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Looking amused, he held up his hand. “Stop right there. I’ve made my point.”

“But that’s not fair.”

His gaze cut toward her, and he shrugged. “Life isn’t fair.”

Sophie sighed. “You’re missing the point.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t have a pet.” Not that she didn’t want a pet, but every time she fostered one with thoughts of keeping it, Isabelle promptly found it a forever home. She suspected it had something to do with how many tears Sophie had cried years ago at the loss of their beloved Snuggles. Isabelle didn’t seem willing to risk that again. Other than Sophie and their mom, her sister tended to shut everyone and everything out that might wiggle its way into her heart.

If Isabelle knew Sophie was feeding the yellow cat on their front porch nightly in hopes of befriending him, Isabelle would no doubt lecture her. Thankfully, her sister didn’t make use of the porch during the winter months, so she hadn’t noticed the food and water dishes, or the small flannel blanket, lying just beyond the porch chairs.

“Guess you’re right. Hard to throw a party for something you don’t have,” Cole conceded. “Surprises me, though. I’d have taken you for someone who had a dozen animals.”

Barely restraining her smile, Sophie narrowed her gaze. “Are you saying I look like a crazy cat lady?”

One side of his mouth lifted. “You said it, not me.”

Bees buzzed in Sophie’s belly at his half-smile.

“Maybe someday I will be a crazy cat lady. A girl can dream.”

She imagined what it would be like when she had her own place. Currently, she and Isabelle put all their profits back into the shop, making small strides on their very big loan toward the goal to be debt-free. Someday, after the note was paid, Sophie would start saving for a house. Somewhere close, though, in case Isabelle moved, too, because Sophie wouldn’t leave their mother alone. Darlene would be lost if both her girls left home.

“Hey, Carrie,” Sophie called when they walked into the shop. “I don’t even know why they have you on our list when you were at the meeting the other night.”

“I wasn’t officially there, just dropping off some dog treats Sarah had ordered for Harry—and then I stayed to help with clean up.” Carrie’s gaze went to Cole and she smiled. “Hi, nice to see you again. We met over the summer? My son volunteered with the high school football team to wash the firetrucks.”

“Jeff seemed like a good kid.”

Carrie beamed with pleasure that he’d recalled her son’s name. “He’s a great kid. Best thing that ever happened to me.”

Cole was polite enough, shaking Carrie’s hand, but rather than continuing their conversation, he turned to look at a sealed bag of organic sweet potato doggie bites, letting Sophie take over.

“I figured you’d be by. I have a check already made out,” Carrie told her, giving a questioning look toward where Cole was seemingly ignoring them.

Sophie shrugged, giving her an I-have-no-idea look, and then took the check Carrie pulled out of a drawer.

“Thanks so much for this.” She put the donation in an envelope she’d labeled “Toy Drive Donations,” then stored the envelope back in her purse.

“You’re welcome. I was going to give you a call this week if you didn’t make it by. Your Petdanas are selling fabulously. Everyone loves them and the cute sayings you embroider on them.”

It was Sophie’s turn to beam. She and Carrie had come up with the idea while volunteering at the church’s Halloween Trunk or Treat. Excited, Sophie had gone home and sewn a dozen that night and brought them to church the following day to show her friend. Carrie had loved them. Sophie was ecstatic that first set had sold and that now, the subsequent larger batch had, too.

“I’ve thought about putting them on the website,” Carrie added. “What do you think?”

“Oh, wow. Selling them online would be fabulous.” Another step in diversifying their sewing business and ensuring The Threaded Needle’s longevity and success. If it helped Carrie, a single mom and small business owner, too, that was an added bonus. “I’m in.” Very much so, as she’d had fun making the cute pet bandanas.

When she and Cole left Carrie’s store, they stopped by his vehicle to pick up another collection box, then headed to their next business.

They hit most of the businesses on the square. Afterward, they climbed into Cole’s SUV and Sophie set the bag with the Santa suit on the floorboard. She noticed a crossword puzzle book on the passenger seat and couldn’t resist picking it up and flipping through the pages.

She’d found Cole’s Christmas card t

ucked inside a crossword puzzle book like this one, but if she hadn’t been looking for something to identify him then she’d never have picked that book up. Word games had never been her thing. Apparently, not Cole’s either, as the puzzles hadn’t had a single letter written in any of the blocks. Just as this one didn’t.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized, reaching for the book, but Sophie shook her head.