Ruff Around the Edges

by Roxanne St Claire

He looked as golden as the Pommie in his arms, a lock of hair over his face, his smile as natural and wide as she could remember, his heavenly body moving like a man in complete sync with his environment.

  She took another shot, and another.

  “You do belong here,” she whispered as he came closer. “You look more at home at Waterford than anywhere else.”

  A flicker of surprise glinted in his eyes. “Because I can catch a dog?”

  She turned the camera to him to show him the last shot. “That’s the face of a happy man.”

  “’Cause you’re here,” he shot back.

  She gave him a sly smile. “Hold the dog as still as you can and lean away. I can change the background and photoshop you out.”

  “Ouch. So easily wiped out of your life.”

  “Just the picture. Come on, now. We can do this. It’s exactly like shooting a baby. They can’t follow directions, so you have to work to get that millisecond of emotion in their expression. Like…that.” She snapped a few when Scarlett stopped moving. “In fact, hold her like a baby. And crouch down, then lean back.”

  He did, flipping the dog in his arms with the ease of someone completely familiar with them. Beck stood over him and focused on Scarlett’s precious face. “There we go, little girl,” she cooed. “Look at me. Look at me. Look…” She centered the shot and took three in rapid-fire succession that were all gorgeous. “Sorry if you don’t agree, but I think you’re right where you belong. You just haven’t figured that out yet.”

  He squinted up at her, but she didn’t look at him, too intent on getting Scarlett’s attention again. “For some reason, I like this place better after I’ve been gone for a while. Too much of a steady diet makes me uncomfortable, but yeah, I love the dogs. I love the concept. But I don’t—”

  “That’s it!” She got the perfect shot and lowered her camera, easing herself down to his level to look at him. “You know, when I was first brought to Bitter Bark, I felt a lot of the same way. I loved my aunt and uncle, I appreciated that they made a home for us, and I could see that it was the greatest little town. But I didn’t belong here, not at all. So I squirmed until I got to Chicago, and then I made my own way. I found my passion, built a life, and figured out a way to belong. What could you do here that would make you feel that way and allow you to come and go frequently enough that you didn’t feel suffocated?”

  “Fly.”

  She inched back.

  “That’s when I feel free. When I’m airborne.”

  She looked hard at him. “Then get yourself a plane and…” She reached over to rub Scarlett’s head. “Fly these dogs to their homes.”

  She actually heard him take in a soft breath, then he blinked at her. “Rebecca Spencer. I could kiss you.”

  She smiled. “Don’t let one little Pommie in your arms stop you.”

  He leaned close and put his mouth on hers, and instantly Ruff barked from a few feet away, tearing over to slam a paw between them. That sent little Scarlett into a frenzy of squirming and barking. And then out came a big black-and-white dog tearing across the grass like a kid who’d been told it was his turn to pose for the camera and he couldn’t wait.

  They just laughed and shared a look that said, Later. But before it was gone, Beck took one more picture of Aidan in case she ever needed to remind him of what a man who belonged where he was actually looked like.

  Chapter Eighteen

  The fifteen rescues took up everyone’s attention that Sunday. Dad and Molly were in full vet mode, with help from Liam who was bringing dogs back and forth from the kennels for individual physical exams. Darcy finished grooming the last of them while Shane, Garrett, and Trace exercised and fed the healthier ones. The kids, Pru and Christian, helped clean and prepare kennels by doubling up some of the current residents. Through it all, Andi rocked on the porch with a belly so distended she could barely stand, and Jessie and Chloe flitted in and out of the kitchen, refilling cold drinks for everyone.

  That left Gramma Finnie as an audience of one for Aidan and Beck’s pizza making that would feed the hungry troops. She made herself comfy at the kitchen table, her laptop open in front of her, chatting easily with Beck, who was making a more elaborate salad than they normally served at Slice.

  Aidan only half listened to their conversation as Gramma told Beck about her background and life. He’d heard the stories a million times, and his head buzzed with a whole new set of vibrations that felt an awful lot like…possibilities.

  Beck was a genius. Why hadn’t he thought of it? Garrett had mentioned flying rescues in and out of Waterford years ago, long before Aidan ever seriously considered getting out of the Army, but it hadn’t been brought up again in the time he’d been home.

  He’d need a plane, that was all. Which would take a loan, possibly from Dad, or maybe an investment from the business. There wasn’t much money in the rescue end of the business, but there was heart. And that’s what Dad had in spades.

  Eager for his father to come back and essentially finished with all the prep they could do before actually getting the pizzas in the ovens, Aidan grabbed a Bloody Mary refill and slid into the bench side of the kitchen table next to Beck.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll eat it,” she was saying to Gramma Finnie, who’d remarked on the size of the salad. “Man cannot live by pizza alone,” she teased, making his grandmother’s old blue eyes light up and her fingers move.

  “I can use that for tomorrow’s blog. I like each entry to start off with a proverb or quote, and I’m running out.”

  “I can help you there,” Beck said. “My mom was a big ‘sayings’ person. She liked them on pillows and mugs and hanging on the wall.”

  “I love her already,” Gramma chimed in, making them laugh. “What was her name?”

  “Karen. Karen Fitzgerald Spencer.”

  Gramma Finnie actually gasped. “Fitzgerald? Oh my saints above, lassie. Ye from the same part o’ Ireland.”

  Beck laughed lightly. “Many, many generations ago, Gramma Finnie. Not like you. I’m afraid the history is lost and I don’t know where those Fitzgeralds are from.”

  “Well, I can tell ye. There were Fitzgeralds in County Kilkenny, where my family was for hundreds of years. And another clan right over in Cork, with Waterford between the two of us.” She beamed. “It’s like we’re already related, lassie.”

  Beck smiled right back, maybe not catching the already part that the sneaky old lady slipped in with Gaelic flair. If she did notice, she laughed it off, as bright as the sunshine through the window accentuating the gold in her eyes and in her hair.

  Oh, Kil. You’ve got it so damn bad.

  The problem was, Aidan didn’t care.

  “Maybe we are related,” Beck quipped. “I certainly feel at home around this family.”

  “Ah, that’s the Kilcannon magic,” Gramma Finnie said. “Now, tell me about your mother, lass. What was her favorite saying?”

  Beck didn’t hesitate. “‘Turn your face to the sun, and you won’t see the shadows.’”

  “Oooh.” Gramma Finnie drew out the response, her voice actually cracking with delight. “That’s a good one.” She pointed her ancient fingers over her not-ancient keyboard and gave Beck a questioning look. “May I use it?”

  “Of course,” she agreed. “I have tons more in my memory banks.”

  “I want them all,” Gramma Finnie said with a playful, greedy laugh. “Tell me, but not too fast. These old fingers don’t type as quickly as they cross-stitch.” She looked over the laptop at Beck. “Which I do quite well, but it’s so low tech.”

  “Okay, let me think.” Beck closed her eyes for a second, unlocking her memory, but Gramma Finnie used the moment to jab Aidan’s shoulder.

  I love her! she mouthed, raising her brow with a very obvious question. When he stared at her, her eyes widened in a silent demand.

  He lifted a shoulder and gave a slight nod. Did that count for like and not love?

  He couldn’t communica
te more, because Beck’s eyes popped open. “She liked to say, ‘The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they make the best of everything.’”

  Gramma Finnie fell back against her chair. “Oh yes. We’re related. I bet if I go through my Ancestry.com files, I’d find a Kilcannon or a Brennan—that’s my maiden name—married to a Fitzgerald. In fact…” She started clicking away at the keyboard. “I seem to recall—”

  “Um, you guys?” Andi opened the kitchen door and held the doorjamb, looking from one to the other with eyes that were uncharacteristically wild.

  “Are you okay, lassie?” Gramma was up with a speed that belied her years.

  “Maybe. I think so. No. Oh my God, my water broke.”

  They were all up, then, instantly coming to hold her and guide her to the closest chair. She clung to Gramma Finnie the most, as all the women in this family did, half laughing and half moaning with anticipation or fear or whatever women felt when they were about to give birth. “I need…”

  “Liam,” Aidan finished for her. “I’ll get him.”

  He didn’t wait for a response, tearing out of the kitchen door, across the drive, around the pen, bolting into the kennels, ignoring Darcy as she rushed closer holding a dog, all the while calling his brother’s name.

  “What’s up?” Shane shot out from around the curve.

  “Is everything okay?” Garrett popped into view, holding one of the new dogs.

  “He’s in the vet office with Molly and Dad,” Chloe said, coming into view next to Shane. “Is it Andi?” she guessed.

  He nodded, turning to go back out. “Water broke,” he called on his way.

  He could practically hear the stampede behind him. They all tore across the path toward the vet building. His brothers nearly caught up with him, but Chloe and Jessie broke off to go see to Andi, who by best calculations was on the early side for delivery.

  He thrust open the door and powered through the tiny waiting area, pushing the door to the back exam rooms. “Liam!”

  The big guy was out in the hall in a second. “Is it Andi?” he asked.

  Before Aidan could answer, Dad and Molly showed up through another door, in scrubs. And behind him, the cavalcade of Kilcannons practically mowed Aidan over. For one split second, they all stood in the hallway in silent shock.

  “Her water broke.” At least three people, including Aidan, said it at the same time.

  “Holy…” Liam turned from one side to the other, blood draining from his face. “She’s early.”

  “It’s okay,” Molly assured him. “Two weeks.”

  “Babies come early all the time,” Dad said, giving him a nudge. “And if it goes too fast, we can handle it, right, Molls?”

  Molly shot Dad her best you’ve got to be kidding me look, but it wasn’t nearly as vile as the one he got from Liam.

  “My child isn’t going to be born in a vet hospital.”

  “There are worse places,” Shane cracked.

  “Like in the kitchen, if you don’t get her to a hospital,” Trace added.

  Liam held his hands up, then dropped them, his chest heaving. “Yeah, yeah. I gotta go. I gotta drive. I can’t drive.”

  “I’ll drive,” Garrett said.

  “I’ll follow,” Darcy promised.

  “Molly and I are in minor surgery, but then we’ll be right behind.”

  Liam started to bolt, then stopped, frozen. He looked from one face to another, his dark eyes crazed, his face pale, his mouth actually quivering. “I’m having a baby.”

  “Technically, your wife is.” Shane gave him a tug. “And if you don’t want Gramma Finnie pulling that child into this world, move.”

  Liam nodded again and again, making them all fight smiles. “I’m having…” He turned to Dad. “Does it always feel like this?”

  And Dad, the old softie, was already in tears. “Every time, Son. Every single time.”

  Liam let out a hoot and headed off, leaving them all in his dust once he finally got his act together. There was one more beat of silence, then it all broke loose. The hollering, high fives, laughter, and plans of who’d go where and who’d stay with Christian and how they’d all pull together to support Liam and Andi as they started their family.

  When it died down, Aidan’s adrenaline dump was replaced by something he hadn’t felt in a long, long time. A bone-deep, rock-solid, impossible-to-deny love for this clan and their ability to rally around each other with the precision and focus of a finely tuned military unit. For the first time since he’d left his comrades-in-arms behind in Kabul, he felt grounded.

  And a little bit jealous of Liam.

  * * *

  Despite the chaos of the rescues and excitement of a new baby, the family certainly didn’t lose its appetite, Beck noted. Once Andi was officially admitted to Vestal Valley General Hospital for delivery, everyone agreed the taste test should continue at least for those who stayed behind.

  They’d divided into shifts, and right now, Dr. Kilcannon, Darcy, Garrett, Jessie, Shane, and Chloe were at the hospital, sending home reports, mostly of how nervous Liam was and how well Andi was doing.

  Christian had already been well prepared that he would not be at the hospital when his brother or sister was born, but the arrival of all the new dogs and the constant love and attention from his family kept him in great spirits. He did stay close to Gramma Finnie, Beck noticed, who was clearly one of the solid rocks of this family.

  As Aidan pulled the second pizza from the oven to oohs and aahs, Beck explained to the group gathered around the kitchen counter how they were working to find a secret ingredient, but nothing her uncle had tasted so far met his very high bar.

  “This smells so good,” Molly said. “Maybe you’ve invented your own secret recipe.”

  “But you’re missing pineapples,” Pru said, up on her tiptoes to check out the toppings. “We like pineapples, don’t we, Trace?”

  “The only way to eat pizza,” he agreed.

  Beck caught the quick, shared smile between the teenage girl and her father, their affection for each other palpable even to a stranger. Aidan had told Beck the story of how Molly had raised Pru alone for thirteen years before a man, recently out of prison, showed up at Waterford Farm looking for help for a sick dog. Not just any man, Aidan told her, but Pru’s father, long thought to be dead. Once again, Daniel Kilcannon was credited with pulling the strings to make that romance happen.

  “No pineapple,” Beck said. “But we have Version A and Version B, and we want you to taste each and pick your favorite.”

  “Is it a battle?” Molly asked.

  “And if it is, I hope you weren’t so obvious as to make A for Aidan and B for Beck,” Pru teased.

  “And C for Christian!” The little boy came zooming in, ready to grab a slice, but Aidan adeptly snagged his hand before he touched the steaming pizza.

  “Why don’t you wash these things?” he suggested, turning the little fingers over for an examination. “While we set up for dinner in the kitchen.”

  “Sunday dinner in the kitchen?” Christian looked horrified and thrilled at the same time. “Grandpa wouldn’t like that.”

  “Grandpa’s not here.” Gramma Finnie moved in to guide the little man to the sink. “Let’s wash up, laddie, and eat wherever we want tonight.”

  The screen door opened as Christian let out a wail of “Yay!” but his expression changed as he saw Shane and Chloe enter. “Is there a baby yet?” he demanded, dinner forgotten.

  “Not for a few hours at best,” Chloe told him, wrapping the child in a hug and planting reassuring kisses on his cheeks. “But your mama told me to tell you she loves you sooooo much.”

  “At this rate, she may finish those last two weeks in labor,” Shane said softly to the adults. “Apparently, nothing moves fast except our family in a crisis.”

  And they sure did that, Beck mused.

  “You’re just in time to eat,” Aidan said, greeting his brother with a man hug and p
at on the shoulder, one of the warmest exchanges Beck had ever noticed between the two.

  Was it the pending birth? The pizza? The day of new dogs and life-changing ideas? Something had Aidan very chill, very happy, and very…settled today.

  When he stepped away from Shane, Aidan caught her looking at him and gave the quickest wink, which did crazy, stupid things like curl her toes and make the hair on her neck dance.

  Maybe it was…her.

  Shane came over to the counter to examine the pizza and inhale noisily. “Bro, you are gifted.”

  “One of these is Beck’s.”

  “Then you’re an awesome team. And I am so hungry, I do not know what the rest of you are going to eat.”

  “There are two more in the oven,” Beck assured him.

  “We can’t all fit at the kitchen table,” Christian said, calling over all of them from the other side of the room. “So I have the best idea ever in the world.”

  “Three…two…one,” Shane whispered.

  “Mario Kart,” Trace, Molly, Pru, and Aidan all said quietly at exactly the same time.

  “Mario Kart!” Christian yelled, cracking them all up.

  Still laughing, they all took off to set up in the family room and left Aidan and Beck to cut and serve the pizzas.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Beck said, watching as they streamed from one room to the next, leaving a wake of laughter and love.

  “What I can’t believe is that kid used to be shy, at least to hear Andi tell it. Now, he’s the loudest one in the bunch.” He concentrated on making perfect slices with the pizza cutter.

  “Because he’s so comfortable here.” She sighed like a kid at Christmas. “This place is wonderful.”

  He smiled, his gaze on her as he came closer and put his hands on her cheeks. “And it’s all better with you.” He kissed her forehead, then her nose, then stole a kiss on her mouth that tasted as sweet as the exchange. “Andi’s baby had bad timing, though,” he added.

  “Ruined our pizza party?”

  “Ruined my chance to talk to Dad.” He inched back and added some tender pressure, his fingers grazing the nape of her neck in a way that made her feel breathless. “About the plane.”