Chapter Ten Attached
It was 6:32 in the morning when Lucy unlocked the front door of Dancing Donkey and led Bear inside, her father right behind them. They’d decided to bring the dog with them, not wanting to leave her alone all day. She’d been well behaved so far, but who knew what would happen if they left her unattended for hours.
It had finally stopped raining, but it was still wet, windy, and dreary. The sun hadn’t yet risen, but there were wispy clouds swirling, just visible in the bluish light of the dawn sky.
The little café didn’t open until seven, but Lucy had had a key to the place ever since she’d worked there in high school. Lorraine had refused to take it back, saying she’d need it in the future. Turned out she did, as she stopped by the café just about every morning before heading to the high school.
The scent of freshly roasted coffee enveloped her, the warmth of it sinking through the cold morning air that clung to her burnt-orange peacoat. It was a cozy space, the twinkle lights strung up around the room giving off a warm amber glow, lighting up the mint-green walls. Taylor Swift was playing over the speakers, one of her more haunting songs that always made Lucy think of fall.
The whole café was pretty much one of those ambiance videos on YouTube.
There were two massive windows at the front, outside them a great view of downtown Cruickshank. Right now, the lampposts were shining, lighting up the wet cobblestoned street. But looking in there was a display of coffee and merchandise on one side. The current theme was fall, with everything pumpkin spice, harvest blend coffees, and cozy knit caps and sweaters with the Dancing Donkey logo.
The other window always had a number of adoptable canines behind a sturdy wooden pen. Above their sweet little heads was a sign that read Adopt Me. Two were in there currently: Carl the hound dog, and an Australian shepherd mix named Bingley. Both perked their heads up as Lucy and Bear walked in. Bingley let out a small yip while Carl leaned his head back and howled his hello.
Bear squirmed a little next to Lucy, releasing a low whine. It sounded like an I want to go over there and play sound, but she was going to have to wait for a proper introduction.
The curtain behind the counter fluttered, moving aside and revealing a doorway in the exposed brick wall that led to the back. Lorraine walked out, wearing a flowy skirt covered in fall flowers and leaves and a T-shirt that read Drink Coffee. Rescue Dogs. Sleep. Repeat. Her long braids were wrapped up in a bun on her head, held back with a purple scarf headband.
“Ahh, two of my favorite Buchanans.”
Lorraine smiled widely, her honey-brown eyes moving from Lucy to Wes—where they lingered for a beat longer and went just a little warmer—before moving down. “And this must be the ever-popular Bear,”
she said as she rounded the counter.
“She is indeed.”
Lorraine took absolutely no time at all to win the dog over. Bear was wagging her tail and dancing as she got all the pets. “Oscar told me about her yesterday. Said that you and Theo rescued her.”
“I want to meet her!”
another all-too-familiar voice said as Sasha pushed through the curtain, rounding the counter and joining the group.
Bear was the center of attention for a good couple of minutes, her butt wiggling like mad as she moved from Lorraine, to Lucy, to Sasha, back to Lucy, then to Wes, before repeating the whole cycle.
“She sure does like to check in with you,”
Lorraine said.
“She’s like that with Theo too.”
Sasha’s eyes narrowed on Lucy, and there was a smirky little lilt pulling up the corner of her mouth.
“Soooo.”
Sasha dragged out the word. “Theo stayed all weekend?”
“Yes.”
“Is that all I’m going to get out of you?”
Sasha frowned, putting her hands on her hips. “You know you’ll only get the caffeine if I get the details.”
“Fine, you’ll get all the details tonight with everyone else. And I’ll take a chocolate chai tea latte, please.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Sasha nodded before looking over Lucy’s shoulder. “Wes, what can I get you?”
“Are you brewing the Cinnamon Toasted Marshmallow today?”
“Yes, sir. That one won’t be leaving the menu until after Christmas.”
“Perfect. Thanks, Sasha.”
“Make sure to get his thermos filled too,”
Lorraine told Sasha.
“Oh, I didn’t bring one.”
Lorraine frowned at him. “Then I guess you’re just going to have to borrow one of ours. It’s freezing out there and you two have a long drive. You need to stay warm and caffeinated.”
“There’s a heater in my truck, you know.”
“Are you arguing with me about free coffee?”
Lorraine asked.
“No. I would never. You must’ve misheard me.”
Lorraine’s eyes narrowed. “You’re the one with hearing aids, old man.”
“Who are you calling old?”
Wes laughed. “I’m only sixty-two. Last I checked I was two years younger than you.”
There was a twinkle in his eye as he said it.
“Oh, you hush.”
Lorraine’s frown turned into a scowl as she put her hands on her hips. It was a clear sign with the Belmont women that they were gearing up for an argument. “You’re as young as you feel, Wesley. So, I’m still somewhere in my forties.”
“Well, by that logic so am I, Lorraine.”
It was very clear that there was a teasing banter going on between Wes and Lorraine. There always had been . . . but it seemed like something more in that moment. Lucy followed their conversation like she was watching a tennis match. Back and forth, and back and forth again.
Okay . . . something was definitely going on here.
After Lucy’s mother had died, Lorraine and Juliet had taken it upon themselves to look after the Buchanan family. As Rachel’s best friends, they wouldn’t have had it any other way.
But this felt different from Lorraine . . . and her father.
Not wanting to be too obvious, Lucy focused on Lorraine. “I think Bear would like to meet Carl and Bingley before we leave. I want to make sure she’s used to being around other dogs, especially as she might need to spend some time here next week if she isn’t . . . well . . . you know.”
“Claimed?”
Lorraine finished. “Are you hoping she isn’t?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Are you already getting attached?”
“Getting?”
Wes asked. “She’s already there.”
Her father wasn’t wrong. Bear had fit into place faster than Lucy could’ve imagined.
For most of Sunday, the dog had usually been a few steps behind her and Theo or watching them from her bed, or the sofa. She’d been in the kitchen with them for most of the afternoon, sitting next to Theo and pressing her body against his leg while he’d made the bread. And it had been Theo who’d made room for her on the bed both nights, helping her snuggle into a spot on the other side of his feet. She’d also crawled up between them when they’d gotten up in the morning, looking for pets and kisses.
She hadn’t been denied, just like she wasn’t being denied now. Lucy looked over at the dog, who was currently getting a whole lot of attention from Lorraine, her tongue lolling, tail wagging.
“Fine.”
Lucy threw her hands in the air. “I’m attached.”
Beyond attached. It had taken no time at all.
“Admitting it is the first step.”
Sasha patted Lucy on the shoulder before she moved behind the counter. “Now, let me go get your coffees. I’m doctoring it up the usual way, Wes? A little coffee with your cream and sugar?”
“Yes, please.”
While Sasha got their drinks, Lorraine did her magic in introducing all the dogs. Bear was twice the size of Bingley, and three times bigger than Carl, but she was beyond gentle with both of them. It took almost no time at all for the three of them to start playing.
“Well, looks like Bear gets along with the other dogs,”
Sasha said as she slid their drinks across the counter. “Here is your caffeine. You going to get something to eat next?”
“Yes, Theo said he’d have our food ready to go, but I suspect we will be delayed as his parents and grandparents all want to meet Bear.”
“Theo’s already there? That’s a little early for him to go to work, isn’t it?”
Lucy glared at her friend. “He got up with me this morning . . . and left before we did.”
“But not before I caught him sneaking out of her apartment again.”
“He wasn’t sneaking. There is no sneaking around this time.”
“This time?”
Lorraine sounded scandalized, her golden-brown eyes going big. “When was there a time before?”
“Seven years ago,”
Wes answered before Lucy had a chance.
“Thanks, Dad.”
Lucy looked up at the ceiling, letting out a breath of frustration. She hadn’t mentioned that little detail, mainly because she hadn’t had a chance to discuss it with her father herself.
“You knew too?”
Sasha asked Wes. “Oh, this is so good. We’re going to have to compare notes with Gavin.”
“Can. We. Not?”
Lucy emphasized every word.
“We can do it at Thanksgiving. Turn it into a drinking game,”
Wes suggested.
“We’re leaving now. Bye.”
Lucy grabbed the thermos and shoved it in her father’s direction before handing him his coffee. Then she turned to Lorraine, holding out an open palm.
Lorraine handed over the leash, giving Lucy a stern look. “We aren’t done with all this Theo stuff. You’ve got some explaining to do, young lady.”
That stern look of hers stayed firmly in place as she turned to Wes. “And you better drive safely today.”
“I will.”
He grinned at her. “I’ve made it this far in life, I think I’ll be okay.”
Lorraine made a harrumphing noise that clearly said that remains to be seen. Wes just leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Lorraine’s cheek. “Thanks for taking care of us,”
he said so low that Lucy wondered if he’d only meant for Lorraine to hear it.
He pulled away and headed for the door, and Lucy didn’t miss it as Lorraine slowly unfolded her arms, reaching up and gently touching her cheek as she watched Wes.
Lucy grabbed her own coffee, sparing a quick glance at Sasha. It was clear from her best friend’s expression that she had questions too.
* * *
The drive to Freddie’s Farm was two hours, just to the other side of Knoxville. Lucy played DJ—going through a rotation of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fleetwood Mac, Bruce Springsteen, and Tom Petty—while her father drove. They both munched on a variety of baked goods from Browned Butter. Theo had put together a box with Lucy’s favorites, and another with all of her father’s. He’d even thrown in a bag of treats for Bear.
Because of course he had.
As it turned out, Bear seemed to love car rides. She sat up in the back seat for the first hour, staring out the window in fascination. For the second hour she lay down in the pile of blankets and took a nap.
“She seems comfortable,”
Wes said as he looked over his shoulder to check his blind spot, getting a glance of Bear while he did it.
Lucy looked back to the dog too, taking in her sweet sleeping face. “Yeah. She just needed a safe place to land for a little bit.”
“She ain’t the only one.”
He looked over, giving Lucy a significant glance. “You seem like you’ve gotten comfortable too.”
“Maybe a little bit.”
Lucy gave a small shrug of her shoulder, unable to stop the smile that turned up her mouth. She traced over the Browned Butter emblem on the box in her lap.
“Oh, I think more than a little bit. And I’m not just talking about whatever is going on with you and Theo. I mean the last couple of months. You’ve looked almost happy.”
“When did I not look happy?”
Her father looked over at her, giving her that look that clearly said come on. “Only every time I’ve seen you in the last few years. You always looked lost . . . like you were looking for something that you couldn’t find.”
“And what, now you think it’s found me?”
“Maybe. You sure seem to have found your place at the school, teaching those kids, working on the winter musical that is now weeks away.”
“I have, but that’s not a permanent position.”
Lucy waved her hand in the air. “Mrs. Griffith will be back next school year, and I’ll have to figure out what I’m going to do next.”
“What do you mean, next school year?”
Wes quickly glanced over at her again before turning back to the road. “I thought it was just a semester.”
Crap. That had been a slip. Lucy still hadn’t told anyone that she’d been offered the position for the next semester, mainly because she still hadn’t decided if she was taking it.
“Yeahhhhh.”
Lucy dragged out the word. “About that. Principal Patel, I mean Fatima, she said that Mrs. Griffith needed another semester off to take care of Mr. Griffith. So, she asked if I’d finish out the year.”
Wes’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “What did you tell her?”
“Nothing yet. She said I had until finals week to make a decision.”
“Is there a reason why you wouldn’t take it? I thought you enjoyed it.”
“I do.”
Teaching hadn’t exactly been her dream career—she’d kind of just been thrown into the position—but she’d found something there that she hadn’t found anywhere else. “I didn’t know what I was doing in the beginning, but day by day I figured it out, and . . . and I really enjoy it. I enjoy the students. It’s been so nice being a part of something bigger than me. And now that I’ve found a place where I feel like I fit, I know I’m going to have to say goodbye to it. I’m going to have to let go. So, I guess the reason I wouldn’t take it is because I’m scared of falling in love with something that I’m just going to lose in the end.”
“Are we still talking about the job?”
“What else would we be talking about?”
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe the dog in the back seat, or a certain young man who you’ve been spending a lot of time with.”
Lucy let out a bit of a hysterical laugh. “I’m not in love with Theo!”
No, no, no, no, no. It was too soon for anything like that. They were just having sex. Good sex. Really good sex.
Not that she needed to be thinking about that right now. God, why was it suddenly very hot in the cab of the truck? She reached forward and started fussing with the vents.
“Theo and I are just . . .”
“Yes?”
Wes pressed.
“I don’t know what we are. We haven’t put a label on it beyond . . .”
She trailed off again, her cheeks suddenly even hotter. “Can we not have this conversation?”
“Fine, let’s go back to you teaching. So, let’s say you finish the school year out and Mrs. Griffith comes back; why can’t you get a job at another school? There are other places you could teach. They might not be in Cruickshank, but you’d be able to find something closer than across the country.”
“I’m not moving back to California, Dad. You don’t need to worry about that.”
“Then where are you thinking about moving?”
Lucy hesitated again, biting her lip before letting it go. “Nashville or New York. They both have good music scenes. And . . . and one of my old friends from college, Stephanie Jenkins, she’s in New York and one of her roommates is moving out in February. I’d have a place to live if I went there.”
Another thing she hadn’t discussed with anyone.
Even from the side, Lucy could tell her father’s mouth had pulled down into a frown. “Is that what you want?”
“I don’t know yet. I don’t know what I want,”
Lucy said softly.
“Luce.”
Wes reached out and touched her arm, squeezing gently before letting go. “I’m not going to lie to you. I’m sure you are fully aware that the last thing I want is for you to leave Cruickshank again.”
“Of that I’m more than aware.”
He spared a quick glance at her, grinning. “But what I want more than anything in this world is for you to be happy. So, whatever your choice is, I support you. And I will always support you.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
He paused for just a moment before he asked, “Can I offer just one piece of advice?”
“You can always offer me advice, and as many pieces as you want.”
“I wouldn’t wait too long to tell Theo what you’re thinking about. I know you don’t know what this is with Theo, but that boy doesn’t look at you like you’re just a passing thought. He never has.”
There was a part of Lucy that wanted to press her father to elaborate . . . and there was another part of her that knew she wasn’t ready to hear the answer.
The latter part won out.
“I . . . I won’t . . .”
Lucy shook her head, her voice trailing off as she looked out the window. The song changed and “Landslide”
by Fleetwood Mac started playing. Her father reached over and turned it up. He loved this song, no doubt because her mother had loved it too.
Lucy let herself sink into the song as they drove. The blue sky was crystal clear now, all of the clouds gone and the sun shining bright and warm. She looked to the almost bare trees, focusing on the last few leaves that stubbornly clung to the branches. She missed the vibrant yellows, oranges, and reds that had painted the mountains just weeks ago.
As much as she loved fall—which was a lot—she knew there was something even greater on the horizon. Christmas had always been Lucy’s favorite time of year, not surprising as it had been her mother’s favorite time too.
Rachel had gone all out at Christmas. Multiple trees, holiday music playing at all hours, the house smelling like a different baked good every single day. Her mother had loved to bake, and while Lucy wasn’t bad at it, she’d never quite been able to hold up to her mother’s talent. It was one of the many reasons she loved Browned Butter so much; the Taylors’ goods had come the closest to what Rachel had baked.
God, she missed her mother. It was a permanent ache right over her heart. One that hadn’t lessened with time; she’d just learned to deal with the pain. To cope with it. She felt like that was the case for a lot of things in her life, learning to cope with loss and disappointment. Part of her felt like she’d been in limbo for years. She knew she wasn’t the only one. Caro had been like that in those years after she and Max broke up. And then there was her father . . .
“Dad?”
She looked over at her father. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Always.”
He turned the music down a little bit.
“Have you . . . have you ever thought about being with someone again . . . since Mom, I mean?”
She’d been wondering it for days now, and as they seemed to be having a fairly serious conversation about her life, it was only fair to ask about his.
Wes’s hands moved on the steering wheel before he awkwardly cleared his throat, shifting in his seat.
“Your mother was the love of my life. Is the love of my life. Losing her was an indescribable pain, and for a long time I told myself I didn’t want to do it again. That I couldn’t do it again. Now, that’s not to say I regretted anything about being with her. I wouldn’t trade those years for anything in the world. It gave me my three beautiful children.”
He glanced over at Lucy.
“Do you still feel like you can’t do it again?”
“Lately, I— I have thought that it would be nice to come home to a house that isn’t empty. To share my life with someone.”
“Anyone in particular?”
Lucy pressed, trying to sound innocent.
Wes looked over at her again, a little smile playing at his mouth. “Have I been that obvious?”
“You’ve just seemed to be awfully close with Lorraine lately.”
“We have been spending a lot more time together. I mean, she’s always been my friend, but when Rachel died, and Robert left her, we leaned on each other a bit more than anyone else. Both of us were dealing with being single parents. It bonded us in a different way.”
“And now?”
“I don’t know . . . it’s Lorraine. Would that be weird? Me dating your mother’s best friend?”
“I think that Mom would want you to be happy.”
“You kids wouldn’t think it was weird?”
“I think Caro and Jeremy also want you to be happy. And Sasha would officially be my sister.”
“Okay, you can just slow your roll with that. I haven’t even asked Lorraine if she feels the same way.”
“I’m pretty sure she does. I can ask her for you.”
This time when her father looked over at her, his expression had gone stern. “Luciana Evelyn Buchanan, you will do no such thing.”
“Oh, dear.”
Lucy laughed. “Not only did I get middle named, I got full named.”
“I don’t need any of your interference.”
“You’re a fine one to talk!”
“It’s different. I’m your father. It’s my job to interfere.”
At that moment, Lucy’s phone started to ring. “Well, speak of the devil. Want me to ask Lorraine how she feels right now?”
Her father glared at her.
“Calm down, I’m not going to say anything.”
Lucy stuck her tongue out at him before putting the call on speaker. “Hey, Lorraine, what’s up?”
“So, I got some news about Bear—”
Lucy’s stomach immediately bottomed out. Her father reached over and squeezed her leg reassuringly.
“Dr. Sumpter is a vet over in Weaverville, and he was checking the lost animal website when he came across Bear, who he knew as Betty. She belonged to a farmer over there who had died a couple of weeks ago. His kids inherited everything. When Dr. Sumpter called them to let them know Betty was down in Cruickshank, whoever answered the phone said they didn’t care and hung up the phone.”
Lucy leaned forward in her seat, suddenly furious. “Seriously?”
“Yeah. Real pieces of work.”
The anger in Lorraine’s voice was apparent as well. “Dr. Sumpter suspects they dropped her off so she couldn’t get home.”
Lucy looked back at Bear, who was still sound asleep, lying in the patch of sun shining through the window.
“What a bunch of assholes,”
Wes said. “Well, she’s safe now.”
“That, she is. I just thought you’d want to know that she isn’t going anywhere.”
The anger had lessened in Lorraine’s voice. “So, get as attached as you want.”
“Thanks, Lorraine.”
Lucy sat back in her seat, letting out a little sigh of relief.
“Is your father driving safely? Both hands on the wheel?”
“Ten and two,”
Wes called out.
“Good, see the three of you later,”
Lorraine said before she hung up.
“Well, would you look how that worked out.”
Wes shifted in his seat. “Though now that you’re keeping Bear, that’s going to affect where you might move, right? I don’t know how she’d do in a New York City apartment.”
“Who said I’m keeping Bear?”
“Aren’t you?”
Lucy looked back at the dog again. She was no longer sleeping, her sweet brown eyes open and focused on Lucy.
Yeah . . . she was keeping the dog.