Love and Let Bark

Book 3: Hearts of Alaska

by Alanna Martin

Genres: Animals; Romance; Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

It's up to two rescue husky puppies to convince their owners it's never too late for a second leash on love.

When Nate Porter left Helen, Alaska, to become a firefighter with the Forest Service, he claimed it was because he craved adventure. The truth was, he couldn't stand to hang around, pining for a girl the town's century-old feud meant he could never have. But Nate got over Lydia Lipin years ago, or so he thought until he learns that an old rival has come sniffing around. The solution—a trip home with his rescue puppies to prove to himself he completely extinguished that old flame.

Lydia Lipin has always been satisfied being the "good" Lipin daughter—dutiful, practical, and always putting others before herself. But that role begins to chafe as Nate's return ignites old memories. No one in town knew about their secret friendship or those forbidden kisses they stole the summer after graduation. Suddenly, Nate and his puppies are everywhere, and sparks are flying.

When Nate realizes he never got over Lydia, he'll risk everything for a second chance. But Lydia's not a risk-taker, and she has to make a choice—play it safe and pretend their summer fling was just puppy love, or step out of the family shadow and unleash her heart.

Release date: November 30, 2021

Publisher: Berkley

Print pages: 352

Sample

1

 

If the wedding didn't kill everyone, Lydia Lipin might have to do it herself. Surely no judge would convict her, not when they learned about the circumstances. Her younger sister wasn't even getting married for another nine months, but already the strain Lydia felt was bone deep.

 

Actually, make that premeditated murder deep.

 

Her hometown of Helen, Alaska, had been torn apart by the Lipin-Porter family feud for over a century, and while it didn't make being a member of either family fun, it was something everyone was accustomed to. Like tourists, and rain, and mosquitoes-if you lived in Helen, you accepted that the feud was life. But Lydia's sister was engaged to a Porter, and Taylor and Josh exchanging kisses-never mind vows-was not something either family was ready to accept. Lydia wasn't sure how the planned nuptials hadn't exploded into true violence yet, although to be fair to both families' ingenuity, it had come close. In the meantime, Lydia was waiting and getting exhausted.

 

Nine more months had become her litany. Nine more months before the happy, troublemaking couple said I do. Nine more months before there was a chance of the animosity between the families dying down. And most important, nine more months before Lydia no longer had to shield her sister from the relatives who were furious about her engagement.

 

Then, who knew how long she'd be serving as a shield between those family members and the married couple? Possibly the rest of her life.

 

Yup, homicide almost seemed like a benign option at this point, and a half-decent defense attorney had to be cheaper than Lydia's ballooning wine budget. If only she dealt with the stress in a healthier manner-say, exercise-she'd probably be in top physical condition.

 

There were a lot of if onlys in Lydia's life. Most of them could trace a line straight back to if only there weren't a feud.

 

But there was, and one of its most ardent supporters was standing on the other side of the desk in Lydia's cramped office, holding a cream-colored piece of card stock between her thumb and index finger as though it were covered in cooties. Lydia didn't have to ask what it was. Her own wedding invitation was sitting on her kitchen table.

 

"The venue Taylor and the man have chosen for the wedding is entirely inappropriate," Theresa Lipin said.

 

"Taylor and the man" was how her grandmother had taken to referring to her sister and Josh. Lydia had heard the phrase enough times over the last few months that it was starting to sound catchy. Derek and the Dominos, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Florence and the Machine. Taylor and the Man.

 

Lydia stifled a giggle. God, she was tired, but laughing in front of her grandmother would be a terrible way to defuse the situation, and defusing the situation was the best wedding present she could give to her sister. Lydia loved Taylor even if she kind of wanted to strangle her for creating this mess. Of all the men Taylor could have fallen in love with, she had to pick a Porter. It was just like Taylor, causing trouble without even trying. Lydia, on the other hand, wouldn't know where to start.

 

"What's wrong with the venue?" she asked, not really caring to hear the answer since it would only be an excuse. Nothing needed to be wrong with the venue when the wedding was simply wrong enough in the family's eyes.

 

"I attended a wedding there several years ago," her grandmother said. "The building is drafty, the ballroom's decor is outdated, the food was mediocre at best . . ." And on it went.

 

Lydia kept her face impassive, although she'd gone from wanting to laugh to wanting to scream at a faster than usual speed. The irony was that Lydia and Taylor ran a hotel that had earned accolades for being one of the best places to get married in the state.

 

The Bay Song Inn was as much her family's legacy as the feud. Her grandparents had opened it decades ago when tourism in their coastal town was starting to take off. What had allegedly begun as Theresa dreaming about owning a bed-and-breakfast had morphed into them opening a boutique hotel with over thirty guest rooms, a multipurpose function room, and a detached restaurant-the Tavern-that catered to guests and nonguests alike. Never let it be said that her grandmother didn't dream big.

 

When her grandparents had given up the day-to-day running of the hotel, it had passed to Lydia's father and mother. But rather than either of them running it until retirement age, her father had slowly abdicated the responsibility as he got involved in town government. Then last summer, her mother had announced she'd had enough of being forced into a profession she'd never wanted and had run off to Anchorage, and Taylor returned to Helen to help out after years of living in Los Angeles. The end result of all this upheaval was that Lydia was currently in charge of the Bay Song with Taylor working as her hospitality manager. When Taylor wasn't cavorting with the Lipins' sworn enemy, that is.

 

But at least Taylor had someone to keep her bed warm while she wreaked havoc over everyone's life. All Lydia had was her cat, cheap wine, and a lot of headaches.

 

The computer screen in front of her showed a mock-up for the hotel's new website, taunting her with visions for how they could advertise their wedding facilities. But no matter how much sense it made to have her sister's wedding at the Bay Song, that was not happening. If there was any chance of the event not ending like a scene in Game of Thrones, it had to take place in neutral territory.

 

Lost in worries of a blood-soaked reception, it took Lydia a second to realize her grandmother had stopped ranting.

 

"Taylor handles all things wedding-related here," Lydia said, trying to be both sensible and conciliatory. "I'm sure she knew exactly what to look for when choosing a venue."

 

Lydia was more than sure because she and Taylor had spent hours discussing the various options, but part of being a shield meant downplaying how much she was helping her sister. She couldn't be a buffer if the more aggressive members of the family realized how much she sided with Taylor. They would ignore her then, and there would be no one to soothe the savage beasts or prevent them from getting near Taylor, something Lydia did on a regular basis when they came by the hotel during business hours.

 

And Lydia did side with Taylor, despite the grief her sister caused. Lydia envied her finding the (would-have-been) perfect guy, but just as much, she envied her sister's bravery and determination for trying to make her relationship with Josh work out.

 

She also couldn't imagine being that reckless herself, but whatever. Taylor and her grandmother might not get along these days, but there was no denying Taylor had the feud's fighting spirit in her blood. Lydia, not so much. Even in appearance, Lydia favored her mother's side of the family.

 

That was never more evident than when watching her grandmother now. Theresa might be a widow in her early seventies, but she looked a decade younger with her short gray hair and steely eyes. She was a rock, hard and immovable. Lydia usually felt like driftwood, dragged along by the current and trying to hold herself together.

 

"I no longer trust that Taylor knows anything about what she's doing." Theresa crossed her arms, glaring at the photos of her beloved hotel hanging behind Lydia's head.

 

Clearly, her grandmother assumed Taylor was going to ruin the place, and Lydia spun her chair around so Theresa wouldn't see her roll her eyes. Lord, with all the tension she was carrying in her shoulders, she could use a massage. A hot, wealthy man to sweep her off her feet and make this mess go away wouldn't hurt either. But she'd settle for a massage.

 

"Where is she?" Theresa asked. "I want to talk to her. Is she by the kitchen?"

 

Probably, yes, but this was the part when Lydia did her best to become a barrier between an irate family member and her sister. She reached for her phone, preparing to text Taylor as soon her grandmother left the office so Taylor would have a chance to run.

 

Before Lydia could neither confirm nor deny Taylor's whereabouts, however, the front desk buzzed her. "Hey, Ms. Lipin?"

 

Perfect. Just the distraction Lydia needed. "Hi, Shawn."

 

"I've got a guest checking in who says he was a friend of yours, and he asked if you were around?" Shawn sounded uncertain, and he kept his voice low, suggesting whoever this friend was, he might still be hanging around the lobby.

 

Theresa made a disapproving face. "You're in a meeting. It's not appropriate for the staff to be bothering you if it's not an emergency."

 

Shawn, who was on speaker, likely heard the comment, and Lydia gritted her teeth. "Did he leave a name?" she asked, ignoring her grandmother. Damn it, this was her hotel now. She'd run it how she liked, and she was meeting with family, not a client or a guest. Which Shawn knew.

 

Shawn also knew that whenever Theresa Lipin stormed into the hotel, searching for one or the other of her granddaughters, Lydia hung an invisible "Please Disturb" sign on her door.

 

Shawn lowered his voice further, but some excitement crept in. "It's Cody Miller. Isn't he the Hitched guy?"

 

Lydia froze for a second as her brain processed this information. Cody Miller, friend, and Hitched were not three things that were meant to go together. Yes, she'd been friends with Cody in school. More than friends at times, actually. And yes, Cody was the guy who'd built Hitched-a travel and ride-share app. But super-wealthy, tech darling Cody and friend Cody had always been two different people in Lydia's mind, even though logically she understood that they were one and the same. Probably it had something to do with the fact that she hadn't seen Cody since before college, and they'd lost touch completely soon after.

 

So how was it that Cody was in her hotel and asking after her? Cody might be from Helen, but the town was not the sort of location that was likely to draw tech magnates. The only explanation that made sense was that Cody was visiting family, but Lydia could have sworn his family no longer lived here.

 

Regardless, Cody was here, he was an old friend, and perhaps just as importantly, he was an ideal distraction.

 

"I'll be right out," Lydia told Shawn, and she ended the call.

 

"Hitched?" her grandmother asked. "That's an app, correct?"

 

Lydia was only mildly surprised that Theresa was familiar with the app. Her grandmother might dislike most technology, but she wasn't precisely a Luddite. She simply preferred face-to-face interactions. It was easier to turn a critical eye on someone that way.

 

"Yes." Lydia stood, slipping her phone in her back pocket. Most days she tried to dress in a style that Taylor referred to as Alaskan professional, a snarkism that proved you could take the sister out of L.A. but you couldn't take the L.A. entirely out of the sister. But today was a Friday, and Lydia hadn't dressed to impress-jeans and a simple cowl-necked sweater would have to do for meeting a billionaire. After all, tech darlings got away with wearing whatever they wanted, so why not her? Lydia had never seen a magazine or news photo of Cody wearing anything other than jeans.

 

"Cody is the boy you went to your prom with, isn't he?" her grandmother continued.

 

That was much more surprising than Theresa knowing what Hitched was. But then, she and Cody had been an on-again, off-again thing for years. "Yes."

 

Theresa nodded thoughtfully, the savage anti-wedding beast soothed, her invitation forgotten about on Lydia's desk. "He was a nice boy. Smart."

 

Cody had been smart, no doubt. He'd beaten out Lydia for valedictorian. Yet Lydia assumed her grandmother's praise had more to do with Cody's family being firmly pro-Lipin in the feud.

 

"Rich now, too, I'm guessing," Theresa said. "Interesting that he came by to see you."

 

It was interesting, but that was Lydia's cue to make a hasty retreat for the lobby. The next sentence out of her grandmother's mouth would likely involve the state of Lydia's ovaries. Her grandmother had been determined to get Lydia married to the right sort of guy-that was, one of her choosing-for years. While Theresa and the rest of the family might not approve of Taylor's choice of husband, her younger sister getting married had only made the nonsense Lydia had to deal with worse.

 

Late January was not a typical time for people to visit Helen, although true outdoor recreation enthusiasts were never deterred by the weather or lack of sunlight. As such, the hotel was one-quarter booked, but that didn't mean corners had been cut. Flames crackled happily in the oversize fireplace, casting flickering light over the rustic wood decor, and the air smelled faintly of pine thanks to the scented candles lit at the reception desk. The inn's complimentary homemade cookies and coffee sat out near the glass doors that overlooked the patio. It was almost time for Taylor to bring out the evening wine, which meant Lydia had to shake their grandmother soon. Cody had distracted her, but for how long?

 

Speaking of Cody, it took Lydia a second to recognize him sitting in one of the armchairs by the fire. For some reason, she'd expected him to be surrounded by an entourage, like a rock star, but he sat by himself, playing with his phone in one hand and holding a peanut butter cookie in the other. He looked totally at home and was dressed to Taylor's exacting Alaskan professional standards-rugged khaki pants, thick sweater, and durable boots. Lydia suspected those clothing items were made by a brand that the average Helen resident couldn't afford, but for the first time, her brain was able to reconcile the two Codys it carried around.

 

He jumped up as she strode over to him. "Lydia! It's so good to see you." Cody pulled her into a hug that she hadn't been anticipating, and she had to course correct before smacking her nose into his shoulder.

 

Well, that was unexpected, but they had been close during school. Lydia decided to shrug it off and follow his lead. "It's good to see you too."

 

Cody beamed at her, holding her hands while he assessed her. "You look fantastic. Haven't changed a bit."

 

Okay. Although she was trying to follow his lead, that might have been a touch over the top. Lydia cracked a questioning smile. "I can't decide whether that's too sweet or just hilarious. But you look exactly like you do in all your press."