A McCabe at Heart. Cathy Thacker Gillen

flashed her a sexy smile. “Then let’s put it to the test,” he offered. “Come home with me. And we’ll see.”

      ***

      Robin didn’t know why she was doing this, following Sam home, when for years she had managed to avoid all intimate interaction with him.

      Of course, that was mostly because there’d been little chance of them actually running into each other until a few of months ago, when she’d left Fort Worth and returned to Laramie.

      The rest was because every time she saw Sam she felt a wave of regret, followed swiftly by the even more devastating knowledge that in walking away she had done what was right for both of them.

      She’d never had it in her to make Sam happy.

      Or for that matter, to make any man happy.

      But she did have what it took to help an orphaned child get on with her life. And the puppies Sam was overseeing were the key.

      At least Robin thought so until she actually saw them.

      Ten golden-blond balls of fluff, with adorably cute faces and ferociously wagging tails were running, tumbling and fighting their way to their momma’s side.

      Sam hunkered down to pet the beautiful full-grown golden retriever. Robin knelt beside them. “Meet Gorgeous,” he said proudly.

      Robin blinked, so startled she almost fell over. “You actually call your dog that?” The pet name he’d given her, back when they were still an item!

      Sam put out a hand to steady her. His gaze swept her, head to toe, before returning with laser-like accuracy to her eyes. “You’re asking if I named my dog after the only other female in this world who had the power to turn my heart inside out?”

      For a moment, she thought Sam was serious. Then the familiar gleam of mischievousness shone in his dark eyes.

      “Of course I did,” he drawled with a wink.

      Knowing he couldn’t still be as hung up on her as she was on him, Robin pulled her tingling arm away. “A laugh a minute, as always,” she muttered. Or was that a thrill?

      Sam grinned and got slowly to his feet, then gave her a hand up, too. “So I’ll see you and Molly Saturday afternoon?”

      Warming from the inside out, Robin nodded. And in the meantime, she’d try to keep her own fragile heart intact.

       Chapter Three

      Sam had heard Molly Russell was not doing well. Seeing her in person, however, really drove that fact home.

      The eight-year-old child who emerged from Robin’s pick-up truck was small for her age and painfully thin. Her red hair and freckles stood out against the underlying paleness of her skin. Her green eyes were filled with a soul-deep sorrow that broke his heart.

      Beside her, Robin was a study in good cheer. “Hi, Sam. I don’t know if you two have formally met, but…” She turned back to Molly and said, “Sam is our neighbor to the south. You can see his ranch house from our front porch.”

      And he could see Robin’s house and barn from his. “At ten acres each, we both have what barely pass for ranches in these parts,” Sam teased. “I’ve got puppies, though. Want to see them?”

      The child offered no reaction.

      “Well, I would!” Robin said. She touched Molly’s shoulder gently, guiding her in the direction of Sam’s house.

      Molly shrugged away from Robin with a reticence that Sam knew had to hurt.

      Feeling for both of them, Sam moved to Molly’s other side. He strode toward the porch. “I was just about to feed them.”

      Robin threw him a grateful glance. “I thought all puppies did was nurse.”

      “For the first four weeks. Then we start them on actual dog food. Although initially, it’s more of a mash.”

      Sam held open the door and together, they went into the family room. There, they found a whelping pen, ten foot square with a linoleum floor and mesh-wire walls. As usual, some of the puppies were sleeping next to their momma. Others were nursing. Two were sniffing around the edges, trying to figure a way out, while another mouthed a soft toy.

      Sam set a gate across the entrance to the room, then opened the pen door. Gorgeous nudged her pups away, stood, shook herself off, stretched and came toward Sam. He knelt down to pet her and was soon surrounded by snuggling, jumping, nosing five-week-old puppies.

      Robin pointed at the splotch of brightly colored paint on their backs, just behind their necks. “What’s that for?”

      Sam smiled. “So I can tell them apart. We’ve got White, Green, Blue, Pink, Red, Orange, Purple, Black, Yellow, and Maroon.”

      “I see them all…except Yellow,” Robin said.

      Wordlessly, Molly pointed to a leather recliner in the corner of the room.

      Sam grinned. The child might not say much but clearly nothing escaped her notice.

      He looked at the chair that hid their runaway, then back at Molly. “Shall I get her? Or would you like to do the honors?”

      Molly shrugged.

      Seeing an opening, however small, Sam told Molly, “Tell you what. How about you get her for me while I make their dinner?”

      Giving the child no opportunity to refuse, he retrieved the circular feeding dish with the raised middle and took it to the container that held the puppy food. He scooped some in, added water, and mashed it with a fork until it was as soft and malleable as baby food.

      Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Molly remain where she was.

      Eventually, Robin went to the corner. She hunted around behind the chair, and emerged with a puppy in her arms. Yellow shrank from Robin’s touch, much the same way Molly had.

      A fact, Sam noted with concern, that did not go unnoticed by Robin.

       Chapter Four

      Hours later, Robin opened the door to find Sam on the threshold, a digital picture frame in hand. “Thought you and Molly might like this.” He clicked it on and handed it to her. Photos of Gorgeous and her brood, from day one to the present, flashed across the screen.

      Captivated, Robin said, “Amazing how much the puppies have already grown, isn’t it? Looks like they’ve gone from the size of a large hamster to at least five pounds each.”

      “Not to mention how much bigger they are all going to get.” Sam stepped into Robin’s cottage-style ranch house. He took in the silence of the cozy abode. “Molly asleep?”

      She was aware that the last time they’d met up like this, they’d been a couple. Throat dry, Robin said, “She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.”

      “She must have been exhausted.” He studied her. “You, too.”

      Robin’s pulse quickened at his kindness. “Is that why you’re here? To check up on us?” It seemed ludicrous. And yet… there was no denying there was still something between them. Even if it was only the possibility of friendship.

      His expression as casual as his tone, Sam followed her into the adjacent living room. “And to bring you and Molly that as an enticement for future visits. Every day, if you like.”

      Noticing that Sam had gone from not wanting to host them at all to wishing for their company, and that she felt the same inexplicable yearning to be near him, Robin curled up on one side of the sofa. He took the other end. “Were you surprised Molly didn’t like the puppies?”

      “Was afraid to let herself like the puppies,” Sam corrected, his gaze briefly tracking