Wander Canyon Courtship. Allie Pleiter

company?”

      “Let’s wait until I hear what Ziggy has to say. I’m bracing myself that it won’t be good news.” She sat back and squinted her eyes shut. “I was only four payments away from being able to afford my first new van in the spring.”

      Kelly pasted on a hopeful smile. “Ziggy works wonders. Maybe it can be repaired.”

      “I think he was holding the van together for me as it was. I was counting on it making it through one more winter.” When she’d first opened the shop, it seemed like everything had worked out perfectly. If God could bless a bakery, He’d blessed hers. Work was hard, but satisfying.

      All that had somehow fizzled out in recent months. Now work was just hard. The joy of making brides happy had disappeared. That was why Auntie P.’s wedding seemed so important—it was a chance to get that spark back by baking the perfect wedding cake for someone she adored.

      Instead, Pauline’s fast and dramatic engagement to Hank Walker seemed to be clouding over with doubts. She didn’t much like the man she saw in Hank last night. Could she trust Auntie P.’s heart to a man who’d cut one son clean out of the family land? Actually, letting Chaz manage it but not own it seemed even crueler. What was her role in all this supposed to be?

      “You haven’t gotten off to a good start with the Walker men, that’s for sure.”

      “Hank seemed so nice yesterday. He looked—still looks—completely in love with Pauline. But this ranch inheritance thing. Wow. I don’t know what to think.”

      “Chaz didn’t strike me as a ray of sunshine even before all this.” She gave Yvonne a look. “Then again, I remember saying that about Bruce when I first met him, too, and he turned out to be wonderful.”

      Yvonne didn’t reply. Last night showed her layers in Chaz she hadn’t thought were there. She couldn’t decide how she felt about that.

      Kelly raised an eyebrow. “Rather heroic to save an injured dog and take him in. He could have just left the dog with the vet. That’s got to count for something, don’t you think?”

      Yvonne held up her hands. “Don’t expect me to be able to figure this out today. I’m working on about four hours of sleep. I’m just glad Nancy’s wedding isn’t until tomorrow afternoon—I feel like I can barely make toast today.”

      The bell over the door rang, signaling the bakery’s first customer of the day. “I’ll let you go,” Kelly said as she rose. “Do you want me to ask around town and see if anyone has a van you could borrow until you figure out what to do next? Or maybe Bruce’s truck?”

      Yvonne rose and waved to the neighbor coming through the door. “I only have to get the cake and cupcakes across the street to Hailey’s. I’ll manage.”

      Kelly hugged her. “Hang in there, okay? It’ll work out.”

      Yvonne nodded and said, “Sure,” but she didn’t feel any confidence that it would. At least not anytime soon.

       Chapter Five

      Cecil gave a low howl as he wobbled around the cabin’s little kitchen.

      “I hear you, buddy.” Chaz frowned at the sad mug of instant coffee produced from the bottle he found in the cupboards. He dumped sugar into it and tried not to think of the much better coffee Yvonne must be brewing at Bliss Bakery. She made fabulous coffee. He took another sip and grimaced, thinking he’d had better from gas station vending machines. Still, caffeine was caffeine, and he needed it in any form. “At least you’ve got chow.” He poured the packet of kibble out and set it down next to the bowl of water he’d just refilled. “Eat up. I’ll head out and get some better stuff and gear in a bit.”

      Big grateful eyes looked up at him before Cecil ducked his nose into the food and began chewing noisily. Chaz considered the dog again, still a bit dumfounded he’d done what he’d done. I own a dog. One I’ve got to figure out how to get back to Wander. What just happened?

      It struck Chaz that he’d found reason to ask that particular question often since being in Matrimony Valley. Right now he didn’t have strong enough coffee to answer it. He wasn’t sure strong enough coffee to answer that question even existed.

      Cecil’s 8:00 a.m. appointment with Dr. Mullins was in fifteen minutes, enough time for even Cecil’s limping, comical gait to make it the three blocks to Puppy Love Veterinary Care. Honestly. The name made Chaz cringe more than the terrible coffee.

      The whole town’s romance gimmick stumped him. Yvonne and even Bruce Lohan had told him how Mayor Jean had forgone her family’s name to rechristen Matrim’s Valley to Matrimony Valley in order to bring it back to life. It was an admirable—and clearly successful—idea, but too cheesy for him. Was Yvonne’s cheerful, energetic personality fueled by living in such a constant state of hearts and flowers? Or could only someone with her outlook tolerate living here? And what was driving his curiosity about her, anyway?

      Cecil wolfed down the last of his food, licking his chops with a satisfied slurp. Chaz downed the last of his coffee with nowhere near such enthusiasm, then slipped the makeshift leash over the dog’s head and grabbed the cabin keys off the counter. “Off we go.”

      He took note—again—of the romance-themed business names as he and Cecil made their way down Aisle Avenue. There was a Love in Bloom Flower Shop, and a Sweet Hearts Ice Cream Parlor, among others. Even the fishing outfitters he’d visited yesterday was called Catch Your Match, and, of course, the place where he’d been staying until last night was called Hailey’s Inn Love.

      The only store to evade a gooey name was Watson’s Diner, which smelled delicious enough to make his stomach growl as he walked past. A hand-lettered sign gave him the welcome news that $3.99 would buy him two eggs, toast and coffee. The words No Takeout in red letters underneath, however, warned him it would have to wait. “I might need to head over there after we get you squared away,” he told Cecil.

      He’d give the town one thing: it was quiet and beautiful early in the morning. The mist hadn’t yet burned off the mountainside, and the hints of spectacular fall colors were just starting to show.

      He tried to ignore the fact that Yvonne’s shop was already open. He told himself the urge to stop in was just because she would probably welcome Cecil inside for a minute while he got some great coffee and a doughnut.

      It certainly couldn’t be because of how he kept recalling her wide, frightened eyes those first few moments after the crash. Or the heartsick, mewling sound she’d made when they first came upon injured Cecil. Most of all, he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about the warm, baffled look of surprise she gave him when he declared Cecil was coming home with him. What just happened? indeed.

      Dr. Mullins was a nice enough guy, friendly and supportive of Chaz’s impulsive dog acquisition. “Good-looking animal,” he said, running his hands over the dog. “Underfed, so I expect he’ll be grateful to you. And loyal.”

      Loyal. Now, there was a word that stuck in Chaz’s throat this morning.

      “I want to draw some blood, take another X-ray, give him a thorough once-over and put a microchip in.” Mullins flipped a page on his clipboard. “Let me keep him for an hour or two. You look like you could use breakfast and coffee. You probably passed Watson’s. Wanda fries up a good egg.”

      Chaz gave Cecil a good pat. “I’ll swing back for you in a bit.” He took the wag of Cecil’s tail as a sign of cooperation and promptly headed into Watson’s Diner to wolf down a breakfast of his own.

      Chaz devoured his food, bought a leash, collar and feeding bowls from the Have N Hold Home and Garden store, and then stared across the street. It was time to face Dad.

      * * *

      Yvonne stared out the window at Chaz. He was standing on the sidewalk,