Sleigh Bells In Crimson. Michelle Major

him. Still, he hadn’t said anything about Lucy’s mother that wasn’t the truth, and they both knew it.

      He placed the glass of beer on the bar. “We should head back to the ranch.”

      Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. “What’s the adoption open house?” she asked Erin, ignoring Caden.

      “Have you seen Caden’s pet-rescue operation?” Erin rolled her eyes. “When he’s not being Mr. Rudepants, Caden takes in unwanted animals from around the county.”

      “The ones in the barn?”

      Erin nodded. “They’re animals no one else wanted. He rehabilitates them, does training and then matches them with forever families.”

      He saw Lucy’s mouth drop open. “Seriously?”

      “Did you think I was selling them to some kind of lab for experiments?” he asked, not caring that the words came out a growl.

      “No,” Lucy answered after a moment. “I thought you were a pet hoarder.”

      “Are you kidding me?”

      She flashed a grin that made his heart stutter. “Yes.”

      She turned back to Erin, who was watching him with a gleam in her eye Caden didn’t trust in the least.

      He picked up the beer again and took a long drink.

      “Erin’s onto you,” David said quietly as Erin explained more about the open house to Lucy. “You need to get a better poker face, bud.”

      Caden stepped closer to the bar. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

      “You like this one.”

      “She’s a pain in my—”

      “Right.” David laughed. He made a show of wiping the already-gleaming wood counter when Erin shot him a questioning glance. “You should probably stop staring at her like she’s on the menu and you’re starving.”

      “I’m not staring.”

      “Erin has been wanting to fix you up for months. She fancies herself a matchmaker.”

      Caden groaned. “I’m trying to convince my father to call off the wedding. That’s not exactly going to endear me to Lucy.”

      “Doesn’t change the fact that you like her,” David said with a shrug.

      Before Caden could respond, Erin turned and grabbed his arms.

      “Great news,” she shouted over the din of the brewpub. “Lucy’s agreed to help with the adoption event.”

      Caden shrugged off her hold and shook his head. “I didn’t ask for her help.”

      Erin frowned. “Don’t be rude again.”

      “I’m not—”

      “You need her.”

      “I don’t,” he said through clenched teeth.

      Erin pointed a finger at him. “How much of the marketing plan I created have you implemented at this point?”

      “I’ve been busy on the ranch.”

      “Exactly. Lucy has retail experience in sales and marketing. She’s going to take over for you to make sure we have enough publicity for the event.”

      Caden looked over Erin’s shoulder to Lucy. “If you don’t want my help,” she muttered, “it’s not a big deal.”

      “It is a big deal,” Erin insisted. “Ever since word got out that Caden would take on stray animals, people have been bringing them to him left and right. It’s too much. An adoption event right before Christmas is the perfect way to find good families for your sweet babies.”

      Caden felt color rise up his throat when Lucy’s mouth kicked up at one corner. “I wouldn’t call them my sweet babies.”

      Erin threw up her hands. “You have a certified therapy bunny, Caden. Play the hardened cowboy all you want, but we know you’re a big softy at heart.”

      “We do,” Lucy agreed, her eyes dancing with amusement.

      “I don’t even know why I agreed to open the barn. I can find homes for the animals on my own.”

      “The adoption event is happening, and Lucy’s going to help,” Erin said in the same tone of voice he imagined she used to quiet a room of rowdy five-year-olds.

      Caden looked at David. “You’ve got your hands full.”

      “Wouldn’t have it any other way,” David answered.

      “I’m so glad we met tonight,” Erin said to Lucy as she pulled her in for a tight hug. “I have a feeling we’re going to be great friends.”

      Caden’s focus sharpened as he watched Lucy go stiff. All the humor disappeared from her gaze, and instead she looked like someone had just punched her in the gut.

      “It was...um...nice to meet you,” she said quickly. “But I’m kind of jet-lagged, so I should probably head back to the ranch. Have a good night.”

      She turned and fled, weaving through the crowd so quickly that Caden lost sight of her within a few seconds.

      “Was it something I said?” Erin asked quietly.

      “Nah, honey.” David reached across the bar to smooth his fiancée’s hair away from her face. “You were brilliant. I’m just not sure Caden’s Lucy is used to having someone as sweet as you offer to be her friend.”

      Caden felt his jaw clench. “She’s not mine.”

      “Not if you don’t catch up to her,” David agreed.

      Caden knew the smart thing to do would be bellying up to the bar and ordering another beer. Lucy Renner seemed plenty capable of taking care of herself. He sure didn’t need her infringing on his life, his friends or his animals. He needed her gone.

      He took a breath and turned to find Erin and David staring at him with equally knowing looks on their faces.

      “Damn,” he muttered and took off toward Elevation’s front entrance.

      * * *

      It had started snowing while Lucy was in the bar. Big, fluffy flakes streamed down from the sky, glowing in the light of a nearby streetlamp and lending a sense of peace to Crimson’s Main Street. Lucy would have stopped and tipped up her face to catch a snowflake on her tongue if she wasn’t in such a hurry to get away.

      She felt like a fool rushing out of Elevation and away from a woman who’d been nothing but kind to her. When was the last time Lucy’d had a girlfriend?

      She almost laughed out loud at the thought. Her mother had always taught her that other girls, and later women, were to be viewed as competition and not to be trusted.

      As much as Lucy knew her mother’s ideas on female friendships were wrong, some part of the message had sunk in and she’d never seemed to be able to make lasting friendships. Maybe because whenever another woman made a friendly overture, she freaked out like she did with Erin.

      At least Caden was probably happy she was gone.

      Of course, she had no idea where she was headed. She needed to get her bearings and find a taxi or Uber to get her back to the ranch. But it was hard to slow down when it felt like running away was what she did best.

      Heavy footsteps sounded on the sidewalk behind her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Caden approaching. She hated to admit how happy she’d been to see him at the bar.