Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Maude leaned back in her desk chair and stretched her fingers, the faint ache in her knuckles a sign that she had, indeed, spent too many hours coding without a proper break.
The last website update of the day blinked back at her.
It was a clean, modern contact page for a local florist who insisted on way more pink than Maude thought was prudent, but the customer got what the customer wanted.
She hit Save, refreshed the page, and sighed. That was enough progress for today. What she really wanted to do was finish reading her book for book club. She only had a few chapters to go. In the morning, she’d run into town and find a good dessert to bring.
Instead of Publix, she was thinking about hitting up Beechwood Bakery, since they were one of her clients. Always good to show her face there once in a while. Plus, they made great baked goods.
The filter in Pixel’s tank bubbled softly. The little Betta drifted lazily along the top of the tank, his fins flaring when he spotted her.
“What do you think, Pixel? Maybe I should head out to the porch and read out there. Although sometimes the warm breeze makes me sleepy,” Maude murmured, pushing away from the desk and glancing in the direction of the Gulf.
Before she could stand, her phone buzzed. She looked at the screen and smiled. Ollie. She swiped to answer. “Hey. To what do I owe the pleasure of this call?”
Ollie sounded a little rushed. “To me needing help. It took an extra day, but I just got a call from my attorney. They finalized the paperwork this afternoon and Milo is at his office! Waiting for me.”
“Oh!” Maude sat up straighter. “That’s wonderful!”
“It is,” he said, and she could hear the relief in his voice. “But I’m stuck at the hospital for at least another couple of hours. We had a late admission, and I can’t get away. I barely have time to make this call, but I don’t want Milo sitting there, thinking he’s been abandoned.”
“The answer is yes.” Maude’s heart softened. Of course Ollie would worry about leaving his dog sitting somewhere strange, confused and alone. “Assuming you want me to go get him.”
“I hate to ask,” he said quickly. “But yes, I do. If you’re able. And I know this is a much bigger ask, but are you still okay to keep him until I get off tonight?”
Maude was already slipping her flipflops on.
“Of course I’ll go and keeping him is no problem.
Text me the address and I’ll be out the door in a minute.
” She caught a look at her reflection in the living room mirror and realized she hadn’t brushed her hair yet today.
Maybe it would be more like five minutes, but she wasn’t telling Ollie that.
“You’re a lifesaver,” he said, the relief unmistakable now. “Really, Maude. I owe you big for this.”
“No, you don’t,” she said gently. “Just worry about your patient. I’ll take care of Milo. But if he ends up loving me more than you, I can’t be held accountable.”
He laughed. “You are pretty lovable. Thank you. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
When the call ended, Maude went into the bathroom and made herself presentable. Because she was going to Ollie’s attorney’s office, she put on a sundress instead of the bleach-spattered yoga pants and band T-shirt she was wearing.
Feeling fancy, she added jewelry and swapped into her glittery flipflops instead of her plain ones.
On her way out of the bedroom, she grabbed her keys and glanced at Pixel. “We’re about to have a guest. And I don’t mean Robbie,” she said. “But I won’t let him drink your tank water, promise.”
A minute later, she was out the door.
The attorney’s office was tucked into a quiet professional strip that looked like a typical Florida business setup. Tan stucco with white trim, neatly trimmed hedges, and a row of identical front doors differentiated only by the names painted on them.
Maude parked in one of the visitor spots and headed inside. She passed more than a few Mercedes on the way.
A receptionist in a navy blouse and white jacket smiled as soon as Maude introduced herself. “Dr. Keen said you’d be coming to pick Milo up. He is such a sweetheart.” She motioned toward a door at the end of the hallway. “He’s waiting in the conference room.”
When Maude stepped inside, she saw a golden retriever lying on the carpet, head on his paws. His ears perked up at the sight of her, and he lifted his big head, his eyes hopeful.
“Oh, my goodness,” Maude whispered. He was beautiful. “Hey, buddy.”
He stood, stretched in that long, luxurious way large dogs did, and started to wag his tail slowly. Clearly, he had no idea who she was, but he was still happy to meet her.
“Hi, Milo,” she said softly, crouching down. “I’m Maude. I’m a friend of your dad’s. I’m here to take you home.”
At the word home, he trotted straight to her and the tail picked up speed.
A leash sat neatly coiled on the conference table. It had to be his. She clipped it onto his collar. “You ready to go, handsome?”
Milo’s tail wagged again, more confident this time.
The receptionist handed her a small bag with some paperwork and a slightly deflated stuffed duck that looked well-loved. “There you go. That’s everything Dr. Keen’s ex-wife dropped off.”
Maude took it gratefully. “Thank you. I’ll make sure Ollie—I mean, Dr. Keen gets it all.”
As she walked Milo to her car, she felt a surprising warmth bloom inside her. She’d never owned a dog. Not sure why, since she loved them. It just had never happened.
Milo hopped into the front passenger seat of her Dodge Charger as if he’d done it a thousand times, immediately flopping into a happy sprawl that made her laugh.
“Well,” Maude said, buckling her seatbelt and getting the A/C on. “Since this is a special occasion, how do you feel about a little treat?”
Milo lifted his head at the word treat, tail slapping the upholstery.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
She pulled out onto the main road and headed toward Seaside Brews, the little drive-thru coffee hut everyone in Beechwood loved. As she waited in the short line, Milo stuck his head into her space, sniffing the air with great seriousness.
“It’s coffee,” Maude told him. “You can’t have that. But I will get you something.”
She reached the window, greeted by a barista with purple hair and a bright smile.
“Hi, what can I get you?”
“An iced latte, please,” Maude said, then glanced at Milo, whose tail thumped in hopeful anticipation. “And do you have pup cups?”
The barista grinned at her, bending to see Milo better. “We sure do. One pupcup, coming up.”
When the cup arrived with a swirl of whipped cream in a tiny container, Maude held it out to him. “All right, big guy. Let’s see how you like this.”
Milo stuck his nose right in, licking away at it with such unfiltered joy that Maude burst out laughing, the kind of laughter that bubbled up from somewhere deep. She stuck her latte in the cup holder.
Then, still holding the pup cup in one hand, she pulled into a parking spot under a palm tree and let him finish his treat. Whipped cream coated the top of his nose like sunscreen. She snapped a photo. “Oh, I am so sending that to your dad.”
She did, along with a text that said, I promise I’m not spoiling him.
“Well,” she said, after putting her phone down and taking her first sip of latte. “If this is what having a dog is like, I get the appeal. You are the absolute cutest, most handsome thing ever. Don’t tell your dad, but you’re cuter than he is.”
Milo looked up at her with pure adoration.
Maude’s heart did an unexpected little flip. “Okay,” she whispered. “Let’s get you home before I change my mind about giving you to Ollie.”
As soon as they got home, Milo trotted out of the car with the buoyant confidence of someone who believed the world was his oyster. Maude brought him inside, where he proceeded to sniff everything with serious energy.
She took his leash off, then had an idea. “Don’t chew on anything while I’m gone, okay?”
She went into the bedroom and changed out of her sundress into shorts and a tank top, then came back out in her standard flipflops. She grabbed his leash, clipped it on, and said, “I think you could use a walk. Maybe burn off some of that energy from sitting in the conference room doing nothing.”
They headed toward the beach, following the route Maude usually took. Milo sniffed every tree trunk, fence picket, lamp post, and flower pot he could, as if they held essential secrets. By the time they hit the beach, his tail was swishing in a steady metronome beat.
A light breeze rolled in, carrying the clean scent of salt. The tide was low, leaving wide ripples of wet shoreline that glistened under the afternoon light.
Milo pulled her forward, not hard, just with a sense of purpose. Like he already knew where he wanted to go.
“Slow down,” she said, laughing as he dragged her toward a patch of seaweed. “You’ll get your steps in. Trust me.”
He stuck his nose directly into the pile, snorted, then backed out dramatically as if something inside had startled him. Then he barked at it, one short, indignant sound, and looked at her as if waiting for approval.
“Oh, yes,” Maude deadpanned. “Very dangerous kelp. You saved us both.”
Milo gave the seaweed a final glare, then hurried toward the water.
The first foamy wave rolled over his paws. He lifted one paw, surprised. Looked at her. Looked at the ocean.
Then he made a delighted, low woof, and pranced straight back into the next incoming wave.
Maude couldn’t help the grin on her face. It had been a long time since anything so simple had hit her that directly in the heart.
They walked for nearly half an hour. Milo zigzagged and explored, then trotted proudly with a stick of driftwood he’d found. Every so often, he’d circle back to bump her leg with his head, just checking in.
“You’re ridiculous,” she told him softly. “And very, very charming.”
He wagged his tail as if he understood every word.
By the time they turned back toward her place, he was definitely calmer. His tongue hung out in a happy loll. He matched her pace, walking close enough that his shoulder brushed her leg from time to time.
She’d known him an hour, maybe, but there was something about this dog, even though he wasn’t hers, that filled her with happiness. She understood why Ollie had been so emotional about getting him back.
She glanced down at Milo. He looked back, eyes soft, as if checking that she was still okay.
“Don’t tell your dad,” she murmured. “But I might like you better than him.” She winked at Milo, knowing he’d understand.
He leaned against her just a little.
And Maude fell for him even more.