“I need you.” He’d woken that morning and realized that the freezing fog that infected his brain at this time of year had lifted, burned away by the brightness of Eva’s smile and the warmth of her personality. He didn’t know what would happen if she left, but he didn’t want to sink back into the agonizing darkness. There was something about her that nourished his starved soul. Something that had nothing to do with her abilities in the kitchen.
“You need me for your book.”
“I need you.” This time he said the words slowly and succinctly, and she stopped building the snowman and gave him a long look. He knew she was deciding whether or not he could be trusted and he had no idea whether he’d passed her test.
He wanted to grab her, cup her rosy cheeks in his hands and kiss her mouth until she could no longer remember her name.
“I need twigs for arms and then I’m done.” She stood up and brushed snow from her coat. “Guard our snowman, I’ll be back in a minute.”
He watched as she picked her way along the snowy path toward the trees.
The park was surprisingly quiet. Although the blizzard had passed, only a few hardy dog-walkers and photographers had ventured out.
He was musing whether he could afford to take the evening off and take Eva out to dinner when he heard her call out his name. There was a note of urgency and panic in her voice that brought him to his feet in an instant.
“Eva?” For a moment all he could see were trees, and then he caught sight of her coat. She was on the ground and there was blood on her hands. His stomach lurched and for a moment he thought she’d hurt herself, but then he saw something move in her arms.
“What the hell is that?”
“A puppy. It was in a bag on the ground. I saw it move.” Her voice was thick with tears and anger. “Someone must have dumped him here. He’s hurt, Lucas. His legs are tangled up in the bag and he’s so cold. Who would do something like this? What do we do?”
Lucas dropped to his haunches next to her, flooded with relief that the blood wasn’t hers. His hands were shaking so badly it took him a minute to formulate his thoughts.
The puppy was gazing up at Eva with huge eyes, as if he knew she was his last hope.
“Hold him still.” Lucas tried to slide his fingers between the twisted plastic and the dog’s leg. “He’s been struggling. His leg is tangled.”
“Of course he’s been struggling. If someone had left you in a bag in a storm, you’d be struggling, too.” She stroked the dog, crooning softly. “Your Uncle Lucas is going to get you out of this.”
r /> “Uncle Lucas” had no idea what he was going to do with the dog, but one glance at Eva’s expression told him he’d better do something, and fast.
“We need to get him to a vet.” He already had his phone in his hand but she shook her head.
“I know someone. Can you hold him while I make a call? He’s filthy, though. He’ll probably ruin your coat.”
Lucas looked from Eva’s huge eyes to the thin, shivering dog. “Coats can be cleaned.”
“Good answer.” Carefully, she deposited the freezing, trembling dog into his arms and tugged out her phone. “Fliss? It’s Eva. I have a crisis.” She outlined what had happened to the person on the other end of the phone and then ended the call. “Fliss says there is a brilliant vet directly across the park. We can take it in turns to carry him.”
“He doesn’t weigh much. Who is Fliss?”
“She and her sister run The Bark Rangers. They provide dog-walking all down the East Side of Manhattan. We often use them. And Harriet volunteers at the animal shelter and sometimes fosters.”
The name was familiar, but he couldn’t think why. “You think she’ll foster this one?”
“I don’t know. Fliss says she’s looking after a litter of puppies at the moment, so maybe not. If she can’t, then I’ll keep him until we can find him a good home.”
Looking at her Lucas knew that she would, no matter what the inconvenience to her.
“Where are you going to keep him?”
“Are you worried about your pristine apartment? Because don’t be. I’ll take him home to mine.”
“My apartment hasn’t been pristine since the day you moved in.”
“You’re talking about the Christmas tree?”
“Your belongings have a habit of straying into every corner. By the way, if you’re looking for your scarf, I found it in my study yesterday.”