Christmastime Courtship Read online

  “Right,” he muttered, less than pleased.

  He was still standing there, looking down at the drawing, as she hurried out the door.

  Chapter Seven

  Colin frowned. He needed to have his head examined. He obviously wasn’t thinking clearly.

  Or maybe at all.

  Why else would he be out here, parked across the street from Bedford’s no-kill animal shelter, waiting for that overachieving do-gooder to come out?

  As far as he knew, he was free and clear, which meant that he could go on with his life without being subjected to any more taxing, annoying requests.

  So why the hell was he here, willingly putting himself in that woman’s path again? Why would he be setting himself up like this?

  It wasn’t as if he didn’t know what Miranda was like. He’d learned that she was the kind of person who, if given an inch, wanted not just a mile but to turn it into an entire freeway.

  Colin sighed. Knowing that, what was he doing out here?

  Satisfying his own curiosity, he supposed.

  A curiosity, he reminded himself, he hadn’t even been aware of possessing a short while ago—not until life had thrown that woman into his path and she’d come charging at him like some kind of undersized, stampeding unicorn.

  Damn it, go home, Kirby, he ordered himself, straightening up beside his vehicle. Go home before anyone mistakes you for some kind of stalker and calls someone from the department on you.

  He’d talked himself out of being here and was just about to open his car door when he heard the sound of metal scraping on concrete across the street. A second later, he realized that the gates in front of the animal shelter were being opened.

  Someone was coming out.

  Colin’s suspicions were confirmed a heartbeat later when he heard someone calling his name.

  “Officer Kirby, is that you?”

  He froze.

  You should have been faster, he upbraided himself. Better yet, he shouldn’t have been here to begin with.

  Caught, he turned around, to see Miranda hurrying across the street toward him.

  She wasn’t alone.

  She had a lumbering, overly excited German shepherd running with her. Miranda appeared to be hanging on to the leash for dear life. At first glance, it was difficult to say exactly who had who in tow.

  Both woman and dog reached him before he had a chance to finish his thought.

  Her four-footed companion suddenly reared up on its hind legs and came within an inch of planting a pair of powerful-looking front paws against his chest.

  “You sure you can handle him?” Colin asked, far from pleased and moving back just in time to escape the encounter.

  “Her,” Miranda corrected, tugging harder on the leash. “It’s a her.”

  That, in his opinion, was not the point. Whether the animal was too much for her was.

  “Whatever.” He never took his eyes off the dog. “You look like you’ve met your match,” he told her as he took another step back.

  “Down, Lola,” Miranda ordered in an authoritative voice. The mountain of a dog immediately dropped to all four legs, resuming her initial position. “Good girl,” Miranda praised, petting the German shepherd’s head while continuing to maintain a firm hold on the leash with her other hand. Her attention shifted to Colin. “You’re not afraid of a frisky puppy, are you, Officer?”

  Colin continued eyeing the animal cautiously. “That all depends on whether or not that ‘puppy’ is bigger than I am.”

  “Don’t let Lola scare you,” Miranda told him. “She was just excited to see you.” She petted the dog again. Lola seemed to curl into her hand. “I think she sees everyone as a potential master.”

  “Uh-huh.” He wasn’t all that sure he was buying this. Colin continued to regard the dog warily.

  “Heel, Lola,” she ordered, when the dog started to move in Colin’s direction again. When Lola obeyed, Miranda looked at the police officer, wondering what he was doing here. This was not his usual patrolling area, and he was out of uniform. “Were you waiting for me, Officer Kirby?” she asked.

  The expression on her face was nothing short of amused. A week ago, seeing an expression like that, seemingly at his expense, would have been enough for him to take offense, but for some reason now, he didn’t.

  Instead, he let it ride. Reaching into the back seat of his car, he took out the drawing she’d given him the other day at the precinct. “I came by to give you this.”

  Lola’s ears perked up and the animal looked as if she was debating whether or not the drawing he was holding was something to eat.

  Miranda pulled a little on the leash, drawing the dog back.

  “That’s not for you, Lola,” she informed the eager German shepherd. Her eyes shifted back to the police officer. “Why are you giving it to me?” she asked. “Lily drew it for you. She wanted you to have it. It was her way of saying thank you.”

  Colin shrugged. “Yeah, well, I don’t have anyplace to put it,” he told her, still holding out the drawing.

  He kept one eye on the German shepherd to make sure Lola didn’t grab a chunk out of the poster board. He didn’t want it, but there was no reason to let it be destroyed.

  Holding the dog’s leash tightly, Miranda made no effort to take the drawing from him. Instead, she looked at the tall, imposing police officer. The solemn expression in his eyes convinced her more than ever that the man needed fixing.

  “You don’t have any closets?”

  “Of course I have closets,” he retorted. What kind of question was that? Did she think he lived in a public park?

  “Well, you could put the drawing in one of your closets,” she suggested helpfully. “That is, if you don’t want to hang it on your refrigerator.”

  Still not taking it from him, she glanced at the drawing. Thinking back, Miranda could remember producing something like that herself when she was younger than Lily. Hers had been of her parents and herself—and Daisy, her father’s beloved Doberman. That had stayed on display on the fridge for almost a year.

  “Most people put artwork like that on their refrigerator,” she added, smiling encouragingly. This was all undoubtedly alien to him. “You must be new at this.”

  Colin furrowed his brow in concentration as he wondered what made this woman tick—and why she seemed to have singled him out like this. “I guess I’m new at a lot of things,” he observed.

  Her smile turned almost dazzling. “Hey, even God had a first day.”

  He thought of the last few days since he’d run into this sorceress. She made him behave in a manner that was completely foreign to his normal mode of operation. Exactly what was this secret power she seemed to have that caused him to act so out of character?

  “Not like this,” he murmured under his breath.

  He heard Miranda laugh in response. The sound was light, breezy, reminding him of the spring wind that was still three months away.

  For some reason, an image of bluebells in his mother’s garden flashed through his mind, catching him completely by surprise. He hadn’t thought of his mom’s garden for more than twenty-two years.

  He shook his head, as if to free himself of the memory and the wave of emotion that came with it. Colin felt as if he was getting all turned around.

  “Is something wrong, Officer?” Miranda asked, concerned.

  “You mean other than the fact that I should be home nursing a beer, instead of standing out here trying to make you take back this drawing?” Colin asked, exasperated.

  “It’s not my drawing to take,” Miranda reminded him. “Lily wanted you to have it.” And then she abruptly switched subjects. “Seriously? A beer?” she asked. “What about dinner?”

  Colin stared at her. “Is this mothering-smotherin
g thing of yours just something that spills out without warning, or do you have to summon it?” he asked.

  She ignored his question. Instead, she made a quick judgment call.

  “Tell you what,” she said. “I owe you a dinner. Why don’t you come on over to my place and I’ll make it?”

  “What?” he cried, dumbfounded. There was no way he could have heard her correctly.

  “I’d offer to come over to your place and make dinner there—you know, familiar surroundings and all that to keep you from getting skittish—but I’ve got a feeling the only things in your refrigerator, now that we’ve established the fact that you have one, are probably half-empty cartons of ten-day-old Chinese takeout. Maybe eleven days.”

  He continued to stare at her, as close to being overwhelmed as he had ever been.

  When she finally stopped talking for a moment, he jumped in and took advantage of it. “You done yet?”

  “That depends,” she answered, lifting her chin as if getting ready for a fight. “Are you coming?”

  “No,” he said flatly.

  “Then I’m not done.” Glancing at the dog by her side, she added, “I have a very persuasive companion right here who could help me make my argument. All things considered, I’d suggest that you avoid her attempts to convince you to see things my way and just agree to come along to my place.”

  Damn it, this was insane. But he could actually feel himself weakening. He really did need to have his head examined.

  Colin put on the most solemn expression he had at his disposal. “You know, there’re laws against kidnapping police officers.”

  Rather than back away, Miranda leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with humor. “Not if, ultimately, that police officer decides to come along willingly.”

  Then, as if on cue, Colin’s stomach began to rumble and growl. Audibly.

  Miranda smiled broadly. “I think your stomach is siding with Lola and me,” she told him.

  Colin scowled in response. She continued to hold her ground. He had to be crazy, but he found himself actually admiring her tenacity. If he had an iota of sense, he’d jump in his car and get the hell out of here.

  But he didn’t.

  “That dog couldn’t care less one way or another,” he told her, thinking that might blow apart her argument and finally get her to back off.

  She studied him for a long moment. Lola tugged on her leash, leaning forward as far as she could, but Miranda continued regarding the man before her, and seemed practically oblivious to the German shepherd. She was mulling over his response.

  “You never had a pet when you were growing up, did you?” she asked Colin.

  “Why would you say that?”

  Miranda smiled. She had her answer. He hadn’t told her she was wrong—which told her she was right.

  “Because of what you just said,” she murmured. “If you’d ever had one, you’d know that pets, especially dogs, do care about their humans.”

  He had her there, he thought. “I’m not her human,” Colin pointed out.

  “No, but at least for now, I am, and I care about you,” she told him. “Lola picked up on that.”

  That was all so wrong, he didn’t even know where to start.

  “First of all, you said you were probably going to take a German shepherd home to give him—her—” he corrected, “a foster home. That means you’re taking this dog home for the first time. She doesn’t know a thing about you and she’s not really your dog yet,” he stressed. “And second of all—or maybe this should be first—” he said pointedly, “why the hell should you care if I have anything in my house to eat or not?”

  Miranda never blinked once during what he considered to be his well-constructed argument. Instead, she looked at him, totally unfazed, and when he was done she asked, “Why shouldn’t I?”

  “Because we’re strangers, damn it,” he muttered in exasperation. “You don’t know me,” he added for good measure. Why didn’t this woman get that?

  In a calm voice, she went on to quietly refute his argument.

  “You pulled me over to give me a ticket, then didn’t after I explained why I went over the speed limit and where I was going.” She paused for a moment, then told him what she felt in her heart had been his crowning achievement. “And then when I told you that Lily’s mother was missing, you found her.”

  He felt like he was hitting his head against a brick wall. No matter what he said, she kept turning it into something positive.

  “That wasn’t my doing,” he told her, repeating what he’d said the other day. “That all happened by accident.”

  Despite the fact that he had raised his voice, the woman just didn’t seem to hear his protest. Or if she did, she wasn’t listening. Instead, she went on to make her point.

  “You came to the shelter to tell Lily her mother was at the hospital—when you didn’t have to—and then you went out of your way to go with us to the hospital—when you didn’t have to.”

  “Damn it, you’re twisting things,” he shouted.

  At the sound of his raised voice, Lola pulled forward, as if to protect her.

  “Stay!” Miranda ordered, stilling the anxious dog. And then she looked at Colin. “Why are you so afraid of having people think of you as a good guy?”

  “Because I’m not,” he insisted.

  She inclined her head. “I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree on that point,” she told him philosophically.

  “We don’t have to do anything,” he retorted impatiently.

  She smiled at him knowingly. “I think that you might see things differently on a full stomach. Here’s my address,” she told him, pausing to take a card out of her shoulder bag and handing it to him. “You might find it easier to just follow me,” she suggested.

  “I might find it easier to just go home,” he contradicted.

  About to cross back to her vehicle, Miranda stopped and sent him a smile that seemed to corkscrew right through his gut.

  “No, you won’t.” She said it with such certainty, she stunned him. And then his stomach rumbled again. “See?” she said. “Your stomach agrees with me. Just get in your car and follow me. And after dinner, you’re free to go home. I promise.”

  Heaven help him, she made it sound appealing. And he was hungry. Involved in a car chase this afternoon, he’d wound up skipping lunch, and his stomach was protesting being ignored for so long.

  He shifted gears, going on the attack. “You know, it’s dangerous to hand out your address like that,” he told her.

  Miranda smiled again, running her hand over Lola’s head and petting the dog. “I’m not worried,” she answered. “I have protection.”

  Colin decided to keep his peace and made no comment in response. He’d already lost enough arguments today.

  Besides, he was hungry.

  Chapter Eight

  Colin nearly turned his car around.

  Twice.

  However, each time, he wound up curbing his impulse and talking himself into continuing to follow Miranda. He knew that if he didn’t show up at her place for that dinner she seemed so bent on making for him, she would show up at his precinct tomorrow just as sure as day followed night. Probably with some sort of picnic lunch or something like that.

  That was the last thing he wanted or needed.

  Colin muttered a few choice words under his breath and kept going.

  He might as well get this over with, and then maybe the book would finally be closed: he had done a good deed in her eyes and she paid him back with a dinner she’d made for him—hopefully not poisoning him in the process.

  Caught up in his thoughts, Colin missed the last right turn Miranda took.

  Watching his rearview mirror, he backed his vehicle up slowly, then turned righ
t. When he did, he saw that her car was halfway up the block in front of him. Idling.

  Miranda was obviously waiting for him to catch up.

  Once he came up behind her, she started driving again.

  His gut told him that he’d been right. There was absolutely no way this woman would have allowed him to skip having this payback dinner with her.

  Her house turned out to be two residential blocks farther on. It was a small, tidy-looking one-story structure that seemed to almost exude warmth.

  He caught himself thinking that it suited her.

  Miranda parked her vehicle in the driveway. He parked his at the curb. It allowed for a faster getaway if it wound up coming to that, he thought.

  She got out of the car, then opened the passenger door for the dog she’d brought home. Lola jumped down onto the driveway and they both stood at the side of her vehicle, waiting for him to come up the front walk.

  “Don’t trust me?” Colin asked, just the slightest bit amused, when he reached her.

  “We just wanted to welcome you, that’s all,” she told him, nodding toward the German shepherd, which had somehow become part of this impromptu dinner.

  Leading the way, Miranda went up to her front door and unlocked it, then walked inside, still holding on to Lola’s leash.

  She threw a switch that was right next to the door. Light flooded the living room.

  “Welcome back to your home, Lola,” she cheerfully told the dog. After bending to remove the leash, she dropped it on the small table that was just a few feet beyond the entrance.

  “She’s been here before?” Colin asked. From what she’d said earlier, he thought Miranda was bringing the dog home with her for the first time.

  “A couple of times,” Miranda answered. “It was kind of a dry run to see how she fared in my house.”

  “And how did she?” he asked, shrugging out of his jacket as he walked into the house.

  Miranda smiled. “Well. She fared well.”

  Colin was about to make a flippant comment in response, but he’d just glanced around and his attention had been completely absorbed by what he saw.