Page 68 of State of Grace

“Hey, Harper Jude!” Isla’s enthusiasm for seeing Harper was matched only by Harper’s at seeing the puppies. She walked right past Isla straight to the playpen as the puppies fell over each other to her to get attention. Harper’s precious giggle filled the air, and Bake smiled contently. Her surprise idea had worked perfectly. “I’m only mildly offended she blew right past me.”

“Well, how can you compete with puppies?”

“So true,” Isla laughed. “I knew she’d love them as they got older. She’s Alexis’s kiddo, that’s for sure.” Picking up the puppy off the table, Isla returned it to the playpen with its siblings. “She loves her some puppies.”

“Can I play with them, Aunt Isla?”

“Absolutely.” Isla scooped Harper up in a flurry of giggles and plopped her down among the litter. The puppies were immediately all over her, which increased the giggling as Harper tried to pet all of them. Blake couldn’t help but laugh at how silly the entire scene looked, and she took out her phone to snap a few pictures for Alexis. “So, how’s it been going today?”

“It’s been good so far. We played with her toys for a bit and watched Frozen, and we had a long debate about what she should wear today since she didn’t know where we were going.”

“She’s been around Sophia too long.” Isla laughed.

“Indeed.” Blake shook her head and laughed along with her as they sat at the table. In the playpen, Harper was running in small circles, letting the puppies chase after her. She leaned back in the chair and looked over at Isla. “So, um, Mom?”

“Hmm?”

“I wanted to say I was sorry for the other day.” She nervously tapped her fingers on the glass-top table. Blake hesitated a moment, sure that Isla would tell her not to worry about it or that it was ok. Instead, Isla nodded and waited for her to continue. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I was a dick. I’m sorry.”

“You’re allowed to be upset, you know?”

“Pardon?”

“You didn’t have any control over the events of your life, and you missed out on a lot. We both did. It’s ok if you’re upset. I’d rather you take it out on me than anyone else.” Isla nodded as she tapped the pen in her hand on the tabletop. “I love you so much and never meant to hurt you. Never. I’m sorry if I said anything that upset you.”

“You didn’t; I was upset and said things I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.”

“Me too.” Isla’s eyes looked misty. “I’m sorry I didn’t try harder.”

“Mom, don’t…” Blake shook her head and scooted her seat closer to Isla’s chair. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It was all Dad’s doing. You had no control over it, and I understand that now. I mean, I may not like it, but I get it.”

“I don’t like it either, but I am so, so happy that you are here now, Blake.”

“Me too.” She offered Isla a sad smile. “Want to call a truce?”

“Deal.” Reaching across the table, Isla held out her pinky finger and Blake wrapped hers around Isla’s. They each turned their attention back to Harper, who was still giggling away in the playpen. The puppies had all ambushed her and were licking her face as she tried to pet them all.

“She needs a puppy.”

“Alexis has wanted to get her one, but she always talked herself out of it.”

Blake leaned back in her chair and laughed to herself as Isla looked over at her.

“What was that for?”

“I was thinking about the look on Alexis’s face if we brought one of these home tonight.”

“Oh, that’s a gamble. It will either go one of two ways. Alexis will either be insanely happy or super angry because she didn’t have time to prepare for a new arrival. When she was pregnant with Harper, she was crowning and still worrying that the crib she’d gotten wasn’t rated highly enough for a baby.”

“I can totally see her doing that.”

Crossing her legs, Blake leaned back in the chair and thought about how easy it would be to gather all the supplies Alexis would need for a new puppy. Harper would love to go to the pet store, and Blake would be more than willing to foot the bill. She could even help Alexis with the puppy.

“Don’t.”

“What?”

“I can see your brain working like mine does, and that’s something you need to ask Alexis about before you do it.”

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