LITMIR.BIZ

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got the hint. Stepping back, he waved her inside. “Come on in. We can talk about your situation in the house.”

      “I’ve got to get everyone else.” She turned around and headed to her truck. Wayne at the garage had fixed the doo-hickey and it ran better than new. She lifted the canopy window and called back over her shoulder. “The cats are in the cab. Would you get them, please?”

      She ignored Grant’s less than pleasant rejoinder.

      He came out of the house just as Zoe led Snoopy inside, carrying her birdcage and Bud’s home. Grant took one look at her pets and grumbled, “I thought you would take care of Bud, not show up on my doorstep with a zoo.”

      She smiled. “Consider it a return on your investment.”

      He frowned at her before opening the cab door. He pulled out the cat carrier. Zoe went around to the back of the truck to get Maurice. The goat had not liked the ride out to the ranch. She pulled him toward the house. “Come on, Maurice, you’re going to like Grant’s place. It’s warm and cozy.”

      “And it is not open to goats. He can stay in the barn.”

      “But Grant…” Zoe let her words trail off at the implacable set of Grant’s features. At least he wasn’t sending her to the barn. “Let’s go, Maurice. I’ll get you some nice, snuggly hay to curl up in.”

      Grant snorted.

      Zoe led Maurice to the barn and settled him in as quickly as possible. She didn’t even stop to visit with the horses on her way out. Coming in through the back door, she felt warm air blast her. She looked around the kitchen. Grant had already put the teakettle on to boil. Smart man, not to mention self-sufficient. He kept a minimum of domestic staff, and none of them stayed over in the house.

      Though the foreman’s wife did most of the housework and cooking, she lived with her husband in a house on the ranch.

      Grant turned toward her and she nearly went back out the door. His expression could have tamed a grizzly. It didn’t take long for Zoe to get miffed herself. Some friend. She could not help it that she did not have a place to live. A tiny voice reminded Zoe that she could have refused Bud. It was Grant’s idea, she retorted to her conscience.

      “I put your suitcases in my old bedroom.” He did not sound nearly as mad as he looked.

      “Thanks.” She gave him a tentative smile. “I really appreciate this, Grant.”

      “What happened? When I left, you and Mrs. Givens were sitting down to tea. I can’t believe she would evict you this close to Christmas.”

      “Mrs. Givens hates rodents.”

      Grant’s expression did not lighten. “Bud is a hamster.”

      He was annoyed with Mrs. Givens. Zoe should have realized sooner, but she’d been in panic mode ever since her eviction notice.

      “Hamsters are rodents.”

      “Why didn’t she just tell you to get rid of the hamster?”

      “She hit the end of her rope with me, I guess. Said she thought the next thing I’d bring home would be a snake. She never got over the iguana in the bathtub.”

      Grant narrowed his eyes. “What about your classroom?”

      Zoe pictured the look on her principal’s face if she showed up with another animal and laughed. “I already have more class pets than any other kindergarten teacher this side of the Cascades.”

      “I still don’t understand why she would just kick you out like that. You have rights. Besides, Mrs. Givens likes you.”

      “Snoopy kissed her.”

      Grant’s eyes widened, and then he laughed.

      Zoe smiled, feeling hopeful for the first time since getting evicted. “I’m glad you find it amusing. Mrs. Givens didn’t. She thought it was time for me to find a place to live that would accept my weird need to have so many pets.”

      Grant’s laughter dried up like a creek bed. “She said your tender heart toward animals was weird?”

      The teakettle whistled. Zoe scooted around Grant to move it off the burner. “No, she didn’t call me weird. She didn’t have to. Grant, most people think my tendency to collect pets like other people collect dust bunnies is a bit strange.”

      “There’s nothing strange about it. You have a soft heart, that’s all.”

      “Tell that to my dad.” She hadn’t meant to say that. She didn’t like to dwell on her relationship with her dad. He had never understood her, and she was not sure she would ever understand him.

      Grant squeezed her shoulder. “I did.”

      “Yeah, I know. Always my protector.”

      Grant brushed a finger down her face. It took every speck of self-control she had not to lean into his touch.

      “Always.” The warm promise in his voice soothed her.

      “So, I can stay?”

      Grant stepped back. “We’ll start looking for a new place for you tomorrow.”

      Zoe frowned. “What’s the rush? Can’t we wait until after the holidays?”

      It would be perfect. She and Grant could entertain their parents together, and she would not have to spend any time alone in the company of her father. With Grant around, even Zoe’s mom would not be able to finagle such a meeting.

      Besides, finding a place wasn’t going to be all that easy. Hadn’t he heard what she’d said about already looking? She hated facing it, but she’d have to get rid of the goat and the parrot. Someone might rent to her with a dog and two cats, but even that was pushing it.

      Grant shook his head. “This is Sunshine Springs, not Portland. Among the year-round residents, kindergarten teachers don’t cohabitate with men—not even their best friends.”

      “We wouldn’t be cohabitating. I’m just staying here until I can find another place.”

      He reached around her and started mixing two mugs of hot cocoa. “You and I know that, but the busybodies of Sunshine Springs don’t.”

      “But—”

      “No buts.” He handed her a cup of hot cocoa. “I know what we’ll do.”

      Zoe took a sip of sweet, steaming beverage and waited for Grant to tell her about his brainstorm.

      “Frank and Emma Patterson went across the mountains to Portland to visit family for the holidays. My ranch foreman is keeping an eye on the place. I’m sure they won’t mind if you stay there while you’re looking for a new home.”

      Zoe rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right. Grant, most people wouldn’t let me stay at their home with all my pets. Why do you think it’s so hard for me to find a rental?”

      She also didn’t know how she felt about staying in her old home, now occupied by the Pattersons, a wealthy retired couple who rented the place from Grant.

      “I’ll call Frank in the morning,” he said, just as if she had not spoken.

      “If you are that intent on getting rid of me, go ahead and call.” She set her half-finished mug by the sink. “I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day.”

      Grant frowned. “I’m not trying to get rid of you. The Patterson place is a lot closer to town, and you won’t have to drive so far on icy roads to work.”

      School let out in a couple of days, and Grant knew it. “So, we don’t tell anyone I’m staying here. If they don’t know, their overstimulated imaginations won’t have any fodder. And with school letting out soon, how is anyone going to know?”

      Grant’s granite-like features twisted into a cynical smile and his blue eyes mocked

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