Forever After (15 page)

He grabbed his cane from the floor of the cab and located the leash in the box of dog paraphernalia Bryn had insisted he take. He went to the back of the truck and clipped the leash to Sparky’s collar. He opened the tailgate and Sparky sprang down from the truck. But as soon as he realized he was on a leash, he stood at Lucas’s side, panting.

Lucas clicked his tongue. “Heel, boy.” He was impressed when Sparky obeyed. Jenna had mentioned that Bryn’s dad had worked with the dog, but he wasn’t sure what to expect—especially on foreign territory.

Walking Sparky around the truck, Lucas worked to keep his own gait even, aware of Jenna’s eyes on him. He was constantly aware of his limp when he was with her, but he was beginning to think being with her might be better than PT. He didn’t think it was his imagination that he’d learned to control his limp better. His disability grew more pronounced at the end of the day when he was tired, and he still didn’t trust his balance without the cane, but he’d seen a little improvement, and that roused a faint hope in him.

Jenna eyed Sparky, keeping her distance while Lucas opened the gate for them. Once in the backyard he latched the gate behind them and bent to unclip the leash. Even Jenna laughed when Sparky charged around the corner of the house the minute he was free.

“He must think there’s a rabbit back there. Or a cat.”

She gave a little gasp, and her hazel eyes—gorgeous eyes—grew round. “Your cat’s not out here, is she?”

“Lucky’s a tom—a he. But if he’s back there, he’s climbed to higher ground by now.” He pointed to a tall cottonwood that stood with its branches outstretched over one corner of the yard. “I doubt Sparky could get him way up there.”

She followed his line of vision, then shot him a impish grin. “Lucky for Lucky, living with a fireman. In case he ever gets stuck up there,” she explained.

He laughed. “You know, don’t you, that we don’t
really
rescue cats from trees.”

She looked shocked. “And you call yourself a fireman? Seriously, what if I called you tomorrow and told you my poor little kitty was stuck in a tree?”

He laughed—and took note of the fact that she still referred to him as a fireman. “Well, I might come and hold your hand. Maybe bring a carton of milk for the kitty. But I’d just point out that we’ve never seen a dead cat in a tree and that he’ll come down when he gets hungry.”

“You’re heartless. And actually, Zach did have to go on a cat-up-a-tree run. His first week on the job. A kitten.”

He curbed a grin at her serious expression. “Really?”

“It was a telephone pole, not a tree, but same principle.”

“Really? I don’t think I ever heard that story. Must not have been on my shift.” He didn’t want to talk about Zach. Didn’t want to be reminded that Jenna was his friend’s wife. It didn’t matter that Zach was gone. Regardless of what Ma thought.

Sparky came to his rescue, barreling toward them from the far end of the yard. Jenna squealed and scrambled behind Lucas, gripping his elbow as if her life depended on it.

He started laughing, but when he turned to tease her for being such a chicken, the near terror in her eyes stopped him.

He turned and spoke sharply to the dog. “Sparky! Sit! Stay!”

The dog stopped in his tracks and cocked its head as if trying to figure out what he’d done wrong. But before Lucas could grab hold of his collar, Sparky wove between his legs, almost tripping him. Jumping up on his hind legs, the dog pawed at Jenna’s shoulders.

Lucas pushed him down and made him sit, holding his cane out like a shepherd’s staff. Jenna clutched so tightly to his free arm he was afraid she’d take them both down.

He got Sparky calmed down a little, then took Jenna’s hand. “It’s okay. He just wanted to dance with you.” When she didn’t laugh, he tried again. “He’s just being friendly.”

She gave a curt nod, but her eyes said she didn’t believe him.

“I’m not going to let him hurt you. He’s just excited about being in a new place, that’s all.”

“Okay.” Her voice was strained and breathless.

An idea formed and he twined his fingers with hers. “Come here.” He whistled softly. “Heel, boy.”

Sparky trotted beside them, looking up every few seconds, as if to be sure his new master noticed how well he’d minded.

Jenna came along willingly, but her grip on his hand was viselike.

Lucas led her around the corner of the house. She stopped short and unlaced her hand from his. “Oh, wow! What a gorgeous place.”

“It’s my dad’s garden.” Even in these waning days of autumn the place held a rare beauty. Being back here never failed to make him miss Pop. “You should see it in the spring,” he said quietly.

With Sparky all but forgotten, Jenna turned a full circle, oohing and aahing. Lucas tried to see the garden through her eyes. Dry leaves skittered beneath the benches lining the flagstone pathways, and spent roses still clung to the arbors. The stone fountain, despite being littered with leaves, trilled a pleasant melody, but the garden begged for attention. “Pop would have a fit over the weeds and—”

“Oh, Lucas, it’s stunning!” She turned to him, eyes wide.

He shrugged. “Ma and I tried to keep it up this summer, but neither of us has Pop’s green thumb. I hate to think what will happen to it after Ma moves to Springfield.”

“Can’t you hire someone? It would be a shame to let it go.”

“We haven’t decided.” He lifted his cane. “All I know is I sure can’t do it.”

Her gaze panned the garden again, and he took pleasure in her obvious enjoyment of Pop’s creation. She was right. They couldn’t let it go to pot. It would have broken Pop’s heart to think of his garden being abandoned.

They laughed as Sparky lapped water from each of the fountain’s four spigots. But before they could wipe the smiles off their faces, he galloped
across the lawn and stood in front of them tossing his head. A fine spray of water—and slobber—flew off his whiskers.

“Ewww!” Jenna swiped at her forehead with the sleeve of her jacket and quickly moved behind Lucas, using him as a shield.

He didn’t mind when she grabbed his elbow this time. This dog just might come in handy when it came to women. At least when it came to this woman.

“What’s so funny?” She looked up at him with a question in her eyes.

“Nothing.” He hadn’t realized he was smiling and quickly wiped the grin off his face. Remembering why he’d brought her back to the yard in the first place, he started down the flagstone path. “Follow me.”

Sparky ran ahead and she followed Lucas to a bench on the edge of the patio near the fountain.

He leaned his cane on the bench and sat, patting the spot beside him. She sat.

He held out a hand and whistled. “Here boy.”

Sparky ignored him.

“Sparky!” He made his voice gruff. “Sparky, come!”

After several detours to sniff out the garden, the dog trotted over and worked his way between Lucas’s knees, nuzzling his palms, begging to be petted.

Jenna recoiled, but he took her hand, guiding it to Sparky’s head. “Remember how I showed you last time? Hold your hand out like this.” He demonstrated, flattening his palm.

She resisted at first, but Lucas placed his hand over hers on top of Sparky’s large head, stroking gently. The dog leaned into the massage and relaxed. Jenna seemed to do the same.

He spoke to Sparky in a soothing voice, then turned to Jenna. “See? I told you he likes you. He still just has some puppy in him. That’s what makes him so frisky.”

She frowned. “He’s awfully big for a puppy.”

“Well, a full-grown pup. Kind of like a teenager.”

“Ugh.” She wrinkled her nose. “That explains a lot.”

He laughed. “Maybe that wasn’t the best analogy. A big fifth-grader then.”

“Even worse.”

Sparky wriggled out from under their hands, and before Lucas thought to stop him, the dog moved to sit in front of Jenna. He placed his jowls on her knee and looked up at her, panting.

“Look, he’s smiling!”

Feeling triumphant, but not letting it show, Lucas bent his head to check it out. Sparky sported what could only be described as a smile. He tried to sound incredulous. “I think he has a crush on you.”

That earned him a giggle, which eased the “buyer’s remorse” he’d been feeling for having adopted this crazy dog. He could just imagine Ma’s reaction.

Sparky gave a sharp bark and rose to all fours.

A meow came from near the back door.

Jenna turned to look. “Oh, there’s your kitty.”

Sparky backed away from the bench, then spun around, ears on alert. Jenna grabbed Lucas’s arm again.

But Sparky took a step forward and stood watching the cat, his tail thumping a steady beat on the bench behind him.

Lucky slinked through the flower bed in front of the deck, keeping his eyes on the interloper. His thick gray coat was good camouflage on the weathered mulch, but Sparky wasn’t fooled.

“Yep, that’s Lucky. I bet he’s been hiding out in the garage. Probably smelled dog.”

“They’re sure giving each other the eye.”

“Yeah.” He tensed, sensing Sparky’s intentions. With Jenna clutching his left arm and his cane out of reach, he braced himself.

“What happened to Wonder Dog here?” He patted Sparky’s neck. “With his reputation for sniffing things out, I’m surprised he didn’t smell ol’ Lucky right away.”

“Maybe he did and he just wasn’t interested.”

He shot her a look. “A dog not interested in a cat? I don’t think so.”

She laughed and loosened her grip on his arm a bit. For a fleeting moment he considered siccing the dog on Lucky just to keep Jenna close.

Sparky must have read his mind because the pooch chose that moment to lunge at Lucky. The cat darted across the yard and scrambled up the fence, prancing along the narrow ledge like a tightrope walker.

Sparky took chase, and Lucas shouted to no avail. The dog charged the fence and stood on point there with his front paws high on the plank boards, baying as if he’d treed a coon. Lucky balanced atop the fence just out of reach, tail held high, daring the dog to come closer.

“Stay here,” Lucas told Jenna. He grabbed his cane and hobbled across the uneven garden terrain, praying he wouldn’t embarrass himself in front of her again.

Maybe it was the good-looking guy standing at the sink who made the difference.

17

J
enna held her breath while Lucas approached Sparky with an outstretched hand. The dog temporarily lost interest in Lucky, and Lucas snatched his collar and hauled him back across the lawn to where she waited.

Unable to overcome her fear, she jumped up from the bench and hurried around behind it, putting a wall between her and Sparky.

“You’re not changing your mind, are you? About keeping him?” She tried to keep her expression from revealing that she feared just that.

“He just needs a firm hand. No self-respecting dog could resist a good cat chase.”

Jenna smiled apologetically. “I just hope he doesn’t scare Lucky off. He’s a pretty cat.”

“Don’t worry. Lucky knows where his bread is buttered. They’ll work things out.”

“So you’ll keep him?”

“We made a deal. I won’t back out on it.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you did.” She hadn’t really meant to say that out loud.

“Give me a week. I bet I can whip him into shape.”

“You don’t mean that literally, right?”

“No, of course not. Figure of speech.” He gave her a smile that seemed to seal his promise.

A man of his word. She liked that.

The sun climbed high in a clear gray-blue sky, but a gust of wind sent a chill up her spine.

“You cold? Let’s take this dog into the garage and get him settled, then I’ll make you a cup of coffee.”

“That would be nice.” She
should
be downtown looking for a job and a place to live. Trying to get her life figured out. Spending time with Lucas this morning had taken her mind off her problems. Unfortunately, it hadn’t
solved
a single one of them.

“If you’ll give me your keys, I’ll bring Sparky’s stuff in.”

“Great.” He fished a key ring from his pocket and showed her which one opened the truck. It took two trips to haul all the stuff Bryn had donated along with the dog.

A lump rose in Jenna’s throat, thinking about Bryn’s teary response to Lucas’s offer to take Sparky. She was grateful, but sad to let him go, too. Between having her father in the hospital and her upcoming wedding, poor Bryn’s life was in upheaval. Still, Jenna felt a stab of jealousy. What would it be like to have a parent you loved enough to grieve over? And a husband-to-be who made you glow the way Bryn did since she and Garrett had fallen in love?

She slammed the pickup door and pushed the thoughts away.

Lucas met her in the backyard and let her in the house through the patio doors. The house smelled of day-old coffee, cinnamon, and woodsmoke.

“I’d start a fire, but I’ve got PT later on and Ma won’t be home until late.”

She liked the way he called his mother “Ma.” And the affection with which he said it. “It’s okay.” She waved him off, then hugged herself, feeling warmer already. “It’s nice in here.” Looking around the large, cozy kitchen, she felt embraced by its charm. Clarissa would have considered the decor kitschy, and the painted cupboards and rag rugs outdated. And frankly, there was a time Jenna would have agreed. But somehow it all seemed just right for this house. Maybe it was the good-looking guy standing at the sink who made the difference.

Lucas rinsed out the coffeemaker and started a new pot. He seemed comfortable in the kitchen and moved around with ease, his cane apparently forgotten, though she noticed he kept close to the counters, using them to steady himself.

She settled into one of the high stools at the breakfast bar, watching him work. The heady scent of coffee soon perfumed the air and he joined her at the bar while they waited for it to brew.

Recounting Sparky’s antics a few minutes ago, they laughed together, and for once, Jenna didn’t feel her nerves standing on end at the very thought of the dog.

While they savored fresh coffee, they talked about everything and about nothing at all.