Page 48 of Finding Noah
“I’d have to do that with everyone.”
I pursed my lips in consideration. “Well, I suppose. Although maybe not—just do it with the clients who are struggling. You’re just making certain the pooches are getting everything they need.”
“If I can make five calls, then I can make nine.”
I did the math in my head.
“I only need to call Richard and Brooke’s house once.”
“Right.” I snapped my fingers.
Stormy bounced over and put herself in the heel position.
“That, my friend, deserves a treat.” Noah pointed, then promptly chased after River who was clearly making a break for it. He had nowhere to go, but that obviously wasn’t going to stop him as he ran as fast as he could on his tiny little legs.
Sable, not to be outdone, chased after Noah.
Stormy brushed her nose against my hand.
“Right. Treat.” I dug into my pocket.
She took the treat gratefully, then joined the fray.
Fifteen minutes later, Noah and I sat on the back porch with three exhausted puppies at our feet. He met my gaze. “Miss Esmeralda at three?”
“Yep.” I’d checked with the head nurse this morning, and our landlady was having a good day. We would finally meet the woman. I was excited. She just seemed like such a spitfire. Living here and doing her own thing for more than eighty years.
Noah sort of moved his head in some weird motion I couldn’t understand. Was he trying to tell me something? I couldn’t be certain.
“We’re not dating.”
“Right.” That pierced my heart, but I’d recover.
“I’m not really interested in you romantically, right?”
“Right.”God, where’s he goingwith this?
“But do you wanna, like, have dinner with me over in Hartsville at that fancy restaurant?”
Don’t shout for joy. It’s just dinner.“Uh, sure.”Right. Stay calm. Everything will work out.
I wasn’t certain when my inner voice had become so optimistic—but I’d roll with it. For now.
Chapter Fourteen
Noah
Miss Esmeralda Stanton was a hoot.
No two ways about it.
“So lovely of you two boys to come and visit me.” Her distinctive accent wasn’t one I could pin down, but she found our Tennessee twang charming.
I wouldn’t be sorry if I lost some of that to something more neutral. I didn’t like being defined by where I’d come from—I wanted to be defined by my character. By my ability to do the right thing. By my trustworthiness.
Things I couldn’t say about many of my ex-boyfriends—or my mother’s. So did we pick losers because we didn’t believe we deserved better? That appeared to be Christian’s theory. I wasn’t so certain. Except I couldn’t say Leroy had been the exception—because he’dbeen one in a long line of guys who I’d thought might bethe oneonly to turn out to be duds.
“Is he courting you right?” Miss Esmeralda placed a clearly arthritic hand on Christian’s.
