Page 17 of Jack Raider

“He’s great. I found him a family who absolutely adores him. He didn’t even look like the same dog after I cleaned him up. I had to bathe him three times and give him a haircut. But his fur’s grown back, and he’s just the cutest thing now. He’s only about a year old. You should think about getting a dog.”

Jack chuckled. “Me? I’ve got my wolf. Maybeyoushould get another dog.”

My family laughed, and I braced myself—Grandma was definitely about to tell a story. And sure enough, she didn’t disappoint.

“Lord have mercy, Beatrice has always been like this. Three dogs, two cats, and who knows what else at home. She’s beenbringing animals home since she could walk. I’ll never forget—she was three years old, and we were having a family gathering. Her papa, rest his soul, thought she could do no wrong. So when she came strolling around the back of the house carrying two baby skunks…”

Nate burst out laughing. “She smelled so bad we all ran for the hills, except Grandpa. He went over, took the skunks from her, and then the mama skunk showed up, hissing like crazy. He set the babies down, picked Ellie up, and calmly walked into the house. Handed her off to Mom and said, ‘I’m going to the store to get some tomato juice.’”

Jack laughed, eyes twinkling as he looked at me. I could feel my cheeks turning red.

“You were lucky,” he said softly. “You had a family that let you follow your heart.”

I’d never thought of it that way. All the teasing, all the rolled eyes when I brought home another hurt bird or stray puppy—it hadn’t been cruel. It had been love. Support.

“I’m sure you would’ve done the same,” I said, looking at him.

“Who, me?” he asked, tapping his chest.

“Yes, you.”

“I wasn’t allowed to have pets,” he said. “But… if I could’ve, yeah. I probably would’ve helped animals too. Look at Wolf—I do take good care of him.”

I smiled. He looked so sincere, like that part of him was still a little boy who never got the chance.

“Would you like to go to dinner with me next Friday?” Jack asked.

The room went silent. His eyes were locked on mine like no one else existed.

“Answer him!” Grandma said, practically bouncing in her seat.

“I’d love to go to dinner,” I said, trying not to grin too hard.

“Well, why don’t we all go to dinner?” Mable piped up.

Jack chuckled under his breath, and I turned toward her.

“No,” I said firmly, laughing a little. “What I mean is… I’d like to go alone with Jack.”

“Of course you would,” Grandma said, smirking. “But if he’s driving two hours to take you out, he’ll need to stay the night at my house. Right, Nate?”

Nate jumped in. “Actually, we’re going to stay at Mom and Dad’s. I wanted to talk to them about that big house of theirs. Grandma, you and Mable should stay there too.”

“Oh, that sounds perfect,” Grandma beamed. “We’ll have a little sleepover! Maybe your sisters will bring the kids.”

“Maybe,” Nate said. “I’ll call and ask.”

I was just relieved they weren’t all crashing our date. I looked at Jack again, and he looked like he was trying not to burst out laughing.

“The reason Mom and Dad still have that big house,” I added, “is because our family’s growing. She needs those bedrooms when the grandkids come to visit.”

“I never thought of that,” Nate said.

8

Jack

All I could thinkabout was the man Mable said looked like me. She said his sons looked like me. Was my Dad in an accident, and is that why he left me there with her? I looked at the time, and it was eight in the morning. I was sure she would be awake.

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