Chapter 18
Rob
“No, you won’t.” Jesus, what is this idiot thinking? Clearly, he wasn’t recovered from the major surgery just two and a half months ago. I’d suspected he’d been lying to me—and everyone else—when he’d said he was fine. God, an insipid word if ever there was one. How often had I told those around me that I was fine? All the while, both back in Missouri and then during my marriage to Gerard, I’d been anything but.
“It’ll be fine?—”
“No, Danny, it won’t be fine. She might be obedient most of the time?—”
Druscilla nodded frantically.
“—but she’s still way more of a dog than you should be handling right now. And you’re living in your brother’s basement?—”
“Widget will be thrilled. She’ll have company.”
“Widget?” Druscilla cocked her head.
“My brother’s French bulldog. Real sweetheart. Everyone?—”
“I’m a sweetheart,” Hallie proclaimed, smiling, still patting Gracie’s shoulder exactly the way I’d shown her. “So is the puppy.”
My chest seized. The past few minutes were the most she’d spoken spontaneously since we moved to Gaynor Beach. Hell, probably the most she’d ever said. Certainly the most demanding she’d ever been. While Thomas expressed his displeasure at anything that annoyed him, Hallie would gently ask me to change whatever was bothering her. Or, worse yet, I’d only discover later something was hurting her—emotionally or physically—and she wouldn’t speak up. Her demand for the puppy was the most she’d ever asked for. And when had I last seen her smile like that?
“If I rescue Gracie, then the kids will be able to see her whenever they want without you having to deal with the hassle of a dog.” Danny offered a tentative grin.
“She’s not a hassle,” Druscilla added. “She’s just such a darling. Great with kids. Great with my cat too, which not all huskies are. They’re good buddies. I hate to give her up. But a cat can handle my long hours. A dog can’t.”
Hallie abandoned her lovefest with the dog and leaned against me, even as I held the leash tight in one hand and Thomas on my hip with the other. “I love Gracie.”
Danny chuckled. “My sister will be amused.”
Druscilla squinted.
“His sister’s name is Gracie. Not Grace,” I was quick to add. “Gracie.” She’d been quite firm about that when she’d helped out this morning. As far as I knew, she’d headed back to LA after lunch. A long way to come…but par for the course with the Reynolds clan. James hinted his Mama and Daddy had wanted to come as well. Mama had sent a pot roast that was in the slow cooker right now. Dinner and fresh rolls waited for me and the kids to celebrate our first night in our new home.
“I could…” I floundered. We had a backyard, so Nia could let Gracie out while I was at work. Or maybe I could bring her with me. Surely Dr. Louisa would be okay with that. I’d have to ask Oscar. I might’ve asked him to foster Gracie, but he had his Newfoundland Hemingway and a new foster son. He and Hugh had their hands full. I flashed to Scott and Anthony…but Crumpet the cat would definitely not appreciate permanent custody. His fits when Hemingway visited were legendary. Or so Scott confided in me.
“Could…?” Druscilla prompted.
“Take her. Till Danny can.” Thomas giggled, clearly enjoying the game of poking toward Gracie’s nose. She kept licking his hand. “Be gentle.” I held him where he couldn’t make direct contact. My son likely wouldn’t understand, but Gracie seemed to have a phenomenally good nature. I maybe should’ve been more worried, but Druscilla’s calm demeanor helped. A lot.
“I can’t ask you to do that.” Danny placed his hand on mine.
I startled. I couldn’t remember him ever initiating touch with me. He was always so careful around me. Like I was glass that would shatter under the slightest pressure. I needed to prove to him that I was stronger than I looked. Than I seemed.
And, hell, I needed to prove that to myself as well.
“Why don’t we call James? Have him meet us at your house?” Danny squeezed my arm. “I think he’ll be happy for me to rescue Gracie. After all, he’s always bugging me to be more responsible.”
Yeah, I’d call bullshit on that one. Danny was one of the most responsible people I knew. Even with dropping out of university, he still worked damn hard. He’d told me how tough this new academic program was going to be. The last thing he needed was the responsibility of a dog. Yet even as I had the thought, he was pulling out his phone.
I glanced at Druscilla. Her relief was palpable. I didn’t have the heart to cut off this possible route of rescue. Gracie truly was a special dog. She didn’t deserve to wind up in a shelter—even temporarily.
Gracie whined.
Panic seized me.
Druscilla chuckled. “She has to do her business. She’s good about letting me know. Just give me a minute.” Carefully, she extricated the dog from my children.
Thomas wailed and tried to follow by attempting to lunge out of my arms.
“Yeah, I’ll text you the address and meet you there. That’s great. Uh…thanks.” Danny swiped his phone and then tucked it into his back pocket. “James says it’s fine I get a dog.”
“Does James know you’re not fully recovered?”
Danny glared.
I glared right back, squatting to set Thomas down for a moment, since the dog was out of reach.
Hallie pressed her palm against my forehead. “Don’t be mad, Papa.”
“I’m not…” Frustrated at having a child who saw too much. “We should get organized. I guess we should find out where Druscilla lives…?” I eyed the stroller, my two children in need of washing and naps, as well as the errant man who was slowly enmeshing himself into my life. My friend.
And yet he was so much more than that. How I had come to care so much for someone I’d met exactly three times?
“I’m just three streets over.” Druscilla had come back, and somehow, I’d missed her arrival.
Hallie and Thomas approached Gracie who, to my relief, appeared marginally calmer. I scooped Thomas back up anyway, and settled him on my hip.
“Then we’ll come with you, and we can settle up with Gracie.” Danny started to push up off the sand.
With a firm hand, I pressed him back down.
Our gazes met.
“Let me help you.”
“Uh…yeah…” He blinked. “Bossy.” He might’ve whispered that under his breath.
I had to smile to myself because no one had ever, in my entire life, accused me of that. “And don’t you forget it.”
“Oh, I won’t. I kind of like it.”
This time, I blinked. We weren’t flirting.
Were we?
I straightened and, while keeping an eye on Hallie—who was totally enthralled with the dog—offered my free hand to help Danny stand. Truthfully, he had to do much of it himself. He often made self-deprecating comments about his weight, which bothered me a lot. He was a big guy—although more in height than girth. He was solid and, to my mind, had lost a bit of weight since his surgery. Had Mama noticed? Was she worried?
“Thanks.” Danny pressed his hand to my arm. “I probably could’ve done that by myself, but we’ll let you believe I needed it.”
“Danny.” I used my stern papa voice.
He caught my gaze, his dark-brown eyes going wide. “Okay. Just…” He glanced at Druscilla and the kids. “Don’t tell James and Colin. Promise me.”
I didn’t want to agree. He’d be living in their basement. If he wasn’t as strong as he claimed to be, then they had a right to know. Hell, if he were mine, I’d want to know. Nothing worse than being kept in the dark. And yet, I still owed him. For helping me move a couple of times. For bringing the Christmas basket. For texting with me virtually every night as I tried to relax enough to sleep.
For keeping the monsters at bay—even if from a distance.
He’s living here now. He can keep you safe from nearby.
That thought brought images of Gerard looming over me and I quickly shoved them down.
Focus on the here and now. Don’t go borrowing trouble.
Good advice. Too bad I rarely heeded it.
“Rob?” Danny squeezed my arm.
My gaze shot to his.
“It’s going to be okay.”
Whether he knew where my stress stemmed from or just sensed my general distress, I was grateful, knowing he had my back.
Forty-five minutes later, as five grown men crowded in poor Druscilla’s sitting room, I wondered about who had whose back.
Danny had tried to shove me home with the kids, but I wouldn’t be railroaded. Now, as he glared at me, I knew I’d done the right thing in insisting I be part of this.
Thomas snoozed in his stroller while Hallie sat quietly in the corner, talking to Gracie. The dog, for her part, appeared completely enraptured with my daughter. My initial panic had abated, but I still maintained that dogs could be unpredictable. Our schnauzer had bitten my brother when he’d yanked too hard on her tail. And yeah, my brother’d had a mean streak that easily followed him into adulthood—he’d said some of the cruelest things to me—but that didn’t make things better. What if Thomas hurt Gracie? Wouldn’t she fight back? And wouldn’t that be my fault for not watching everyone carefully? But how could I cook and do other things while watching everyone vigilantly?
“Normally I vet foster homes.” Arthur’s blue eyes were troubled.
“I’m James’s brother.” Danny placed a hand on his heart. “He and Colin will be living right above me. I’ll do whatever you need.” He pointed to the boxes. “If I don’t take Gracie, then she goes to a shelter in San Diego tomorrow.”
Druscilla sniffed.
Arthur blinked several times. He turned to her and asked, gently, “I thought you said you had a family for her?”
“I did. But they backed out. I could see how stressed you were, and I didn’t want to bother you again?—”
“I…” He winced. He’d likely would’ve said he’d take Gracie, but James had confided, while we waited for his friend’s arrival, that Arthur’s little house was overflowing, and he couldn’t possibly take another dog right now. If he’d known of a foster placement, he would’ve taken Gracie off Druscilla’s hands weeks ago when she first approached him.
Blaming her for seeing his obvious distress wasn’t helping.
“So I’ll take Gracie.” Danny grinned. “I’ve always wanted a dog. And I’ve helped take care of Widget?—”
“You’ve never had a dog?” Arthur’s distress increased.
James shook his head. “No. Allergies in the family. We always wanted one, but we couldn’t.”
Colin grinned. “Widget’s his first, too.”
“Yeah. So now I’m experienced, and I can definitely help Danny.”
“You’re taking care of Colin,” Danny argued.
“Well, but you—” I started to speak.
He glared at me.
I glared right back.
James waved back and forth between the two of us. “What’s up with you two? I mean, if Danny’s taking Gracie, why are you here?” He asked me the question with curiosity. Not unkindly. Just with confusion.
Danny and I continued to glare at each other. He was going to do it. He was going to take a full-grown dog who needed lots of exercise while still recovering from major surgery. He still wasn’t telling me the whole story, either. Of that, I was certain.
Danny’s going to get hurt and have a setback and not tell anyone… I couldn’t stand that thought. “I want to take Gracie.”
Four adults joined Danny in staring at me while Hallie whooped in joy.
In that moment, I knew I’d made the right decision. Four years, and I had never heard that sound from my child.
One I might come to regret…but fostering Gracie was the right thing to do.