Читать книгу Rescuing Christmas - Kathie DeNosky - Страница 12

TANSY SOMETIMES FORGOT people, but she never forgot an animal, especially when that animal was connected to tragedy. Now she remembered why Ben was familiar. He’d been the sobbing teenager who’d brought his one-eyed orange tabby to the vet’s office where she’d volunteered after school.

But she didn’t think he’d appreciate knowing that she’d been the sixteen-year-old girl who’d held him while he cried that day, so she kept the information to herself. After she got home, she’d looked for him in her high school yearbook, but he hadn’t been there. He’d slipped in and out of her life without a trace.

And now, twelve years later, here he was sitting right next to her. Max continued to attach himself to Ben’s lap as if Velcroed to his jeans, while Tansy went back to exclaiming over the still shots. When they finished with those, Ben propped the camcorder on her desk and shared the videos he’d taken.

Although they both behaved as if nothing had changed, everything had changed for Tansy. The pieces of the puzzle that made up an image of Ben Rhodes were coming together. He’d said Mickey died at ten, so he’d likely had the cat since he was a young boy. Judging from the depth of his grief that day, Tansy suspected Mickey had been the only pet and possibly the best friend of a lonely boy.

After Mickey had taken his last breath, Ben had charged out the door, his face contorted with pain. Days later an envelope stuffed with cash had arrived at the vet’s office, along with a scrawled note of thanks. The vet had shown both to Tansy, but there was no return address, no phone number, no contact information at all.

With their unconditional love and devotion, it was easy for animals to become a person’s lifeline. If Mickey had been that for Ben, she could understand why Ben might have decided that loving an animal made him too vulnerable. She understood, but it made her sad.

She felt especially sad when she looked at Max, who acted as if he’d finally found his soul mate. As he sat contentedly purring on Ben’s lap, he wasn’t the same cat who refused even the slightest caress from any of the other employees and volunteers. During a break in phone calls at reception, she asked Faye to come over and witness the miracle.

Faye stared at Max in disbelief. “I’ll be damned. Ben, you must be a sorcerer. You should see what we go through when we have to bandage his tail and put on his cone.”

“I guess there’s something familiar about me.”

“I don’t think he responds to you simply because you’re a guy,” Faye said. “We’ve had other men volunteer at the shelter, and Max ignored them the way he ignores us.”

“It could be the sound of his voice or the way he smells,” Tansy said.

Ben laughed. “Must be the tuna fish oil I rub on after my shower.”

“So that’s it.” Tansy grinned at him, and they were almost back to normal with each other. But she would always look at him differently now that she knew, or thought she knew, why he avoided bonding with animals.

That decision was costing him, too, though she wasn’t sure he realized it. The way he interacted with animals revealed how much he hungered for the connection he denied himself out of fear. Yet she had no idea how to fix the situation.

If she asked him to take Max home for the Christmas holidays, he probably would say no. On the other hand, what did she have to lose? She might as well find out exactly how rigid he was on this matter.

The shelter phone line started ringing. “I need to answer that,” Faye said. “But don’t move. I want a picture of Max sitting on your lap. If I tell the others, they’ll think I’ve been smoking funny cigarettes.”

Tansy and Ben finished up the videos before Faye reappeared, brandishing her camera phone. “I’m emailing this to a bunch of people who know how much of a grouch Max is.” She aimed the phone at the cat. “They’ll accuse me of using Photoshop.”

Ben glanced at her. “He’s really never been on anybody’s lap? That’s so hard to believe.”

“It’s as if he doesn’t trust us enough,” Tansy said. “We’ve tried playing with him, giving him treats, catnip, you name it. He tolerates us, but barely.”

Faye took another picture with her phone. “Maybe he was just waiting for the right person to show up. None of us were the right person. You are.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not—”

“How about just for the Christmas holidays?” Tansy didn’t want to give him a chance to finish the sentence that would end all hope. “You heard my pitch at KFOR. There’s no expense other than some food and litter, and no obligation. If you could socialize Max, he would be more adoptable. You could help him find a true home.”

Ben met her gaze. “I wish I could help you, but I can’t.”

Anger stirred in her. “You mean you won’t.”

“All right. I won’t.” Gripping Max firmly, he pried the cat from his thigh and set him on the floor. When Max crouched as if ready to spring back into his lap, he quickly stood. Max rubbed against the leg of his jeans and continued to purr.

It broke Tansy’s heart. She stood and faced him. “Can’t you see how much he wants to be with you?”

Ben lowered his voice. “Sorry, Tansy, but I’m not taking Max home with me. I don’t want an animal in my house, and besides, I have plans. I’m going skiing with friends over Christmas.”

Faye suddenly found chores to handle at her desk.

Taking a deep breath, Tansy curbed her anger. Having an animal did complicate travel plans. No denying it. But animal lovers usually decided the rewards were worth the bother.

Clearly, Ben didn’t feel that way, and no good would come of challenging his attitude. He’d spent the morning taking pictures that might help several animals be adopted. Sure, he’d been paid to do it, but he’d thrown himself into the project, and because of his enthusiasm he’d come up with some wonderful shots.

She cleared her throat. “You’re right. Sorry. It’s never a good idea to coerce a person into taking an animal, even if it’s only for a trial period.”

“No, it’s not.”

Doing her best to ignore Max’s desperate bid for attention from his idol, Tansy focused on the business at hand. “Your pictures are fabulous. I know the station owns them, but if they’d be willing to let me use a few for The Haven’s Facebook page, I’d be very grateful.”

“I’ll check with Paul.” Ben put on his sheepskin coat. “I’m sure you can work something out.”

She turned back to her desk and retrieved his hat. “I’d appreciate it.”

He looked at the cat at his feet. “If for some reason he doesn’t want to give you any pictures, I could come back on my own time and take some for you.” He put on the hat and tugged the brim over his eyes before picking up both cameras.

Although she longed to fling the generous offer in his face, she couldn’t afford to do that. “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you.”

“I’ll be in touch.” As he walked away, Max trotted after him.

“Max, no.” Tansy followed behind and scooped up the cat. Max twisted and growled his displeasure. “You can’t go,” she murmured into his orange fur. “He doesn’t want you.”

And if Ben didn’t want Max, then Tansy didn’t want Ben. Simple as that.

BEN KNEW HE’D GONE from hero to jerk in sixty seconds. But what was he supposed to do? He fumed about it all the way back to the station and for days afterward. He kept picturing the flare of anger in Tansy’s eyes when she’d said, You mean you won’t.

But he hadn’t been born yesterday. She was a pro at this adoption game. She knew as well as he did that once he allowed Max into his home and into his heart, the cat would be there for life—Max’s life, which would probably be short. Ben wasn’t going through that again.

If Tansy had immunized herself against that pain, then bully for her. She was definitely in the right line of work. So was he, for that matter. While she was comfortable with the passing of time, he was in the business of freezing it.

The images he captured with his camera stayed that way. The playful cats and the bouncy dogs would be young forever in the pictures he’d created. Maybe he was denying reality, but he didn’t care. His decisions worked for him.

He’d be wise to forget Tansy Dexter. She wanted too much of him, and would make him more vulnerable than any animal could.

But she wasn’t easy to forget. Besides his own vivid memories, he was assaulted by promo spots for The Haven. Each morning the six o’clock news included a chart showing the number of animals with temporary homes for the holidays and the progress toward reaching the financial goal necessary to build another Kitty Condo.

Both campaigns were going well, which made for a feel-good Christmas atmosphere in the newsroom. Ben was happy for Tansy that the public awareness campaign was working, but he’d be so glad when Christmas was over and he wasn’t being constantly reminded of her.

They’d had one email exchange since he’d left the shelter that Saturday morning. On Monday, he’d sent her a file containing the shots Paul had released to her for The Haven’s Facebook page and website. She’d responded with her gratitude, copying Paul. But he knew the warmth in the email was for Paul and not for him, though. Although Tansy occupied his thoughts most of the time, Max wasn’t far from his mind, either. The cantankerous cat would spend Christmas day alone in that office, no doubt. No one would volunteer to take him home, and he probably wouldn’t want to go with them, even if they did.

Max had his preference and it happened to be Ben, or somebody very much like him. His adoration was touching, and Ben had spent more hours than he cared to admit searching through his contacts looking for somebody who might fit a similar profile. He wasn’t that unique. But he hadn’t found a good match.

With all his effort to push Tansy out of his mind, he’d also forgotten the angel card he’d shoved in his coat pocket. On Thursday morning he pulled his gloves out of his pocket and the card he’d plucked from The Haven’s tree came out, too, badly crumpled.

Taking the card had been an impulse, but he still wanted to honor it. He wasn’t interested in adoption, but there were other ways he could support the animals. After the way they had parted on Saturday, returning with gifts might seem like he was trying to get back on Tansy’s good side, but he couldn’t help that.

At least Christmas was still a couple of weeks away. He would have hated finding that card during his ski trip. He vaguely remembered what was on the card, but he checked it again to make sure. Yep, a large carpeted cat tree.

He’d seen a couple of them in the rooms of the Kitty Condo. Most of the carpeting had been shredded by busy claws and replaced with remnants, so the cat trees were now a patchwork of colors with a few bald spots. Considering the plans for a second cat building, The Haven clearly needed more of those things.

Mickey had never had one. After the first few times the cat had dug into the furniture, Ben’s aunt and uncle had banned him from the house. By the time Ben was old enough to buy Mickey a cat tree for scratching, he preferred the real trees he found as he roamed the neighborhood. It would have been a waste of Ben’s hard-earned cash.

But these days he had the money to spend. He could get at least two. He had a truck, so hauling them over wouldn’t be a problem.

Seeing Tansy again might be.

And yet he wanted to see her again, fool that he was. He missed her infectious smile and her sunny outlook. He missed her, which was not a good sign, but it was the sad truth.

He spent his lunch break dithering over which cat trees to buy and whether he should get more than two.

Finally he settled on just two. Until the new facility was built, The Haven might not have room for more. These two could be used immediately in the existing rooms or in the portable, and after the second Kitty Condo went up, he’d buy more. Or maybe some toys. Or blankets. They seemed to use a lot of those.

Besides missing Tansy, he missed the warm and optimistic atmosphere of The Haven. He kept remembering the way the cats had played their little hearts out as they celebrated the joy of being alive. He wanted another reason to be part of that.

He left the cat trees at the store and arranged to pick them up later. A misty rain had been falling all morning and he didn’t want them sitting out in his truck getting soaked while he worked. He’d have to use a tarp when he took them over to the Haven.

He didn’t get off until six—was that too late to deliver the trees? He could always wait until Saturday, but he didn’t want to. Now that he’d bought them, he was eager to get them over there. And yeah, he was eager to see Tansy, too.

Originally he’d imagined driving up and surprising her with the cat trees. Now he realized that wasn’t such a good idea. If he arrived in the middle of a busy time, he’d only add to the confusion. She, or Faye, or someone, needed to know to expect him.

During a five-minute break in filming, he called The Haven, got Faye and told her his mission.

“That’s terrific, Ben!” She was gratifyingly excited. “The cats will love having those.”

“I can get them over there after work, but it’ll be around six-thirty.”

“We’ll be closed up by then. Do you want to wait until Saturday?”

“Not really. I was hoping—”

“Hang on. Let me check with Tansy.” Faye put him on hold and he listened to “Jingle Bells” sung by barking dogs and meowing cats. It made him smile.

“Ben?” Tansy’s voice wiped the smile right off his face and jacked up his heart rate.

“Hi. I bought these two cat trees, and I—”

“Faye told me, and we really appreciate that.”

He wished she’d said I instead of we. It was a subtle but telling difference.

“Listen,” she continued, “I don’t blame you for not wanting to interrupt your Saturday again, so let’s—”

“It’s not that.” Great. Now she thought he was worried about cutting into his weekend. “I just figured the sooner the cats have them, the better.”

“Well, that’s obviously true. They love having new furniture to explore, and we could really use one out in the portable. Anyway, I can take your delivery. That’s one of the advantages of living right next door. Give me a call when you’re on your way and I’ll come meet you. How big are they?”

“About four feet tall and a couple of feet square. I can carry them. Don’t worry about getting help to unload the things. If you want, I can even cart them out back.”

“Thanks, but that won’t be necessary.”

Ouch. She really didn’t like him anymore. He couldn’t blame her, but he wanted the other Tansy back, the one with sunshine in her eyes and a smile on her full lips. But to get that, he’d have to do more than buy a couple of cat trees. After she gave him her cell number, they ended the call.

His heart was still beating faster than normal as he put his phone on vibrate and tucked it into his jeans pocket. Even when she was frosty, she still affected him. The strong attraction was damned inconvenient. Why couldn’t he feel this way about one of the women going on the ski trip?

But he didn’t. His buddy, Justin, had brought him into the group. They were an ever-shifting singles group of six to ten members tied together by their work at the station and a love of outdoor sports. They skied in the winter and enjoyed water sports and hiking in the summer.

One of the women, a good-looking brunette named Janine who worked in the advertising department, had hinted that she’d like to be more than friends with him. Because he valued her friendship, he’d told her gently but firmly that he thought of her as a sister and nothing more. The chemistry wasn’t there for him.

Apparently he was like Max. He had his preference, and no one else would do. Tansy was it. Now that he’d experienced the bright sparkle of her personality, other women seemed colorless.

It couldn’t develop into anything, of course. But he liked knowing that she existed, that she was here in Tacoma, even if they couldn’t be close friends. Thinking of her might be frustrating sometimes, but her very presence in the world gave him joy.

A little after six, he picked up both cat trees from the pet store, wrapped a blue tarp around them and tied it down. The air was wet, misty and cold, but fortunately the hard rain that had fallen during the afternoon had stopped. After climbing back into his truck, he called Tansy.

She picked up immediately. “Hi, Ben. I forgot you were coming.”

That was a blow to his ego. “Is it still all right? I already have the cat trees in the back of my truck.”

“Sure, it’s fine. Come on ahead. I’m in the Doggie Digs mopping, and I need to get that done, so if you wouldn’t mind, could you walk down here instead of having me meet you in the office?”

“Mopping? That part of your regular cleanup?”

“Unfortunately not. We have a leak that’s only getting worse. One of our volunteers crawled up on the roof late this afternoon and put plastic down, so it’s temporarily handled, but there’s still a lot of water on the floor.”

“Didn’t anybody stay to help you mop?”

“They all offered, but it’s the Christmas season. Everybody had either parties or relatives visiting or shopping to do, and I sent them home. I can handle it.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Ben, you don’t have to help.”

“But I will. See you soon.” He disconnected and started up the truck. She might not welcome his help, but she was going to get it anyway. He wasn’t about to drop off the cat trees and leave when she had a crisis. That wasn’t his style.

But helping her tonight wasn’t the only issue. Roof leaks were common in a wet climate. If she didn’t have insurance to cover repairs…this was not good news for Tansy’s already tight budget, not good news at all.