Texas Christmas Twins

Other than Chummy, the dogs had mostly ignored her.

“Oh, no,” Simon said, raising his free hand palm out. “You misunderstand me. I’m not pulling some sneaky stunt on you to try to get you to adopt a dog. It’s just that—well, maybe it would be easier to show you than to try to explain.”

“Zig! Zag! Come here, boys.”

Immediately after Simon called, two identical small white dogs dashed to Simon’s side, their full attention on him.

“Down,” Simon said, and both of the dogs instantly obeyed.

Miranda looked from one dog to the other and a lightbulb went off in her head. She understood exactly what Simon was getting at, why she wanted Harper and Hudson to see these particular dogs.

“Twins!” she exclaimed.

Simon laughed.

“Not exactly. They’re littermates. Someone dumped them off at the side of the highway, tied in a bag. A Good Samaritan happened to see the bag moving as she drove by and she turned her car around to investigate. Once she realized the bag contained puppies, she contacted the town vet, Aaron Grimes, and he called me.”

He helped an overexcited Harper pet one of the dogs, and taking Simon’s lead, Miranda helped Hudson scratch the ears of the other.

“Soft fur, see, Harper?” Simon said in the high-pitched tone of voice men tended to use with babies. “This is a doggie.”

“Gentle, gentle,” Miranda added when Hudson tried to grab a handful of the white dog’s fur.

“Zig and Zag are Westies—West Highland white terriers.”

“They’re very obedient.”

He grinned. “We’re working on it. Terriers tend to have a mind of their own, kind of like cats. They are one of the harder breeds to train.”

Zig licked Hudson’s fist and he giggled. Both dogs seemed to like the babies, and the twins were clearly taken with the dogs.

But she’d meant what she’d said earlier. No matter how cute Zig and Zag were, or how much the kids liked them—no dogs allowed. At the moment, suffering cuteness overload, she even had to give herself a stern mental reminder.

She cast her eyes up to make sure Simon understood her very emphatic message, but he was busy helping Harper interact with Zag.

When he finally looked up, their eyes met and locked. A slow smile spread across his lips and appreciation filled his gaze. For a moment, Miranda experienced something she hadn’t felt this strongly since, well, since high school—the reel of her stomach in time with a quickened pulse and a shortness of breath.

Either she was having an asthma attack, or else—

She was absolutely not going to go there.

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