Man's Best Friend (The Dogmothers Book 6)

by Roxanne St Claire

  She looked up at him. “I made up an excuse because I couldn’t bear to see you and not…”

  He grunted and dropped his head back like he’d been smacked. “So many missed opportunities. So much time wasted.” He swore under his breath.

  “Don’t, Dec.” She looked up at him. “Don’t dwell on what-ifs and what-wasn’ts.”

  He slid his hand under her hair, his touch gentle, his palm callused. “For smart people, we’ve been so damn dumb.”

  She gave a sad smile. “When I’m in Bitter Bark, I’m always dying to see you, but terrified I might.”

  “Then you walked into Linda May’s…” He thumbed her jaw. “What did you think when you saw me?”

  “Of all the bakeries in the world…” she joked.

  “Seriously.”

  “I thought it simply wasn’t fair that you are so damn good-looking and that I would have loved to have watched you change from a boy to a man and that I knew right then and there what my best moment of the year would be.” She gave a smile, relieved to make the admission. “What did you think?”

  “That this time, I wasn’t going to let you slip away.”

  “And here I am. Unslipped.”

  He ran his fingers over the nape of her neck, sending a thousand chills down her back. “So, E. Can I keep seeing you while you’re here? Can we pick up where we left off? Can I stop making excuses to come over and just…come over?”

  She eased closer to him, still locked on the intensity in his dark eyes. “Yes.”

  He gave her that slow smile. “That was easy.”

  “All you had to do was ask.”

  He wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her closer. “One more Birthday Game question?”

  “Keep them positive, like happiest moment or best meal?” she guessed.

  “Best kiss.”

  She leaned into him. “I’m pretty sure it’s the one I’m about to get.”

  “Yep.” He was still smiling as he lowered his mouth to hers, but that smile disappeared as their lips met, very lightly at first, then with more pressure, more purpose, and more pleasure. She slid her hands up his shoulders, taking her time to appreciate the shape of him, the same way he coasted his hand up and down her back.

  “Evie,” he murmured.

  “Declan,” she echoed, making him laugh a little as he drew back to look into her eyes.

  “It’s been a long twenty years.”

  “No kidding.”

  Still holding her gaze, he rubbed his thumb along her lower lip. “Not one day passed that I didn’t think about you.”

  The confession nearly collapsed her heart. “I tried to forget,” she admitted.

  “I never tried,” he said with a sad smile. “Because I hate to fail.”

  She opened her hands and let her fingers slide into his hair, and even his head felt wonderful in her hands. She didn’t want to think how good the rest of him would feel. “I’m here until the end of the year.”

  “Let’s make up for lost time.” He kissed her again, angling for a sweeter connection, opening his lips for a tender touch of their tongues.

  She took the invitation, weak-kneed from the lightning bolts shooting through her, hot and fast and sudden while she kissed him again.

  Then a big furry paw landed on her boot, and Judah let out a long, insistent howl.

  “Is he in pain?” Declan asked as they broke apart.

  “The pain of being ignored.” She reached down to give him some love. “You’re right, big boy. Let’s get you home. Big day and an early-morning call in the OR tomorrow.”

  “We’ll be there. In fact, would you like me to pick you up and take you guys in?” Declan slid his arm around her and reached down to rub Judah’s head.

  “I have to be at the hospital by five, and you just finished a twenty-four-hour shift. Judah and I can get there on our own.”

  “Or I could stay tonight.”

  She hesitated, mostly because of the heat that whipped through her. “Not the night before surgery,” she said.

  “Then maybe the night after.”

  She smiled, snuggling closer. “If surgery is a success.”

  “You hear that, buddy?” He gave Judah’s head another pat. “Be good on that table tomorrow, and…and…”

  She waited, watching, wondering where he’d go with that. “And?” she prompted.

  “I was going to say I’ll be a happy man, but I already am. You’ve forgiven me, and we have a second chance. What could be better than that?”

  She knew exactly what could be better. Thank God he hadn’t asked about her biggest regret as part of the Birthday Game. Because she might have told him, and knowing Declan, he would have offered right then and there to give her the one thing she wanted most.

  And she might have said yes.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Declan was only a little surprised at the number of family members who wandered into the Vestal Valley College Animal Hospital that morning. Yes, his immediate and extended family frequently showed up for any event that required “support,” but this operation wasn’t at Kilcannon Veterinary Hospital or Waterford Farm, and Judah wasn’t exactly a family pet.

  Still, a stream of women he knew and loved began to pour into the surgery waiting room shortly after eight. Gramma Finnie and Yiayia were first, followed by his sister-in-law Cassie and her mother, Uncle Daniel’s wife, Katie. After they greeted him and found coffee and chairs, Pru came in with her father, Trace, walking Danny into the room.

  “Let the games begin,” Pru called out on a laugh. “Dan the Man has arrived.” She slid into the chair right next to Declan. “Mom’s so excited to be in on this surgery. She said watching Dr. Hewitt work is like taking a master class.”

  He smiled, proud of Evie, as always. “It’s good to know Judah’s in such talented hands.”

  Trace made his way over, his muscular, tattoo-covered arms stretched down to let Danny grip his index fingers and toddle along, half on his own power, half by using his dad for balance. His dark eyes darted around the room with intelligence and curiosity, his mop of nearly black hair already a tousled mess, as if to announce this kid played hard.

  “What happens if you let him go?” Declan asked, getting a wide grin from Trace in response.

  “Well, looks like he’s got his eye on you, so…” Trace straightened and slid his fingers out of Danny’s hands, and the little guy’s eyes instantly popped with the taste of freedom. In a flash, he started off on his own, waddling a little on fat, short legs, but headed right toward Declan at full speed.

  He shrieked and slapped his hands on Declan’s legs, fell down in a heap, and threw his head back with an infectious laugh, making the whole waiting room chuckle.

  “Whoa, there, little fella.” Declan reached down and scooped him up, setting him on his lap.

  He giggled, then turned to Trace, arms out.

  “You stay with Uncle Dec while I get coffee,” Trace said. “Show him how you can stand on your head.”

  “He can?”

  “New trick,” Trace said.

  Immediately, Danny slid down to the ground, folding in half, his diapered butt in the air. He turned to Declan with an upside-down, toothless grin, obviously waiting for praise.

  “Good job, crazypants.”

  Pru clapped. “Way to go, Danny!”

  Yiayia leaned in. “This is all very good if he wants to work at SeaWorld as a trained seal.”

  Laughing, Declan patted his lap. “Sit with me, young man, and I’ll tell you how to be a firefighter. When we say stand on your head, we don’t mean fold in half. We mean a headstand.”

  He climbed up on Declan’s lap, suddenly fascinated.

  “I’ll take him, Uncle Declan,” Pru offered.

  “No, he’s fine.” With all the many hands in his family, it was rare that he got to hold any of the babies, and he kind of wanted to really pay attention to how it felt. “Aren’t you, Danny boy?” He bounced his knee, giving the kid
a ride and getting another giggle, this one complete with a slap on Declan’s chest. “You like that?”

  “He likes attention.” Pru leaned in, tapping Danny’s button of a nose. “Don’t you, wild thing?”

  He lifted both hands straight out. “Pwuuuuuu.”

  Declan cracked up. “I’m guessing that’s Pru.”

  “Oh yes, his vocabulary is growing every day. He says cookie…”

  “Coo-coo!”

  “And Meatball.”

  “Mmmbah!”

  “And there’s Aunt Colleen and Ella.”

  Danny whipped around when he realized Declan’s mother was coming into the waiting room with Ella.

  “Smewwie!” he called.

  “Even he calls her Smella,” Declan said on a laugh, giving a nod to the new arrivals.

  Ella and Mom came over to join the family that had essentially filled most of the waiting room, exchanging more kisses, hugs, and updates on when the surgery had started.

  “How’d you both get out of the store?” Gramma Finnie asked.

  “Darcy’s covering,” Ella said, bending over to greet the baby on Declan’s lap. “Hi, Danny Fo-Fanny.” She looked up to meet Declan’s gaze. “Lookin’ pretty natural with a kiddo on your lap, Big D.” She leaned all the way over, slipping her hands around Danny to lift him up, whispering in Declan’s ear while she did. “Does that mean you’re considering the suggestion?”

  He answered with a narrow-eyed warning that demanded silence.

  But Ella laughed and hoisted the baby in the air. “Wanna take an airplane ride?” As she zoomed off with him and Pru followed, his mother took the empty seat next to him.

  “You didn’t have to come, Mom,” he said after they exchanged a quick hug. “It’s sweet that you did.”

  “I wanted to be here,” she said, brushing back a lock of slightly graying brown hair that had escaped from the waist-long braid that she’d had since Declan was a kid. As usual, Colleen Mahoney wore a Bone Appetit T-shirt over jeans, the antithesis of glamour. “I don’t get to see you that often, and you slipped out of Sunday dinner last week before we had a chance to catch up.”

  “True,” he agreed. “But I promise I’ll be there tomorrow.”

  “Will you bring Evie?”

  He inched back at the question, remembering Evie’s hesitancy last night, especially when it came to his mother. “It depends on how things go with Judah,” he said. “But I’d like to.” He put a hand on her arm, holding her blueberry-colored gaze. “Can we talk for a second?”

  “Sure. Let’s take a walk.”

  They stood and slipped out together, heading out the front doors of the animal hospital and down a few stone steps to find an empty bench under a tree.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked as they sat down.

  “Yeah, yeah.” He settled back, stretching an arm over the back and giving her narrow shoulders a light squeeze. “Really good, actually.”

  A smile tugged. “That’s nice. You know what your aunt Annie used to say. ‘You’re only as happy as your least-happy kid.’ So hearing you say you’re good makes my heart warm.”

  He eyed her for a moment, wondering how deep they could, or should, go. “You know why I’m happy, I assume.”

  “Pretty sure the reason is in the OR right now, and I don’t mean the dog.”

  “I like the dog,” he admitted with a wry laugh. “But yeah, I like the dog doctor even more.”

  “That’s wonderful, Dec. You know I’ve always been fond of Evie Hewitt.”

  Really? Even after the fire? “There are no…hard feelings?”

  She sighed softly, nestling closer as she plucked at an imaginary thread on her jeans. “There are feelings,” she said matter-of-factly, in true Colleen Mahoney fashion. “And many of them are still hard to process, but not for one minute do I bear a grudge against Evie or her family or Gloriana House itself. Is that what you’re asking?”

  “I guess it is. I think she’s a little…nervous? I don’t know if that’s the right word. Just worried that seeing you might bring back bad memories for both of you.”

  Mom shook her head. “No, I don’t want her to feel that way. Especially now that you’re together again.”

  “I don’t know how together we are,” he said on a laugh. “We’re sharing responsibility for a dog, and I’m helping her around Gloriana House and…” We’re kissing. He left that part out.

  “I’m happy you’re able to be in the house and let go.”

  He swallowed. “‘Letting go’ is a relative term. I’m…facing stuff.” He threw her a look. “And I’ve been reading the investigation files.”

  “I heard.”

  Inching back in surprise, he frowned. “Connor or Braden?”

  “Both,” she said. “They think they’re protecting me whenever anything comes up that has to do with your dad’s death.”

  He nodded. “I guess they talk to you more about it than I do.”

  “You never talk about it,” she said.

  “That’s why I’m reading the files and trying to, you know, come to terms.”

  “I’ve read those files,” she said. “And the department kept me up to speed throughout the whole investigation.” She gave him a questioning look. “Are you finding…contradictions?”

  “Maybe. I’m trying to track down the arson investigator who thought the fire was suspicious, but if you’ve read the reports, you know that wasn’t the official determination.” He tried to read her expression. “What are you thinking, Mom?”

  “I’m torn,” she admitted on a sigh. “I’ve always had this nagging feeling that something wasn’t right about that fire. It wasn’t like your father to break a rule and take a risk, but something compelled him to that night.”

  “Did you ever talk to George Rainey? That was his partner on the call.”

  “You know he died at the World Trade Center?”

  “I did know that,” Declan said. “But before he left? You knew him, I assume?”

  “Very well. He was never quite the same after that fire. He shouldered a lot of blame for losing a partner.”

  Declan nodded, totally understanding that. “He didn’t say what was different that night? Why he thought Dad left his side?”

  “Nothing more than what was in that report.”

  Which was that he got momentarily separated from Dad, losing sight of him in the smoke. Declan nodded, considering how much to share with her. “I’m trying to shed some light now on what happened. You don’t mind, Mom, do you?” The last thing he wanted to do was ease his own pain, but cause more for his mother.

  “I don’t mind,” she assured him. “But I do question the cost.”

  “The cost?”

  She turned and looked hard at him. “Evie. It could cost you Evie.”

  He blew out a breath. “You sound like Connor.”

  “A man who knows firsthand how your life can be improved by the love of a good woman.”

  “Mom, if something happened that wasn’t in that report—if Dad made a huge mistake or if the investigators did—we have to know.”

  “Yes, I get that,” she agreed. “And honestly, I’ve always wondered what you’d think when you read the report, because you were already in the department. Maybe you’ll see something that everyone else missed.”

  But what if he saw something that cost him Evie, as these people who loved him kept warning him?

  “And then we worry,” Mom added.

  “About what?”

  “About your happiness.” She took both his hands. “That fire makes you…”

  “Awful, I know.” He didn’t have to be told yet again how dark and miserable he got. “Get in line for my apologies, because they’re coming fast and furious.”

  She laughed easily. “You couldn’t be awful if you tried. You weren’t just grieving the loss of your dad, and I know you two were close. But that fire cost you even more than that.”

  “Evie?” He shook his head. “That’s
all on me, not that fire. I built a wall two miles high and every bit as thick to keep her out. But…” He smiled at her. “You’re right. Walls are crumbling every day.”

  “Then don’t pick those broken bits back up again,” she said.

  But was that what he was doing by looking into the fire? “You know, Mom, she has a big job in Raleigh, and I have a big family here. It’s…complicated.”

  “I have an idea.” She leaned closer to whisper, “Bring her to Waterford and make her fall in love with all of us.”

  “You’re scheming,” he said on a laugh. “Just like your mother and her ruthless pal.”

  She laughed at that. “Not at all. My reasons are selfish. I want to talk to Evie.”

  “About?”

  “I want her to know that no one blames her family for our family’s loss.” She sat back on a sigh. “And if that helps remove an obstacle for you? All the better. Nothing could make me happier than to see you in love, Dec.”

  In love. They’d barely kissed, and yet…he knew Evie so well. And she knew him better than anyone, including the woman sitting next to him.

  “I like that look in your eyes,” Mom said, patting his arm. “It reminds me of your dad.”

  “Yeah?” That made him smile, but just then the front doors of the building swung open and Molly stepped out, wearing blue scrubs and a big smile.

  “Come on back in, you two,” she called. “We’re done and Judah is doing great.”

  They popped up from the bench and hustled closer. “Is Evie in the waiting room?” Declan asked.

  “Yep. She’s looking for you,” Molly said. “Oh, and, Declan?”

  “Yeah?”

  “That woman is a beast with a scalpel. Hands down the most gifted surgeon I’ve ever seen.”

  He grinned, pride rolling over him. “She’s something, isn’t she?” He brushed by her and headed back into the building, turning into the waiting room where he stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw.

  Evie, also in blue scrubs, holding baby Danny on her hip and talking with half his family. Nuzzling the toddler under her chin, she said something that, of course, made everyone laugh.

  She smoothed Danny’s wild curls with those long, beautiful fingers and absently pressed a kiss to his head.