Season Of Wonder

He actually liked the trace of New York accent that slipped into her speech at times. It fit her somehow, in a way he couldn’t explain. Despite that, he couldn’t deny that the few times he had interacted with more than a wave in passing, she was brusque, prickly and sometimes downright distant.

He had certainly had easier neighbors.

His father adored her and wouldn’t listen to a negative thing about her.

She hasn’t had an easy time of things but she’s a fighter. Hardworking and eager to learn, Frank had said the other night when Ruben asked how things were working out, now that Dani and her girls had been in town a few months. You just have to get to know her.

Frank apparently didn’t see how diligently Dani Capelli worked to keep anyone else from doing just that.

She wasn’t unfriendly, only distant. She kept herself to herself. It was a phrase his mother might use, though Myra Morales seemed instantly fond of Dani and her girls.

Did Dani have any idea how fascinated the people of Haven Point were with these new arrivals in their midst?

Or maybe that was just him.

As he followed her down the hall in her white lab coat, his dogs behaving themselves for once, Ruben told himself to forget about his stupid attraction to her.

Sure, he might be ready to settle down and would like to have someone in his life, but he wasn’t at all sure if he had the time or energy for that someone to be a woman with so many secrets in her eyes, one who seemed to face the world with her chin up and her fists out, ready to take on any threats.

When they walked into the clinic waiting room, they found her two girls there. The older one was texting on her phone while her sister did somersaults around the room.

Dani stopped in the doorway and seemed to swallow an exasperated sound. “Mia, honey, you’re going to have dog hair all over you.”

“I’m a snowball rolling down the hill,” the girl said. “Can’t you see me getting bigger and bigger and bigger.”

“You’re such a dorkupine,” her sister said, barely looking up from her phone.

“I’m a dorkupine snowball,” Mia retorted.

“You’re a snowball who is going to be covered in dog hair,” Dani said. “Come on, honey. Get up.”

He could tell the moment the little girl spotted him and his dogs coming into the area behind her mother. She went still and then slowly rose to her feet, features shifting from gleeful to nervous.

Why was she so afraid of him?

“You make a very good snowball,” he said, pitching his voice low and calm as his father had taught him to do with all skittish creatures. “I haven’t seen anybody somersault that well in a long time.”

She moved to her mother’s side and buried her face in Dani’s white coat—though he didn’t miss the way she reached down to pet Ollie on her way.

“Hey again, Silver.”

He knew the older girl from the middle school, where he served as the resource officer a few hours a week. He made it a point to learn all the students’ names and tried to talk to them individually when he had the chance, in hopes that if they had a problem at home or knew of something potentially troublesome for the school, they would feel comfortable coming to him.

He had the impression that Silver was like her mother in many ways. Reserved, wary, slow to trust. It made him wonder just who had hurt them.

“How are things?” he asked her now.

For just an instant, he thought he saw sadness flicker in her gaze before she turned back to her phone with a shrug. “Fine, I guess.”

“Are you guys ready for Christmas? It’s your first one here in Idaho. A little different from New York, isn’t it?”

“How should we know? We haven’t lived in the city for, like, four years.”

Dani sent her daughter a look at her tone, which seemed to border on disrespectful. “I’ve been in vet school in Boston the last four years,” she explained.

“Boston. Then you’re used to snow and cold. We’re known for our beautiful winters around here. The lake is simply stunning in wintertime.”

Mia tugged on her mother’s coat and when Dani bent down, she whispered something to her.

“You can ask him,” Dani said calmly, gesturing to Ruben.

Mia shook her head and buried her face again and after a moment, Dani sighed. “She wonders if it’s possible to ice-skate on Lake Haven. We watched the most recent Olympics and she became a little obsessed.”

“You could say that,” Silver said. “She skated around the house in her stocking feet all day long for weeks. A dorkupine on ice.”

“You can’t skate on the lake, I’m afraid,” Ruben answered. “Because of the underground hot springs that feed into it at various points, Lake Haven rarely freezes, except sometimes along the edges, when it’s really cold. It’s not really safe for ice skating. But the city creates a skating rink on the tennis courts at Lake View Park every year. The volunteer fire department sprays it down for a few weeks once temperatures get really cold. I saw them out there the other night so it shouldn’t be long before it’s open. Maybe a few more weeks.”

Mia seemed to lose a little of her shyness at that prospect. She gave him a sideways look from under her mother’s arm and aimed a fleeting smile full of such sweetness that he was instantly smitten.

“There’s also a great place for sledding up behind the high school. You can’t miss that, either. Oh, and in a few weeks we have the Lights on the Lake Festival. You’ve heard about that, right?”

They all gave him matching blank stares, making him wonder what was wrong with the Haven Point Helping Hands that they hadn’t immediately dragged Dani into their circle. He would have to talk to Andie Bailey or his sister Angela about it. They always seemed to know what was going on in town.

“I think some kids at school were talking about that at lunch the other day,” Silver said. “They were sitting at the next table so I didn’t hear the whole thing, though.”

“Haven Point hosts an annual celebration a week or so before Christmas where all the local boat owners deck out their watercraft from here to Shelter Springs to welcome in the holidays and float between the two towns. There’s music, food and crafts for sale. It’s kind of a big deal around here. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it.”

“I’m very busy, with the practice and the girls, Deputy Morales. I don’t have a lot of time for socializing.” Though Dani tried for a lofty look, he thought he caught a hint of vulnerability there.

She seemed...lonely. That didn’t make a lick of sense. The women in this town could be almost annoying in their efforts to include newcomers in community events. They didn’t give people much of an option, dragging them kicking and screaming into the social scene around town, like it or not.

“Well, now you know. You really can’t miss the festival. It’s great fun for the whole family.”

“Thank you for the information. It’s next week, you say?”

“That’s right. Not this weekend but the one after. The whole thing starts out with the boat parade on Saturday evening, around six.”

“We’ll put it on our social calendar.”

“What’s a social calendar?” Mia whispered to her sister, just loud enough for Ruben to hear.

“It’s a place where you keep track of all your invitations to parties and sleepovers and stuff.”

“Oh. Why do we need one of those?”

“Good question.”

Silver looked glum for just a moment but Dani hugged her, then faced Ruben with a polite, distant smile.

“Thank you for bringing in Ollie and Yukon. Have a good evening, Deputy Morales.”

It was a clear dismissal, one he couldn’t ignore. Ruben gathered his dogs’ leashes and headed for the door. “Thank you. See you around. And by around, I mean next door. We kind of can’t miss each other.”

As he hoped, this made Mia smile a little. Even Silver’s dour expression eased into what almost looked like a smile.

As he loaded the dogs into the king cab of his pickup truck, Ruben could see Dani turning off lights and straightening up the clinic.

What was her story? Why had she chosen to come straight from vet school in Boston to set up shop all the way across the country in a small Idaho town?

He loved his hometown, sure, and fully acknowledged it was a beautiful place to live. It still seemed a jarring cultural and geographic shift from living back east to this little town where the biggest news of the month was a rather corny light parade that people froze their asses off to watch.

And why did he get the impression the family wasn’t socializing much? One of the reasons most people he knew moved to small towns was a yearning for the kind of connectedness and community a place like Haven Point had in spades. What was the point in moving to a small town if you were going to keep yourself separate from everybody?

He thought he had seen them at a few things when they first came to Haven Point but since then, Dani seemed to be keeping her little family mostly to themselves. That must be by choice. It was the only explanation that made sense. He couldn’t imagine McKenzie Kilpatrick or Andie Bailey or any of the other Helping Hands excluding her on purpose.

What was she so nervous about?

He added another facet to the enigma of his next-door neighbor. He had hoped that he might be able to get a better perspective of her by bringing the dogs in to her for their routine exams. While he had confirmed his father’s belief that she appeared to be an excellent veterinarian, he now had more questions about the woman and her daughters to add to his growing list.

2

After a long, difficult day, following a long, difficult week, all Dani wanted was to pop a batch of popcorn, sit on the sofa and watch something light and cheery with her girls for a few hours. As she stood at the kitchen sink of their three-bedroom cottage drying the last of the dishes Silver had washed after school, she thought that what she would really like was a long soak in the tub. By the time her daughters were in bed most nights, she didn’t have enough energy left to even run water in the tub.

The kitchen was small enough that cleaning it never took long. The house Frank Morales had provided as part of her internship compensation wasn’t big but it was comfortable, with three bedrooms, a living room and a lovely glass-enclosed family room facing the lake, which had become their favorite spot.

Someday she’d like to have a little bigger house, maybe with an actual dining room, but that would have to wait awhile. She had thousands of dollars in student loans to pay back first. Meantime, this house worked well for their needs.

Her life could have been easier. Occasionally, she tormented herself by playing the old what-if game, wondering how things might have been different for her and her daughters if she had been able to ignore her conscience and taken money from Tommy.

If she had accepted the ill-gotten gains her late ex-husband had tried to give for child support, she might have been able to start her professional life as a veterinarian with a clean slate, even with a little nest egg, instead of feeling swallowed by debt. But she would have had to sell her soul in return and she wasn’t willing to do that.

Yes, she was tired of the constant scrimping and saving and striving, but at least when she finally made her way to bed each night, she could close her eyes with a clear conscience.

Mostly clear, anyway.

She set the dish towel over the oven handle to dry and made her way to the family room. Silver was, as usual, on her phone while Mia was doing more somersaults, this time on the carpet, while their ancient little mutt Winky watched from her favorite spot on the floor, blocking the heater vent.

“Movie night!” Dani said cheerfully. “Who’s ready? I’ll make the popcorn. You two just need to pick a show.”

“Yay! Movie night. My favorite!” Mia grinned from the floor.

“I think we should watch a Christmas movie. What do you say? Elf, Grinch, Arthur Christmas or something off the Hallmark Channel.”

The previous Christmas, during Dani’s rare moments off from school, they had binge-watched movies on the Hallmark Channel. Dani had felt a little world-weary to truly appreciate the sweet happy endings but Silver had adored them.

It had been several months since Silver had been interested in anything sweet. Right around the time she’d dyed her hair and started begging for the tattoo Dani would not let her get until she was eighteen.

“Elf,” Mia declared without hesitation.

“Okay. One vote for Elf. What do you think, Sil?”

“I think you’re going to have to watch without me.” Her daughter rose from the sofa with the long-legged grace she had inherited from her father. “I’ve got to go. Some friends just texted me and they want to hang out.”

Dani felt her temper flare at Silver’s matter-of-fact tone but worked to keep it contained. “Are you asking me or telling me?”

Silver’s jaw worked. “Asking, I guess. Can I go hang out with my friends?”

At thirteen, she seemed to think she didn’t need permission these days for much of anything. Dani had a completely different perspective on the situation.

“Which friends? And what did they want to do?”

“Just friends from school,” Silver said, impatience threading through her voice. “Why do you have to know every single detail about my life?”

“Because I’m your parent and responsible for you. I’m not asking for every detail but I have to know where you’re going and who you will be with. Those are the house rules, kid. You know that.”

Silver didn’t appear to appreciate the reminder. “I thought you might lighten up a little once we moved to the middle of freaking nowhere. Instead, you’re worse than ever.”

Oh, Dani so did not want to deal with this tonight. Not after the day she’d had. “You’re going to want to watch your tone and your attitude, miss, unless you would prefer to spend the night in your room instead of with any friends.”

Her daughter glared for a moment and then, with her quicksilver moods lately, her expression shifted to one of resignation. “Fine. I’m going over to Jenny Turner’s house. She’s in my biology class. She was going to call some other friends so we could watch the latest Marvel movie that just came out. Is that okay with you?”

Dani knew Jenny and her parents. They lived just one street over and her family had two beautiful Irish setters who appeared well mannered and well loved.

“Will her parents be there?”

“Her dad is on a work trip but her mom will be home, she said.”

She wanted to say no. Dani had been looking forward to spending a little time together with her daughters. The girls didn’t have school the next day because of a teacher training thing and Silver could hang out all day with friends if she wanted while the babysitter was there with Mia.

But Silver had struggled to fit in socially and find good friends since they moved to Haven Point and Dani didn’t want to discourage any progress in that area.

“That’s fine, then. Do you want me to give you a ride?”

“No. I’ll walk. It’s just through the block. Can I stay until eleven?”

“Yes, since you don’t have school tomorrow. Text me when you’re done and I’ll pick you up. It doesn’t matter how close she lives, I don’t want you walking around town so late.”

“It’s like a block away, Mom. And, again, we’re in the middle of freaking nowhere, Idaho. Walking is good for me.”

She sighed, choosing to pick her battles. “Watch for cars.”

On impulse, Dani hugged her daughter, fighting the urge to wrap her arms around her and not let go. After a moment, Silver hugged her back but quickly pulled away and hurried out the door.

Dani watched after her, trying to ignore the niggle of worry.

How did parents survive these teenage years? She constantly felt like a raw bundle of nerves, always afraid she was going to say the wrong thing and set off an emotional meltdown.

She watched until Silver walked around the corner, then turned back to Mia.

“Guess it’s just you and me, pumpkin. I’ll make the popcorn. You pick the movie.”

“Elf,” Mia said without hesitation, which was just fine with Dani.

She was pouring kernels in the air popper when Mia came into the kitchen holding the Blu-ray.

“I found it.”

“Good job. Why don’t you grab some ice water so you don’t have to leave in the middle of the show if you need a drink? Your glass with the elephants on it is still at the table from dinner.”

Mia took her water glass and filled it from the refrigerator ice maker.

“Mama,” she said, features pensive, after the rattling ice stopped, “why doesn’t Silver like us anymore?”

Dani’s heart cracked apart a little at the sadness in her six-year-old’s voice, mostly because deep inside, she felt as bewildered and abandoned.

“She does, honey. She’s just a teenager living in a strange town and trying to make friends. It hasn’t been very easy for her.”

“I think I liked the old Silver better.”

Dani didn’t want to tell her daughter that she did, too.

After she finished adding toppings to the bowl of popcorn, she and Mia settled onto the couch. With Mia snuggled against her, Dani felt some of the tension leave her, but she couldn’t shake her worry about Silver. She wanted so desperately for her daughter to find good friends who were also decent human beings.

The movie was familiar enough that her mind began to wander. Not for the first time, she wondered if she had made a huge mistake by bringing her daughters to Haven Point.

It had seemed the perfect opportunity. She and Frank Morales had struck up an instant friendship her second year of veterinary school when she’d stayed after a seminar he presented at a conference to ask him some questions.

That initial meeting had developed into a semiregular correspondence. She had a feeling Frank had looked on her as a mentee of sorts. He had been unfailingly patient and kind with her questions about various aspects of veterinary medicine and what went into running a successful practice.

A month before her graduation, Frank had called her with a proposition. He was looking for another doctor to take some of the load at his veterinary clinic. If she liked it here in Haven Point after her year’s internship was up, he wanted her to take over the practice.

It was an offer she couldn’t refuse, beneficial to her professionally while being perfect for her little family on a personal level.

This was everything she used to dream about, the chance to raise her girls in a safe place surrounded by nice people who cared about each other. Here, people didn’t know about Tommy, about his disastrous choices.

Of course, when she’d accepted the internship and moved here, she couldn’t have known about the tragic sequence of events to come later, the horror story that unfolded across the country mere weeks after she came to town.

She felt the beginnings of panic again, just thinking about what would happen if news of Tommy’s final moments were to filter through to everyone.

Frank knew, of course. She had to tell him. While he had been kind and understanding, she couldn’t imagine the other people in town would accept the truth so easily.

Coming to Haven Point had sounded great in theory but the reality of making a life here was harder than she had imagined. The truth was, she didn’t know how to socialize casually, which was a ridiculous thing for a thirty-year-old woman with a doctorate degree to admit.

She had married Tommy when she was seventeen. The years since, she’d been so focused on her girls, on school, on work and on simply surviving that she had gotten out of practice when it came to making and keeping friendships.

She didn’t know how to relate to these people who were so darn nice all the time, and her awkwardness in the beginning had made her leery about accepting new invitations. Then Tommy had become a household name in the worst possible way. Dani knew she couldn’t socialize now. She kept finding new excuses not to attend book club meetings or the Haven Point Helping Hands’ regular luncheons and after a few months, the invitations had tapered off.

Her girls were struggling, too. Silver had all this attitude all the time, some of that from grief and shame over her father, Dani was certain. Even Mia, who hadn’t even known Tommy, had become painfully shy in public, though she was her usual warm, sweet self at home.

Dani had to fix this or they could never make their home here, but she didn’t know the first place to start.

“Mama, you’re not watching the movie,” Mia chided her.

“I’m sorry.” She forced a smile and reached for some popcorn. “I’ll watch now.”

She couldn’t do anything at this moment but worry, so she vowed to put it aside for now and focus on something light and silly and fun.

And then maybe take that hour-long soak in the tub after Silver was home and her girls were both safely tucked in bed.

For about the twentieth time in the last fifteen minutes, Yukon went to the back door and peered through the glass toward the backyard and the lake at the edge of it.

Retired police dogs were a lot like retired police officers, in Ruben’s experience. They sometimes had a difficult time remembering they weren’t on the job anymore.

“Easy, buddy. What’s going on?” Ruben scratched the dog’s neck in an attempt to calm him but the dog still seemed to want to alert him to something out in the back.

Yukon pulled away and went to the door whining, his attention focused on something near the boathouse, something Ruben couldn’t see. He could only hope it wasn’t a skunk. He hadn’t seen one around here in some time, but one never knew up here. It could also be a black bear or a mountain lion.

Yukon whined again and nudged at the door and Ruben finally rose from the sofa and slipped his feet into the boots he kept by the back door. If the dog needed to go out, Ruben had to let him but he couldn’t send him out alone if there might be a potential threat out there.

He pulled on his jacket and grabbed the dog’s leash. Ollie trotted over, always ready for some fun, and Ruben had to shake his head at the little dog. “Not you. You’ve got to stay inside and watch the house while we do a little recon.”

Ollie gave what sounded like a resigned sigh and plopped down on the rug to watch as Ruben clipped the leash on Yukon.

“All right, bud. Let’s go see what’s happening.”

The night was cold, mostly clear, with only a few random clouds passing in front of the big moon that hovered just above the mountains. It was the kind of December night meant to be spent by the fire with a special someone.

Too bad he didn’t have a special someone.

It had been almost a year since he had dated anyone remotely seriously, and that had been with a teacher in Shelter Springs.

He had met Lindsey while giving a self-defense class organized by Wynona Emmett, sister to his boss and close friend, Marshall Bailey. She had been sweet and warm and kind, but she also had been still in love with her ex-husband, something it had taken both of them six months of dating to fully acknowledge.

Ruben sighed. He missed Lindsey but he really missed hanging out with her kids, two cute little boys just a little older than Dani Capelli’s youngest girl.

He supposed that spoke volumes about their relationship. His heart hadn’t been committed yet, but he had definitely seen things moving in that direction eventually.

At least they hadn’t gotten far enough for the situation to turn ugly, like it did for his brother Mateo, who was in the middle of a nasty court battle for visitation with the stepson he had raised from a baby.

Next time he decided to let his heart get involved, Ruben had vowed it would be with a woman who didn’t have children. The only trouble with that philosophy was that he was getting older and so were the women who interested him. He had outgrown his attraction to dewy, fresh-eyed coeds when he was in his twenties. He liked a woman who had been around the block a time or two and had the wisdom and experience to prove it.