Chapter Twelve
To keep the conversation light as they walked back to Jay’s house, Erin asked, “Any more thoughts on what you’re going to name him?”
He seemed to puzzle over the question and then smiled. “I don’t know. I’m not asking you, or you’ll come up with something literary and obscure.” His smile turned into a mischievous grin. “It should probably start with a B to keep it in the family. Since we already have Buzzy and Buster, why don’t we add more confusion? I could call him Baxter.”
Erin nodded, the phrase keep it in the family ringing in her ears—because Jay was an old friend of the family. In fact, he was family to the Davenports.
Experimentally, Jay called, “Baxter,” but the dog didn’t even look at him, just kept running.
“Not Baxter,” she said, laughing. She thought over some other names beginning with B and then suggested Bullseye.
He bellowed, “Bullseye!” The dog kept running. “Bartholomew!”
Not to be outdone, Erin yelled, “Blacktop.”
He turned and looked at her with a raised brow. “Blacktop?”
She shrugged. “Like the cab. I thought maybe he would stop if you called.”
They both looked at the dog. Nope.
By the time they’d got to Brigadier and Bullfrog, they accepted that they were running out of names and the dog seemed uninterested in all of them. He said, “I need to give this some serious thought. As you know, names are important. I don’t want to yell out something that’s going to embarrass both of us.”
She nodded. “You and the dog will find a name that fits. Give it a day or two. You’ll figure it out.”
They’d arrived at his house and she could see Jay wanted to say something, but was hesitating. He’d get there in his own time. She was liking this new Jay, who took more than half a second before speaking.
Finally, he said, “I have a spare set of keys ready, but do you want to come inside for hot chocolate? I really want you there to help the little guy settle in.”
Erin smiled. It felt good to be needed like this. Really good. She should get back to Buzzy, but she was also dying to see how the unnamed border terrier/mutt mix liked his new home. After living in a crowded cage in a shelter, he was definitely moving up in the world. So she agreed.
Jay opened the door and showed her the code to the security alarm. But no sooner did he let the dog off the leash, rather than timidly staring at his enormous, multimillion-dollar new home, he took off to race from room to room.
Jay looked at her. “What’s he doing?”
She shrugged, totally surprised. “I don’t know. He’s a terrier. Maybe he’s searching out vermin.”
“ Vermin? For the amount this place cost, his search better be in vain. I guess if he finds any, I’ll have to give him an enormous treat.”
They both followed the dog’s erratic movements around the house, and then he roared up the stairs at top speed. By the time Erin got to the top, right behind Jay, the dog was in Jay’s fabulous bedroom. He had leaped onto the bed and settled himself right in the middle of it.
She couldn’t help it—the giggles took over. “I’ll say it again—some training really is in order.”
Jay shrugged with a sparkle in his eye. She could tell he liked the feisty spirit of his new canine friend. “You’re not wrong.”
The dog leaped off the bed and ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. They followed at a more sedate pace and then Jay pushed a button on a fancy-looking control panel. Music came on. He said, “Maybe some tunes will calm him down.”
Shania Twain sang, Man! I Feel Like a Woman! while the pup sniffed here and there. When Taylor Swift came on, Erin hoped that the rescue dog might settle, but apart from stopping to slurp some water from his new designer water dish, he kept moving. Poor little guy, it must be so strange for him.
A Willie Nelson song came on and the dog stopped. Cocked his head. And then began to howl along with the music. Erin and Jay looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Is he a country and western fan?” she asked.
Jay grinned. “A Willie Nelson fan, anyway.”
They waited, fascinated, as the pup continued to howl and then howled again, and then the song ended and The Yellowjackets came on. He sniffed around the room in complete unconcern. Jay then tried Frank Sinatra. Nothing. Other male country singers. Nothing. He went back to Willie Nelson, trying a different song this time, and the dog threw back his head and howled.
He looked at Erin. “I think you’re right. He’s telling us what he wants to be called.”
“Willie?”
Jay was looking at the dog with a fascinated expression on his face. “No, I can’t call my dog Willie, but I could call him Nelson. That’s a fine name, even if it doesn’t start with a B .” He tried experimentally, “Nelson? Nelson, come.”
The dog perked up his ears and turned around.
He tried again. “Nelson, come here.” The dog ran toward him, tail wagging. Jay glanced up at Erin. “You were right. He let me know. His name is Nelson.”
She nodded. “I like it. It suits him.”
Jay nodded, clearly happy to have solved this one. “Are you sure I can’t tempt you with a celebratory hot chocolate?”
Erin paused. She was starting to think that Jay could tempt her with just about anything. She looked at him for a moment—that rugged stubble, the shaved head, the easy golden tan were all familiar to her. But the softness in his eyes? The tenderness as he patted Nelson? All that was so new. And so sexy.
She had to be careful. She could feel herself getting carried away with it all—the romance of the sumptuous house, the sweetness of the dog. And Jay in the middle of it all, busy and happy and thoughtful.
She shook her head. No hot chocolate. It was too creamy and delicious. Besides, chocolate put her in a naughty mood. “I’d better be going,” she said lamely. “Could I have those keys?”
Jay looked disappointed, but he quickly recovered and went to fetch the spare keys.
As she was leaving, he said, “Hey, I know you’ve done so much for me already, but could you and Buzzy come for a walk with us early tomorrow morning before I fly? You heard the lady at the shelter. She says he needs socializing and Buzzy seems like he’d be a good influence. Also, if you and Buzzy are going to stay here, we should make sure they get along okay before I take off.”
She had to agree. Everything Jay said made sense. Plus, a small, niggling part of her was happy she would see Jay again so soon. But again, she pushed it away. Trying to imitate Jay’s natural businesslike manner, she made a plan to meet him at the beach at seven in the morning.
They stood for a moment on the doorstep, and there was an awkward moment when she didn’t know whether to just walk off or hug him or give him a fist bump. They were in uncharted territory here. Ever since that intense hug full of longing on the beach, she felt as though she had to be careful. She didn’t want either of them getting the wrong idea. Jay was so not for her, and she was so not for him, even though she was finding herself more and more drawn to the man.
In the end, he solved the hug/no hug problem by reaching out and giving her a pat on the upper arm. “Thanks for your help, there, short stuff.”
Just his use of that nickname seemed to reset the relationship and remind them both that she was Archer’s kid sister. “Good night yourself, there, big shot.” She’d started calling him that a while ago, sometimes reminding him that the initials were BS .
* * *
Buzzy wasn’t very happy when she got home. He sniffed her, obviously able to tell that she’d been spending time with another dog. This must be how a betrayed woman felt when she smelled another woman’s perfume on her husband.
She gave her sweet dog extra attention and a dog treat. “It wasn’t like that, honest. You’re my one true love.”
When she got the leash and took Buzzy for his own walk—an extra-long one with plenty of ball throwing—she could tell that all was forgiven. But when they got back, she explained to him that he’d be spending a lot of time with Nelson over the next few days. She only hoped they’d get along. She couldn’t imagine what would happen if her dog and Jay’s didn’t like each other. It could be the end of the budding friendship growing between her and Jay.
However, the next morning she discovered right away that her fears were unfounded. She and Buzzy walked down on the beach to find Jay and Nelson already there. Nelson came running toward her, obviously remembering her from the night before, and seeing Buzzy, he ran forward, tail wagging, pretty much his whole wriggling body and posture saying, Please like me!
Buzzy played hard to get and didn’t immediately extend the paw of friendship. He walked around a bit, they sniffed butts, and then Buzzy began to run. His favorite thing was to run along the beach, ears flapping, tongue lolling out. Nelson took off in hot pursuit. For a little guy, he was really speedy. They raced around, jumping all over each other, circling each other, rolling in the sand, while she and Jay walked along behind them enjoying the spectacle.
As the dogs dropped to the sand side by side, panting, she said, “I think your socialization experiment is working.”
“I think it’s hero-worship, not socialization.”
She chuckled, a little proud. It was true—the younger Nelson jumped up the second that Buzzy did. And then they were off and running.
“How was he last night?” she asked. “Any trouble settling in?”
“Fine. He slept like a baby. We both did.”
He looked a bit sheepish, and she turned to him, shocked. “Julius Malone, did you let that dog sleep with you on the bed?”
Big, tough Jay Malone looked pretty embarrassed. “I put that expensive dog bed on the floor and he wouldn’t get in it. He just sat there looking at me with his big eyes. And then he kind of started to tremble. What could I do? I’m sure he’ll grow out of it.”
If she knew dogs—and she did—that would not be happening. But Jay would figure all that out for himself.
Suddenly he asked, “Are you reading anything good at the moment?”
She was so taken aback by the non sequitur that she stopped in her tracks and peered at him.
He laughed. “Is it such a weird question?”
She shook her head. “Not at all. It’s just not one I ever expected to hear coming from your lips.” A sudden shiver went through her at the thought of Jay’s lips. They were full and a pleasing shape and for a moment she thought about what they might feel like grazing her neck, her collar bone... down, down, until—
She stopped there, chastising herself. What was her mind doing? “ Prodigal Summer ,” she blurted.
“Prod what?” Jay asked.
She stared at him. Was he teasing her? His eyes were full of mischief.
“ Prodigal Summer ,” she repeated. “It’s by one of my favorite authors, Barbara Kingsolver. I read her novel The Poisonwood Bible w hen I was a teenager and I’ve loved her work ever since.”
Jay looked thoughtful. “I should read more female authors. What’s it about?”
Erin blinked again. Had the man who scoffed at putting his Hollywood heartthrobs in romantic comedies just admitted he should read more female authors? She swallowed. Was Jay saying all this stuff because he knew what she wanted to hear? But then she shook away that cynical idea. Deep down, she could tell, he was being his true self. Not the bravado-filled tough guy he’d been putting out into the world.
She took a breath and felt the familiar joy of explaining why she loved a particular author or novel. “It’s set over the course of one long, hot summer,” she said. “And it weaves three stories of love against a background of forested mountains and struggling small farms. The ecological narrative is as compelling as the human relationships, and it just gets to the truth of things somehow. I haven’t finished it yet, but it takes my breath away, it really does.” A little wistfully, she added, “If only I could write like that.”
“But you’re an incredible writer. And you totally get to the truth of things. Look how you were with me. I’ve spent years and years concealing my upbringing, but five minutes with Erin Davenport and I’m spilling my guts. You’ve got something in you that makes people feel safe, and you tell their stories beautifully.” Jay looked like he wanted to say more, but stopped himself. “What is it about you that makes me want to tell you all my secrets?”
She was so shocked by Jay’s sweet words that she had no answer for him. Instead, she held his gaze, a moment trembling and shimmering between them that seemed to last forever. She couldn’t hear anything but the blood pounding in her ears. Couldn’t see anything apart from Jay’s gray eyes, which sparkled with what looked to her like lust and admiration. She felt soft at the knees, as though she might swoon onto the sand at any moment. Just like Hollywood.
And then he came closer, strong jawline tilting, and for a split second she thought— my goodness he’s going to kiss me —
When suddenly Nelson came bounding up between them barking his head off. He was already protective, or maybe even downright jealous. She laughed nervously and Jay joined in. She was darned grateful to that dog for saving her from herself. The moment had dissolved like a mirage.
Jay bent down and picked him up, and Nelson licked his face happily.
I kind of want to crawl into his lap and lick his face too.