanced over to see her standing on the porch holding two cups and a decanter Wynn knew to be filled with coffee. Mrs. P loved company.
She waved and then crossed the small yard. “As a matter of fact, I am.” She took one of the cups and held it while Mrs. P filled it with steaming-hot coffee. She’d probably seen Wynn out front and brewed it just for her. Mrs. P was sweet that way.
Shadow finished her business and raced toward them. “It looks like you have an adventure planned with your new puppy.”
She sat and relaxed in one of the porch chairs. “Something like that.” She took a sip of the coffee, hissing when it burned her tongue. “A friend of mine is coming over, and we’re planning to go adopt her mother at the animal shelter.” Mrs. P’s brows pulled together. “Shadow’s mom. Not my friend’s.” She picked up Shadow, who settled on Wynn’s lap.
“That’s a relief. I think your friend’s mom would need a larger crate.” Mrs. P gave her a sideways smile. She was always quick with the dry humor. “This friend. Is she a love interest? Are you dating?” Mrs. P also always stated her thoughts and got to the point quickly. No dancing around anything with her.
“Not currently, but maybe in the future.” She winked. “Let’s see how today goes.”
“Is this some kind of test?” Mrs. P reached over and scratched Shadow’s back. “Making sure she likes dogs?” Shadow immediately rolled over for her to scratch her belly.
She shook her head. “No. Not at all. At least not for her. Carly’s perfect.” A sporty, red, two-door Honda Accord pulled up to the curb, and Carly got out. “Thanks for the coffee. I have to go.” She put Shadow on the ground.
Mrs. P put her hand on Wynn’s knee. “Not so fast. I’d like to meet her. Make sure she’s suitable for you.”
“Trust me, she’s more than suitable.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.” She couldn’t fight it. Mrs. P was going to insist on an introduction.
Wynn vaulted from her chair as Mrs. P threw up her arm and waved. “Carly, dear. Wynn is over here.”
Carly turned and smiled widely before she reversed direction and headed their way. She was dressed in jeans, sneakers, and a coral, V-neck shirt. Her jet-black hair bounced slightly on her shoulders as she walked around the yard on the sidewalk and up the driveway. She was absolutely radiant in the sunlight.
Shadow met her halfway, and she dropped to a squat to pet her. “Hi there, little one. What’s your name?” She gathered her in her arms and continued walking as Shadow licked her chin.
“That’s Shadow, and this is Mrs. Pritchard, my neighbor. I call her Mrs. P for short.” She spoke quickly, well aware that her nerves were showing.
Carly held Shadow against her chest with one hand and extended the other to Mrs. P. “It’s so nice to meet you.”
“She has manners. That’s good.”
Carly smiled, and Wynn grinned before she twisted her neck to look at Mrs. P with widened eyes and clenched lips. “Carly helps Suzanna at most of the events she plans.” It dawned on her that she hadn’t told Mrs. P about her plans. “That reminds me. I won’t be able to make dinner tonight. Suzanna has an event scheduled, so I’ll be helping out as well. We can do something tomorrow night, though.”
“Okay. Perhaps Carly can join us?” Mrs. P glanced up at her.
Carly raised her eyebrows. “Sure. I’d love to.”
“You would?” She couldn’t contain the gleeful surprise in her voice, prompted by the tickle in her belly.
“I would,” Carly said softly, and everything else in Wynn’s vision disappeared as she watched her lips form the words and then break into a beautiful smile.
“You two had better get going before someone else adopts that dog.” Mrs. P’s voice broke through the fog.
“You’re adopting another dog?”
“She’s going to get Shadow’s mother.” Mrs. P. had answered before she could get the words out. “Do you have any pets?”
“No. My life is too busy right now, but maybe someday. My family had a cocker spaniel when I was growing up, and I’ve always wanted another one.”
“Well, three would be too many, anyway.” Mrs. P. was getting way ahead of them.
Carly smiled and glanced at Wynn. “Yes. Three probably would.”
“We’ll see you later.” Wynn kissed Mrs. P on the cheek. “Shall we?” She swept her hand in front of her, indicating for Carly to lead the way.
Carly nodded. “It was nice to meet you,” she said as she turned and allowed Wynn’s hand to brush against her back as they walked across the lawn.
“I’ve got everything loaded already, so we’re ready to roll.” She followed Carly around to the passenger side and opened the door for her. “Thank you for coming. I didn’t think I could handle both dogs on my own.”
“Of course. I’m glad you called.” She climbed into the Jeep and settled Shadow on her lap.
On the way to the shelter, Wynn told her the whole story about how she’d adopted Shadow without knowing that Buttercup was her mother. Once she’d found out, she couldn’t bear the thought of her ending up in a bad home.
* * *
They managed to load both dogs into the back of the Jeep before the rain started coming down. The timing sucked, but considering the drought they’d been experiencing, she wouldn’t complain. Carly wasn’t nearly as wet as Wynn. Once they pulled out of the lot and onto the road home, Wynn was silent. She seemed to be somewhere else in her head.
“Are you okay? You’re quiet all of a sudden.”
“I need to tell you that there’s a little more to this story than just adopting Buttercup.” Wynn glanced from the road to Carly. “I need your counseling services.”
“Okay.” The word dragged across her lips like molasses spilling out of the jar. She hadn’t meant for her disappointment to show so clearly, but if Wynn was going to ask her for professional advice, any kind of future relationship with her would be off-limits.
“Not for me. For my neighbor, Jack. He’s a work colleague who wants a dog, but his wife had a bad experience when she was younger and hasn’t gotten over it.”
“Oh.” Relief washed through her, and her voice rose as she smiled. “You want me to help your neighbor’s wife?”
“Yeah. I saved his job today, and he promised to adopt Buttercup if he can convince his wife that she’s harmless.”
“You saved his job?” This woman was a saint.
“Well, we really all saved each other’s. I had a plan, my boss, Evelyn, had a plan, and Jack had a plan. None of them were acceptable to leadership on their own. So I got them together, and we created a compromise.” Wynn hesitated. “Honestly, I was originally going to cut staff and promote myself for the COO position.”
“That sounds pretty cutthroat.” Maybe not so much of a saint after all.
“I know. That’s why I didn’t do it.” She pressed her lips together tightly. “Evelyn isn’t very flexible and wouldn’t listen, so at first I thought it was the only way. But I gave the discussion another shot, and she surprised me today by actually cooperating. We changed the whole plan. Evelyn’s position is solid, and no one else got fired.”
“What about you?”
“I still have the same job I had before, but that’s okay. The company will do well, and I’ll have more opportunities in the future.”
“Opportunities that don’t depend on hurting others?” Back to being a saint.
She nodded. “I don’t want to be that person.” She pulled into the driveway and killed the engine. “The one that steps on other people to get ahead.”
“Look at you.” Carly smiled. “You saved hundreds of jobs today and don’t even realize what an awesome thing that is.”
Wynn shrugged. “I was just doing my job. Only better than I was doing it before.”
“Even so. What you did today was wonderful.” Carly kissed her on the cheek, then crinkled her nose as she caught a whiff of the wet-dog scent filling the Jeep.
Wynn pulled the collar of her shirt to her nose and sniffed. “Is it me that smells so bad?”
Carly let out a laugh. “I think Buttercup needs a bath. She kind of smells like the shelter.”
Wynn got out of the Jeep, opened the back, and let the dogs out. They immediately ran to see Mrs. P, who was still outside tending to her flower garden. “Shit. They’re going to trample her marigolds.” Wynn rushed after them, trying to round them up as Mrs. P shooed them away.
Carly put her hands on her hips and let out a loud whistle that pierced even her own ears. The dogs stopped immediately, as did Wynn and Mrs. P, and looked at her. “Come on, girls,” she shouted, and both dogs came running like they knew who was boss.
Wynn’s eyes widened. “Wow. That sound came out of you?”
“It comes in handy when you’re from a big family and want to say something. My brothers and sisters can get pretty loud and rowdy sometimes.” She took Wynn’s hand, and warmth spread through her. “Come on. I’ll help you get these girls cleaned up.” Being with Wynn was fun, magical even. Nothing had ever felt this right in Carly’s life before.
Bathing Shadow was the easy part, but they’d managed to get themselves completely soaked along with Buttercup. Apparently she thought bath time was playtime and seemed to love the water. Every time they soaped her up, she shook it all off and did the same when they rinsed her. Once they had the dogs semi-dry, Wynn let them out into the backyard to finish drying in the sun, which was now shining. The burst of rain hadn’t lasted long, as usual.
Wynn glanced at her. “To the groomers next time.”
Carly burst out laughing. “Definitely.” She swiped her hands down her coral, V-neck shirt. It was completely soaked. When she glanced up at Wynn, she was watching her with vivid blue eyes, and a sizzling tingle coursed through her and settled gloriously in her belly.
“You probably want to take a shower.” Wynn seemed to fumble the words, which Carly thought was ridiculously cute. “I’m sure I have something you can wear.”
“What? You don’t like my new scent? It’s called Chanel eau de Buttercup,” she said in her best French accent, which didn’t even solicit a laugh.
Wynn moved down the hallway. “You can use my bathroom. There’s no toilet, and the lights in there don’t work, but the window gives a lot of light, and the shower’s fine. Kind of in the middle of a renovation.” Wynn seemed nervous and eager to get away from her. “I’ll clean this up and shower in here.”
“I don’t mind helping.”
Wynn swallowed hard. “You’ve already helped me so much.” She took a couple of towels from the hall closet as she led her through the master bedroom to the bathroom. She set the towels on the counter. “I’ll get you some clothes.” She took a T-shirt and shorts from her dresser and handed them to Carly, then stood in the doorway looking absolutely gorgeous. “Take your time.” She remained in the doorway for another moment before backing out of the room and closing the door.
God, she was captivating. Wynn had just the right amount of confidence and vulnerability. She had Carly completely turned on without even trying. What was she going to do about this?