Fetching Love by Tamara Hoffa

 Sometimes dreams take years to come true...

As a fourteen year old, Megan Malone thought Chad Ryan hung the moon, but the boy of her dreams was already a man. Chad left town for seven years. Now he’s back. He’s the new veterinarian in town and he’s working for her dad, in the Animal clinic that she manages. Never mate a dog from your own kennel, so the saying goes, but…
Chad Ryan is a dog. The skinny little girl who used to trail after him like a lost puppy, is now a beautiful woman. He has no business even noticing. On the heels of a failed relationship, and the beginning of his career, there is no time for love in his life.
A matchmaking mom and dad, a boisterous yellow lab and fate have different plans. When it’s dropped in their path, no dog can resist Fetching Love.

Fetching Love is a short story, less than a hundred pages, easy and quick to read that is based on the simplicity of love.  You won’t find the drama or angst of running and lies. What you will find is a grown woman who stays in her home town to be with her father.  When she was a teenager, Megan had a major crush on Chad.  Of course he was older and didn’t pay attention to Megan, other than to think it was cute.  He moved on to a larger city and became a veterinarian and got tangled up with a woman who didn’t deserve his love.

Megan's father was such a breath of fresh air, how he still called her little girl no matter how old she was.  He really stepped up to be both parents for her and I was happy to see him have a major part in this story for his own life. 

Chad came back for a fresh start, back to the home town he left.  He was going to take over for Megan’s dad and this would put him in contact with Megan.  Times had changed because that little teenager he used to think was cute was now a beautiful woman and someone he wanted. 

As I said this was a quick read that got right to the point.  There isn’t a long drawn out road that they had to overcome to find their happiness, they just knew what they wanted and went for it.  I found it refreshing after so many books that I have read lately that was full of drama and pain.  This was more like a fairy tale that things fell in place, happiness was within reach and both characters had the courage to grab it. The epilogue melted my heart and just made this story complete.

The author did a wonderful job creating characters that were believable and people the reader could relate to.  The story flowed very well and I think if it had been a longer story, it would have lost its beautiful simplicity.  

      

As Carolyn rose and began to clear the table, Chad turned to her. “Would you like to take a walk and let dinner settle a little before we have coffee and dessert?”

She glanced at her father and he nodded slightly, giving his silent consent. “I’d love to.”

Chad rose from the table and pulled back her chair. He was such a gentleman. He extended his hand and she placed hers in it, loving the feel of his calloused palm against her smooth skin.

The sun had set while they were eating and stars twinkled in the clear night sky. That was one of the advantages of living in the country, no city lights to dull the beauty of the stars. Megan took a deep breath and the scent of pine and hay tickled her nose, along with a hint of Chad’s spicy cologne. 

They walked down the porch steps and Chad put his arm around her shoulders. She stopped and looked up into his face. “Okay, what the hell is going on, Chad? You’re acting really strange tonight. What’s with all the touching?”

Chad pulled her around the corner of the house and stopped. He framed her face with his hands and leaned in to brush his lips across hers. Megan stiffened for a moment and then allowed herself to melt against him. His thumbs brushed across her cheekbones and his hands slid into her hair as he gently made love to her mouth.

His lips were so soft as he pressed tender kisses to the corner of her lips and then swept his tongue along her lower lip. She opened to him and he deepened the kiss, gently sweeping the inside of her mouth and causing a sigh to escape her lips. Her arms crept around his shoulders and she leaned into his body, the brush of her breasts against his hard chest a delicious torture.

He pulled back from the kiss slightly, nibbling her lips and then planting small kisses down her cheek to the crook of her neck. He inhaled and held her close for a moment, before leaning back and looking deeply into her eyes. “I’m tired of fighting my attraction for you. You make me crazy. Do you feel it too?”

“You know I do, Chad.” She laughed. “I was going to make a play for you tonight and see if you were really interested or if I was just imagining it.”

“Great minds think alike,” he said with a quick hard kiss to her lips. “So, will you go out with me then?”

“On a real date? Like a, get dressed up and go somewhere nice, kinda date?”

“Yep. I’ll take you anywhere you like. Maybe you could wear a dress for me and I could get a glimpse of those sexy legs of yours I’ve been dreaming about being wrapped around my waist.”

Megan slapped his arm and blushed to the tip of her toes. “I don’t think I own a dress, and I don’t have sexy legs. I have chicken legs.”

Chad smacked her ass. “Cut it out. I love your body and I won’t have you insulting my taste.”

Megan raised an eyebrow. “You love my body?” she asked shyly. “You don’t think I’m too skinny and…” She waved a hand over her chest. “Small.”

He slid his hands from her waist to cup her breasts. “More than a mouthful is a waste,” he said, stealing another kiss. “And I think you are just perfect.”

Megan felt her heart swell with…dare she even think it, love. Hell yeah. Of course it was love. She’d been in love with him since she was fourteen years old. God, I hope I don’t get my heart broken.

“We better get back inside before your dad eats all the cheesecake.”

“Cheesecake? Damn, let’s go,” she said as she tugged him toward the front door.

Tamara Hoffa lives in central Tennessee, with her husband of 30 years, her three grown children, two grandchildren, 4 dogs and 2 cats. Tamara started reading when she was four years old and has rarely been seen without a book at hand since. At home you will usually find her in “nana’s chair” with her kindle, her laptop or one of her precious, precocious grandson’s in her lap. Tamara is an author, a reviewer, an editor, a professional reader and runs the SSLY blog with her best friend of thirty years, Beverly Ovalle.  Tamara is proof positive that it’s never too late to reach for your dreams.

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