by Winnie Reed
Begging for help. Accusing me for forgetting her. I’d forgotten all about her, hadn’t I? She might as well not have been there at all.
“I was too wrapped up. Yelling at that man, fighting with him. I forgot her. I let her go. What else was she gonna do without me holding on? Obviously, she’d go out in the street. I’ll never forgive myself.”
“She’ll be fine, sweetie.” Only she didn’t sound like she believed it herself. She was only saying what she was supposed to say, the sort of thing people told each other when things looked awful and there was no hope. A friend would want to encourage and soothe their friend, even if they had no idea what they were talking about.
“If she dies, I won’t be able to stand it. I just won’t.”
“Honey, dogs don’t outlive us. Not most of the time.”
“Please, please, I know that. But this isn’t the same as her getting sick, something I can’t control. This is my fault. I wasn’t watching her. I might as well have pushed her into the street.”
I barely remembered calling Raina. And even when I had, I was crying too hard to make much sense. The driver of the car had taken the phone from me and explained before driving us to the vet’s office. It was obvious they felt terrible about the whole thing.
I couldn’t even remember if it was a man or a woman. I was that out of it. All I could think about was Lola.
Though I vaguely recalled saying I wouldn’t sue. It wasn’t their fault.
It was mine.
The door to the back room opened. I couldn’t stand up with my legs shaking the way they were.
Raina stood, though, facing the vet. “How is she?”
He smiled. “She has a broken leg, but otherwise she’ll be just fine.”
That should’ve made me happy. Instead, I sobbed harder than ever.
“We did a full x-ray just to be sure, and I didn’t see any internal damage. She must’ve tried to dart away when she saw the car coming and gotten clipped by a wheel. It happens all the time.”
“See? She’ll be fine.” Raina hugged me. “She’s fine.”
“If you think she was spoiled before—”
“It’ll be a hundred times worse now,” she chuckled. “I know.”
I managed to get it together enough to talk to the doctor. “Um, what’s next? A cast?”
“Yes, a cast. A splint. And a cone of shame, as they call them. At least until she’s accustomed to the splint. Otherwise, she’ll bite at it.”
“Sure, sure. I understand. But you’re absolutely sure there’s no other damage? No breaks or bleeding?
“I’m absolutely sure,” he smiled. He seemed like a nice person, and patient. He didn’t even stiffen up when I threw my arms around his neck.
“Thank you so much.” I had to step back before my tears soaked into his scrubs.
“We’ll get started with the cast now. It won’t take long, with her being such a small dog. It should take roughly four weeks to heal. I’ll bring her out to you when we’re finished. Don’t be surprised if she’s a little slow or dull. We’ll be giving her something for the pain.”
“Of course. I don’t want her in pain.” I watched him walk away with my hands folded, thanking my guardian angels and Lola’s for protecting her.
“Now that she’ll have a cast, she’ll be cuter than ever. I can’t resist a doggie in a cast.” Raina handed me a paper cup of water from the cooler near the door. “Here. Calm down, or she’ll know how upset you are. Meds or no meds.”
“Yeah, right. Of course.” But I couldn’t stop blaming myself, no matter what she or the vet or anybody said. I was a rotten idiot for letting her go. All because I was too wrapped up in what was happening with some perfect stranger, relating to the life of another perfect stranger.
She could’ve been killed. Easily. If she’d gone just a little further into the street, or if she’d darted in one direction instead of another, that would’ve been it. And I would’ve had to carry that with me for the rest of my life.
“Emma?”
I couldn’t have been more surprised to see my father enter the office, though he was just the person I needed. I sank against him and he hugged me tight. “Honey, how is she?”
“Her leg’s broken, but she’ll be okay.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“How did you know?” Raina asked.
“I heard it through the grapevine. You know how it is.” He pulled away, looking down at me. “Actually, Holly and I were having breakfast at the diner. Bernard Lewis came in talking about a little Maltese who was hit by a car down the street, and how the dog’s owner wouldn’t leave him alone about some legal issue. Tell me who that sounds like.”
“Oh, jeez. That guy.” I blew my nose and wiped my eyes. “What a jerk. He pushed me. That’s when I dropped the leash.”
“I’ll kill him,” Dad snarled.
“It’s okay. He didn’t hurt me. And it wasn’t his fault I was negligent. Lola should’ve been my primary concern. But no, I got all wrapped up in something that isn’t really all that important to me. She’s what’s important, not some will or secret baby.”
“I would have to agree.”
Raina picked up her purse. “I’ll go outside and call the café. I’m sure word must’ve spread by now.”
“Thanks,” I whispered, sinking into a chair. Something told me Dad would want to speak privately. And it wouldn’t be pretty.
I’d have to thank Raina later for leaving me alone with him, the sneak. Though Mom would be half out of her mind with worry by now, and a phone call was only the right thing.
“Emma.” He sat next to me. “What’s going on with you? Why did you accost that awful guy?”
“Awful? Why do you say that?”
“Oh, come on. Everybody knows what a jerk Bernie Lewis is.”
“Well, I’m not one of those people who knows it. No, scratch that. I didn’t know it before this morning.”
“You have no business getting mixed up with him. Why would you approach him? What was it all about?”
“Remember when I said I found that old picture? I was talking about it with Holly the night you told me about the baby.”
“Sure. The Montbatten house was in it.”
“Right. It was Millicent in the picture. She had a baby years ago, but nobody knew about it. She left her money to him in her will, and I wanted to know if this Lewis guy made good on how she wanted things done. She didn’t know the baby’s name, only that she gave birth to a boy. That’s what the will said.”
“And you would know this how?”
“Because I read it.”
“Emma Jane.”
“What? I know, I bend the rules too much. I just wanted to know, Dad. I wanted to know her baby got what he deserved. Or his family, if he’s dead. It’s only right.”
“I know, honey, but you can’t always be the one to make these things happen. Look what it got you today. Once this situation with Millicent’s money is settled, you’ll still have Lola. And your own life. Your career, your friends. That’s what matters. Everything else will fade to the background, just like always. Robbie Klein has gone on with his life; thanks to you, of course. Same thing with Nate, and Georgia. And I’m sure none of them will forget the way you helped them, but in the end all you’re left with is your life. Yours alone. And you keep taking these risks, even when you don’t know how risky they are.”
“You’re right. I would’ve wanted to die if Lola was killed today.” I leaned against him. He smelled the way he always did, thanks to the aftershave he’d been using since before I was born. It was a comforting scent, something that reminded me of security and peace. I needed it just then.
“I know you would have, sweetie. I think it’s time you take care of what needs taking care of in your life. I understand you’ve been refusing opportunities to travel for work.”
“What the heck? Why does everybody know this? I’ll strangle Raina.”
“Don’t bother. She cares abo
ut you. Sometimes, we have to trust the people around us to see the things we can’t see for ourselves.” He draped an arm over my shoulders. “I want you to take these opportunities.”
“Mom already gave me the lecture.”
“You’ll get it from me, too, just to drive the point home. You have the whole world at your fingertips. Why do you think your mother and I worked so hard for so long? To give you opportunities. To provide as stable a life as we could for you and Darcy, so you could thrive.”
“Is that why you stayed together for so long?”
He didn’t answer right away. We had never talked about it before, not that openly. Given the topic, it seemed like a natural question.
“Yeah, that’s why. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t always bad. Difficult, but marriage can be that way for anybody. We woke up one day and I realized I was looking at a stranger. We were two people with completely separate lives who just happened to share children. That was it. I never stopped caring for her, but I didn’t want to live that way anymore. It didn’t seem fair to either of us. Maybe you don’t understand—”
“No, I do. Completely.” And I wished Darcy would give him the chance to explain things for himself. She might have come around years earlier.
“I say all that to say, I want more for you than sticking around town because you feel like you have to. I know your mom doesn’t want you to limit yourself, any more than I do. We both want what’s best for you. That’ll never change.”
“I understand.” I was so tired, completely wrung out, but I understood that much at least.
The door to the back room opened, and the vet—who’d be on my holiday card list until the end of time as far as I was concerned—carried Lola out to me.
“Baby! Oh, my goodness, look at your pink cast! It’s almost as big as you!” Her right rear leg was the broken one, poor thing. Just like the doctor had warned, she was sort of lethargic as he handed her off to me.
“Don’t worry,” he murmured when I frowned down at her. “Like I said, she’s drugged at the moment. This has nothing to do with how well she’ll recover. You won’t be able to keep up with her in a few weeks.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered into her fur. She gave me a soft, tired lick.
“Here’s some information on what to do for her. And what to absolutely not do. Including medication. Animals should never get human meds, even something as simple as aspirin.”
I was too busy fawning over Lola to tell him I wasn’t an idiot. He handed Dad the paperwork and Lola’s cone of shame. “She’s too tired and drugged-out now to be curious, but that’ll wear off soon. I know you’ll feel badly about using it, but it’s for her own good.”
I thanked him roughly thirty times before we left the office. Things could’ve been so much worse. Every terrible thing that had gone through my head during the ride to the vet’s came back to me, choking me up.
“I guess I’d better get home and give Holly the good news.” Dad kissed my forehead before helping me into the passenger seat of Raina’s car. “Remember what we talked about.”
“I will,” I promised.
He patted Lola’s head before closing the door.
“Everything okay?” Raina asked once she was behind the wheel.
“Yeah, just fine. Everything’s fine.” I nuzzled Lola, knowing how lucky we both were.
Maybe it was time for me to take a step back and evaluate, the way Dad said. My personal life was in shambles, I had opportunities to travel—even though I’d hate to leave Lola, I knew she’d be in good hands.
I had to stop caring so much about my personal projects. The people who needed my help. I needed my help, too.
And I told myself this. I really did, the entire way to Mom’s café.
Even as, in the back of my head, I knew there was a man out there who had no idea he was a millionaire.
Chapter Nineteen
“There she is!” Mom ran across the café and practically ripped Lola from my arms.
“Careful,” I warned. It was hard to keep myself calm. I only managed it for the dog’s sake. “We have to be careful with her leg.”
“Of course, we do. You don’t need to tell me that.” She peppered the dog’s head with kisses. “Goodness, I considered shutting down the café. I was that upset.”
“Well, I’m glad you didn’t. Besides, I would’ve needed somewhere to go if the worst had happened.”
“Don’t even think such a thing,” she advised. She touched my face, eyes narrowing as she studied me. “And how are you? How are you holding up?”
“Oh, about the same as you’d expect. I want to crawl into bed and not come out for a few days. I swear, she’s the one who got hit, but I’m the one who saw my whole life flash before my eyes.” I sat down, still cradling her.
And it was so clear that she loved the attention. Sick or not, she soaked in the love and the kisses. She’d be impossible to live with after this, but I would never complain.
Raina sat across from me, removing her sun hat and shaking out her hair. “What a morning. Hopefully somebody will know better than to run out in the street after this.”
“She’ll never have to even think about it, because I’m not letting her out of my sight ever again.”
“Now, now.” Mom returned to her place behind the counter, where she started cleaning up the coffee station. “I don’t want to hear that. I know you feel that way now, but you’ll have to adjust to it in the future when you have a job to go to. You’ll just have to trust us to take good care of her, and you know we will.”
Yes, I knew Mom would take excellent care of her. My little girl might always be a little heavier than she was before I left her thanks to the abundance of treats, but she was happy and healthy. The situation was just a little too fresh, still. I couldn’t bring myself to imagine being away from her.
“And if she is just not the cutest thing with that cast. It’s so unfair.” Raina reached over to pet Lola’s head.
“What? That she looks so cute with the cast, or that she has to wear one in the first place?”
“Both,” Raina laughed.
The front door burst open, and Darcy was practically on top of me before I knew it. “Oh, my God! I’m so glad she’s okay!”
“Gosh, I knew news traveled quickly around here, but this is unexpected.” I was still wary of my sister. Sure, this sort of thing tended to bring people together, but if she was just going to ignore me after this, I really didn’t want anything to do with her. I’d been through a trauma—much more so for the dog, naturally, but this sort of thing was never easy for a pet owner, either.
“And that little cast!” Her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, my gosh. Poor baby. She must’ve been so scared. We’re just gonna spoil you rotten, aren’t we sweetheart? Yes, we are.” She nuzzled Lola’s head.
I stayed quiet, watching and waiting. Sure, it was moving to see her like this. Something ached in my chest, something suspiciously close to the location of my heart. But she was so mean, and so cold. I hoped she didn’t think this close call changed anything, not unless she had every intention of apologizing for her behavior.
Slowly, her gaze lifted until her eyes met mine. “I’m sorry, you know. I said awful things.”
“So did I,” I admitted in a whisper.
“But I deserved it. I needed to hear it. I was stubborn and childish.” She ran a hand under both eyes, wiping away tears.
“So was I.”
“I was worse,” she insisted.
“For heaven’s sake, this isn’t a competition. Just make up and get it over with you two.” Mom shook her head. “Honestly, the two of you. I could bang your heads together. Maybe that would knock some sense into you.”
“Funny, that’s usually how I feel about you,” I snarked.
She stuck her tongue out. I did the same thing right back. Things were back to normal.
Darcy stood with a smile. “Hang on a sec. I have something for you.” She jogged out of the
café and headed straight for the bookstore.
“What’s that about?” Raina murmured.
I could only shrug. “How would I know? I haven’t talked to her in days.”
“I’m just glad you’re talking again.” She sighed. “I hate the idea of you guys not getting along. I feel better leaving you here on your own, knowing you have her.”
“You make it sound like I don’t live here, like I have nobody else.”
“But it’s different, having a sister. At least, I assume. I wouldn’t know, as you are well aware.”
“Now I feel bad, letting you run around the world without a sister along with you.” I pouted.
“You could come along with me. We’ll run around the world together and have adventures and leave a wake of dazed, longing men in our wake.”
“Aw, but then what would I do with this girl?” I asked, pouting more than ever. I put on a high-pitched voice. “Auntie Raina, why would you do that to me?”
“Stop it,” she warned, giggling.
“I would miss my mommy so much!” I squeaked. “And Grandmom would stuff me so full of you-know-what that begins with the letter T, my tummy would rub against the ground when I walked!”
“I would not!” Mom insisted. “You have no faith in me.”
“No comment,” I whispered before turning to Raina. “Anyway, I’m gonna take your advice. And Mom’s advice. And Dad’s advice—by the way, thanks for squealing on me to him, too. That was terrific.”
“I was feeling a little desperate and was very worried about you. I figured why not improve the odds that you’d actually listen to reason?”
I couldn’t argue, as much as I wanted to.
Darcy came back with yet another small, old book in one hand.
I gave Lola to Raina in favor of examining it. “Another one!”
“Another one. It’s crazy to think how long these books sat there, without anybody knowing what was inside.” She pulled up a chair. “Look what’s in the back.”
Another picture. I forgot to breathe as I slid it out from between the pages.
It was Millicent again, only she wasn’t alone this time. She sat on a towel on the beach, leaning against a devastatingly handsome young man. She wore a super cute, old-fashioned bathing suit with a halter neckline. Her dark hair was pulled back with a ribbon, and a pair of sunglasses sat on top of her head.
