by Kathi Daley
Harper looked at Harlow. “How about you? Are you dating anyone special?”
She shook her head. “I don’t have time. My priority these days is to get my business off the ground. Let me show you the headboard Haven painted for me.”
“Have you heard when Haven will be back from her tour?” Harper asked as she allowed herself to be led into the bedroom. “I can’t wait to see her.”
“You never know for sure with her, because she tends to follow her whims during the winter, when the garden is dormant, but she should be back in a few days. A week at the most.”
“And Mom doesn’t mind that her assistant pops in and out all the time?”
Harlow lifted a shoulder. “She doesn’t seem to. I don’t think that Mom is so busy that she really needs Haven’s help. She just allows her to work at the clinic when she is home so that she has some sort of gainful employment. And Haven tends to stick around during the months that she has the garden to tend to. I think it is really only the winter months that lead to her wanderlust. Can I get you a cup of tea?”
“I’d love a cup of tea. In fact, if you have a few minutes, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”
“Oh, okay.” Harlow put the kettle on. “What do you want to talk about?”
“What would you think if I told you that I was seriously considering adopting a baby?”
Harlow grinned. “I think that is a fantastic idea, assuming the baby you are referring to is Bella.”
“You know about Bella?”
Harlow laughed. “We all do. Mom and Dixie have already drawn up plans for a nursery.”
“You all knew what was going on?”
Harlow shrugged. “Maybe not everything. But we noticed that the first thing you did when you got here, before you even came home to see your family, was to go visit the baby and pick up the puppy. We also noticed that you’ve been over to visit the baby every day since. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that something was up. Mom went and spoke to Ben, and he gave her the short version of what happened.”
“So you all know? You’ve known all along?”
Harlow shook her head. “We know that the baby and you are linked in some way, and that Ben has been helping you with whatever is going on. We also know that it is Ben’s opinion that you and Bella are destined to end up as a family. We don’t know where the baby came from or why there was a need for so much secrecy. Mom wanted to talk to you about bringing the baby home right away, but Dixie reminded her that there was a time for everything in heaven and on earth, and it was best to let these sorts of things develop naturally. Of course, you know Mom; she is a woman of action. She’s already had Haley draw up plans to remodel the room next to yours and turn it into a nursery. The only reason I am telling you all this now is because you asked, and I wanted you to be prepared for Mom to dump all this on you once you announce that Bella is finally coming home.”
“Oh my God.” Harper put a hand to her mouth as a tear slid down her cheek. “I’m not sure if I should be angry that you’ve all been keeping this from me or happy that you are willing to welcome Bella into the family.”
Harlow poured the hot water into the teacups. “My advice: If your options are to be angry or happy, I’d chose happy every time.”
Chapter 22
Michael held Harlow’s blue sweatshirt to his chest as he looked out the window of his utilitarian apartment at the skyscrapers around him. He inhaled deeply, savoring what was left of her scent. When he’d packed the sweatshirt in with his belongings, he’d meant to give it back to her. Now he was glad he hadn’t.
God, he missed her.
He’d vowed to give her the time he was sure she would need to get over the death of her fiancé, but it had been two weeks since he’d seen her and he felt like he was going crazy. He couldn’t eat, he couldn’t sleep; he was a total mess.
There was, however, a bright spot in his miserable existence. Ben had called him to let him know that Bella was safe, and that he had arranged for paperwork to be pushed through which would make Harper her adoptive mother. Ben had felt it important that Bella be kept out of the normal system dealing with fostering and adoptions, so he’d used his connections to have the needed paperwork faked. Michael was thrilled things had worked out for both Bella and Harper. It seemed clear to him from the moment they met that they were destined to have a life together. He only hoped he would be invited to be a part of it as well.
He’d always been a man of action. A man who knew what he wanted and worked to get it. This sitting around and waiting was for the birds. Maybe Harper wasn’t ready for a relationship quite yet, but he hoped she was ready for a friend who would be there every step of the way as she worked to rebuild her life. If she turned away his offer of friendship, he didn’t know what he’d do.
Michael’s brooding and introspection were interrupted by the ringing of his phone. “Maddox here.”
“Michael, its Veronica. I think I’ve found exactly what you’ve been looking for.”
He leaned a hip on the edge of the counter. “I’m listening,” he said as he settled in for a long conversation with his Realtor.
Chapter 23
Harper glanced in her rearview mirror at the baby sleeping in her car seat. It had only been a few days since she’d brought Bella home to the farmhouse where she’d grown up, but somehow, she felt different. She supposed that being completely responsible for another person was something she would have to get used to. The thought of the task she had taken on both terrified and fulfilled her. Every time she held Bella in her arms, she experienced a kind of love she had never known, yet when the baby looked at her with such trust in her eyes, she was terrified that she wouldn’t measure up.
She wasn’t alone in this, and that thought gave her comfort. Dixie, her mom, and her sisters were all great. Haley had helped her turn the spare bedroom turned into a nursery with an adjoining door to her own room, and the mural Haven had painted on the wall was so incredibly perfect that it made her want to cry every time she looked at it. Glancing at the puppy on the seat beside her, she realized that she had everything she needed. Well, almost. She still hadn’t heard from Michael, and that both hurt and frightened her. Had she misread the feelings she thought they had both begun to develop? Had his trip home only renewed his love for Julia? Had he realized that what they had never could or would compare?
She slowed as she approached the address Ben had given her. He’d asked her to drive out to the lake to pick up Bella’s new birth certificate, which she’d been happy to do. She knew he kept a house at the lake that also doubled as his office, but the house attached to the address he’d given her was huge. All this time, she’d been picturing something smaller.
Parking in front of the house, she opened the door and let Bosley out. She went around to the side of the car and opened the back door. Being careful not to wake her, she gently lifted the baby into her arms. Slinging the diaper bag over her shoulder, she headed up the walkway that, fortunately, someone had shoveled.
There was a note on the door, telling her to come right in. She opened the heavy wood door and stepped into the tile entry, which opened up to a great room with a wall of windows that looked out over the lake. Cradling the baby to her chest, she slipped off her wet shoes before stepping onto the wood flooring of the living area. The floor-to-ceiling, river-rock fireplace that rose two stories into the air dominated the wall to the right of the windows where an open dining and kitchen area had been strategically placed to the left.
“Wow.” Was this the cabin Ben kept for a retreat and office? The place had to be five or six thousand square feet at least.
Turning when she heard a sound behind her, she gasped. “Michael! What are you doing here?”
He bent down to greet Bosley, who was jumping on him, demanding that he acknowledge his existence. “I live here. Or at least I will, once the escrow is complete and I have a chance to move.”
“Live here?” She stepped back and look
ed at the huge, two-story house. “In this ginormous house?”
“Do you like it?”
“I love it, but I thought you said you lived in Minneapolis.”
“I do. I mean I did.” Michael took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Perhaps I should start again.”
Harper just looked at him.
“I’ve missed you.”
Harper smiled. “I’ve missed you too.”
“I tried to take a step back and give you the time you needed, but after two miserable weeks, I realized I was never going to survive being the noble gentleman I truly wanted to be, so I bought this house. I figured that living here at the lake would give me the opportunity to be part of your life, as well as the lives of Bella and Bosley, while still giving you the time and space you need.”
Harper frowned. “The time and space I need? Who said I needed time and space?”
It was Michael’s turn to frown. “Don’t you? I just figured…”
Harper took a step forward, cradling the baby between their bodies. She leaned forward and touched Michael’s lips gently with her own. “You figured wrong.”
Family Ties
The ties that bind us one to another can begin with a chance meeting, that, when nurtured and sustained, blossom into a union creating a family that continues to multiply and spread into the future.
Denver and Dixie Hathaway
Up next From Kathi Daley Books
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Preview:
Five dogs in training, two human trainers, one canine trainer, a beautiful sunny sky, and a rarely seen high temperature of sixty-two degrees made for what I considered to be an almost perfect March day.
“Oliver Hanson, this is Tess Thomas and her dog Tilly,” Dr. Brady Baker, the owner of the only veterinary hospital and animal shelter in my hometown of White Eagle, Montana, introduced the tall, dark-haired man who had approached from the far side of the parking lot. “Oliver is interested in adopting Hank and would like to watch our training session today.”
“I’m happy to meet you.” I held out my hand in greeting. “Hank is a great dog. He has the usual energy one might expect from a sixteen-month-old lab, but Brady and I have been working with him for almost two months now, and the improvement we’ve seen in his responses to verbal commands as well as his overall attention span has been amazing.”
I couldn’t help but notice the way the man’s eyes twinkled when he smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. The main reason I came all the way from Spokane to adopt a rescue from the shelter in White Eagle is because of the work you do training your dogs before you place them. I have to say, I am more than just a little impressed.”
I glanced at Brady and grinned. Brady and I put in a lot of hours training the dogs here, and we were both proud of our accomplishments. “Brady and I realize that a dog who has received at least basic training will be less likely to find his way back to the shelter once he has been adopted.” I looked toward a bench in the sun. “You picked a good day to make the trip. Why don’t you have a seat and after we put all the dogs through their paces, you can try working with Hank one on one.”
The man nodded. “That would be great. Thank you.”
I’m not usually one to brag, but I will say that Brady, Tilly, and I have worked out a training routine that by this point runs like clockwork. In as little as eight to ten weeks we can take an undisciplined and untrained dog and turn him or her into one who will listen to his or her human and respond correctly to the basic commands of come, sit, down, stay, heel, and wait. Most dogs are cleared for adoption after the basic training course, but there are those with unique potential that we hold back for specialty training that could make them a candidate for advanced work with FEMA or another organization that utilizes highly trained canines.
Brady and I had tried a few different approaches in the beginning, but then we found that the key to our success in many cases was Tilly. Tilly is an old pro when it comes to responding to both verbal commands and hand signals, and we often have used her to demonstrate the behavior we are after, which seems to help the younger dogs who are eager to learn but had no idea what it was we were asking of them.
The dogs we’d brought out with us today seemed to be enjoying the warm weather and sunshine as much as their human trainers. Almost everyone was on their best behavior, which made the training session seem to go faster. In another couple of months, we’d add water training at the lake for many of the more advanced dogs. It was surprising how many of our prospective parents wanted to adopt dogs who liked the water and could swim.
“It seems to me that Rosie is becoming more and more distracted with each session,” I said to Brady as we loaded the dogs other than Hank into his truck after our session. “When we first started working with her, she showed real promise, but now I’m just not sure.”
Brady huffed out a breath. “Yeah. I’ve noticed that as well. Maybe some one-on-one time will help get her back on track. I’ll work with her this week. Why don’t you take Hank and get Oliver started with his individual session while I finish up here?”
“Okay. Do you know if Oliver has experience training a young dog?”
“When I asked him that question, he said that his last dog lived for an impressive seventeen years and he was a child when he was trained, so Hank will be his first.”
“Okay. I’ll go over the basics.”
I instructed Tilly to stay with Brady, then headed across the parking lot with Hank on a lead. Oliver stood up to greet us as we approached.
“Oliver, this is Hank.”
Hank wagged his whole body as Oliver stooped down to pet him.
“Hank is still in what I refer to as the puppy stage despite his size,” I informed the man. “He has a strong play instinct, which can seem to many to be a negative, but if you understand his need for exercise, you can use it to your advantage.”
“Oh, and how is that?” he asked as he ruffled Hank behind the ears.
“A lot of dogs respond best to food as a reward for a job well done, but Hank will do almost anything for a chance to play with you for even a few minutes. The trick is to use playtime as a reward for cooperative behavior. Hank wants to please you. If you make it clear what you are asking of him and reward that behavior with a tug-of-war session or a game of fetch, I think you will both be very happy. I’m going to have you put him through his paces today. When the session is over, if he has done well, let him know you are happy with his behavior and then play with him for a few minutes.”
Oliver nodded. “Okay, let’s give it a try.”
“We’ll start easy with a down stay and then work on recall and finally walking at heel.”
As I knew he would, Hank preformed like a pro. When it came time for his play session, it looked as if Oliver was having as much fun as the dog. I think we’d found a match that had the potential to last a lifetime. Oliver agreed to return the following weekend for another session, and if that went well, he agreed to take Hank home with him after the adoption paperwork was completed.
“Do you need a ride?” Brady asked after Oliver left to drive back to Washington and we’d completed our training for the day.
“No. Tony dropped me off and was going to pick me up, but I told him he could just pick me up later from Bree’s. If Tilly and I cut through the park, it is less than a mile to her place, and it is such a beautiful day that I thought we’d walk.”
Brady looked up toward the clear blue sky. “It is a nice day. How is the wedding planning coming along?”
I shrugged. “It’s coming along exactly as I predicted it would.”
“As you predicted?”
I looked Brady in the eye. “Stressful, angst-filled, drama at its best. On the day we found out that Mike and Bree were getting married, I told Tony that Bree would start off by swearing that she wasn’t going to be one of those bridezillas she professes to have no patience for, while I predicted that halfway in, she’d be as monsterlike as any bride wh
o had ever existed.”
Brady laughed. “Is she really that bad?”
“She really is. But it is her wedding. And as her best friend, maid of honor, and future sister-in-law, I want her to have her perfect day. If she is having a hard time figuring out exactly what that day might look like, I am determined to be patient and let her take the time she needs.”
“You’re a good friend.”
“Bree means a lot to me. She has always been like a sister to me, and now that she is going to be my real sister, I couldn’t be happier.” I tossed the stack of traffic cones we used in training into the back of Brady’s truck. “Are we doing another training session on Saturday?”
“I’d planned on it. I thought we could just meet here if the weather is nice again. If we are back to regular March weather, we’ll meet at the shelter. I want to get as many dogs through our basic training as possible before the adoption clinic next month.”
“Are you still thinking of doing speed dating again?”
Brady nodded. ‘It seemed to work well the last time we tried it, so yeah, I thought we could give it another go.”
“Okay then, I’ll see you on Saturday if not before.” After waving to Brady, Tilly and I took off across the park. I loved this time of the year, when the snow had melted and everything felt fresh and new. It had been an early spring this year and I supposed we could very well get more snow, but I knew once the heating trend started, any snow that did fall would melt in a matter of hours. Mike and Bree had decided to get married in June. I knew my brother would prefer a church wedding and an indoor reception, but Bree wanted to be married outdoors under the night sky. Her plan seemed to me to be riddled with problems, but I knew she needed to work through those problems herself, so I just stood back and supported her process.
Of course, in my mind, the biggest challenge was the weather. June could be tricky. Sometimes the month was warm and mild, while other Junes could be wet and cool. In terms of snowpack, it had been a mild winter this year. We’d had snow early on, but then it seemed to taper off, with only small storms blowing in during the normally heavy snowfall months. I supposed that a warmish winter and spring could mean that summer would arrive early. June could be gorgeous in White Eagle if the planets aligned and everything fell into place.
