31. Beck
CHAPTER 31
Beck
“You like her, don’t you?”
I checked to see if there were any tiny ears nearby and finding the coast clear, I sent Faith Waters my most dangerous glare. By the twitch of her lips, I could tell that she wasn’t shaking in her boots—no, it was quite the opposite, actually.
I combed a hand through my hair and sighed. Would it be bad if I dipped into Sebastian’s bar? One glance at the clock confirmed it wasn’t an option. Besides, it probably wasn’t a good coping mechanism. I could handle a snoopy socialite.
Couldn’t I?
Despite myself, I tuned my ears to any noise, any indication that Luna was done with her therapy appointment. I was glad she felt comfortable telling me about it in the first place. Selfishly, I wanted to make sure she spoke to someone about last night—a third party who was going to make sure we hadn’t crossed some invisible line that she wasn’t mentally or physically prepared to cross yet.
She’d slept in my bed and my body found hers in the middle of the night. At some point, my arm draped over her waist, and I held her tight. She loosed a little sigh of contentment in her sleep and that little sound made me realize what had happened. Luna must have discarded the pillows. So I plucked them from the ground, one by one, and put them between us.
The second time I found myself wrapped around her that night, I gave up and just savored the feel of my arms around her.
Faith waved her hands above her head. “Hello, Earth to Beck? Do you have the hots for my friend?”
I planted my elbows on the table and rubbed at my temples, a headache already forming from the thought of having this conversation. “Do you have some pain meds?”
Faith chuckled over the top of her coffee mug then stood, crossing the kitchen to open a cabinet and pulling out a plastic bottle. She tossed it over to me and I caught it with one hand.
“Are we waiting on the caffeine to hit before you answer my question?” she teased.
I popped open the bottle and took two pills. “I preferred this friendship when I was teasing you about Sebastian.”
Faith laughed. “I’m sure Sebastian would disagree.”
Footsteps had me turning my head toward the hallway that connected to the kitchen.
Not Luna.
“Don’t be so disappointed,” my friend said dryly.
I stood and clapped Sebastian on the back. “Jackass. Where were you?”
He shook his head as he dug through the white bag on the table that held the pastries. “The Barnes project is in full swing.”
Faith nodded. “He barely comes out of the Batcave.”
I nodded in Sebastian’s direction. “In his defense, he barely came out of the Batcave before the Barnes deal.”
Sebastian covered his mouth as he chewed. “I’m technically still coming out of my office more than I ever had before Faith.”
Faith pointed at him. “You didn't call it a Batcave.”
“My office is so much more than a Batcave. Besides, I thought I was more Beast than Batman.”
Faith chuckled. “True enough.”
I’d once asked my friend to explain this whole Beauty and the Beast obsession—all the little remarks I’d caught them volleying between each other—and frankly I still didn’t get it. I did, however, understand that my friend smiled more in the presence of Faith than he had with anyone else, so maybe I didn’t need to understand it. I just needed to appreciate that my friend was happy.
My attention lingered at the door until Sebastian clapped me on the back. “You’ve got it bad, bro.”
I didn’t even bother to deny it. Anyone with working eyes could see that I was completely obsessed with the woman upstairs. “You’re late to the party, your girl here already tried to do some digging.”
Sebastian pulled Faith into his lap and pressed a kiss to her neck.
I groaned. “Can we not do that here? There’s a child present.”
Faith and Sebastian laughed in stereo knowing full well Alice was distracted elsewhere.
Then Faith leaned forward, palm planted firmly on the oak table in front of her. “In all seriousness, if you hurt my friend, I’ll hurt you.”
I held up my hands. “Nobody is hurting anybody.” Frankly, it was hard not to be offended that the idea of that ever crossed her mind. “I’d do anything to keep her safe. Anything .”
Just then, Alice burst through the door, stealing everyone’s attention. “Can we go soon? I want to meet the doggies now.”
I pointed toward the sink. “Wash your hands and then finish the ham and cheese breakfast croissant. You need energy if you’re going to keep up with all these dogs today.”
Alice rolled her eyes, then did as she was told.
Sebastian began to explain the process. How we would go and view the dogs eligible for adoption and how we would play with them to see how comfortable they were with us. It wasn’t just about us picking the dog, it was about the dog choosing us in return. Alice nodded, enthralled as her ersatz uncle went into all the details about the current dogs available for adoption. He struck a good balance of explaining the attributes of each dog with an almost scientific precision, eliminating as much bias as he could. That was fine enough for my little girl, but I planned to corner him in the animal shelter to make sure we went home with a good family dog that wouldn’t hurt my daughter.
That was my biggest stipulation. I could deal with shedding, slobber, and dog poop, but I would not tolerate an animal that would harm my kiddo.
Sebastian assured me he’d never let that happen.
* * *
“I want them all,” Alice whisper-shouted as she went from kennel to kennel to look at the rescue pups. We’d been there all of ten seconds when she made the bold declaration.
There were rumbled chuckles from me, Luna, and Sebastian as well as the two people on staff who were there to help today. Saturday’s were big adoption days, and I knew they planned to take a few of the pups to the local farmer’s market since that was a great way to promote the rescue and get folks interested in adoption.
“Let’s start with one, Alice. They are a big responsibility. Remember what we talked about? How you’re going to need to do some chores if we bring home a dog.”
Alice didn’t bother to face me. “I know, Dad, we’ve gone over this. I promise to feed our dog and walk it.”
“What about picking up after the dog?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I can put the dog’s toys away when I put mine away. Easy.”
“That’s not the kind of clean-up I was thinking about…”
Alice squealed again as she approached the last kennel, tucked away in the back.
Harper, the staff person helping us, chimed in. “That’s Bruce; he’s a beagle-mix, and he’s an absolute sweetheart.”
Sebastian lifted a finger. “I can confirm this, even though Bruce refuses to jog with me.”
“He might not be the most active of our residents, but he loves cuddles and kisses,” Harper added.
Alice beamed. “I love those things too.”
I placed a hand on Alice’s back. “That’s true, you do.”
Harper unlatched the enclosure. “Let me get Bruce on his leash and we can meet you out in the play yard?”
Sebastian stepped in. “Follow me, I’ll show you where the play yard is.”
A minute later we found ourselves in a dog’s dream house. The play yard had toys and tunnels, mirroring dog parks that I’d driven past and never stopped at. Basically, it was heaven, and Bruce came out with Harper, tail wagging as he sauntered right up to an enthusiastic Alice.
Alice showered Bruce with love and kisses and pets as Harper relayed some basic information about the dog.
Four years old.
Potty trained.
Left behind when its owner passed away suddenly.
Has a sweet temperament.
Has been at the shelter for two months.
I listened to every nugget of info being shared while watching both my daughter and Luna. Luna had taken it upon herself to photograph the interaction between my daughter and Bruce from every angle. I closed in behind her and whispered in her ear, “I think you got the shot.”
Luna jumped, and I placed a hand on her lower back. “If this ends up being the dog, then she’ll want some pictures. Trust me.”
A cacophony of barks interrupted us. Alice lifted her head as several more dogs made their way into the play area.
“It’s morning recess,” Harper explained. “Besides, this will allow you to get to know all the dogs we have available.”
A little mutt with dark brown hair and a tongue lolling out of its mouth walked right up to Luna and placed a tender paw on her foot. Wiry hair, goofy face, but with the sweetest energy.
I bet that’s the dog Sebastian was talking about. Pepper.
Luna immediately bent down and cooed. “Hello, there—” She glanced at the tag on the dog’s collar. “Pepper.”
The tiny dog graciously accepted pets, immediately lowering itself to the ground to get some good belly rubs in. Then it dashed off, zooming back and forth across the play area before coming back to Luna, nuzzling her legs.
“Careful. I think you may have found your new best friend,” I warned.
“I never imagined getting a dog,” Luna said wistfully, almost to herself. She poured her love and attention onto Pepper who started running in circles around her.
I shook my head thinking we might not be the only ones getting a dog.
Then my attention drifted back to Alice who continued to be solely focused on Bruce. While I love that she connected instantly with him, she hadn’t given the other dogs an opportunity to shoot their shot. “Honey, why don’t you greet the other dogs too? Get to know them?”
She wrapped her arms around Bruce’s thick body. “But, Daddy, I love him.”
Using Taylor Swift lyrics against me…
“Okay, Alice. I know you love him and that’s great. We don’t want to be rude to all these other dogs that are excited to see you. Like that one.” I pointed to a larger dog that had its head tilted to the side. The curious dog sat patiently on the sidelines as if awaiting its turn.
Alice rolled her eyes. “Fine. But I won’t change my mind.”
My daughter planted a big kiss on the top of Bruce’s head before approaching the other dog.
At some point, Luna wandered off, Pepper at her heels, and started chatting with Harper. From the bits of conversation I could hear, it sounded like Luna was requesting all the details about Pepper. The dog continued to stick to her like glue, nuzzling Luna’s leg during those rare moments when Luna paused her petting.
While Luna did that, Sebastian ran in circles with some of the larger breeds, clearly trying to get out some of their energy. The man was a running machine and volunteered to take the dogs out on a run at least once a week. Unlike my daughter, the man showed no favoritism, showering all dogs with equal attention.
Luna waved me over, so I joined her on the bench, and we watched Alice together.
“Having fun?” I asked behind the protection of my reflective sunglasses. Luna wore none, so I had front-row access to the myriad of emotions that flitted across her face.
I slid my hand into hers and squeezed. “Do you need me to take you back to the city?”
Luna startled. “What? No. Not until tomorrow at least when you and Alice go back.”
I nodded, happy with the answer, while wanting to prod more. We hadn’t had a chance to debrief her session with her therapist and I didn’t want to bring it up in front of her friends. “Let me know if you change your mind.”
She gave me an odd look. “There's nowhere I’d rather be.”
That settled my curiosity.
Alice’s laughter sliced through the moment. She’d found another dog and while she was trying to give it attention, I could see her head turning toward Bruce who was now flat bellied on the ground, his head nested between his paws, gazing longingly at my daughter.
Luna gestured at Bruce. “Hate to break it to you, but I think you have a winner.”
“I know. I imagined getting a dog that was more…what's the word I'm looking for?”
“Active?” Luna supplied, her gaze longingly drifting to Pepper.
“I thought we'd be walking the streets of Brooklyn. I'm not sure Bruce could make it around the block.”
Luna whirled back to me. “On the bright side, at least you won't have to feel guilty if you miss a walk or two.”
“Facts.”
Alice finished her rounds, making sure to say goodbye to each dog before returning to Bruce. And the decision was made. “I know what dog is coming home with me. We can fit two dogs in the car in case you want to bring a special someone home too…”
Luna’s smile fell. “I was just talking to Harper about that.”
I slid my hands into my pockets. “And?”
She shook her head, shoulders caving in. “There’s just too much going on right now to bring home a dog that needs love and attention, and unlike your new dog, will actually require daily walks.”
The offer sat on the tip of my tongue. “I could?—”
But before I could finish, Luna lifted her hand to stop me. “No.”
Despite her firm, one-word answer, I sensed that Luna wanted to say yes. And maybe —just maybe —that yes was about more than just the dog.