Snow Place Like Home

Chapter Eight

Jason

Jason led the beautiful woman to his room. "I want to show you something."

"Bet you didn't think you'd have me in your bedroom so soon." He knew she was joking, but her words still stirred the animal in him.

He wanted to spend the night with her. Knowing she would be in his room, in his bed, picturing her in some flimsy nightgown was going to make it impossible for him to sleep. He pushed down his thoughts and opened the door, unleashing Penny, who wagged her tail in exuberance at meeting a new friend.

"Oh my God," Shonna exclaimed.

He hadn't expected her to go to pieces the way she did. Since they met, she did her best to keep up the appearance of being poised and in control, but at the sight of her grandmother's furry friend, she was a little girl all over again. It was an adorable sight and made Jason's heart flutter.

"This is Penny."

"She's beautiful."

Penny shamelessly lapped up the attention.

"She was YoYo's favorite. Led her team to victory last March. She asked me to look after her. But it'd make more sense for you should keep her."

She looked at him like he had said something off the wall.

"I can't," she protested. "YoYo wanted you to have her. I can respect that."

"If you'd been here, I'm sure things would have been different. She misses YoYo too. I can tell. Maybe it will do you both some good."

"Won't you miss her?"

"Of course, but I'll manage." He wouldn't miss getting up at five in the morning to take her outside.

"What happened to the other dogs?"

"Given away after she passed. I promised to keep Penny... in the family."

Although YoYo felt like his grandmother, she wasn't. Shonna was her actual family. They both ignored the awkward silence that fell over them.

"I wasn't expecting you to be a dog person," he noted.

She laughed for the first time since they met, and he was instantly addicted to the sweet, melodic sound.

"I love dogs. I always wanted one, but my parents wouldn't allow it. They said it was too impractical with them both working full-time jobs and barely ever home. They didn't want to be bothered. Once I graduated and was old enough to decide for myself, I was too busy with school and then work, so it never made sense." She continued to play with Penny before adding, "She's such a sweetheart. I don't think she'll do well in Arizona, though."

It was like a wake-up call. He needed to stop looking at this woman like she was anything other than a visitor skipping through town. He didn't know how long she would be here or if she would ever come back, so he needed to shut down whatever he was feeling and keep things friendly. She was YoYo's granddaughter. He would help her any way he could, but he couldn't offer her more than that.

"You're sure it's okay for me to stay here? Where will you be?"

Rigby agreed to let Jason stay in his room for the night, insisting he could find some tourist to shack up with for the night.

Jason had no idea how he would even sleep through the night knowing this woman would be in his bed wearing....

He shook those thoughts from his head and reassured her, "I'll be fine. Don't worry."

***

Shonna

"What the hell are you doing in Alaska?" Shonna's close friend, Julius David, demanded.