Hometown
Girl Again
Hometown
Series Book 5
by
Kirsten Fullmer
Genre:
Romance
How
did I end up so broken? It’s a question Katherine can’t answer.
First, a surprise inheritance tipped her life upside-down, and now
her new RV park is a muddy mess of half-restored trailers. To make
matters worse, she’s falling for her first crush all over again.
The only thing she’s sure of at this point is a full-blown identity
crisis.
Alex
came home after a life-threatening wound ended his Army career. Now
Katie is back too, and she’s building something called a glamping
park? He feels like he let her down years ago, can he make it up to
her now? Or are his own problems too much to handle?
Fate
brought Katherine and Alex back to Smithville, and the town-folk want
to see them together again. Will the couple be able to cope with the
locals well-intentioned meddling, or did their chance at love
disappear a long time ago...
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Relieved to have
found all the items on her list, Katherine offered the clerk a shy smile and
collected her bags. The place was really more of a small town mercantile than a
hardware store, being the only store in town that offered more than groceries,
and she was glad they saw fit to carry a bit of everything.
When she reached
the door, lugging her supplies, she was surprised to see Alex through the
glass. He was heading across the parking lot toward her, carrying a small black
and white dog, and his characteristic swagger looked more like a limp as he
wrestled with the puppy.
Jumping back,
her head whipped from one side to the other, looking for a place to hide.
Alex marched
into the store, and she ducked behind a rack of men’s overalls. Holding her breath,
she crouched and peeked between the overall straps. The little black dog had an
adorable smiling face, and her heart melted, but then she noticed Alex’s
blustery expression. The puppy wriggled in his grip, and he turned her way.
Her arm shot out
to grab a straw hat from the rack, and she plopped it on her head, hoping it
would hide her sweaty, lopsided bun.
The dog barked
and squirmed, and it was obvious that Alex needed help, but Katherine knew she
was a sweaty mess, and she probably looked like she’d just rolled out of bed,
since she had, not to mention she smelled like gasoline after spilling on her
grubby pants when she filled her can at the gas station earlier.
She’d made a big
enough fool of herself already, and she wasn’t eager to repeat the disgrace, so
she hunched lower behind the rack, watching with only one eye showing from
under the hat
Alex was far too
busy wrestling the dog to notice her, so she stayed silent, watching as they
passed. Before she could make her move toward the door, however, the dog
escaped Alex’s arms and bound down the aisle. Alex reached out, scrambling for
the puppy, but lost his balance and fell sideways into a rack of garden trowels
that clattered and crashed to the floor.
Dropping her
bags, Katherine hurried to his side to see if he was okay. When she reached
him, his expression was dark as the devil, so she hesitated, pulling her hand
back. “Want me to get the dog?” she asked timidly, and he nodded, so she turned
away. Worried about Alex, she glanced nervously over her shoulder, but he was
already back on his feet, righting the rack, so she hurried after the puppy.
The little dog
hadn’t gone far when she spotted him assaulting a display of chips and other
snacks. By the time she reached his side, the puppy had a package of jerky in
his mouth.
She scooped up
the dog, unable to keep from laughing at his antics. “You’re a naughty one,
aren’t you!” she chided, watching the puppy chew on jerky. As cute as he was,
she had to wonder why Alex had brought him to the store, and without a leash.
“I didn’t take Alex for the dog type,” she mumbled to herself.
“I’m
not,” Alex growled, from behind her, causing her to whirl around in surprise.
He reached for the dog.
She
handed over the puppy, appraising Alex’s face and mood. “Can I help?” she asked
before her brain clicked into gear. Here she’d been relieved that he hadn’t
seen her, and now she couldn’t help but jump square into his business.
“You
don’t— need to do that,” he assured her, his words jarred and interrupted by the
wriggling dog. Then over the dog, he eyed her in question with one brow raised.
She squared her
shoulders. She knew she looked a sight, but he was being flat out rude. “Would
he sit in a shopping cart?” she wondered out loud.
Alex
glanced toward the front of the store, then back. “I don’t know.”
“I’ll
grab you one,” she offered, then hurried away without waiting for his reply. By
the time she returned, Alex looked ready to strangle the puppy with his bare
hands, so Katherine reached out and took the dog, and put him in the cart.
At first, the
little dog seemed confused and frightened, but once he got his bearings and put
his front paws on the end of the cart, he seemed happy enough. His oversized
ears perked with curiosity and his tongue lolled from the side of his mouth,
accentuating his goofy grin.
Alex
stared at the dog, obviously unhappy, then his gaze turned to her. “Nice hat.”
Horrified
that she was still wearing the stupid straw hat, she yanked it off her head and
tossed it onto a shelf. “How old is he?” she asked, motioning toward the dog,
hoping to take Alex’s attention away from her.
“Hell if I
know,” he grumbled, glaring down at the puppy.
Her questioning
glance swung from the puppy back to his face.
“I just got him
yesterday. From my nieces.”
“Oh,” she
replied, wondering why someone would give a dog to a person who didn’t want
one.
For a moment it
looked as if Alex would explain, but his mouth clamped closed, and his brows
lowered into a glower, so she left it alone. Taking a step back, she motioned
toward the door. “I better get moving, but…” she hesitated, then continued.
“Feel free to bring him out to the RV park if you need to. I’m sure we can find
a place for him to play while you work.”
“I’m here to get
him a leash and a play yard, but,” Alex ‘s gaze came to hers, and her
discomfort caused his expression to soften, “I appreciate the offer. I wasn’t
sure what to do with him, to be honest.”
She was relieved
to see him calm down. “It’s not a problem; I’ll see you in a while then.” With
a wave she turned away and headed toward the door, hoping he didn’t see her
collect her things from behind the overalls.
Other
Books in the Series:
Hometown
Girl at Heart
Hometown
Series Book 1
Hometown
Girl After All
Hometown Series Book 2
Hometown
Girl Forever
Hometown Series Book 3
Christmas
in Smithville
The Hometown Series
Book 4
Kirsten
grew up in the Western US and graduated from high school in
1984. She married soon there after and quickly built a family.
With three young children and number four on the way, she returned to
college in 1992. Her career as a draftsman included many settings
ranging from a steel fabrication shops to prestigious engineering
firms. Balancing family life with the workplace forced her to
become the queen of multitasking. In 2001, bored with the cubical
life, she moved on to teach drafting in technical college, then to
opening her own consulting firm teaching 3D engineering software. Due
to health problems, Kirsten retired in 2012 to travel with her
husband for his job. She now works writing romance novels and enjoys
spoiling her three grandchildren. Since 2017 Kirsten has lived and
worked full time in a 40' travel trailer with her husband and her
little dog Bingo.
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