"Here, kitty kitty," Zoe offered the cat treats in her hand as she carefully moved across the tree branch.

Well this had been a great idea. Shula Whittaker had come into her office not for a medical emergency, but in a panic because Hank was stuck in a tree.

Of course she'd followed thinking Hank was a small child or another version of Crazy Earl, and instead found the beady eyes of a huge fluffy black cat staring back at her down from his perch in a tree.

"Shula," she had said hesitantly. "I think this is sort of out of my line of work. Isn't there a fire department for this?"

But Shula looked so upset that Zoe had kicked off her heels, stuck a few cat treats in her pocket, and climbed the damn oak tree behind the library.

Anything to get people in this town to like her, right?

"Hey, Hank," she tried talking to him. "Hey kitty." Although, the more she thought about it, she realized there was no way she could climb down the tree with the cat in her hands.

And then, she made the mistake of looking down.

"Boy, we're really far up here, aren't we Hank," she said with a false laugh. "Really. Really. Far up here."

She shifted on the branch and it gave a little crack under her.

"ohmygod." Zoe swore under her breathe, and clung to the tree trunk.

"Ms. Zoe!" Shula called worriedly. "Are you okay?"

She bit her lip. "Um. I don't think I can get down, Shula. Can you find someone with a ladder?"

The black devil cat gave her a look of disdain, jumped right over her, and climbed down the tree, to Zoe's eyerolling displeasure.

By now Shula wasn't the only one watching the scene. Tom Long had come running out of the library.

"Zoe! Don't move, I'll get the mayor."

Slowly half the town trickled in until she felt like she was on display at the county fair.

"She's going to jump!" she heard someone say.

"I wouldn't blame her," someone else said. "If the whole town hated me that much."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Newsflash. Sound carries!"

And finally, Tom came back carrying one end of a long extension ladder.

Unfortunately Wade Kinsella was carrying the other end.

Great, she was never going to live this down.

Wade leaned the ladder against the tree, and stood there for a second on the ground, the biggest smirk across her face she'd ever seen in her life.

"What are you waiting for?" Zoe exclaimed. "Get up here and get me down."

"I wouldn't wiggle around too much. That branch is rotten, as anyone can see. And also I can see up your dress," he said, no holds barred.

"Seriously," she complained. "What are you, twelve years old?" She tried to fold her dress around her legs, but the stupid branch cracked a little more, and she cried out and hugged the tree a little tighter.

"Alright, alright." With a sigh, Wade climbed up to her level, and his blonde head appeared, along with that damn grin she wanted to punch right off of him.

"Listen doc, I know it's been a hard week and all, but throwing yourself out of a tree is no way to solve your problems."

"Shut up," she grumbled. "There was a cat."

Wade looked around. "Where?"

"Well it's gone now!"

Of course it was. She looked down and she could see Hank perched safely in Shula's arms.

"Always coming to your rescue," Wade said, he voice calm in her ear as she backed carefully down the ladder in her bare feet with him behind her, his arm safely around her middle. "What would you do without me?"

"I will not dignify that with an answer," Zoe said, smoothing her dress and her hair as she landed safely back on the ground. "Thank you for rescuing me. Now I need to go back to actual patients."

Wade leaned against the tree behind her with his well-toned arm over her head. "Any chance you wanna show me some real gratitude, I'm off work at 11:30."

She pursed her lips, but being that close to him she suddenly found it kind of hard to concentrate. Sheesh, no wonder the girls in town were tripping over their own feet around him. Something about those eyes…..

No! She scolded herself silently. No. No. No. Wade Kinsella was strictly a one-night stand kind of guy, and she was not. It wasn't worth it. "I'd rather climb back up in the tree," she said smoothly, ducking under his arm and trying to regain her dignity.

Wade's laughter rang out as he turned away from her and picked up the ladder to put it back in the truck.

She picked up her shoes and stalked back across the street towards her office, but she could have sworn she still heard him laughing behind her.

###################################

Two Days Later…..

He was halfway through his shift at the Rammer Jammer, and Wade realized he couldn't keep his eyes off the damn door. And his mind off the 101 different possible reasons why Zoe hadn't walked in yet today.

It wasn't like he hadn't seen her all week. She was in Lavon's kitchen most mornings for breakfast and coffee. And everywhere else every time he turned around, like a mosquito buzzing in his ear. The most irritating part is that he was starting to like that buzzing sound. She made things more interesting in these parts than they had been in a long time.

"Wade! I need a ride!"

"Wade! You blew out the fusebox with your stupid amp again!"

"Wade! Get me out of this tree!" What had possessed her two days ago to climb up the half-dead oak tree behind the library to try and rescue Shula Whittaker's damn cat, he had no idea, but it sure had made an amusing story for this week's blawker.

"Wade!" Wanda snapped her fingers in front of him, bringing him back to reality. "I need a rum and coke. Are you half asleep tonight or what?"

"Sorry, darlin'," he flashed his best smile in her direction, and grabbed a highball glass.

"What's this?" Wanda eyed up the case of wine that he had yet to put away. Or rather… "hide and relabel" before anyone else saw it. She read the words on the side. "Pinot Grig-."

"Just a freebie from the distributor," he said hastily, sliding the drink across the bar and then lifting the case up quickly. "Thought we'd try it out. Gotta compete with Fancie's, you know."

Shelly came over to relay a drink order, and she raised her pointy eyebrows and gave him an evil smirk. "Looks like a pretty expensive freebie."

"Awww, " Wanda patted his arm. "You don't have to tell us Wade, we get it. You're so sweet."

"Get what?" There's nothing to get. And I am not sweet!" He called as both of them walked away, grinning like Cheshire cats and probably plotting against him.

He'd rather take a fishing hook in his eye before admit he'd seen the empty bottles in the trash from a certain doctor's favorite brand of wine and paid way too much of his own money to have it shipped express from New York. It's not like he thought it would have her hanging around the Rammer Jammer a little more or anything. Or that he even cared. Nothing was going to happen with him and Zoe Hart. Ever again. Except maybe him coming to her rescue the minimal once a day. And that was only because he felt obligated and all.

That's all she was. Just an obligation. She had other things on her mind anyway. Clearly.

It was when they were building the float for the parade that Wade first got it. It wasn't much, just a look in that direction, but he'd seen that same look before on half the women in town.

Zoe had a thing for George Tucker.

He acted like it didn't matter, but that old familiar feeling had rose in the back of his throat as he watched her making googly eyes at the town's golden boy. Never good enough.

Never mind that George had been with Lemon Breeland for about 8 bazillion years and they were engaged to get married. That didn't stop anyone else in this town either from thinking George was the greatest thing since color television.

That's why she had stopped their little fling in the car on Miller road.

And that's why girls like her never end up with guys like him.

The chip on his shoulder that had been there since he was 10 years old felt heavier than ever.

As if she could read his thoughts, Zoe appeared in the doorway in a halo of dark hair, designer clothes, and expensive perfume.

Every pair of eyes in the place stopped to look at her. To say she'd turned the town upside down was an underestimate. First, there had been the snake incident. The hunter with tick paralysis. Shula and her cat. And the float. Lord, the float… Founder's Day in Bluebell would never be the same.

"Hey," someone called out. "Aren't you the one who ruined the parade?"

Zoe winced at the memory of how the tractor with the float attached had taken out a fire hydrant, a park bench, and the produce stand in town square. ""Yep, that's me," she said without hesitation. "Bluebell Parade Ruiner Extraordinaire in the flesh. " She sashayed through the room past all the gossiping ears and wagging tongues and landed herself on the nearest bar stool.

"Hey Wade," she flashed him a sassy smile. "Break any poor girl's heart today?"

"Well maybe just one or two," Wade leaned against the edge of the bar on his forearms and flashed her a grin. "Rescue any cats today?"

"Ha. Ha." She said dryly. "When are you going to fess up and admit that you like coming to my rescue?"

He leaned forward so the people a few seats away couldn't overhear.

"When are you going to fess up and tell everyone why you really crashed that float?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Zoe gave him an innocent look. "I'll take that wine now."

"I bet Betty Breeland would know."

Zoe's eyes met his, and her mouth wavered.

"You know, that's exactly the kind of thing that Harley would have done," Wade said quietly. And for once, he wasn't giving her crap, messing around. "Maybe not to such extreme measures, but..."

The expression on Zoe's face told him just how badly she had needed to hear that, and a long look of understanding passed between them.

"It'll blow over, you know. People are coming around, even if they don't want to admit it."

"You think so?" She looked up at him earnestly.

"Yep."

She shook her head slowly. "Harley had this practice for 45 years. I need to find a way to do better."

"He had it for 45 years. You've had it for a week. Give yourself a break," he said, pushing a glass of wine in front of her.

Zoe said nothing for a long time, just watched him while he buzzed around whipping up drinks and putting things away behind the bar, not to mention flirting with every single female in the place. He could be infuriating for sure. And 100% womanizer. But he listened. And right now, well, she'd take every friend in Bluebell she could get.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," she said slowly. "About what you said that night."

"What night?"

"You know, the night in your car…."

"Oh, the night you jumped my bones?" Wade said nonchalantly.

Aaaaand he's back to being Wade, Zoe thought sardonically. For a second there it had felt like they were having an actual serious conversation. But she could see it now, how he put up walls...

Her eyes widened, and she glanced around to see if anyone had overheard. "First of all, I did not jump your…bones. And you said…."

"Said what? That part about your cute little-."

"Not that part!" Zoe reached over and clamped her hand over his mouth, and he twisted away from her, laughing at the flush that rose in her face.

"Sorry doc, I can't seem to remember."

"You said you were making good on a promise."

"You musta been hearing things," Wade said, avoiding her eyes as he raised his hand and waved. A second later, Lavon dropped onto the empty stool next to Zoe, and the conversation was momentarily forgotten.

"Big Z," he said, giving her a hi-five. "Congratulations. You made it through your first official week in Bluebell. "

"Barely," she sighed, tracing her finger around the rim of her wine glass.

"You're not giving up on us yet, are you?" Lavon elbowed her.

"I'm not going anywhere," Zoe waved it off. "I'll win over them one way or another. Zoe Hart is a fighter. Yeah!" She raised her fist in the air and took a huge gulp of her wine.

Wade was at the other end of the bar tending to a customer, but he saw it, the way she looked at the glass in confusion, and then over at him.

The little smile that crossed her face made it all worth it, and a warm feeling pooled in his stomach as he lifted his beer, and at the other end of the bar, she lifted her glass and did the same.

That one's for you, Harley, he thought. I think our girl's gonna be just fine.