A Perfect Christmas Gift Read online

  A Perfect Christmas Gift

  Lori Wilde

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Excerpt: A Perfect Christmas Wish

  About the Author

  Also by Lori Wilde

  Chapter 1

  Evan Conner opened the front door and frowned at the elf standing on the porch.

  This elf was a petite redhead wearing a full-fledged red and green costume fitted with a pointed hat, pointed-toe shoes, and jingle bells. Lots and lots of jingle bells. A sprinkle of freckles crossed her pert nose; a wide grin plucked up the corners of her mouth, and her deep green eyes sparkled like diamonds.

  Yes, sir, a really, really cute elf.

  But what was she doing here? Puzzled, he peered over her shoulder to see if Santa and a few reindeer might be lurking around, but no, she was alone.

  “May I help you?” he asked, bracing for the answer. Nothing about this weird business trip was turning out the way he’d expected.

  “Hi! I’m Dr. Chloe Anderson, the vet,” the elf said. She extended her hand to the jangle of the jingle bell bracelet at her wrist. “You called about a dog?”

  Evan introduced himself and shook her hand, relieved to know who she was but still perplexed by her wardrobe choice. “Thanks for coming. Um, nice outfit…”

  She laughed. “Sorry about the elf costume. It’s photos with Santa day at my veterinarian clinic, and I didn’t have time to change. Our pet parents love to have some holiday fun, so we all dress up and pose with the dogs and cats for Christmas pics.”

  Evan grinned. Chloe Anderson chattered a mile a minute. The whole time she was talking, her hands moved, and her eyes danced, and her smile lit her face. “Sounds like a great way to turn a tidy little profit.”

  Her smile vanished, and she frowned at him like a disappointed fifth-grade teacher.

  “Excuse me, but we don’t make a profit from the photos. We charge nothing to the pet parents.”

  “Why not?” he asked, fascinated.

  “We do it in the spirit of Christmas. You’ve heard of that, haven’t you?” Her voice turned a tad tart on that last part.

  He held up both palms. “I didn’t mean to offend.”

  “It’s okay.” Her smile was back. “But I can tell you’re not from Kringle.”

  What did that mean? Feeling slightly offended, Evan pushed the front door open. “C’mon in.”

  She jingled over the threshold, and he couldn’t suppress his smile. She sounded like a one-woman parade.

  “I am sorry about my comment,” he apologized again. “I’m a corporate lawyer, and if you don’t mind a little friendly business advice, a small vet practice such as yours should maximize all opportunities for a profit. You could make quite a lot off those pet photographs if you have a big turnout.”

  The look Chloe gave him could melt paint off a car. “I could never do that. I do suggest that our pet parents donate to the local animal shelter, but I would never try to profit from it.”

  Her attitude toward profit made him want to shake his head, but as she continued staring at him, he realized what she did or didn’t do wasn’t his concern. He was only in Kringle, Texas, for two weeks, and then it was back to his life in Dallas.

  “Whatever works for you.” He shut the door.

  She looked a little embarrassed that she’d overreacted. “That’s okay. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. I just don’t want you to think that I’m all about money.”

  Many retorts occurred to Evan, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he nodded, which she must have taken as agreement.

  “Mind if I leave a few things here while I look at the dog?” She moved into the large foyer and stopped at a side table. “I don’t want to scare her with all the jingling.”

  “Of course,” he said, curious what exactly she intended.

  She set down the small medical bag, took off her hat, and slid the felt elf covers off her shoes. She also took off armbands festooned with jingle bells. When she finished, she still looked like an elf, just less noisy.

  Chloe glanced around. “I didn’t know someone rented the Madison place. Last I heard, Kitty and Dwayne were still living in Dallas. It’s a nice…um…house.”

  Evan didn’t blame her for hesitating. The word “house” hardly described the place. ‘Sprawling mansion” was the phrase that came to mind, and the estate fit into the small town of Kringle like a giant wart on a puppy’s face.

  “My boss rented it,” he said, not wanting her to think he wasted money on lavish housing.

  When his boss, Peter Thomas, had brought up this trip and “volun-told” Evan he was coming, too, Peter said his goal was to make amends to his hometown. A heart attack last month had Peter reconsidering his life as a corporate lawyer, and now he wanted to show the people he’d hurt in the past that he’d changed.

  “It’s a Christmas Carol without the ghosts,” he’d told Evan.

  But so far, Peter acted more like the original Scrooge than the reformed version. For instance, renting the biggest, most ostentatious house in town was hardly the right way to show the townsfolk he wasn’t greedy.

  “Ready?” Chloe asked.

  “This way.” Evan led her to the home office. “When I got up this morning, I heard some yipping and whimpering and discovered this…”

  He shoved open the French doors so that Chloe could see the small light-brown dog in the room’s corner. The dog had made herself a little bed out of what had once been a fine oriental rug and two expensive throw pillows. Inside the makeshift bed lay the dog and three small puppies.

  “She must have come in through the doggie door. Whoever is in charge of this house should have secured it.”

  “True.” Chloe approached the dog and knelt in front of her.

  The little dog thumped her tail against the floor and looked up at the vet with moony eyes.

  “Look at you, Vixen, you went and had babies,” Chloe cooed.

  “Vixen? You know this dog?”

  Chloe nodded. “She belonged to a wonderful woman who used to live in Kringle, Vivian Kuhlmeier. Vivian passed away a few months ago at the ripe old age of ninety-seven. Everyone in town looks after Vixen. But then she vanished. We thought she’d left the area, but I’m glad to see she’s okay. Better than okay. She’s a mama now.”

  Evan stayed by the doorway while Chloe examined Vixen and her puppies. He was in over his head. Animals just weren’t his thing. He hadn’t grown up around them, and his parents drummed it into his head that pets were a waste of money.

  When he’d told Peter about the dog, his boss had said, “Eeew, just get them out of the house.”

  As usual, his employer expected him to do all the dirty work. When he’d agreed to come along on this trip with Peter, he’d thought his boss would say “hi” to a few old friends, apologize for his misdeeds, and then they’d head back to Dallas.

  From what he’d seen so far, Kringle was a cute town, but a small one. It shouldn’t take too long for Peter to accomplish his mission, and Evan felt a bit impatient that his boss had already strung things out for three days.

  He hadn’t planned on spending a lot of time in this one-pony town. Even though not much happened in the corporate world during the month of December, he still wouldn’t mind getting back to the office. There was always work that needed doing.

  Chloe clicked her tongue. “I told Vivian repeatedly that she should get Vixen spayed, but she wouldn’t do it. She had some misguided notion that spaying messed with a dog’s temperament.”
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  “Too bad you can’t wave a magic wand and make people do what you want,” Evan mumbled, thinking of Peter.

  “I wouldn’t want to be the one wielding the magic wand.” Chloe sank her hands on her slim hips.

  “Why not?”

  “As nice as it might seem to control the world, I do believe in free will. You’ve got to let people be who they are, no matter how inconvenient it might be for you.”

  “That’s a philosophical attitude.”

  “I find life works better when I don’t impose my values onto others. But…” Chloe sighed. “Now not only does Vixen need a new home, but so do her puppies. Thankfully, at least the birth seems to have gone smoothly.”

  “I’m glad for that.” And Evan was beyond glad to shift the new mother out of the house. Dealing with his boss was difficult enough. He knew nothing about taking care of animals, especially a litter of puppies. “So, you’ll take her with you?”

  “No, she should stay here.”

  Evan was so certain she was going to say yes that it took a minute for her answer to sink in. He was already planning how he was going to move the dog into the vet’s car.

  He blinked. “Stay h-here?”

  “Vixen and the puppies will be fine,” she said, as if the animals’ health was his top concern. “Just keep the room warm and make sure she has food and water. She needs bonding time with her puppies.”

  “W-What?” he asked, hoping he’d heard wrong, and he felt like a dolt. “She has to stay here? Are you sure?”

  He looked at the little dog. Sure, she was cute with her big brown eyes and her little black nose, but she worried him. What if something went wrong?

  Chloe had been patting the dog, but now she turned to look at him. “Yes. She should stay here for a few more days. There’s no reason to move her.”

  Evan frowned. Vixen looked content with her puppies snuggled next to her. What the vet said made sense, but the new mom and her puppies intimidated him. He’d faced tough juries that didn’t unsettle him as much as one little mama dog and her puppies.

  “Um…” He glanced at Chloe, not at all happy with how this was turning out. “I guess I can handle it.”

  She laughed. “It’s not as hard as it seems. The doggie door is right behind her, so she can go outside when she needs to. I’ll help you set up food and water.”

  Knowing this was the best he could hope for at the moment, Evan resigned himself to his fate. “Okay.”

  She stood up, dusted her palms together, then came closer to him and smiled widely. The woman could be a professional smiler, she was so good at it. “Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. I can stop by every day after work and check on her if you’d like.”

  Yes, yes, he’d like, he’d like.

  “Please do,” he said, hating that he sounded like a drowning man begging for a life preserver but sure he needed help. “Naturally, I’ll pay you for your time.”

  “You need not pay me each time I stop by.”

  Now they were on his turf—negotiations. “You’ve got to value your time, Dr. Anderson. People take advantage of you if you don’t.”

  She settled her hands on her hips and smiled again. A serial smiler. He had to admit it was a darn cute smile. When Chloe smiled, it reached all the way to her eyes. And right now, her eyes twinkled like the Christmas lights strung up from every building in town. He amused her, Evan realized, like some novelty toy.

  “Fine,” she said. “If that’s the way you want it. I’ll charge you an arm and a leg each time I stop by. It’s my goal to please people. I’d love to collect lots and lots of money from you. Will that make you happy?”

  He couldn’t help it. Evan laughed. He liked Dr. Chloe Anderson, DVM. “Yes. That will make me happy. I love being overcharged.”

  “Good. Then my work here is done.” She bent for one last check on the dog and her puppies, then nodded to herself and straightened. “If you encounter any problems, just call me.”

  “Call you about what?”

  Simultaneously, they turned to see Peter standing in the doorway of the home office.

  Before Evan could introduce him, Chloe glared.

  “Peter Thomas?” she said, her tone as chilly as an iceberg. “What are you doing here?”

  “Hello, Chloe.” Peter’s voice was just as stiff as hers.

  Evan glanced at his boss and then back at the diminutive vet. “I gather you two know each other?”

  “Yes,” they said in unison and glowered at each other.

  “How is your mother?” Peter asked.

  “Mom is fine, thanks.” She clenched her jaw so tightly that Evan could see the muscles working underneath her skin. “How have you been?”

  “Fine.” Peter tipped his head and studied her outfit with a sidelong glance down the end of his nose. “Nice elf clothes.”

  Evan stifled a groan. His boss had insisted on apologizing to the town’s residents, and he had no idea what Peter had done to alienate the vet, but he shouldn’t miss this opportunity to apologize.

  “That’s right. Scoff at Christmas. You’re oh so good at it.” Chloe’s killer smile was MIA.

  “Peter, you came to this town for a reason. Wouldn’t now be a great time to start?” Evan asked.

  One eyebrow shot up on Chloe’s forehead. “What reason is that?”

  Peter shrugged and seemed reluctant to do what he had insisted last week needed doing. “I’m trying to make up for a few things in my past. Like Scrooge, you know, after the ghosts.”

  “Scrooge?” Chloe looked confused.

  “Yep.” Peter flashed her one of his patented lawyer smiles, big but lacking in sincerity. “I had a heart attack last month.”

  “Oh no,” Chloe said, genuine concern in her voice. She might not like the man, but she could still empathize with him. The vet was a class act. “I’m so sorry to hear about that.”

  Peter waved off her concern. “It was mild, but it got me to thinking. I needed to come back to Kringle and mend a few broken fences.”

  “They are a little more than just broken fences, don’t you think?” Chloe asked, her mouth pulled into a dubious expression.

  “I know, I know a few folks in Kringle aren’t big fans of mine,” Peter said. “Just wanted to pop by and say ‘sorry.’”

  “A few?” Chloe frowned. “Peter, you convinced Kringle’s primary employer to pull out of the town.”

  Peter shrugged. “It was a good move for my client.”

  “It devastated our local economy and left many families struggling to make ends meet. Dozens of people had to move away to find new jobs. A few folks even lost their homes. All because of you.”

  While Chloe was speaking, Peter kept bobbing his head. Evan wanted to tell him to stop it, but he knew better. Peter had a temper, which wouldn’t help the present situation; however, what his boss was doing was rude.

  Based on what Evan had seen so far tonight, this apology mission in Kringle was looking more and more like a disaster.

  “I’m sure Peter feels terrible about what happened,” Evan soothed, trying to scoot Chloe toward the door.

  The last thing he wanted to do was alienate the vet. He’d almost gotten her out of the study when a small mewing noise came from Vixen and her puppies.

  Peter moved around Evan and saw the dogs. “What are those mutts doing here? I hate dogs. Evan, get rid of them. Toss them outside.”

  Evan opened his mouth to tell his boss that he would not hurt the dogs, but before he could say anything, Chloe got in Peter’s face.

  “No one will harm those animals.” She shook her finger at him. “Do you hear me? I will have you arrested for animal cruelty.”

  Evan would give her this—a regular person might find it difficult to look frightening while wearing an elf costume, but Chloe Anderson managed it.

  “Keep your pants on. Fine. Sheesh. The dogs can stay.” Peter headed for the door.

  A little of the fire simmered down in her eyes. But Chloe did not like his bo
ss.

  “Evan, they are your responsibility. I don’t want to hear or see them.” Then, without another word, Pete walked out, leaving Evan and Chloe staring at each other.

  Evan recovered first. “Nothing will happen to Vixen and her babies. I promise.”

  Chloe pulled one corner of her bottom lip up between her top teeth, and slowly, she shook her head. “I know you mean that, but I am worried about them now. I wouldn’t have suggested they stay here if I’d known you were with Peter.”

  She had a look on her face like she’d just eaten something rotten. He would have to talk to Peter about his attitude and the way he’d treated Chloe.

  Ever since his heart attack, all Peter talked about was making amends to the people he’d harmed over the years, but at this rate, he was adding people to the “make amends” pile rather than subtracting from it.

  “Nothing will happen to the dogs,” Evan reassured her. “I’ll make sure they get good care. Peter didn’t mean what he said. He’s just not an animal person.”

  Chloe squared her shoulders like a fierce warrior going into battle and held his gaze. “You promise they won’t be neglected?”

  Evan couldn’t look away from her intense gaze.

  Attraction crackled between them for a few seconds as they stared at each other.

  He crossed his heart. “I promise. You have my word that no harm will come to Vixen and her puppies. Please, show me what to do, and I will take good care of them.”

  She inclined her head. She looked from him to Vixen and her puppies and then back again, torn.

  He couldn’t really blame her for not trusting him. She didn’t know him, and what she knew about Peter apparently wasn’t good. Was she mentally lumping the two of them into the same category? Evan worked for Peter, and therefore she couldn’t trust Evan either?

  Hoping to convince her, he flashed his most sincere smile. “I really do promise.”

  “I suppose I shouldn’t judge someone on the company they keep.” She studied him for a long moment, and he must have passed muster because she said, “Come on, I’ll help you set up the food and water.”