Tessa's Gift. Cerella Sechrist

expect others to understand. She certainly hadn’t been surprised by most of her family’s reaction when she’d brought Rufus to the last family dinner.

      Her sister Harper and her husband, Connor, as well as Connor’s daughter, Molly, had made cooing noises over Rufus as if he were a newborn puppy. Her other sister, Paige, had been somewhat less supportive, asking why she’d chosen such an ugly dog to adopt. Tessa had made all the appropriate defenses about Rufus’s character and disposition, but in the end, the family had assumed her choice was just part of what she’d once heard Paige refer to as Tessa’s “pre-midlife crisis,” a term that caused Tessa to flinch, though she hadn’t let her sister know she’d heard her.

      Just because she’d left her fiancé at the altar and then quit her well-paying job as a pediatric nurse in favor of minimum wage at the local animal shelter didn’t mean she was going through a crisis. Well, Paige’s assessment maybe did make sense. But only because her family didn’t know the whole story behind her choices.

      And that wasn’t something she was planning to share anytime soon. If ever.

      Tessa wished Liam a good day and then stepped to the end of the counter to wait for her order. She cast a quick glance outside to check on Rufus and then swiveled her gaze around the room, always interested to see the new faces in town.

      She’d inherited her grandmother’s cottage years before, and since then Findlay Roads had truly become home, more than the suburbs of Washington, DC, where she’d grown up. If only Nana could see how the town had grown. Much of it retained the same quaint, Chesapeake Bay charm Tessa remembered from her childhood. But there were plenty of new houses, shops and restaurants to cater to the tourist influx. Not to mention the Delphine, the sprawling luxury resort her own father had built to capitalize on the investment boom.

      She noticed a couple in the corner and idly speculated whether they had come to the café to meet with a Realtor and visit some local properties. Real estate in the area had skyrocketed. The cottage she lived in was easily worth a fortune compared to what her grandparents had paid for it so many years ago.

      She waved at a few familiar faces, including a girl she used to work with at the pediatrician’s office. She hoped Allison wouldn’t come over. While she had always been friendly with her coworkers, encounters with them now tended to be awkward since they, like her family, didn’t understand why she had up and left her job so unexpectedly.

      She shifted her attention back to the bar, and her eyes fell on another new face. He was handsome but almost seemed to have a brooding aura as he studied his phone. His dark brown hair was trimmed short, and he was dressed in dark slacks, a heather-blue shirt and a plain gray blazer. Simple but sophisticated. She entertained herself by speculating on what sort of business he had in town. Was he looking to move here, as she’d imagined the young couple were? Or was he simply a businessman passing through? Perhaps an entrepreneur looking to invest in one of the local businesses. Maybe he had a secret job with the CIA, and he’d come to Findlay Roads searching for an international thief. She nearly laughed at the notion, though his handsome appearance did put her a little in mind of an actor from a spy thriller.

      “Tessa, your order’s up.”

      She pulled herself out of her reverie and reached for her tea latte and the brown paper bag holding Rufus’s muffin. From the corner of her eye, she noticed her CIA agent was still intent on his phone. He hadn’t even glanced up.

      “Spoiling that dog of yours again?” asked Shannon, the barista at the bar.

      Tessa made a face as she grabbed the paper bag. “You guys are way too interested in what I feed my dog.”

      Shannon chuckled. “Nah, it’s not that. We’re just glad to see you coming around again.”

      Tessa couldn’t argue with that. When she’d worked as a pediatric nurse, the Lighthouse Café had been part of her morning routine. She’d stop in for tea and a pastry before she headed to the clinic. But when she’d quit the doctor’s office and had to tighten up her budget, daily trips to the coffee shop had fallen from routine to a treat. It was only now, with her new job at the hospital, that she’d picked the habit back up. Plus, the café was on her walking route with Rufus. And he did like their muffins.

      “Thanks,” she said. “It’s...nice to be back.”

      Shannon eyed her for a moment, and Tessa tensed, fearing she’d ask more questions. But Shannon just nodded and grinned, and Tessa gathered her tea and muffin and turned to go.

      “Hey, Tess.”

      She paused at the door as Liam said her name.

      “Tell Rufus the next one’s on the house.”

      Tessa raised her tea latte in thanks and pushed out the door. Rufus was on his feet the second he saw her, his tiny nub of a tail wagging a greeting.

      “You wouldn’t believe the grief I endure for you,” she teased him. She bent down, balancing her carryout cup in one hand and trying to juggle the paper bag on one arm so she could open it. She pulled out the muffin as Rufus jumped up and chomped the muffin out of her palm. Tessa tottered, thrown off-balance. Hot tea sloshed out of the cup’s lid, splattering across her hand. Scalded, she gasped as she jerked to her feet, bumping against something solid while Rufus greedily chewed on the muffin. She registered cursing behind her as she regained her balance and frowned down at her dog.

      “Rufus! That was rude!” But Rufus took this admonition in stride as he licked the crumbs from his jowls.

      Tessa turned, an apology on her lips. The CIA agent was dabbing at a large coffee stain on his shirt. She glanced down and saw his cup on the ground, dark liquid chugging from the lid. Rufus, finished with the muffin, had taken it upon himself to begin lapping up the liquid. “I am so, so sorry,” she apologized to the man.

      He fixed her with a glare. “You really ought to watch what you’re doing,” he said, his tone deep but frosty.

      “I’m sorry, it was my dog...” She trailed off with a quick glance at Rufus.

      “Then you should watch what your dog is doing,” he returned.

      Tessa frowned. “Let me buy you another coffee,” she offered.

      He checked his watch. She noted it had a mechanical timeface with a leather wrist strap. Under different circumstances, Tessa might have found it charming. She had never understood the digital watch thing, but even her dad wore one these days. She preferred a more traditional look.

      “I don’t have time for another coffee.”

      His words drew her attention back to the agent. He balled up the napkins he’d been using to clean his shirt and edged around her to toss them in a nearby trash bin. Rufus, who had finished his breakfast, suddenly took note of the man and gave a low growl. The guy paused midstep at the warning. Tessa stared at Rufus in surprise. During all the months she’d known him, she’d never heard him growl.

      “I’m sorry, he’s not usually like this,” she said.

      Rufus let out a nonthreatening bark as if to apologize, but the stranger only arched an eyebrow.

      “Sorry if I don’t share your assessment. He looks like he belongs in the pound.”

      Tessa felt a ripple of irritation. She was sorry she’d ruined the man’s shirt but did he have to insult Rufus?

      “At least let me pay to dry-clean your shirt,” she offered, still trying to make amends.

      He huffed. “I’m already running late.”

      “Here.” She picked up the brown paper bag from the ground, tearing off a piece that hadn’t been splattered by coffee. “Do you have a pen on you?”

      He grunted but pulled a pen out of his jacket pocket. “That’s not necessary,” he said, even as he handed it over.

      Tessa scribbled her name and phone number on the bag. “Sorry to cause your morning to get off to a rough start, but