Puppy Love In Thunder Canyon. Christyne Butler

you up around seven?” he asked.

      She smiled. “I’ll be waiting.”

      She waited.

      And waited and waited.

      Palming her cell phone, Annabel paced the length of her bedroom, her bare toes scrunching in the soft carpet. Smiley lay at the end of her bed, watching her stride back and forth like he was a spectator at a tennis match.

      She’d changed out of the sundress with its matching knitted shrug and into a cropped T-shirt and yoga pants an hour ago, kicking her cute kitten heels back into the bottom of her closet.

      After she’d accepted the fact Thomas had stood her up.

      She’d really been looking forward to tonight. Yes, the chance to talk more about her idea of a weekly therapy session with Smiley at the hospital was a big draw, but darn it, getting to know Thomas better appealed to her even more.

      “It’s after nine thirty,” Annabel said softly, eyeing the clock on her bedside table. “Why hasn’t he called?”

      Smiley offered a sympathetic whimper and lowered his head to his paws until a quick knock at her bedroom door grabbed his attention.

      Seconds later, her sister popped her head in. “Hey! We’re about to start a Mr. Darcy movie marathon now that Dad has gone off to bed. You coming downstairs?”

      Annabel gave Jordyn Leigh a forced smile, knowing the “we” she was referring to was herself, their older sister, Jazzy, and their mother, all of whom shared a deep affection for the beloved Jane Austen literary character.

      As did she.

      “I don’t think so,” she said. Not even Colin Firth’s portrayal of the dashing hero could lift her disappointment—or erase the tiny flicker of hope she still held.

      “You know, Mom said she can’t believe the three single Cates sisters are all home on a Friday night.” Jordyn Leigh nudged the door wider and leaned against the frame. “Of course, you taking a pass on dinner tonight had us all thinking you had other plans.”

      “I did.”

      Her sister eyed her outfit. “Dressed like that?”

      Annabel sighed and glanced at her phone again. “I decided to change after he didn’t show. Almost three hours ago.”

      “Yikes. Hoping for the old ‘if I get into my sweats the jerk will call’ effect, huh?”

      “He’s not a jerk.” Her defense of him came easily, even if she had no idea why.

      Her sister frowned, but only said, “Why don’t you call him?”

      Annabel had thought about it, but the only number she had for Thomas was his office. The last thing she wanted was to leave a pathetic voice mail for him to find first thing Monday morning.

      “I don’t have his number,” she finally said. “He’s got mine, at least I’m assuming he does. I mean, I gave it to him, but—”

      “But he didn’t write it down or put it in his phone right away?” Jordyn guessed. “So you’re thinking he forgot?”

      Her number? Their plans? All about her?

      Annabel didn’t know what to think.

      “Well, you know where we’ll be if you decide to join us. Mom’s insisting we start with the black and white version of Pride and Prejudice featuring Sir Laurence, so you have plenty of time before our favorite Mr. Darcy appears.”

      With that, her sister vanished and Annabel flopped down on her bed, immediately bestowed with a sloppy kiss from Smiley, who’d crawled next to her.

      “Oh, buddy, what am I going to do?” She scratched at her dog’s ears. “Maybe I should go back to work. Goodness knows I got zero done this afternoon thinking about tonight. Or do I stay up here and drive myself crazy wondering why—”

      An odd chiming filled the air. It took a moment before Annabel realized it was coming from her cell phone. Not her usual ringtone that asked a cowboy to take her away.

      She sat up and read the display. Caller unknown. Her fingers tightened around her phone. One deep breath and she pressed the answer button. “Hello?”

      “Annabel? It’s Thomas.”

      “Oh.” She paused. “Hi there.”

      “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be a no-show tonight.”

      She released the air from her lungs, while the ache in her stomach that she’d insisted was due to lack of food eased. “Did you get lost?”

      “I never left the hospital.” His voice was low and a bit husky. “I was called into an emergency surgery this afternoon and didn’t have time to try to get ahold of you. I didn’t expect it to take this long, but there were complications.”

      Stuck at work. She’d never even considered that. “Was the surgery a success?”

      “Yes, it was.” He sounded surprised. “Thanks for asking.”

      “Are you still at the hospital?”

      “Sitting in the men’s locker room. I called as soon as I got out of the shower.”

      Trying not to picture Thomas standing in front of a locker dripping wet and wearing nothing but a towel was as impossible as stopping Smiley from hogging the bed at night.

      So she didn’t even try.

      “You must be exhausted,” she said. “I can hear it in your voice.”

      “I am, but it’s a good fatigue, sort of like a runner’s high after completing a marathon. I feel like I could run ten miles.” He sighed. “Not really, but that’s the only comparison I can think of.”

      An idea popped into Annabel’s head, so crazy it just might work. “So, I’m guessing you didn’t have a chance to eat dinner either?”

      “I’ll probably grab a burger at a drive-thru on my way home—wait, did you say ‘either’?”

      “How about meeting me at The Hitching Post? Say in about twenty minutes?”

      “The what?”

      “The Hitching Post. It’s on Main Street in Old Town. You know the place, right?”

      Silence filled the air. Annabel crossed her fingers. On both hands.

      “Ah, yeah … I mean, yes,” Thomas finally said. “I know where it is.”

      Annabel jumped up and began rifling through her closet. “Great! I’ll see you there!”

      Thomas slowed his silver BMW to a full stop at the curb, surprised to find an empty parking space so close to The Hitching Post on a Friday night.

      He’d never been here before, but he’d heard his coworkers rave about the local hangout. Once owned by a lady with a questionable past, the place was now a restaurant and bar, a modern-day saloon right in the middle of Thunder Canyon’s Old Town, an area that proudly retained its Western heritage.

      A section of town Thomas rarely spent time in. Then again, he rarely spent time anywhere other than his condo or the hospital.

      Stepping out of his car, he thumbed the button to lock the doors and set the alarm, then headed for the sidewalk.

      He hated to admit it, but his plan had been to take Annabel someplace outside of Thunder Canyon where the walls didn’t have ears and the gossip didn’t travel at the speed of light.

      Things at the hospital were finally quieting down, but to be seen together here tonight … Who knew what kind of rumors would fly?

      Asking her out in the first place had been crazy enough. Agreeing to meet her here? That he blamed squarely on the fact she’d surprised him by not being angry at being