Wild Men of Alaska 02 - Moosed-Up

Twenty

    It had been two days, and Eva hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Lynx. Boy, did that saying have more meaning living in Alaska. Fox and Raven had stopped by to check on her and invited her to go shopping in Fairbanks. She’d enjoyed herself even though she’d figured Lynx had called his sister and asked Raven to keep an eye on her. It made her heart hurt knowing he was thinking of her even though she’d basically called a halt between them.
    Her patient load had been heavy, but a lot of that had been townsfolk wanting to get to know her better now that she’d “proven” herself a member of the community by taking down a bad guy. After half a dozen patients, she’d closed the clinic, taped a note on the door of where she’d be, and showed up at the lodge to tell her story over many Ugly Moose drinks so that they all could get back to business. The sharing had been mutual, and she felt more accepted in the small town.
    One thing she hadn’t been able to ask anyone was if Lynx had been stringing her along or not. She didn’t want to voice it, and she didn’t want to “out” him in case everyone wasn’t privy t o his animal talking abilities.
    When she returned to the clinic, she’d found her lavender bra hanging from her doorknob. She picked it up and glanced around. She knew BW hadn’t left it for her. There had been no sign of him the last few days either. Lynx probably told him it was okay to return to the Refuge now that the poachers had been caught.
    What was she saying? She was starting to believe him.
    And if she were to believe Lynx, the return of her bra was a good indication that he could talk to animals. How else would he have gotten her bra off of BW’s antlers? She had been out of her mind trying to cut it off him with a pair of scissors. The bra wasn’t that worse for wear. A good washing and no one would ever know the adventures it had taken.
    When she entered her place, nothing but silence greeted her. She used to like the silence. Not so much anymore. She headed for bed. At least with the many Ugly Moose she’d drunk, sleeping promised to be easier tonight.

Chapter Twenty-One

    He’d given her three days. Now he was getting his woman back.
    Chocolate hadn’t worked, neither had flowers, but there was no way Eva would be able to turn away a puppy.
    Lynx didn’t care if this wasn’t playing fair as he was way past fair.
    With the cute little pup in his arms, he felt very confident that he’d get inside Eva’s door. That was until Eva opened her door and his heart pounded at the sight of her, and his carefully planned speech floated off into t he atmosphere.
    “Hi,” he managed to say.
    “Hi,” she returned.
    The puppy squirmed in his arms, bringing him back to his plan and off how pretty Eva looked in her silky blue blouse and sexy short skirt. He wondered what color her undergarments were today.
    “This is Kiski.” Lynx held up the runt puppy Fox agreed was more suited as a pet than one of the dogs he trained for sledding. “You need someone to help you navigate this country. She’s a good start. I’d be better, but she’d go a long way in helpin g you with the local wildlife.”
    When Eva didn’t say anything right away, he rushed on. “Dogs come in handy. She’ll make a good companion, and bears don’t like the sound of their barking.”
    “What about moose?” Eva bit her tongue to keep from smiling. How did one resist a big man holding a little puppy? A puppy that wasn’t going to stay little for long. N ot with those saucer-size paws.
    “They’re not too fond of them either.”
    She held her hand out to Kiski, who lavished her fingers with her pink tongue. How could she resist the blue and brown-eyed pup with the bandit face? Turned out she didn’t want to. “Okay, I’ll give her a try.”
    “You’ll have to take my word for it, but she likes you and would like us to make a home for her. Together.”
    “She told you this?”
    “Kinda.” He looked down at the puppy in his arms who was currently trying to eat the buttons off his shirt. “So what do you say? Remember, she wants us both as her parents.”
    Eva let the smile spread over her face. The man was too damned adorable. “Depends. Are you house broken?”
    He set the puppy down, who promptly began chewing on the laces of his Timberland boots. “I’m house broken where it counts.” He started to hope. “Do you feel better about what I told you ?”
    “I don’t understand why I do,