Page 8 of A Love Like Pumpkin Spice (Wayward Hollow #1)

“Nice to meet you all,” her friend adds.

She’s also gorgeous, with a wide grin on her heart-shaped face, soft bangs down to right above her eyes.

She seems vaguely familiar—but I can’t put my finger on it.

Maybe she was in town before to scout the lakeside mansions? I feel like I’ve seen her before .

They didn't resemble each other much apart from their hair color, but their mannerisms are so similar that I would have pegged them as sisters. The same dimple appears in their cheeks when they grin and both their eyes keep darting to my dog.

“And who is this wonderful creature?” Lauren leans down and holds out her hand for Jensen. “Hello, you handsome boy. I heard a lot of good things about you.”

“That is Jensen Ackles,” I say, unable to help my chuckle when my dog whines for more attention.

“No way.” Nic and Lauren burst into laughter. “I didn’t even realize you named your dog after an actor!”

“To be fair, he already had the name when I adopted him, and he’s incredibly stubborn. Even if I’d wanted to, I wouldn’t have been able to rename him.”

“Okay then, Jensen Ackles.” Lauren kneels to play with him while I walk inside and retrieve the box the two of them are here for.

“Here,” I say and hand Nic a palm-sized card. “Again, I’m sorry. If there had been any way to save her, I would have.”

“Thank you.” Her lips tug into a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes. “I’m sure you would have.” She peeks at the card and turns it in her hands, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “What is this?”

“I do a final nose and paw print for all of my patients,” I explain and watch her open the card, her eyes widening when she sees the small prints. “It’s something for owners to remember their pets by. You might have just found her, but she obviously meant a lot to you.”

“Yeah,” Nic whispers with glossy eyes, staring at the card. “She did. Thank you, Henry.”

I inhale sharply. I adore the way my name sounds from her lips. Sweet and melodic, like wind chimes on a quiet, sunny morning .

Lauren takes the box from Nic's hands and smiles mischievously at me, Caleb, and Kieran. “You know what? You should join us for her funeral.”

“I don’t—” Caleb starts, shaking his head.

“Absolutely,” Kieran interrupts him quickly. He tries his best to appear solemn, but I can see the corners of his mouth twitch with amusement. “We would love to pay our respects to …” He motions at the box.

“Chaos,” Nic completes his sentence. “You don’t have to, though. It’s—”

“Oh, we’d love to,” Kieran assures her, and even Jensen Ackles whines his approval, nudging his head against her leg.

“Great! Then that’s settled.” Nic giggles and absentmindedly scratches my dog’s head. “Follow us, gentlemen.”

“Why did you do that?” I hiss at Kieran the second the two girls are out of earshot.

We walk over to my car, since I’ve installed safety features in it to make sure my dog’s protected if we get into an accident.

Not that many happen in Wayward Hollow, but you never know.

There’s enough dumb or borderline suicidal wildlife around that likes to pop up in front of fast-driving cars.

“One, because they’re pretty.” I roll my eyes when he wiggles his eyebrows, and Caleb pinches the bridge of his nose. “And two, because they are new here, and as a newbie myself”—he gives us a pointed look—“I know life is more fun here if you make friends.”

“We got plenty of friends,” Caleb mumbles, making Kieran break into barking laughter.

“Sure, coffee boy. But can you ever have enough friends?” He leans closer to me. “Also, I saw how you stared at the taller one. Go shoot your shot.” A knowing grin is on his lips as he takes a step back. “Friend.”

I keep my eye on him as he climbs into my backseat, while I open the trunk for Jensen Ackles.

This might be the first time I’ve exchanged more than a greeting with him.

That must have been the stereotypical small-towner in me who meets new people with a healthy amount of skepticism.

Turns out Kieran might just be an all right guy.

One that might be way too observant for my taste.

“You only asked us over to get us to shovel the grave, didn’t you?” Kieran asks Lauren as he heaves another heap of dirt out of the hole, and I can’t help but chuckle. Nic has the other shovel in her hand, and we are digging a grave for the little creature.

Well, Nic and Kieran are.

I’m standing to the side and shoveling the dirt into a neat pile to prevent it from messing up Nic’s whole garden, while Caleb is keeping Jensen Ackles in check.

He’d be all too happy to help with the digging.

However, I don’t want him to make a habit of it at and turn my garden into an excavation site as a result.

“I’d help you, but I need to hold on to this.” Lauren lifts the little box with a grin and shrug. “She’ll be in the cold, dirty ground soon enough, so I think it’s fair to hold her in my warm arms until then.”

“This should be deep enough,” I interrupt their banter and assess at the hole they’ve dug. “Three to four feet is the rule of thumb and slightly deeper than half of you”—I nod at Kieran—“seems about right.”

Nic struggles to find footing to climb out of the hole and grimaces, eyes jumping from the muddy ground to her hands and light beige coat.

“Here, I’ll help you,” I say, stabbing my shovel into the dirt and bending down to her.

She tilts her head, puzzled, but quickly catches on, looping her arms around my neck. I slide my arms around her waist, plant my feet, and push upward.

She lets out a tiny squeak as her feet lift off the ground, clinging tighter. With a low chuckle, I shift her weight easily, and in one fluid motion, we’re standing. Her body presses against mine, not an inch of space between us.

For a second, neither of us moves. Fuck, she’s beautiful. Her eyelashes flutter nervously, her breath feathering over my throat, and …

“Now me!” Kieran shouts, ruining the moment, and extends his arms, lifting his face to the sky, presumably waiting for me to lift him out too. Reluctantly, I let go of Nic and take a step back from her.

“You get a hand.” I shake my head at him when he purses his lips in a pout. At first, he tries to pull me down there with him, but I fully expected that and counter it. After a short scuffle, he gets out of there almost by himself.

“You picked a great spot, though,” he says to Nic as he pats dirt off his jacket. His face contorts into a grimace once he realizes the mud is clinging to him and soaking through the fabric of his jeans. “It’s a beautiful view from here.”

And he’s right.

Everyone in town knows that the lake is the most beautiful spot around. It’s where we used to go with our dates if we needed some uninterrupted time away from curious eyes in our teens.

The spot Nic picked for the cat is perfect. It's slightly elevated and not far from the lakeshore. From here, you can see the water, the mountains, and the forest on the opposite side of the lake.

“I’m sure she would have loved it,” Lauren adds solemnly.

Nic nods and takes a shaky breath. “I bet she would have. But we’ll never know.”

We gather around the freshly dug hole. Caleb takes the box out of Lauren’s hands and, together with Kieran, gently lowers it inside it. Jensen whines and attempts to throw himself into the mud, but I grab him by the collar and gently scold him to stay.

“Goodbye, Chaos,” Nic mumbles and crosses her arms in front of her chest once the box is settled. Lauren steps closer to link her arm with Nic’s and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “You’re gone too soon, but I hope you’re having the best time in cat heaven.”

“May you be surrounded by tuna and treats.” Lauren nods.

“See you in the next life.”