A Maverick for the Holidays. Leanne Banks

life. He envied her innocence, and he couldn’t ever imagine being as open as she was. Not now. Not after everything he’d seen and experienced.

      He took the short walk to the library and led Smiley inside.

      Annabel smiled and greeted both of them. “Smiley, boy, good to see you. And to you, too, Forrest. How did Smiley do?”

      “Pretty good except when he ran off,” he said, giving her the leash.

      Annabel’s face fell. “Ran off?” she echoed and glanced at her dog. “When did he do that?”

      “About halfway through the walk, he took off toward ROOTS. Maybe he was drumming up business for himself,” he said.

      Annabel gave a half laugh, but he could tell she wasn’t really amused. “Maybe. He’s trained not to run away.”

      “Angie Anderson stopped him. Good thing. I was afraid he would get hit by a car.”

      Annabel winced. “I don’t know why he did that. Thank goodness for Angie,” she said, rubbing Smiley’s neck.

      “True,” he said. “What do you know about her?”

      “The Andersons are a great family,” Anabel said. “They’ve had some tough times, but Angie really came through it well.”

      “She seems too young to be working at that youth center.”

      “ROOTS?” Anabel said. “They actually like having some younger volunteers. It helps the kids identify with a good role model. I hear Angie’s a sweet, easygoing girl.”

      Forrest shrugged, backing off. He shouldn’t be curious about Angie. “Okay. I’ll head on back home now. Thanks for the adventure,” he said.

      She bit her lip. “I feel bad that he ran off on you.”

      “It wasn’t a problem,” he said. “I caught up to him.”

      “Well,” Annabel said. “I think Smiley is due for some retraining, and I’ll start tonight.”

      Forrest nodded. “You’ll figure it out,” he said. “You’ve done a great job with him.”

      “Thanks,” Annabel said. “But he’ll be even better next time you see him!”

      Angie forced her attention back to the kids at ROOTS, but she couldn’t help thinking about Forrest. Talking with him had made her feel as if someone had lit a lamp inside her. A few other guys had temporarily captured her attention, but she knew that Forrest was totally different from them. It seemed as if every cell in her body was screaming how special he could be to her. The strength of her instant attraction to him was distracting.

      As she cleaned up the snack station near the end of her shift, Lilly Evans approached her. Lilly was a beautiful serious-minded seventeen-year-old with long blond hair and green eyes. Lilly had been active in ROOTS during the last two years since her father had gone to prison. Angie admired the girl for keeping her focus during such a traumatic time.

      “Hey, there,” Angie said. “How’d the study time go with Max?”

      Lilly shrugged. “I’m not sure. He doesn’t seem to concentrate very well.”

      Angie chuckled. “That could be because he’s got a crush on you.”

      Lilly’s pale cheeks bloomed with color. “I don’t have time for that,” she said. “Too many other things going on.”

      Angie heard an undertone of anxiety in Lilly’s voice. “Like what?” she asked.

      “My mother’s afraid she’s going to lose her main job, so she’s started working another one part-time.”

      “The economy is hard on a lot of people right now,” Angie said and squeezed Lilly’s shoulder. “I hope she’ll get some good news soon.”

      “Me, too. If that weren’t bad enough, my brother Joey has been hanging around some bad kids. I’m worried about him.”

      “How old is he?” Angie asked. “Maybe you could bring him to ROOTS.”

      “He’s thirteen, but he doesn’t think ROOTS is cool,” she said, rolling her eyes.

      “What else is he interested in?” Angie asked.

      “Violent computer games,” Lilly said with a frown. “He shoots basketball every now and then. He’s a little on the skinny side, so I think he tries to act all tough.” She sighed. “We had a dog for a while and Joey really liked him, but my dad made us give him away.”

      “Hmm,” Angie murmured, her mind working. “What about working at the animal shelter? We have a group that volunteers there twice a month. If he really likes it, he could go more often on his own. In the meantime, if he goes with the ROOTS group, he’ll be exposed to some different kids and maybe make some better friends.”

      “That’s a great idea,” Lilly said. “If we can just figure out how to get him to go.”

      “If you want, I can have one of the ROOTS shelter volunteers give him a call. I can call him, too.”

      “That might help, but he still could turn you down. Joey can be stubborn.”

      “We’ll wear him down,” Angie said. “I’ll have the ROOTS coordinator contact him first.”

      Lilly sighed. “Thanks. I’m really worried about him.”

      “We’ll give this a try and see how it works. Make sure you’re keeping your mother up to speed, and if she needs extra help, we’re in touch with some wonderful counselors. Some of them even offer a couple free sessions.”

      Lilly impulsively threw her arms around Angie and Angie hugged her in return. “Remember you’re not alone, here,” Angie said and gave the teen a reassuring squeeze. Her heart broke for the trauma Lilly had experienced during the last few years. It was hard always being the strong one. Angie was so grateful that Lilly trusted her enough to talk to her.

      After her shift, Angie left ROOTS and walked into her empty home. Since her brother Austin and sister Haley had left, she was all alone. Angie spent as little time at home as possible. She knew she was fortunate to have a rent-free home, but the silence that welcomed her every night disturbed her. After today, she had a feeling she might not be alone forever. She had a very strong feeling about Forrest Traub. So strong she couldn’t keep it to herself.

      Even though she could have called Haley earlier when she was at ROOTS, Angie had held off. But now she couldn’t. She dialed her sister’s cell and waited, her heart racing.

      “Hey,” Haley said. “How are you doing?”

      “Great,” Angie said and took a deep breath. “And I’ve just met the most amazing man today. His name is Forrest Traub. He’s a veteran and he’s the man of my dreams.”

      Haley chuckled. “And you know this after one meeting?” she asked.

      “I do,” Angie said, wandering around the den. “He’s everything I’ve ever wanted. He’s the man I always wanted without knowing that I wanted him. Haley, he’s not a boy. He’s a man and he’s strong and he has a good heart. You should have seen him with that therapy dog.”

      “Therapy dog?” Haley echoed.

      “He was taking Annabel’s dog Smiley for a walk. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that he’s hot. But I can tell there’s much more to him.”

      “If you say so,” Haley said.

      “I do,” Angie insisted.

      “Okay, that’s exciting,” Haley said.

      Angie could hear Haley’s disbelief and it bothered her. “You’re patronizing me,” Angie said.

      “I’m not,” Haley said. “Give me a chance. I haven’t met the guy.”

      Angie