Page 62 of Ruff and Tumble

Hailey didn’t believe that for a second, and one glance at Cole’s face convinced her that he felt the same. But a man who spent as much time with a camera trained on him as this one didn’t have to be told how to hide his emotions.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m here now, isn’t it?” Cole said lightly. He nodded at the doctor. “Of course I’ll swing by.”

Dr. Shad’s face broke out in a bright smile. “You’re sure you don’t mind? I know your schedule is busy right now, and I’m sure you have a hundred other places to be, but—”

“I don’t have anywhere else to be,” Cole assured her. Hailey thought she detected a flat note in his voice, but it could have been her imagination. “I’m yours for as long as you need me. Hailey?”

“Of course.” Hailey moved her hands in a sweeping gesture. “Go do your thing. I’ll, uh, visit with your parents for a bit longer and then hang out in the cafeteria or something until you’re done. I don’t mind.”

Dr. Shad clucked her tongue. “Don’t be silly. You’re more than welcome to tag along. You’re that puppy woman from the news, aren’t you? The one who’s going to break the you-know-what? The kids will get a huge kick out of that. They love animals.”

Hailey wasn’t sure she liked this new reputation of hers, but there was little she could do about it now. Besides, that was the deal, right? Break the curse, save the puppies. All the rest of this stuff—Cole and his family and friendly doctors knowing her on sight—were just temporary perks. Emphasis ontemporary.

“Come with me,” Cole said, adding his fuel to the fire. “Please?”

She felt a little weird about it and might have protested further, but the thought of sitting and chatting with Cole’s parents for the next hour was worse than following him around the hospital. Not because she felt unwelcome but because she had no doubt that they’d happily keep her company the entire time.

If she thought it was difficult not getting attached to the dogs she fostered, then not getting attached to this good-natured family was a hundred times worse.

“I’d love to,” she said, giving in. Since she still had some dignity left, however, she turned to Julian and Paula and added, “But think about what I said regarding that beagle. The offer is an open one.”

* * *

“He’s something else, isn’t he?” Dr. Shad—Amara, as she’d insisted Hailey call her—leaned on the wall next to her. It was brightly painted with underwater sea creatures and mermaids, all of which were frolicking down the hallway and through the nurses’ station. “He comes down every few months to check on them.”

“Yeah, he’s something, all right,” Hailey agreed, stifling her sigh.

It wasn’t extraordinary for a man like Cole to include charitable hospital visits in his regular lineup of duties. Football players did it all the time—usually for publicity or as part of a Make-A-Wish promise—bringing a small bit of joy into the lives of kids who needed it the most.

But why did he have to be so good at it? There wasn’t a camera or journalist in sight, and she doubted the Make-A-Wish Foundation ran to playing checkers with every child on the entire floor. Yet that was what Cole was doing, treating each game as a precious opportunity to hone his skills—and to lose in a spectacularly hilarious fashion.

He justhadto be great with kids on top of everything else, didn’t he?

“It’s a nice thing you’re doing, by the way,” Amara said.

“Oh, um.” Hailey was startled into a blush, fearful that her uncharitable thoughts were showing. “I don’t mind…not really. They obviously adore him, and I’m not busy.”

“Not the kids.” Amara pushed off the wall and turned to face her. “The you-know-what.”

Hailey couldn’t pretend not to know what she was talking about.The curse.

“To be honest, I’m doing it more for the puppies than the Lumberjacks,” she confessed. “We’re expecting record numbers of viewers this year. My boss is over the moon.”

“I’ll bet.” Amara pointed up at a nearby television. “It’s all they’ve been talking about on the news.”

Although Hailey would have gladly ignored the images moving across the screen, the alternative was to watch as Cole showed a child hooked up to an oxygen tank how to throw a football using a teddy bear as a prop. At least the news had the sound turned all the way down. She could pretend the newscaster was making sensible remarks about the lowering annual rates of puppy adoption and how viewers could make a difference.

“Here,” Amara said, squashing Hailey’s plans by pulling a remote from out of her pocket. “You probably want to hear what they’re saying.”

The newscaster paused on an image of Cole and Hailey standing close to each other in front of the puppy drafting board, both of them laughing at something Penny had said. From the way their bodies were angled, they gave the appearance of holding hands. For a brief, shining moment, she hoped it was just her imagination, but Amara finished switching off the mute function.

“…which begs the real question: Just how far is Cole Bennett willing to go to break the curse?” asked the female anchor, whose blond bob cut across her shoulders like a scythe.

The male anchor chuckled. “It looks to me like he’s willing to go all the way, Karen.”

Hailey felt her cheeks burn. “Oh dear. I didn’t know word would get out so quickly.”

Amara laughed. “You didn’t think you could keep this sort of thing a secret for long, did you? He’s Cole Bennett, darling. The only thing the fans care about more than his game play is his love life.”