Page 3 of Frozen Hearts

Mel pulled into her driveway just as the woman was walking past. She grabbed her bags of dog items and exited her car.

“Sushi, stop!” The call startled Mel.

She turned in time to watch the beagle pulling the woman, leash and all, in her direction. Mel stood frozen holding her bags. Sushi had her wrapped up in her leash before Mel could move out of the way. The woman tried to step in between Mel and the dog, the move only served to ensure her own foot was also wrapped in the leash.

“Don’t move,” the woman directed.

“I can get us untangled,” Mel argued.

Mel tried to pull a foot free and lost her balance. Mel realized too late that she was falling, she angled herself to fall on the soft, muddy ground instead of the hard concrete driveway. She and the woman hit the ground with a thud, mud splashedthem both. Mel glanced down and saw that one of her hands was firmly planted against the woman’s left breast. Mel’s face warmed, she was sure she was blushing bright red. She quickly yanked her hand away.

Mel sat up and untangled the leash from around her feet. Sushi looked up at her penitently. Mel stood up and wiped mud from her hands. She bent down and offered the woman her hand. Only to have the woman refuse to take it. The woman stood up and looked down at her dress. Her mouth pulled into a tight, thin line.

“I’m Mel.”

“Willow,” the woman answered, still looking stern.

“I’m sorry about your dress,” Mel offered.

“I told you not to move,” Willow accused. Mel drew back unsure what to do with the woman’s anger.

“Hey, I was just getting out of my car, minding my own business,” Mel objected.

An expression that resembled regret flashed across Willow’s face for half a second. But the look was gone almost instantly. Willow gave a loud frustrated sigh.

“Sushi, come on,” Willow directed. Sushi followed, his head hung low as if he knew that he had misbehaved.

“Nice to meet you,” Mel yelled sarcastically. She looked down at the ground where her dog supplies were now strewn. Mel gave a defeated groan as she bent down to pick up her supplies. She was more than a little annoyed that the woman hadn’t at least offered to help. She supposed for some people beauty really did only run skin deep.

Chapter 2

Willow let the door slam closed behind her. Sushi was already sliding past her to lay in her doggy bed.

“All done with your day causing mayhem?” Willow asked wearily. Sushi offered only a subtle wagging of her tail.

Willow glanced down at her dress all covered in mud and groaned. She had bought the dress on a whim at a fancy shop downtown. She’d never had a reason to wear it and today had felt like the perfect time. She pulled the dress off over her head and laid it across her dryer. It was probably ruined, but maybe the dry cleaner could work a miracle. Willow cringed when she thought back to her interaction with Mel. She hadn’t even offered to help the woman pick up her bags. Of course, Sushi would have just eaten everything in Mel’s bags. So she’d actually done Mel a favor, whether the woman realized it or not. Of course, if Mel had just followed her instructions, they would have been fine. She looked down at her dress one final time and scoffed at it.

Honestly, why couldn’t Mel have just stood still? Willow sat on her couch and looked over at Sushi who was lying asleep on her doggy bed. Sushi hadn’t started out as Willow’s dog. Willow’s mother had brought Sushi home on a whim. Her mother was prone to flights of fancy and Willow had known the puppy love wouldn’t last. She had been right, of course. Once Sushi lost her puppy looks and was big enough to beg for food, her mother had lost interest. There had been talks of rehoming Sushi, but Willow couldn’t bear it. Sushi had taken a liking to Willow, and the feeling was mutual. So Willow had taken Sushi into her home. And Sushi had made Willow’s life a little less lonely.

Unfortunately, her mother hadn’t thought to get Sushi any obedience training. Sushi was terrible on a leash, and absolutely untrustworthy around food. But Willow loved her unconditionally. Sushi lifted her head and met Willow’s eyes.

“You know, I’m never going to meet a pretty girl if you keep knocking them all over before I have the chance to introduce myself,” Willow said with a smile. Sushi wagged her tail.

Willow was startled by a thunderous knock on her door. Willow knew who it was before she even answered the door. She’d never met anyone with a knock like that other than her best friend, River. River was leaning against her porch railing when Willow opened the door. River’s face lit up when she saw Willow.

“Hey, friend. I wasn’t expecting you. Come on in,” Willow smiled and ushered River inside.

River was one of the few people that Willow enjoyed showing up to her home unannounced. When River gave her a wide-eyed expression, Willow remembered that she was still in her underwear. River had been her friend for over a decade, and the outfit covered as much as her swimsuit. River walked inside and gave her a once-over.

“Is everything alright, friend?” River asked.

“Hold on, let me get some pants,” Willow teased.

“No reason to dress up on my account. I could take my pants off to match,” River laughed.

Willow shook her head and sighed. Flirting aside, the two of them had decided early on in their friendship that they were better as friends. Why mess with a good thing? Willow came back from her bedroom wearing a pair of faded jeans and a t-shirt.

“So what has you feeling so out of sorts today?” River asked. Her friend knew her all too well.