GARRETT HART
"Well, it might be cold," said Garrett.
"It's June, Garrett," she said, giving him a strange look.
They walked into the kitchen and Garrett immediately noticed Natalie hunched over an Andie-sized tomato costume.
Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She wore no make-up, but she didn't need it anyway. She was rumpled-looking, slightly sleepy as if she had jumped out of bed and thrown on clothes in a hurry.
She looked delicious.
He wondered suddenly what she wore to bed—if anything.
Garrett cleared his throat. "Don't you think Sylvie's costume is a bit, um, small?"
Sylvie and Natalie looked at him and both said, "No."
Garrett watched as Natalie put a green beret on Andie's head. The little girl's arms stuck straight out from the holes in the top of the tomato.
Although her arms were bare, her legs were encased in red tights. She also wore red ballet shoes. She jumped off the stool on which she had been standing and waddled over to Garrett.
"Hi ya, Dr. Garrett. Do you like my costume?" Her little white teeth flashed against her red-painted face as she smiled.
"You look ready for a salad," he said gravely.
"Yuck!" she said, wrinkling her little red nose. "I don't like salad."
"I'm sure you'll be the best tomato in the parade." Garrett looked at Natalie. "I suppose this means we aren't going back to the farm."
"The parade is at noon. We can be at your house by two o'clock at the latest," she replied, standing.
She stretched her arms toward the ceiling and Garrett forgot to breathe. She wore a pink tank top over a pair of well-worn jean cut-offs. The shirt expanded across her breasts, revealing the tantalizing fact that she wasn't wearing a bra.
His hands tingled as he rubbed them against his jeans, trying to repress the sudden urge to stride across the kitchen and cup those breasts.
Then he would kiss her neck, find that sensitive spot on her collarbone, and let his hands glide down her rib cage to caress her behind.
"Garrett, are you hot?"
Sylvie's concerned question snapped him out of his reverie. "What?"
"You're sweating," she said.
"I am?" He felt the moisture on his upper lip and forehead and wiped it away with his hand. "I guess so. Isn't your air conditioning working?"
"No one else is sweating," Natalie said softly.
He saw a spark of desire swirl in her green eyes before it disappeared.
Her cheeks look flushed as she crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a look that could melt steel.
He knew she knew he had been looking—and wanting. He also knew she was embarrassed.
"I think I'll go change," she said. "We got up late this morning and I didn't have time to dress properly."
"Mommy forgot about the parade," Andie said.
Garrett looked at Natalie's crossed arms and then her pink cheeks. "Don't change on my account."
He saw the curl of a smile, but then Susan burst into the kitchen waving a piece of paper and wearing a disgruntled expression. "Damn it!" She looked at the kids. "I mean darn it. The
mayor's got pneumonia. How the hel—heck does someone get pneumonia in June!"
She slapped the paper down onto the kitchen table, sat down and moaned, "Who's going to be Head Squash? We don't have a marshal for the parade now." She frowned down at the paper and muttered, "Of course, I'm in charge of this fiasco because Channel 4 is sponsoring this da—stupid parade."
Susan looked at Natalie speculatively. "Could you—"
Natalie held up her hands. "Not me. I'm driving the teenaged vegetables in Rodney Hooperman's convertible Mustang."
Susan sighed. "I can't do it. I'm supposed to be covering the parade for the station. We can't have the Harvesting Harmony parade without a Head Squash."
"Why can't Dr. Garrett be Head Squash?" Andie's voice piped up.
All eyes turned to Garrett. He looked down at Andie in horror. She grinned at him, all happy innocence. He took a step backward and flung out his arms to ward off the begging stares. "No. I'm not prancing around Mirror Falls in any vegetable form whatsoever."
***|***|***|***|***
GARRETT ANDERSON
Garrett couldn't believe he was a squash.
It had to be three hundred degrees outside and it was at least a thousand degrees in the squash costume.
He maneuvered around some kids from the Mirror Falls High School Band who were recognizable because of their yellow and black band uniforms.
They looked like a bunch of bees, Garrett thought grumpily as he squeezed between a male tuba player and a tall girl holding a flute. They both grinned at him and he gathered a return smile from somewhere inside him that didn't regret his decision to become a squash.
He marched on.
Sylvie and the children had all but disappeared when Susan had dropped everyone off at the parade grounds, which was the high school's parking lot. Susan and Sylvie had stuffed him into this ridiculous costume and then Natalie had slathered some greasy paint on his face.
Voilà—he was a damned squash.
He didn't even like squash.
Garrett spotted a little red tomato weaving in and out of the band bees and he waddled toward it as fast as he could. "Andie!" he yelled.
The child turned around and stared him with big brown eyes
"Sorry," Garrett said. "Thought you were another … er, tomato."
The tomato marched away. Garrett sighed and dropped his arms. So what was he supposed to do? Just stand here until someone told him where the Head Squash was supposed to go?
Even Susan had abandoned him. He looked around the area, trying to find a familiar face.
It struck him that the only people he knew were Susan, Natalie, and the children. He'd only been in Mirror Falls for a few weeks, though. He hadn't had time to make any friends.
Something bumped into his side and he wobbled.
"Oh jeez!" He felt someone grab his arm and steady him. "I'm so sorry."
He looked down and saw a smiling woman holding a basket of cookies. She peered at his face. "You're the new vet. Hi! I'm Mira Kade. My family and I are looking forward to you opening the animal shelter. I've always wanted a cat."
"Adopting is the way to go," said Garrett. "But it'll be a while before the shelter is up and running."
"That will give me time to create the perfect cat room," she said. "I don't suppose you've seen a rather angry orange around here, have you?"