The Choice

And Travis ... let’s not leave him out of it, either. It was as much his fault as the puppies’. Granted, he had mentioned in passing that she should keep them contained, but he hadn’t really made a point of it, had he? He hadn’t explained what would happen if she didn’t listen to him, did he?

But he’d known what would happen. She was sure of that. Sneaky.

And now that she considered it, she realized that it hadn’t been the only thing he’d been sneaky about. The way he’d pressed her to answer the whole “Do I go out boating with my neighbor who happens to be a flirty hunk?” She decided she didn’t want to go, if only because he’d been so manipulative about getting her to agree. All those ridiculous questions insinuating that Kevin kept her under lock and key. As though she were Kevin’s property or something! As if she had no mind of her own! And here she was now, cleaning up a million mounds of poop. . . .

What a way to start the weekend. To top it off, her coffee was cold, her newspaper had been soaked by an errant sprinkler, and the water had gone frigid before her shower was finished.

Great. Just great.

Where was the fun? she grumbled to herself as she threw on her clothes. Here it was, the weekend, and Kevin was nowhere to be found. Even when he was around, their weekends weren’t anything like the ones she’d had when she’d visited him during her school breaks. Back then, it seemed as if every visit were fun, filled with new experiences and people. Now he spent at least part of every weekend at the golf course.

She poured herself another cup of coffee. Granted, Kevin had always been the quiet type, and she knew he needed to unwind after a hard week at work. But she couldn’t deny that since she’d moved here, their relationship had changed. Not that it was completely his fault, of course. She’d played a role, too. She had wanted to move in, settle in, so to speak. Which was exactly what had happened. So what was the problem?

The problem, she heard a little voice answer, was that it seemed as though there should be . . . more. She wasn’t exactly sure what that entailed, other than that spontaneity seemed to be an integral part of it.

She shook her head, thinking she was making too much of it. Their relationship was just going through some growing pains. Moving out onto her back deck, she saw that outside, it was one of those impossibly beautiful mornings. Perfect temperature, light breeze, not a cloud in the sky. In the distance, she watched a heron break from the marsh grass, gliding above sun-drenched water. As she stared in that direction, she caught sight of Travis heading down to the dock, wearing nothing but low-slung plaid Bermudas that stretched almost to his knees. From her vantage point, she could see the muscle striations in his arms and back as he walked, and she took a step backward, toward the sliding glass door, hoping he wouldn’t spot her. In the next instant, however, she heard him calling out to her.

“Hey, Gabby!” He waved, reminding her of a kid on the first day of summer vacation. “Can you believe how beautiful the day is already?”

He started to jog toward her, and she stepped into the sun just as he pushed through the hedges. She took a deep breath.

“Hey, Travis.”

“It’s my favorite time of year.” He opened his arms wide to take in the sky and trees. “Not too hot, not too cold, and blue skies that stretch forever.”

She smiled, refusing to eye his admittedly sexy hip muscles, which, she always thought, were far and away the sexiest muscles on men.

“How’s Molly doing?” he chattered. “I assume she made it through the night okay.”

Gabby cleared her throat. “She’s fine. Thanks.”

“And the puppies?”

“They seem okay, too. But they made quite a mess.”

“They’ll do that. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep them in a smaller area.”

He flashed those bleached teeth in a familiar grin, way too familiar, even if he was the hunk-who-saved-her-dog.

She crossed her arms, reminding herself how sneaky he’d been the day before. “Yeah, well, I didn’t quite get to it yesterday.”

“Why not?”

Because you distracted me, she thought. “I guess I just forgot.”

“Your garage must smell to high heaven.”

She shrugged without responding, not wanting to give him the satisfaction.

He didn’t seem to notice her carefully choreographed response. “Listen, it doesn’t have to be complicated. But pooping is all puppies do for the first couple of days. It’s like the milk runs right through them. But you’ve got the pen up now, right?”

She tried her best to keep a poker face but obviously failed.

“You don’t?” he asked.

Gabby shifted from one foot to the other. “Not exactly,” she admitted.

“Why not?”

Because you keep distracting me, she thought. “I’m not sure I need one.”

Travis scratched at his neck. “Do you like cleaning up after them?”

“It’s not so bad,” she mumbled.

“You mean you’re going to give them the run of your whole garage?”

“Why not?” she said, knowing that the first thing she was going to do after this was to build the tiniest pen she could.

He stared at her in obvious bafflement. “Just so you know, as your vet, I’m going to come right out and say that I don’t think you’ve made the right decision.”

“Thanks for your opinion,” she snapped.

He continued to stare at her. “All right, then. Suit yourself. You’re going to come to my house around ten, right?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“Because.”

“I see,” he said, sounding exactly like her mother.

“Good.”

“Is something bothering you?”

“No.”

“Have I done something to upset you?”

Yes, the little voice answered. You and your damn hip muscles. “No.”

“Then what’s the problem?” he asked.

“There’s no problem.”

“Then what’s up with the way you’re acting?”

“I’m not acting any way.”

The teeth-baring smile was gone, as was all the friendliness he’d shown earlier. “Yeah, you are. I drop a basket off to welcome you to the neighborhood, I save your dog and stay awake all night to make sure she’s okay, I invite you over to have some fun on my boat today—all this after you screamed at me for no reason, mind you—and now you’re treating me like I have the plague. Since you moved next door, I’ve tried to be nice, but every time I see you, you seem angry at me. I just want to know why.”

“Why?” she parroted.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice steady. “Why.”

“Because,” she repeated, knowing she sounded like a sulky fifth-grader. She just couldn’t think of anything else to say.

He studied her face closely. “Because why?”

“It’s none of your business.”

He let her answer settle into the silence.

“Whatever,” he finally said. He turned on his heels, shaking his head as he walked toward the steps. He was already on the grass when Gabby took a step forward.

“Wait!” she called out.

Travis slowed, took another couple of steps, then came to a halt. He turned to face her. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry,” she offered.

“Yeah?” he said again. “What are you sorry for?”

She hesitated. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I didn’t expect that you would,” he grunted. When she sensed him getting ready to turn again—a turn that Gabby knew would signal the end of cordial relations between them—she took a step forward, almost against her will.

“I’m sorry for all of it.” To her ears, her own voice sounded strained and tinny. “For the way I’ve been treating you. For the way I’ve made you think I’m not grateful for the things

you’ve done.”

“And?”

She felt herself shrink, something that seemed to happen only in his presence.

“And,” she said, her tone softening, “I’ve been wrong.”

He paused, hand on hip. “About what?’

Gee, where should I start? the little voice answered. Maybe I haven’t been wrong. Maybe my intuition has been warning me about something I don’t quite understand but shouldn’t be under-estimated. . . .

“About you,” she said, ignoring the little voice. “And you’re right. I haven’t been treating you the way I should, but to be honest, I’d rather not go into the reasons why.” She forced a smile, one that wasn’t reciprocated. “Would it be possible for us to start over?”

He seemed to mull this over. “I don’t know.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me,” he said. “The last thing I need in my life is a crazy neighbor. I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but I learned a long time ago to call ’em like I see ’em.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No?” He didn’t bother to hide his skepticism. “Actually, I think I’m being more than fair. But I’ll tell you what—if you’re willing to start over, I’m willing to start over. But only if you’re certain you want that.”

“I am.”

“Okay, then,” he said. He retraced his steps to the deck. “Hi,” he offered, holding out his hand. “My name is Travis Parker, and I want to welcome you to the neighborhood.”

She stared at his hand. After a moment, she took it and said, “I’m Gabby Holland. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“What do you do?

“I’m a physician assistant,” she said, feeling slightly ridiculous. “How about you?’

“I’m a veterinarian,” he said. “Where are you from?”

“Savannah, Georgia,” she answered. “And you?”

“From here,” he said. “Born and raised.”

“Do you like it here?”

“What’s not to like? Beautiful weather, zero traffic.” He paused. “And for the most part, nice neighbors, too.”

“I’ve heard that,” she said. “In fact, I know the vet here in town might even make an emergency house call now and then. Can’t find that in the city.”