Fetching Sweetness

by Dana Mentink

  That gave Rhett some alone time with his thoughts. He still wasn’t completely sure why he’d marched out of that vet’s office, blowing off the advice of a trained professional. Partly it was the stubborn streak in him that activated whenever someone challenged him, but it was something more than that. He didn’t want to think it out, to dismantle and examine his own motivation. Stephanie probably already knew why he’d acted the way he did, with all her talk about what drives characters and such drivel. She wanted to see the heroic side of Rhett Hastings, but it was probably simple stubbornness more than anything else.

  What Stephanie thought of him mattered, but his need to rescue Panny had nothing to do with that. The bare bones of it was that he wanted to save the dog since the moment he’d witnessed the tender offer of a bite of pancake, the pure compassion of one living thing toward another. He’d never seen anything like it except in movies and, though he’d never admit it, those sappy cinematic moments always made him tear up. He really was turning into a blubber head.

  “Just don’t let it take you away from your plan. God’s plan,” he muttered to himself. He got Panny settled on a corner of the couch, Sweetness keeping a watchful eye on her.

  When he had showered and shaved, he went to the kitchen to offer Panny a mouthful of the special food the doctor had provided. It was soft and smelled like a cross between beef stew and cardboard. He gave her a pep talk, which she listened to with filmy eyes fixed in the direction of his voice. She managed only a bite, but in his mind it was a good, hefty one. He took her outside and held her up to see if she needed to go. She tinkled a little, and he felt like doing a fist pump. Instead, he said quietly, “That’s a girl, Panny. We’ll show ’em.” He was celebrating over a squirt of pee now?

  Sweetness happily took care of his business, and Rhett was careful to be sure the wily dog did not stray.

  Stephanie returned. “Our clothes are in the dryer. There were two guys in the laundry room watching a fishing show on this incredibly old black-and-white TV, and they promised me that no one will steal our things. Should I believe them?”

  “Guys who watch fishing shows are trustworthy.”

  “That’s what I thought too.” She handed him his phone. “It was in your pants pocket. It’s been buzzing on and off for a while. I think it’s Evonne.”

  “Evonne who?”

  “The reporter from Big Thumb.”

  He deleted the messages without reading them. “She’s persistent. I’ll give her that.”

  Stephanie rolled her eyes. “No wonder the press doesn’t like you.”

  “I don’t like them either.”

  “It wouldn’t hurt to call her.”

  “I’m busy. I have to be at Bethany’s tomorrow.”

  “For the big reunion?”

  “You make it sound like a novel. I visited Karen when I could during her hospital stay and her stint in rehab.”

  “I meant with Paulo.”

  “Oh. Yes.”

  “They’ve been separated a long while.”

  “Not so long. Only eight years. He hasn’t remarried. Doesn’t even have a steady job. He’ll be happy to see her.”

  Stephanie scratched Sweetness behind his ears. Her silence was telling.

  “He will be glad,” Rhett repeated firmly. “He’s back in the U.S. on a work visa and starting the process of becoming a citizen. He’s going to put down roots here.”

  “And Karen?”

  “She’s never stopped loving him.”

  “Why do I feel like you want to add ‘even though he doesn’t deserve it’?”

  “He doesn’t,” Rhett growled, wishing immediately that he hadn’t.

  “But she loves him anyway.” Stephanie sighed. “Such is the stuff great novels are made of. You should read Agnes Wharton’s book. There is one part where Jedd has been off on a drinking binge and he gets robbed, losing all the money he’d earned for the month. She forgives him because she knows he’s grieving for their baby.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that you are too much in love with books?”

  “I didn’t think that was possible.”

  There was such an earnest look on her face that he had to laugh. “You should open a bookstore.”

  “That’s what I’m going to do after I retire from the literary agency.”

  “Long time to wait.”

  “I’m a pro at holding on to dreams for an eternity, remember?”

  What a waste that is, he thought. This vibrant, intelligent woman couldn’t see that she was not living her life but someone else’s. He would make a note on his cell phone to remind himself to pray for her, though he didn’t think he’d need it. He still hadn’t gotten into the habit of thinking regularly about others, but Stephanie cropped up in his mind almost constantly.

  She held up a bag. “The camp store was still open. I bought dinner. My treat.”

  He did not hide a look of dread.

  “Oh, don’t be such a food snob. You’ll like it. I promise.” She sucked in a deep breath. “I can almost smell the ocean from here. Do you want to have dinner outside?”

  “No,” he said before thinking. “I don’t want Panny to get cold, and she’s too fragile to leave alone.”

  “All right,” she said, sweeping past him. He was relieved that she didn’t make a crack about his attachment to the old dog until she said, “Marshmallow,” as she passed him.

  He’d been called a lot of names in his day, but Marshmallow was a first. Somehow, it did not seem to bother him as much as it would have before the crazy adventure started. She’d been able to see more of him than anyone else had, right down to the real, unvarnished parts.

  Tucking Panny under his arm, he followed her inside to discover what culinary disaster she had in mind. Oddly, that thought did not seem to bother him much either.

  Stephanie slept fitfully, in spite of her satisfying dinner of raviolis from the can, which, she pointed out to Rhett, was prepared by a real live chef, as proved by the picture on the label. Rhett had eaten enough to be polite and supplemented his dinner with several slices of the fresh baked bread she’d been thrilled to purchase. Marge, the camp store manager, was quite the baker.

  At sunrise it was a quick breakfast of toast for both of them, kibble for Sweetness, and two tiny mouthfuls of food for Panny.

  “Two bites!” Rhett boomed as if he was extolling the launch of an IPO. “Two.”

  She laughed. The lightness inside belied her circumstances. “Way to go, Panny and Dr. Rhett,” she said, as they packed up the trailer. “You have skills outside the boardroom too.”

  “Don’t I know it.” He opened the truck door for her and the dogs. “Ready to go meet my sister?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Rhett guided the truck along Interstate 5. Stephanie occupied herself by making notes in her journal about the wacky adventure to share with the Chain Gang back home.

  A thought struck her and she jotted it down.

  “Inspiration?” Rhett said.

  “I was thinking of suggesting to the guy who runs the bookstore back in New York that he should put up some maps in the travel section where customers could mark where they’d been and post some quick thoughts about their trip.”

  “Is Bookstore Owner likely to listen to you?”

  “No,” she said with a sigh. “But a girl can dream.”

  She watched with interest as he left the interstate and took a different route, which led them along the Oregon coast. The rugged black cliffs and water bluer than she could have imagined took her breath away, a scenic postcard unrolling before her eyes.

  Sweetness pushed his big head out the window and snuffled up some sea air.

  “It’s gorgeous,” she breathed.

  “Yeah,” he said, somewhat distractedly. She looked closer. He was absently stroking Panny with one hand, his brow furrowed into deep lines. He was, in a word, worried.

  For all his bold talk, he wasn’t sure how the meeting would go between Paulo a
nd Karen, she intuited. She didn’t blame him. Love was a hard animal to understand. Like Sweetness, it was unpredictable, nonsensical, and never completely well behaved, and Rhett was deluded to think he could manage it like a business deal. How could such a brilliant man be so ignorant?

  The closer they got to their destination, the quieter he became. As the hours passed, his tension began to mingle with hers as the task before her pressed in. The Jackson Agency was sniffing around Stephanie’s manuscript. What if they’d gotten to Agnes already? What if this stop to pick up Karen would be the difference between success and failure?

  She thought about other options. She could try to find another ride, a taxi, a plane, or even hitchhike. But there was something bordering on fear in the pinched lines around Rhett’s mouth that made her feel as though he needed her. She shifted. Crazy thought. What difference could she possibly make in the situation? A stranger in the middle of Rhett’s odd family scenario.

  He looked at her then, took her hand, and squeezed. “I, uh, I appreciate you making this stop with me.”

  She squeezed back, surprised. “Our business deal.”

  “Yeah,” he said with a shrug. “Anyway, I just wanted to say that.”

  She tugged playfully on his arm. “I hope your sister likes dogs.”

  He smiled. “My sister likes anything that breathes, the sicker and lamer the better.”

  “Then she’s going to love Panny.”

  The old dog took that moment to yawn. The movement caught the attention of Sweetness, who administered a thorough examination. Stephanie shook her head. “It’s like he’s the big brother or something. Sooner or later she’s going to get tired of it, and he’ll have to stop.”

  Rhett looked at Sweetness, a tender smile on his lips. “Oh, I don’t think he’ll ever stop trying to be her big brother.”

  Was that what Rhett saw in Panny and Sweetness? Siblings trying to protect each other?

  Sorrow rose up inside her. How she wished she had been able to protect her brother from the meningitis that had ended his life, a ridiculous invisible bacteria, tiny as a pinhead, powerful as a loaded gun. She wondered suddenly how Sweetness would feel if Panny didn’t make it. And what about their inevitable separation when Agnes took possession of her dog once again? Would Sweetness pine for Panny? Grieve her loss?

  Sweetness settled down again, side by side with his newfound sister.

  In that moment, she felt a firm desire take root. Panny would live. She and Rhett would see to it together, and Agnes Wharton was going to ensure that the dogs remained together for the rest of their lives. The fairy-tale ending was just as improbable as Rhett’s forced reunion of Paulo and Karen. Still, she’d always loved a good fairy tale.

  Agnes might be addled and strong willed, but she was no match for the determination that swept through Stephanie Pink. Manuscript and dogs would be changing hands in a matter of days without interference from the Jackson Agency or anyone else. So sayeth Stephanie Pink, soon to be Agent Pink, slayer of wedding cakes.

  Agnes Wharton, you’ve met your match.

  They arrived at an older, ranch-style home in a quiet suburban neighborhood. It wasn’t far from the beach, and the scent of the sea hung in the air. Rhett’s pulse pounded as he parked the truck and trailer on the street. Wrapping Panny in a towel, he handed her to Stephanie and clipped Sweetness to the leash. He checked his watch. “We have an hour before Paulo arrives.”

  He marched toward the door, and they were let into the house by a redheaded lady wearing jeans and a denim shirt who greeted Rhett with a hug and pumped Stephanie’s hand. “Come on out back,” she said. “Karen’s parked in her favorite spot.” They were nearly to the sliding door when Bethany pulled Rhett aside.

  “Is Paulo still coming?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s a mistake, Rhett.”

  He patted her hand on his arm and tried to keep the irritation from his voice. “It’s going to be okay.” Without giving her a chance to disagree, he made his way to a neat patio complete with cushioned chairs and a burbling fountain.

  Karen sat in a patch of sunlight, framed by a leggy flowering shrub. He was pleased to see that her cheeks were a bit fuller, and she looked more rested than the last time he’d visited. Her long blond hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

  He went to greet her. “Hey, sis.”

  Her smile lit up her face in a way that made his heart both grieve and rejoice. “Hiya, big brother.”

  He swallowed hard as she kissed him on both cheeks. “This is my friend Stephanie.”

  “Hi, Stephanie. I hope Rhett has been treating you well. He can be grouchy, but he’s a teddy bear deep down.”

  Karen’s friendly manner with her estranged brother no doubt confused Stephanie. She smiled and shot a look at him. He should have told her the complete truth earlier. Why hadn’t he been man enough?

  Stephanie introduced Panny, and Karen demanded to see her, taking the little creature on her lap. She began to coo softly to the dog.

  Rhett stepped closer to Stephanie and drew her away a step. “Karen lost some of her memory in the accident.”

  Stephanie’s eyes rounded. “She doesn’t remember your…disagreement?”

  He held her eyes, tried to read the emotion shimmering there.

  “No.”

  “Your sister doesn’t remember what you did?”

  He couldn’t look away, though he wanted to. “I wanted to tell her, so many times, but…”

  “But you didn’t.” The truth sounded hard and ugly.

  “No.” He swallowed hard. “I didn’t. Not yet. I tried, but I just couldn’t get the words out.”

  “Does she remember Paulo?” Stephanie whispered, while Sweetness butted Karen’s hand, trying to get her attention.

  “Yes,” he hastened to say. “I mean, she didn’t at first, but I’ve shown her pictures and told her about him. She remembers now.” Some of it, his conscience added.

  Stephanie’s eyes were filled with profound disappointment.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he said. “Paulo will tell her, and it will be brutally honest coming from him.”

  Stephanie closed her eyes for a moment as if she felt a pain deep down.

  “Are you Rhett’s wife?” Karen called.

  Stephanie blushed a rosy red. “Uh, no.”

  “I told you she is my friend,” Rhett put in.

  Karen sighed. “That’s right, you did. My head feels like it’s filled with wet cotton sometimes.” She stroked the dog in her lap.

  “You’re doing well, Karen. The doctors are pleased. How’s the strength in your legs?”

  “Good. Bethany takes great care of me and reminds me to use the cane. It’s a big improvement from the walker. All this coastal air has fixed me right up. I’m ready to go to the orchard and get working.”

  His heart leaped. She remembered the plan he’d gone over with her so many times during his visits. “We can leave tomorrow morning. We’ll be there by sundown if we push it.”

  “Finally.” Karen stroked Panny and patted Sweetness simultaneously. “I can picture it so clearly. And the smell. Remember the scent of the apple blossoms, Rhett? It was like God perfumed the air.”

  He nodded. “I remember.”

  “And the little house where we slept on the floor.” She looked at Stephanie. “We slept on foam mats, but I never remember being uncomfortable at all. Gran and Gramps would wake us up every morning with eggs and bacon and buttered grits.”

  “The days before cholesterol,” Rhett said.

  She laughed. “We had fun there. Mom and Dad used to send us to the orchard in the summertime until Mom left.” Her face clouded. “They divorced, and we didn’t go for a while because Dad needed us at home. And then the orchard was sold.” She sighed. “Just like that. Everything changed. I’ve sure missed that old house.”

  “Remember, I told you the house is in disrepair. The Realtor told me the roof needs work and some of the flooring has to b
e replaced. I brought the trailer so you can live in it while I have the repairs done.”

  She nodded. “I don’t care if I’m living in a tent. I can’t wait to be back there.”

  “Who’s ready for dinner?” Bethany called.

  Karen leaned in. “We’d better go. She’s a stickler for prompt dining.”

  Stephanie took the dogs, and Rhett handed Karen her cane and offered his arm. They walked back into the house. Rhett avoided looking at Stephanie. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

  Karen doesn’t remember what you did, Rhett. How could you let your sister believe a lie?

  Fifteen

  Stephanie could hardly taste the chicken piccata, though she was sure it must be good. It was as if she were sitting through some odd scene in a movie or book, Karen prattling on in adoration of her brother, who she did not remember separating her from the man she loved. At any moment Paulo would walk through the door and drop the truth of her brother’s betrayal like a bomb. In a sappy romance novel, they would rekindle their love at first glance. In a literary novel, it would turn to disaster.

  Rhett, she understood now, was hoping for that happy-ever-after, romance-novel ending for his sister and Paulo. Karen might hate Rhett all over again when she remembered his betrayal, but Rhett was willing to risk it. Rhett thought God was helping him orchestrate a reunion that would mend the broken pieces together, to heal her life and rectify his own sin. Could it be that simple? Could Rhett simply revise the story through careful planning and meticulously drawn strategy? Stephanie’s stomach was knotted, and she could tell by the rigidity in his posture that Rhett’s nerves were stretched tight. When the knock on the door came, she jumped. Was she about to witness a miracle or a train wreck?

  Rhett led Karen to a chair on the patio while Bethany admitted Paulo. Stephanie kept Sweetness from leaping up onto the visitor. Paulo was a tall man, with dark hair and dark skin, handsome. He had that worldly, exotic look about him that Spencer worked so hard to cultivate. Paulo greeted Bethany with a polite handshake and did the same with Stephanie, avoiding the slobbering dog as best he could.