Page 5 of Driven Daddy

I was pretty sure the Adirondack chairs weren’t going to save me. I wouldn’t make it back to my truck in these stupid heels. Instead, I closed my eyes and braced for impact.

When it didn’t happen, I opened one eye. Hot breath steamed against my dress pants as the bear…er, Newfoundland, perhaps, sat in front of me, sweet as you please, with his huge pink tongue lolling out of his jowled maw.

“I’m so sorry! He’s sweet, I promise.” A woman came running after him, with gray-streaked ginger hair. She wore bibbed overalls and a pink T-shirt with a dusky pink flannel flying behind her. “Bruce, you sit there and don’t jump?—”

Suddenly, Bruce slapped massive furry paws on my thighs and knocked me back a step. Lucky for me, the chair was right behind me, and I fell into the deep seat instead of landing on the grass. I squeaked and then I had a lap full of dog with slobber dripping onto my gray silk Stella McCartney blouse.

“Bruce.” The woman finally got to me and tried to wrangle the dog, but Bruce wasn’t interested in moving.

“Well, hello, Bruce.” I dug my fingers into his thick fur. “My new friend Christian told me to be on the lookout for you.” I peered around him. “Christian says hi and that you should have him on a leash.”

The woman’s face pinked up. “He never leaves my side unless…”

I grinned. “Unless a new person distracts him?”

Bruce put his massive head on my shoulder and leaned on me, hard. I couldn’t resist a hug. It had been so very long since I’d been hugged by anyone and just then, a dog counted times a million. My eyes stung and I had to fight the urge not to tear up. Instead, I slipped my arms around the fluffy beast and let myself be hugged—and drooled on.

I was already a wrinkled mess, what was a little drool?

The woman sighed. “Welcome to Vista Cottage. You’ve met Bruce and I’m Kelly. My wife Judy is in the house. We just filled up your fridge.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.” But the gratitude of not having to find food almost made me cry a second time.

“You rented us out for three months. It was the least we could do.”

After Bruce gave me a very thorough lick, he jumped off me to wander over to a sunny patch of grass. He settled down with a groan, then he closed his big, tiger-colored eyes.

I rested my hands on the wide arms of the chair. Suddenly, I felt immeasurably tired.

“I wasn’t sure about your dietary restrictions, but I took a chance. I made a nice big lasagna for you.”

I tipped my head back. “Now I’m really going to cry.”

“Oh, honey. Don’t do that.” She reached down to me to help me out of the chair. “We figured you’d be tired after your trip in.”

“You have no idea.” I was pretty sure I’d been tired for close to a year.

“Then let’s get you inside and settled.”

I stood and glanced over at Bruce who was already asleep. “Will he be okay?”

“Absolutely. He sleeps about twenty hours a day. He’s due for his afternoon nap.”

“I’m tempted to join him.”

“You’re on vacation, you get to do whatever it is you want. Let me help you with your bags.”

“There’s not much.”

Kelly glanced over her shoulder. “But you’re staying for months.”

“I know. It was kind of impromptu. I figured I’d find a Target or department store for some clothes.”

She frowned. “You’re not on the run, are you?”

I laughed. I was, kind of. I’d simply left the courthouse and Ubered to a car dealership, and here I was. “Just from life. No laws broken, I promise.”

Her softly lined face spread into a smile with a dimple in her left cheek. “Darn. Thought it was going to get interesting around here for once.” She hooked her arm around my shoulders. “We’ll give you the skinny on the shops in Crescent Cove. I bet we can get you outfitted in no time.”

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