Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
“ O kay, I just need to say this. It’s pretty obvious you are not in a good mood.” Harper snuck a look at Mitch, who was driving them to the pet rescue. She wasn’t sure how he’d react to her stating the obvious.
He sighed. “No, I’m not. I’m sorry. It’s nothing to do with you or going to look at dogs. It’s everything going on with Ruthie.”
“Oh, no. What’s wrong? Is she sick?”
“No, nothing like that. Her mother—”
“Addison?”
“Right. She told my attorney that Kyle had abducted Ruthie.”
Harper stared in disbelief. “What? That’s insane.”
His hands gripped the wheel so tightly his knuckles were white. “I can only guess that it’s a ploy for money or something. She hasn’t made any requests of me, Kyle, or the attorney yet, though. Her silence could be because she’s getting her own lawyer and doing it that way.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I’m livid. I believe Kyle one hundred percent that Addison kicked him out and told him to take Ruthie. She’s up to something. Addison knows I’m his father, knows I have money, and wants to get whatever she can out of this deal.”
“Do you think she’ll make a public issue out of this?”
Mitch shook his head, eyes on the road. “I don’t know. But it wouldn’t surprise me. She’s trying to get famous. Isn’t that the whole point of being an influencer?”
“Yes. Unfortunately.”
“I’ll handle it, whatever happens. I don’t want this to ruin our day.” He shot her a quick smile.
She felt for him. This was such an awful situation. “You know I’ll help in whatever way I can. Just say the word. I’m here.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate that. It’s just going to be a matter for the attorneys.” He frowned as the words left his mouth.
“You don’t sound very confident about that.”
He grunted softly. “I suggested making a settlement offer immediately to Addison and my attorney told me he doesn’t deal in buying babies.”
Harper scoffed. “Buying babies? What kind of special snowflake is he? The world revolves around money. It’s a sad reality, but it’s true. He should know that more than most people. I’m sure for the right amount, Addison would sign on the dotted line and never think twice about Kyle or Ruthie again.”
A smirk bent Mitch’s mouth. “This is why we get along so well. I couldn’t agree more.”
He pulled into the parking lot of the rescue. “Here we are. Sandy Paws Rescue. Lucas couldn’t say enough nice things about them. This is where he got Scout.”
There were two dogs they had come to see. Sergeant, a male black Lab, and Bunny, a female Jack Russell. They headed inside. Harper wasn’t sure Mitch was as excited as she was, but adopting a dog was such a great thing to do. Maybe seeing the dogs would help take his mind off the trouble Addison had caused.
Not that she blamed him for being upset. Harper was upset, too. But Addison really didn’t know what she was up against if she thought she was going to win this. Somehow, Mitch would save Ruthie. Harper had to believe that.
A woman at the reception desk greeted them with a big smile. “Welcome to Sandy Paws. How can we help you today?”
Mitch, in a ball hat and sunglasses, approached. He took his sunglasses off and moved them to the top of his hat, resting on the brim. “I have an appointment to see a couple of dogs. Mitch Ripley.”
The woman’s face changed the instant Mitch gave his name. She obviously recognized him. She stood up. “We’re so happy you’re here, Mr. Ripley. I have some good news and some bad news for you.”
Mitch glanced at Harper before responding to the woman. “Okay. What is it?”
“The bad news is that Sargeant has already been adopted. But we still have Bunny. We have a few other dogs you might be interested in, too. We have an adorable little Chihuahua and a Shih Tzu mix that just came in.”
Mitch shook his head. “I’m sure they’re great, but I’m looking for a dog I can run with.”
“I see. Well, let me get you into one of our adoption rooms and I’ll have Bunny brought right in. Just down the hall here.”
They followed her to a small, open room with a bench along one wall and some dog toys scattered on the floor. She gestured at the bench. “If you want to have a seat, one of our volunteers will be in with Bunny in just a minute.”
“Great,” Mitch said. “Thanks.” He and Harper sat as the woman left, closing the door behind her. “You think I could change the dog’s name? I don’t know about Bunny.”
Harper laughed. “I bet Ruthie would love it.”
He smiled. “Yeah, she might. I wonder what her first word will be? I hope I get to hear it.”
“You will,” Harper insisted. “I’m sure of it.”
The door opened and a young man came in with an excited Jack Russell on a leash. “This is Bunny. She’s a great dog, loves people, loves other dogs. We don’t know about how she is with cats, but I’ll give you guys some time to get to know each other.”
“Thanks,” Mitch said.
He handed Mitch the leash. “Have fun!”
“I’m sure we will.” Mitch looked at the dog as the young man left. “Hi, Bunny.”
Bunny stared back, mouth open in a smile. Her tail was up and she looked ready for anything.
“Do you know how to sit?”
Bunny sat.
Mitch looked at Harper. “Already trained or coincidence?”
“Hard to say.” Harper stuck her hand out. “Bunny, can you shake?” Bunny put her paw into Harper’s hand. She smiled at Mitch. “Definitely trained. No surprise. Jack Russells are super smart dogs.”
Mitch gave the dog an appraising look. “She’s smaller than what I was imagining. But I know they have a lot of energy. That’s important if she’s going to run with me.”
Harper scooted away from Mitch, then patted the space between them.
Bunny jumped up and sat next to Mitch, looking up at him.
Mitch smiled and scratched the dog on the head. “Hi, sweetie.” He looked at Harper. “She is a nice dog.”
“Maybe they’d let you take her for a little run around the building. Just to see how it goes.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Mitch stood. “What do you think, Bunny? Would you like to run with me?”
Bunny hopped down, looking eager to go.
Mitch kept a firm hold on the leash. “We’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be here.” Harper checked odds and ends on her phone and, ten minutes later, Mitch and Bunny came through the door. She put her phone away to give Bunny some love. “Did you have fun?” She looked at Mitch. “How was it?”
Mitch nodded. “She kept up. I don’t think she’d have any issues tagging along on my morning runs. She’s great. I just don’t know about that name.”
The guy who’d brought Bunny in reappeared in the open door. “How was your time outside? How are you getting along?”
“Good,” Mitch said. “Do you think it would be a big deal to change her name?”
“Up to you,” the young man said. “Bunny came in with that name and she does seem to know it. Although her full name is Bunnicula?” He shook his head. “I guess it’s like a kid’s book or something?”
Mitch seemed taken aback by that. He stared at the young man. “Bunny is short for Bunnicula?”
The young man nodded. “Yep. Weird, right?”
Mitch shook his head like something funny had just occurred to him. “Go ahead and get the paperwork started. Bunny’s coming home with me.”
The young man smiled. “Fantastic. I’ll get right on that. See you at the front desk whenever you’re ready.”
Mitch stooped down and picked Bunny up. She licked his face. “Well, you’re a Ripley now, kid.”
Harper stood and joined him. “What was that all about? It seemed like you weren’t sure about her, then all of a sudden you had to have her. What gives?”
He scratched one of Bunny’s ears, holding her close. “Do you know the book, Bunnicula ?”
“Sure. It’s about a vampire bunny that sucks the life out of vegetables.”
Mitch was all smiles. “It was one of my favorite books as a kid. My mom read it to me all the time. It’s probably why I write what I do now.” He kissed Bunny on the head. “The name stays.”