Avery sipped at her coffee and watched as Jake worked the fellowship hall. He fit in a little better today, wearing a casual sport coat and slacks, though she was certain his clothing was of much finer quality than anything her friends and neighbors could afford. Everything was clearly tailored to fit his tall, muscular build, and the look worked for him.
She might not like him, but even so, she had to admit he was quite an attractive man.
He hadn’t waited five minutes after the church service was over before he’d headed straight for the fellowship hall, his smile in place and motivation shining from his eyes. He was a man with a purpose. Too bad she couldn’t make a public announcement to warn her friends and neighbors that he had an ulterior motive for being here. He was giving the word fellowship a brand-new meaning.
As far as she could tell, he wasn’t approaching anyone specifically—at least not yet. The entire town council was in the room, and Avery knew every single one of them, not that she would point them out to Jake. She didn’t know whether or not Jake had learned all their names and faces, although from what little he’d said to her so far, she suspected he had a thick dossier of information on every important individual in town and knew exactly who he should be rubbing elbows with.
It would be interesting to watch how he operated.
But when he suddenly approached two of her sisters, Avery moved so fast she spilled hot coffee on her pants. Brilliant idea, telling Jake in advance that her sisters were the other ones with dogs by their sides. They wouldn’t see him coming.
She mentally smacked her forehead with her palm. Even if she had decided not to go into detail, she definitely should have mentioned her earlier meeting with Jake sometime during the dinner conversation these last few days. But it had never seemed the right time because, though it was about Jake, it went beyond his arrival in town and their unexpected meeting at the Meyers’ cabin.
If Jake got to her sisters first, before she could explain how she already knew him, who knew what kind of stories he would have to tell about their memorable first meeting?
“Jake,” she called, causing him to turn around to look at her.
His smile appeared welcoming and genuine. Then again, he believed he had the upper hand. Why wouldn’t he be smiling?
“Let me introduce you to two of my sisters,” she said, feeling out of breath even though she’d only dashed across the room. “This is Felicity and this is Ruby. Ladies, meet Jake Cutter, who is visiting town with his mom and daughter.”
Both of her sisters slid her questioning glances, obviously wondering why she was making the introductions to a man who was completely new to town. She could see it in their eyes.
“I ran into him when I was...out the other day.”
“Funny that you didn’t mention him before now,” Ruby prodded playfully.
Jake took a step back and clasped at his chest as if he were having a heart attack. “You didn’t say anything to your family about my dashing good looks and charming personality? I’m mortally wounded.”
Of course he was only teasing, but Avery had to work hard not to roll her eyes at the blatant arrogance behind his words.
“Well, there is that. You are quite good-looking, although you know it’s kind of conceited to toot your own horn. Are you telling us you’re single?” Felicity asked, bringing color to Jake’s cheeks.
As far as Avery was concerned, he deserved whatever he got.
He paused before speaking, clearly taken aback. “Uh...I’m a widower.”
“I’m so sorry,” Avery said and meant it. She really didn’t want to get into Jake’s private life in any way, but she’d always been naturally empathetic and hadn’t missed the flash of pain and grief that had momentarily crossed his face.
Even a man like Jake deserved her compassion.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice tight and his Adam’s apple bobbing. “It’s been tough raising my daughter on my own, but my mother is a great blessing to me.”
“Lottie is a total sweetheart,” Avery said.
Again, she noticed sadness creeping into his gaze. But just as quickly as it appeared, his charming smile was back.
“You know,” he said, clearly deflecting, “Avery did mention she had sisters when we were talking earlier. She told me to look for the ladies with the dogs at their sides. But she didn’t say a thing about how beauty runs in the family.”
Ruby’s eyes widened, and she threw back her head, laughing out loud. “I do believe this one’s a keeper, Avery. You’d better grab him now while you have the opportunity.”
“Why would you think—” Avery started to ask, but Jake gave a delighted Texas whoop that caught the attention of most of the people in the room. Now it was Avery who was blushing, her face feeling as if it was on fire.
Why on earth would her sisters get the impression she wanted to date the man? Even without knowing she and Jake were on opposite sides of a property dispute, they knew why Avery would avoid getting tangled up with Jake and his family.
Because even if things were different and they weren’t arm wrestling over her bed-and-breakfast, Jake had a child. And the fact that Lottie was so precious was even more of a reason for her to steer clear of developing any personal relationship with the Cutter family.
Loving and losing in a romantic relationship was one thing. Loving and losing a man with a family was a whole other thing entirely. She’d been through it once several years ago with a local man named T.J., the only serious relationship she’d ever had, and it would never, ever happen again. Never seeing T.J. after she’d broken up with him was a given, but she’d spent so much time with his son, Oliver, that to suddenly be no longer a part of the boy’s life—that was so much harder than she could ever have imagined.
Avery knew she couldn’t withstand a second heartbreak.
“I’m here in town for a while doing some work for Marston Enterprises. Have you heard of them?” Jake asked.
Her sisters glanced at each other and shook their heads.
“No, sorry,” said Ruby.
“Seriously? It’s a huge company. I’m surprised no one around here seems to have heard of us. We have major resorts located in Aspen and Vail and several more around the country.”
“Resorts?” Felicity echoed.
“The high-end kind,” Avery cut in, noticing her bitter tone only after the words were out of her mouth. “The ones that offer the kind of spa days we could never afford if we saved for a month.”
His half smile turned into laughter. “Is that what’s bothering you? Tell you what. How about I make sure you all get coupons for an all-expenses-paid spa day on me? Does that sound good?”
Avery narrowed her eyes on him while her sisters cooed in delight and clapped their hands. They hadn’t had time to think through the ramifications the way she had. Jake was simply trying to buy their goodwill, and she was having none of it.
He’d have to do a lot better than a spa day. Avery was thinking more of a decision not to use Whispering Pines at all or her cabin in particular.
“Where’s your mom and Lottie?” Avery asked, folding her arms across her chest in an unconsciously defensive gesture. She’d rather speak to Elaine than Jake, anyway.
Jake snapped his fingers and winked at her.
“Lottie was getting antsy so my mom took her out to the car. I told them I’d only be another ten minutes, and that was a good fifteen minutes ago. Thanks for reminding me. Nice meeting you, ladies. I’d better run, but I hope we’ll be able to talk another time.”
“I imagine we will,” Avery said under her breath, though honestly, she’d rather not if she could avoid it.
At least Ruby had the decency to wait until Jake was completely out of earshot before she spoke up.
“Do you want to tell us what that was all about?”
Avery feigned ignorance. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh, come on,” Ruby pressed. “There was clearly something going on between the two of you. Spill it, girl, because it makes no sense to Felicity and me. He seems like a genuinely nice guy and definitely paid special attention to you, and yet you looked as if you wanted to toss him out on his ear.”
“That’s not such a bad idea,” Avery admitted.
“He said you two already knew each other. When did you meet him?” Ruby asked.
“And where?” Felicity added. “And maybe most important, why didn’t you say anything about it? He’s too cute to ignore.”
“Well, you know how it’s been a dream of mine to open a bed-and-breakfast where guests of the service-dog program could stay while they’re going through the training program? Recently, I’ve started putting that dream into action. Lisa Gibbons has been helping me look around for some place I can remodel into a workable B and B.”
“That’s fantastic news!” Ruby exclaimed. “Why is this the first we’ve heard of this? You should have told us.”
Avery shrugged, and her face heated. “I don’t know. Honestly, I guess I just wanted it to be a surprise. You know how I am. I’d rather have all the puzzle pieces fitted together to make a full picture before I go and blurt the news to everyone else.”
“So, I take it you found a place you like?” Felicity asked. “Does this have something to do with Jake?”
Avery groaned. “It has everything to do with Jake. Lisa helped me find this absolutely perfect cabin. You probably know the one—the Meyers used to live there? It won’t even take that much construction work to make it into a bed-and-breakfast, although admittedly it will take a lot of elbow grease. But that’s half the fun, right? I fell in love with it the moment I set eyes on it.”
“Let me guess,” Felicity said. “That would be the exact spot where Jake and his ginormous company want to open their resort.”
“Exactly. He—well, like you said, his company—intends to buy up all the land in that area, including where my cabin sits. And you know what he plans to do with my lovely cabin? Knock it down!”
“I guess that explains the icy wall between the two of you. Can’t you convince him to look elsewhere?” Felicity asked.
“Apparently, Marston has already made their final decision. Now it’s up to Jake to convince the town council the resort will be a good thing for Whispering Pines and make sure the zoning works for them.”
“But apart from your cabin, you don’t think it would be a good idea to build a resort here?”
“I don’t know. I want to say no because I’m afraid of what that kind of resort might do to our small town. Yes, it has the potential to bring in new customers to our existing businesses, and that could theoretically be good for the town.
“Or not. From what Jake said, it will be a high-end resort which will draw in the rich and famous, and I can’t help but see that going the wrong way. You’ve been to Aspen. I’m afraid to go into any of the shops there because I might accidentally bump into something and break it, and it would end up costing me my whole year’s salary. And I wonder what would happen to all of our local businesses once they build here.”
“Well, it could bring in more customers for the locals and benefit everyone,” Ruby said hesitantly. “Our shops wouldn’t necessarily have to close—just adapt. I can see it working in our favor.”
“Or, it could bring in more business for the locals and benefit everyone,” Avery echoed petulantly. “Which is why this is so difficult for me.”
“Because the real point is the cabin, right? That it’s the one you’ve been waiting and watching for and you don’t want to give up on it? A heart thing?”
“Exactly. A heart thing. I took one look at it and I knew it was perfect for me. More so than I can even express in words. Which is why this is so difficult.”
“Then, we need to share this situation with the rest of the family and get everyone praying about it.”
Shame flooded through Avery. Of course she should include her family. That’s what she should have done in the first place, the very day she’d met Jake. She should have shared her burden about the cabin with her family and asked them to pray with her.
Because she might be too small to take on a giant Goliath like Marston Enterprises on her own, but God wasn’t.
Tuesday afternoon, Jake decided to take Lottie out for pizza. He’d seen a pizza place on the main street, Lone Elk Avenue, and had tucked the location in the back of his mind. Sharing a pizza together was a tradition they’d had since Lottie was old enough to eat whole foods. Pepperoni pizza with extra cheese was her favorite, so he ordered a whole pepperoni pizza and one extra slice loaded with everything except anchovies for him.
He was really enjoying his time in Whispering Pines. Everyone was so open and friendly with him and his family. He’d spent a lot of time in small towns while traveling for work, but none of them compared to this one. Everyone knew everybody else in a special way, and neighbors really cared for each other. He’d seen youngsters shoveling snow for the elderly, and several folks had stopped by their cabin with welcome packages, even though they would only be in Whispering Pines for a relatively short amount of time.
Sally, the owner of Sally’s Pizza, had even come out from the back of the restaurant to introduce herself before personally taking their order.
The bell over the door rang, and Jake automatically glanced up to see who’d entered. To his surprise, it was Avery, and as usual, she had a dog with her, this time a medium-size, golden-haired pup who hopped and swung around in circles, a regular bundle of energy Jake thought must be difficult to work with. Yet with one word, Avery settled the dog at her side and approached the counter.
“Avery,” he called out before he could think better of it.
She turned around, looking dumbstruck. She was probably just as surprised to see him here. It was strange. They couldn’t even go get a slice of pizza without bumping into each other.
At least he had Lottie with him this time. His adorable daughter was sure to help make their interaction a little less awkward. Lottie was as cute as they came, with her dark curly hair, button nose and baby-toothed smile. He might be biased, but even if Avery could resist him, she’d surely be won over by Lottie.
And they wouldn’t be able to have any serious conversations, which was a big plus.
Avery gave her order to the girl behind the counter and made her way over to where Jake and Lottie were seated.
“Hello! What are you up to?” Avery asked Lottie.
“Eating pizza,” Lottie answered excitedly, beaming up at Avery and kicking her legs back and forth on the bench.
“It looks delicious,” Avery said. “My favorite kind of pizza is pepperoni, too. With extra cheese, of course.”
“Why don’t you join us?” Jake asked with his usual grin, hoping for once it would win Avery over.
“Oh, no, I...”
He lifted an eyebrow, waiting for her to come up with an excuse, but she apparently couldn’t think of a reasonable explanation for walking away.
“Yeah, okay. I suppose I can join you, but just for a few minutes. I have a truck full of dog food and a kennel of hungry dogs back at the house waiting for me.”
“Which dog is this?” Jake asked as Lottie reached out to pet the honey-colored dog.
“Her name is Sissy. She’s a golden retriever. We think she’s purebred, though we don’t know for sure.”
“Pretty doggy,” Lottie said as Sissy lapped up her attention, nosing her and licking her palm.
“She sure is. She has a gorgeous coat, doesn’t she? Sissy is currently my favorite, actually. I’ve been doing a lot of work with her. She was abandoned as a puppy—dumped on our doorstep, if you can believe it. I had to bottle-feed her every two hours around the clock until she was old enough to eat wet solids, so I feel especially close to her. She’s my baby.”
A smile lingered on her lips, one of the few genuine smiles Jake had seen. He noted that she was especially pretty when she wasn’t stressed, when she was talking about something she really cared about.
“How old is she now?” Jake asked. Her dogs appeared to be a safe topic to speak about.
It occurred to him a second time that since she appeared so relaxed and open, he might be able to use this opportunity to try to come to some kind of business agreement, but he quickly brushed those thoughts aside in favor of simply getting to know her better. Besides, this was his special time with Lottie, not time for talking business.
“A little over two years old. As you probably saw when we first entered the restaurant, she still has a lot of puppy energy, but her training is nearly complete. I’ll hate to see her go when the time comes, but she’s going to be a real blessing to someone special.”
“I’m sure she will be. You said your program does more than train dogs for the blind. What else do they do?”
“You’d be surprised at the range of assistance a service dog can offer,” she said. She paused to thank Sally when she brought out her slice of pepperoni with extra cheese and a slice of meat pizza all boxed up to go.
She blew on the pizza, then took a bite, dabbing her mouth with a napkin before she continued.
“We’ve placed a dog for a person who is deaf, several hospital-therapy dogs, search-and-rescue and crisis-therapy dogs, among others. Recently, my sister Molly got married. Her stepson is on the autism spectrum, and one of our dogs really fit the bill to help him understand and process his world.”
“You trained a dog to help a boy with autism? Wow, I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
“We’ve done some psychiatric service-dog work in the past, but this dog, a Great Dane named Rufus, was amazing. We had no idea. Molly was just out with Rufus one day when he suddenly showed us where he belonged. Without prompting, he took to little Judah as if he’d been specially made for him. Everyone could see it.”
“That is incredible.” Jake could barely put his amazement into words. He’d never even imagined dogs could be so useful.
“I know, right?” Avery actually smiled at him before biting into her pizza again. Another real smile, not the tight, gritted-teeth variety she’d given him since they’d met.
He tried to ignore what that smile did to his insides. He had to stay focused on the end goal, and that wasn’t Avery. If anything, the woman was standing right in his way, blocking the puck, so to speak.
Suddenly, Sissy, who had been lying down quietly next to Avery’s foot, whined and wiggled over closer to the other side of the bench where the child was sitting, repeatedly nudging Lottie’s chest with her nose and licking her chin.
With a curious gleam in her eye, Avery called her off, but Sissy ignored her and continued her ministrations to the little girl, completely focused on Lottie.
“That’s odd,” Avery said, her brow lowering. “It’s not at all like Sissy to ignore a direct command. Something’s wrong.”
As he stared as his daughter, Jake’s face heated as he watched the dog and realized in hindsight he probably should not have let Lottie pet Sissy before she’d finished her pizza, or at least he ought to insist she go wash her hands now that the dog was touching her again right in the middle of their meal.
What kind of father was he, anyway?
It didn’t really surprise him that she was more interested in the dog than the pizza, having begged for one so many times since she’d learned how to speak. But he ought to be more aware of things like hand-washing. It was times like this that made him feel as if he was never going to be able to live up to becoming the kind of parent Lottie deserved. And although he couldn’t imagine why it mattered, he didn’t want to come off looking like a slacker dad to Avery.
“Daddy?” Lottie said, her voice high, squeaky and frightened.
“Yes, honey?” he said, immediately locking his attention on his daughter. Something in the tone of her voice alerted him.
It was no longer about the dog, although Sissy was still persistently nuzzling her. Lottie had a strange look on her face—an expression Jake knew all too well.
“I don’t feel so good.”
“Sweetheart?” Jake asked.
Sissy barked and nudged Lottie again. Suddenly, his darling girl stiffened like a board and clutched at the edge of the table, her face blanching as, in her spasmodic movements, her arm bumped her glass, spilling water all across the table.
Because he was sitting across the table from her, Jake couldn’t immediately react. But before he could so much as move a muscle, Avery had scooped Lottie into her arms. She knelt down on the floor with her and tenderly laid her on her side. Avery folded her jacket and gently placed it under Lottie’s head, her knees on either side of her and her hands steady near Lottie’s cheeks so she wouldn’t hurt herself.
Avery’s expression was full of concern, but she appeared to know what she was doing, even though Jake hadn’t yet offered a word of explanation as to what was going on with his daughter.
“It’s okay, Lottie. Your daddy and I are right here.” Avery spoke loudly, reassuringly and evenly. “You’re going to be all right, sweetheart. We’re not going anywhere.”
Jake dropped to his knees beside his daughter and gently stroked her shoulder. He knew she could hear him, even if she couldn’t directly respond to his voice. “Daddy’s here. Daddy loves you. Hang in there, sweetie. It’s okay. You’re going to be just fine.”
Suddenly, the dog was down beside them, wiggling underneath Jake’s arm so she could be closer to Lottie, stretching herself out at the child’s side.
Instead of freaking out at the child’s uncomfortable movements and darting away from the little girl, Sissy put her head across Lottie’s chest and gently licked her chin until the seizure had come to an end.
Was there such a thing as an epilepsy-support dog? Jake had never heard of such a thing, but then, he hadn’t ever heard of an autism-support dog, either. The way Sissy was acting right now, it seemed as though the dog instinctively knew what was happening. Now that he thought of it, Sissy had alerted them even before Lottie showed signs that she was going to have a seizure.
Finally, Lottie’s seizure wound down, and Jake met Avery’s compassionate gaze as she stroked the hair away from his daughter’s forehead.
“Epilepsy?” Avery whispered.
His heart aching until he thought it might burst from pain, Jake nodded.