Old Dog New Tricks

by Roxanne St Claire

  “Everyone does now,” she said on a laugh.

  “And this is Nick, her…my…” He hesitated, uncertain where to go with that, but the smile grew a little on Nick’s face as he extended his hand to the woman.

  “Nick Santorini,” he said, shaking her hand. “I’m…” He swallowed and glanced at Daniel. “I’m Daniel and Katie’s son.”

  Katie sucked in a soft breath of surprise, but Bella gasped so noisily it was surprising the dancers didn’t hear it.

  “What? Excuse me? Did you say…”

  But Daniel was looking right at Nick with amazement in his eyes.

  “I don’t understand—”

  Daniel put a hand on her shoulder. “Long story, Bella. But thanks for stopping by.”

  Her eyes sparked as she got the not-so-subtle message and backed away, looking from Nick to Daniel and back again.

  “Well, you’ve done it now,” Daniel said on a laugh. “The Bitter Bark rumor mill is about to go into overdrive.”

  Nick shrugged. “I believe in telling the truth,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do.”

  “Yes, it is,” Daniel agreed, reaching out to pull Nick into a quick, fatherly hug. “We’ll miss you, son,” he said softly.

  Nick gave his back a pat and pulled away. “Take care of my mom,” he said.

  “I will.”

  “Hurt her and you die.”

  Daniel laughed. “And I’d deserve to.”

  Nick turned to Katie, leaning over to hug her and add a kiss on the head. “I love you, Mom.”

  She couldn’t get the words out, because her throat was so thick, so she kissed his cheek, and he got the message.

  A minute later, he was gone.

  She turned to Daniel, her eyes swimming, still speechless. He cupped her face and leaned close. “Let’s take the dogs for a walk and get some air.”

  With a quick glance at the group having too much fun to miss them, she agreed while he got Goldie and Rusty out from under the table, and the four of them slipped out into the warm spring air.

  “Want to walk through the square?” she asked.

  “Yes, but…” He glanced at her, thinking. “Actually, I have a destination in mind.”

  “You do?” Intrigued, she curled closer to him, taking Goldie’s leash and walking arm in arm as the dogs led the way. As always, when one dog stopped, so did the other. When Rusty slowed, so did Goldie.

  “They’re so good together,” Katie mused, watching them.

  “She’s changed his life,” Daniel said, looking down at her. “Like someone else I know.”

  Her heart snagged on the statement, though it wasn’t the first time she’d heard it. She still couldn’t get used to this euphoria of love. Sometimes, she looked at him and remembered that there were days that she’d been convinced she’d never be truly happy again.

  But she’d been so wrong about that.

  They walked under the lights in the trees, past the statue of Thaddeus Ambrose Bushrod, the town’s founder, pausing along the path where Rusty had gotten sick and she’d confessed her secret.

  Then they stopped for a kiss at the spot where they’d decided to go their separate ways and follow their hearts to Annie and Nico. But after that, he led her out of the square completely.

  She had no idea where they were going until they reached the perimeter of the Vestal Valley College campus.

  “So, your car’s not parked in the vet school lot anymore,” she mused. “Where are you taking me, Daniel Kilcannon?”

  “First night.”

  She frowned as they crossed the street, looking up and down. “I can’t remember where that apartment was when I found you feeding pretzels to a dog.”

  “Nope, not that part of the first night.”

  “Then where…” She slowed her steps as they reached the red brick walls of Gillespie Hall. “Ah, the scene of the crime.”

  “Right up there.” He pointed to a window on the second floor, dark now, as it had been the night they’d conceived a baby. “You remember the first night.”

  “Like a woman could forget a kiss like that.”

  “I believe you once described it as ‘kissing the holy hell and common sense out of you.’” He looked down at her. “I was thinking I’d try that move again.”

  “Please do.” They reached the side of the building, still in deep shadows, as they had been that night when he’d walked her home. Far away from any people or dogs, they dropped the leashes and let Rusty and Goldie take in the smells of a new place.

  Then Daniel slowly backed her to the wall, looking down at her with the same heated expression she remembered from all those years ago. Decades disappeared, a lifetime of love and family and separation melted away, and all that mattered was this moment. This man. This…kiss.

  She tasted the now familiar mouth that she loved so much, closing her eyes, enjoying the rush of love that washed over her every single time they kissed.

  “Katie Rogers,” he murmured into her mouth.

  “Yes?”

  He drew back, just enough to look at her. “Anything could have changed,” he whispered. “You could have picked another girl for our double date or not left Bitter Bark that night. And the course of our lives would have been completely different.”

  She sighed. “All different children, different memories, different lives.”

  “But that wasn’t what fate had in mind,” he said. “Do you remember that night I took you to Chestnut Creek and you told me, ‘You can’t fight fate’?”

  “Did I say that?” She narrowed her eyes, thinking back on the conversation. “It’s true, I guess. Fate had other plans for us.”

  “Or did she want us to wait?” He smiled and tipped her chin. “So that we would be right here again, different people than we were, but still, somehow, the same?”

  She studied the lines of his face for a moment. “What brought on all this existential thinking, Dr. Kilcannon?”

  “We’ve come full circle,” he said. “Right back to where we started, making me wonder if fate or God or the universe or two really clever angels guided us to where we were always meant to be.”

  “I don’t know.” She nestled closer. “But I thank them all.”

  “You were right,” he said. “You can’t…” He kissed her forehead. “Fight.” Her nose. “Fate.” Her lips. “She’ll win every time.”

  She moaned into the kiss, melting the same way she had on that very first January night.

  “I love you, Katie,” he whispered into the kiss.

  “I love you right back, Daniel.”

  He inched back. “I love your grace and goodness.”

  “I love your moral compass.”

  “I love your family.”

  “I love your family.”

  “I love your dog.”

  She looked to the spot where Goldie sat, one paw on Rusty as if she was constantly monitoring his well-being. “And she loves your dog.”

  He laughed. “I love your heart and humor and ability to take something dreadful and dead and bring it back to life. Like you did with me.”

  “You were never dreadful.”

  “I was on the inside.”

  She squeezed him. “And I was still bleeding inside, too.”

  He searched her face, quiet as his expression changed. “You know, we’ve lived full lives. Wonderful lives. But we’re not even close to done.”

  “There’s so much left to do,” she agreed.

  Slowly, holding her gaze, he lowered his whole body to the ground until he was on one knee.

  This time, her heart didn’t catch. It stopped altogether.

  “Katie Rogers Santorini, I know I’m not the first great love of your life. But I would be so honored and humbled and happy if I could be the last great love of your life. Will you marry me?”

  She tried to breathe, but couldn’t. Tried to answer him, but was speechless. Tried to think of a single reason not to spend the rest of her life as Katie Kilcannon an
d couldn’t come up with one.

  “Oh yes, Daniel.” She reached to bring him up for another teary kiss. “Yes, I will marry you and be the last great love of your life.”

  When he kissed the holy hell and common sense out of her again, with the bricks of Gillespie Hall against her back, Katie knew that all the puzzle pieces of her life had fallen exactly into the places they belonged.

  Who’s next for the Dogfather?

  The Mahoneys and Santorinis must all find love and in fact, Daniel’s already started pulling those strings!

  Watch for Hot Under the Collar, when Cassie Santorini and Braden Mahoney join forces for a cause. There’s a crazy ex-girlfriend, a firefighter bachelor auction, and one adorable service dog school dropout.

  Be sure to sign up for my newsletter for release date information. And join the Dogfather Reader Group page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/roxannestclairereaders/) for daily updates and excerpts, and a vibrant community of dog and book lovers discussing “tails and tales.”

  Author’s Note

  Dear Readers,

  I want to share something with you now that you’ve finished Old Dog New Tricks. Three days before I wrote Chapter One, I lost my darling dog, Pepper, to cancer at age thirteen. Not only was she my first dog, but she was also the one that transformed me from a person who was uncomfortable around animals to the doglover I am today. It was all Pepper. She was, as Molly said, a great one.

  I struggled with the book, writing very little as I grieved. Pepper had more personality than a lot of people, and was the backbone of our family. Most of all, she was my husband’s spirit animal and her death broke his heart.

  After a few months of writing the book, I was far behind schedule. The story was good, but not amazing. Something was missing. And then I got a call from Alaqua Animal Refuge, where all of my covers have been shot using their rescue dogs. The owner had rescued a two-year-old “mixie” who had been deemed “unadoptable” by the county shelter because she wasn’t well socialized. But Laurie Hood, who runs Alaqua, felt this dog might be a good fit for me.

  My husband was adamantly opposed and still grieving Pepper. But he agreed that I needed another dog, and my daughter and I made the ten-hour round-trip drive together…and I fell instantly in love. Rosie is unlike any dog I’ve ever seen or known—a little terrier, a little doxie, a little Corgi, and lot of pure sweet love.

  From the day she arrived until the moment I wrote “The End,” my whole feeling changed about the story. I started over and introduced the character of Goldie and almost typed “Rosie” every time I wrote her name. (It really worked because the dog on this cover is technically a red golden retriever, not an Irish setter. When we shot the covers, it was the closest rescue we could find to match Rusty. Now, this dog even makes more sense. That’s Goldie!)

  But most importantly, as I witnessed my husband’s heart melt to our new arrival, I was able to weave all those emotions into Daniel’s love story. Yes, there can be more than one great one. For that reason, the book is dedicated with all my love to Rosemary Ruth, the newest member of our family. She has attached herself to my husband’s side and won him over heart and soul.

  Thank you for reading my books, for sharing them with friends and fellow romance readers and doglovers, and for visiting the wonderful world of Waterford Farm again and again. Stick with me, there will be many more love stories and great dogs, I promise!

  xoxo

  Rocki

  About the Author

  Published since 2003, Roxanne St. Claire is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than fifty romance and suspense novels. She has written several popular series, including The Dogfather, Barefoot Bay, the Guardian Angelinos, and the Bullet Catchers.

  In addition to being a ten-time nominee and one-time winner of the prestigious RITA™ Award for the best in romance writing, Roxanne has won the National Readers’ Choice Award for best romantic suspense three times, as well as the Maggie, the Daphne du Maurier Award, the HOLT Medallion, Booksellers’ Best, Book Buyers Best, the Award of Excellence, and many others.

  She lives in Florida with her husband, and still attempts to run the lives of her young adult children. She loves dogs, books, chocolate, and wine, especially all at the same time.

  www.roxannestclaire.com

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  Looking for more books by Roxanne St. Claire? Take a trip to Barefoot Bay! On these sun-washed shores you’ll meet heroes who’ll steal your heart, heroines who’ll make you stand up and cheer, and characters who quickly become familiar and beloved. Some are spicy, some are sweet, but every book in the fourteen-book Barefoot Bay series stands alone, and tempts readers to come back again and again. So, kick off your shoes and fall in love with billionaires, brides, bodyguards, silver foxes, and more…all on one dreamy island.

  The Barefoot Bay Series

  Find them all by clicking

  http://www.roxannestclaire.com/barefoot-bay-series/

  1. Secrets on the Sand

  2. Seduction on the Sand

  3. Scandal on the Sand

  4. Barefoot in White

  5. Barefoot in Lace

  6. Barefoot in Pearls

  7. Barefoot Bound (novella)

  8. Barefoot with a Bodyguard

  9. Barefoot with a Stranger

  10. Barefoot with a Bad Boy

  11. Barefoot Dreams (novella)

  12. Barefoot at Sunset

  13. Barefoot at Moonrise

  14. Barefoot at Midnight