A Daughter's Homecoming. Ginny Aiken

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      Chapter Two

      Gabi didn’t get a good look at the man in the shelter until he stood right next to her, a folder tucked under one arm, his intention clear as he reached for her stray. The first thing that drew her attention from the dog to the director, alerting her to his nearness, was his clean, fresh scent. The aftershave he’d used sometime earlier in the day still lingered and offered a spicy hint of woody crispness, a welcome change after she’d spent the past couple of hours smelling a decided...um...lack of freshness.

      The shelter director really was attractive. While not an overly tall man, maybe even a hair less than six feet, he still was much bigger than Gabi’s five foot two. The navy blue scrub top he wore lay smooth across a broad chest and wide shoulders, suggesting solid power. His face, not model-handsome, had an outdoorsy bronze glow and exuded strength and character with those rugged lines, a nose with a bump that suggested a long-ago break, and that wide, easy grin. Twin sunbursts of smile creases at his temples bracketed gray eyes, and a shock of streaky dark blond hair brushed his forehead. He didn’t look anything like Gabi would have imagined a man who spent his days indoors caring for homeless animals would look. While she’d naively expected a stereotypical lab tech with dark-rimmed glasses, this man appeared as though he belonged on a ski slope, training for Olympic races, or maybe climbing Mount Rainier, tethered to the rock face by some skinny rope and a handful of flimsy aluminum gadgets. Clearly, the new director didn’t spend all his time inside, bathing dogs and plowing through mountains of paperwork. She wondered what kind of sport appealed to an animal lover.

      Or, rather, someone she hoped was an animal lover.

      What kind of man would choose this kind of work? What had made him become a shelter director instead of...oh...maybe a Forest Service wildlife biologist? It surprised her to note how this man she’d just met piqued her curiosity.

      As her imagination ran amok, his voice rumbled through her. It resonated with a richness that drew her, its calm cadence a welcome invitation to relax. He probably used that comforting approach, that same warm voice to soothe anxious animals.

      Then she realized he was waiting. For her response.

      Great. She was making a splendid impression, all spaced out like that.

      “...don’t you like him?”

      “Sorry,” she mumbled. “I...ah...got distracted. You were saying?”

      His distinctive gray eyes narrowed a fraction. “I wanted to know why you won’t keep the little guy.”

      Gabi glanced at the rascal in her arms, the tug on her heart stronger than ever. She rubbed a finger over his head, and he leaned into her touch. The tug grew more insistent. “I wish I could, but I’m only in town to take care of a family matter. My landlord back home has a no-pet, no-exception rule. If I take this guy back to Cleveland with me, we’ll both be homeless.”

      He arched a brow. “Cleveland, huh? Pretty far away. And you have family here?”

      A family everyone in Lyndon Point knew. Only too well.

      The shelter director’s question revealed how new he was to town. All the longtime residents knew her by sight, definitely by the picture her parents kept behind the cash register at Tony’s.

      “I grew up here,” she said, “but I left for college in Ohio. Once I finished my degrees, I found a job I love in Cleveland...and so I stayed. But my family is still here.”

      “Do you come back frequently?”

      A blush crept up Gabi’s cheeks. “Um...well, not as often as my parents would like.”

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