1225 Christmas Tree Lane - Debbie Macomber [28]
“Mom sewed those for her and Dad’s first Christmas,” Bailey was telling Danielle when Beth came back.
“The hot chocolate is even better than I remember.” Kent spoke quickly, breaking into his daughter’s reminiscence.
“I make good hot chocolate, too,” Danielle said. “I’m an excellent cook. I want you to try my macaroni and cheese.”
“Uh, sure.” Kent looked decidedly uncomfortable.
Danielle beamed. “I have a special cooking trick. You start with the boxed kind and then you just add stuff. My secret is to put ketchup in the water when I cook the noodles.”
“I’ll have to try that myself,” Beth said politely, trying not to cringe. Difficult as it was, she turned her mind away from Kent and his…friend. She hated to admit this, but she was jealous of Danielle.
Danielle sneezed once, loudly. So loudly, in fact, that it startled Beth and Princess, too. The sneeze sounded like a moose in heat—or what Beth imagined that would sound like.
“Oh, sorry,” Danielle said, clearly embarrassed.
“Bless you,” Sophie said.
Bailey handed Danielle a tissue.
“Thank you.” She noisily blew her nose. “It’s that dog,” she said, pointing an accusing finger at Princess. “I’m allergic to dogs.”
“Oh, you should’ve said something earlier.” Beth immediately collected Princess and took her to the kennel outside. Even with Princess out of the room, there was still Roscoe, sleeping beside the fireplace. While Beth kept a tidy house, there was bound to be dog hair everywhere. It was the perfect excuse to send Kent and Danielle on their merry way.
“Beth.”
Kent met her on the back porch as she returned from the kennel. He kept his hands in his pockets, his arms held close to his body to ward off the cold. He followed Beth inside, to the laundry room. One of the five remaining puppies jumped up, balancing his paws against her calf. Beth automatically reached down and brought him into her arms, resting her cheek against his soft head.
“Listen,” Kent said. “I hadn’t planned to bring Danielle with me. It’s just that—”
“Don’t worry about it.”
She carefully put the puppy back on the floor. She attempted to brush off his apology because her heart was doing crazy things. With the two of them in such a small space, the atmosphere was intimate, and with both doors closed it was private. All she needed to do was lean forward ever so slightly and their lips would meet…
Where did that idea come from? She couldn’t give in to the impulse. But it seemed so natural to kiss Kent, to press her mouth to his. Beth immediately opened the door leading into the house.
Unfortunately, she forgot about the puppies. An open door was an opportunity and they took it. They shot out of the room as though fleeing a burning building.
Beth rushed after them and Kent did, too. He trapped one by falling to his knees and had him back inside the laundry room seconds later. Beth wasn’t nearly as lucky. Seizing their opportunity, the other four dashed in different directions.
Beth knew the instant one of the puppies made it into the family room because Danielle let out a squeal. “Get that dog,” she cried, apparently to one or both of the girls. Her command was followed by another moose-in-heat sneeze.
Beth hurried into the room. “I’m so sorry,” she said, and she was. She’d had no intention of freeing the puppies when she’d opened the door. The truth was she’d completely forgotten they were there.
Bailey grabbed one puppy and Sophie another. Beth scooped up the third. The last one made a beeline for the Christmas tree and got tangled in the bottom garland.
“Get those dogs out of here,” Danielle shouted between sneezes. “Oh, good grief, there’s another one. What is this place—a puppy mill?”
“My mother would never—”
“It’s all right,” Beth said, cutting Bailey off. “Danielle is understandably upset. I apologize, Danielle. I opened the door without realizing—”
“You did that on purpose!”
“Danielle,” Kent said, his voice calm and reasonable, unlike hers. “It was an honest mistake.”
The other woman sank down on the sofa and held a wad of tissues to her nose before she sneezed three times