Page 29 of The World She Never Knew Existed

He leaned across the counter and said, “I enjoyed myself last night.”

Clara blushed and said, “I did, too.”

“We’ll have to have another date soon,” he said.

“Definitely,” she said.

“I need to get back to work, but I’ll see you later,” he promised.

Clara watched him walk out the door.

“I think that he likes you,” Jamie said.

“He might,” Clara said.

She looked at her watch and said, “I’ve got to get going. I’ve got to meet John so that I can pick up Zeke.”

“Are you going to be okay?” Jamie asked.

“Yes. We always meet in a public place so that he can’t do anything too stupid,” Clara said.

Clara parked her car in the parking lot and looked around. John was late. No surprise there. She waited for twenty minutes before she saw his car pull in. He was going to push the envelope as far as he could.

Zeke was out of the car almost before it had stopped. He was holding a tiny dog in his arms.

“Look, Mom. Daddy got me a puppy. He’s a chihuahua. His name is Reno, and I have to take care of him,” Zeke said excitedly.

Clara glared at John, who smiled smugly. She knew exactly what this meant. It meant that she would end up taking care of the puppy. She loved dogs, but she worked long hours at the café. John had always been the one who said no every time Zeke had asked for a dog.

She sighed and gritted her teeth at the pompous look on John’s face. She knew that John was waiting for her to say no to the puppy and upset Zeke. This was all part of John’s power play.

“The puppy is very cute,” Clara said. “I’m sure that we’ll figure out something for him.”

“Awesome, because I already love him,” Zeke said. “Dad said that you would make me give him away.”

Clara took Zeke’s suitcase from John without a word and put it in the trunk of the car. Then, she helped Zeke get in the back seat and buckled him in. He was cradling his new puppy the entire time.

They stopped off at a pet store to pick up all the necessary supplies. Zeke picked out a fluffy bed for the puppy and a bunch of toys. Clara grabbed puppy food, bowls, and all the necessary supplies. She was shocked when everything was rung up and she had to hand over her credit card.

Zeke chatted happily the entire way home while he gently held his new baby. Clara’s mind was a million miles away, caught between John and his latest stunt to try to make her the bad guy with Zeke and then to Dillon.

It was a whirlwind of activity once they got home. Clara unpacked Zeke’s suitcase and called in for pizza. She had to convince Zeke that puppies didn’t need their own slice of pizza to eat. They needed dog food.

At the end of the night, Zeke looked up at his mother with a pleading look.

“Reno will be sad if he doesn’t get to sleep with me,” he said. “He’ll be lonely.”

Clara couldn’t resist the look on his face.

“Okay, fine,” she said.

She was surprised the next morning when she discovered that there were no messes to clean up.

“Reno has to come to work with me today,” Zeke declared. “We can’t leave him home alone all day.”

Jamie went gaga over the tiny puppy that Zeke brought in.

“I have an idea, she said. “Let’s clear out that little nook there and set it up for a play area for Reno and Zeke. He can have all his toys and his puppy.”

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