“What’s wrong with her, Dad?” Aubrey asks quietly, squatting down and getting eye level with Penny, who is still hiding behind me.
“I’ll explain once your brother gets down here,” I reply softly just as Steven comes back into sight and takes the stairs down two at a time.
“I can’t believe you got a dog,” Steven says, and I smile at him then step back so Penny is forced to come in front of me.
“This is Penny.” I reach down, rubbing the top of her head. “She’s just had surgery and isn’t feeling very good right now, so you both will have to take it slow with her.”
“She’s so cute,” Aubrey says quietly, dropping to her knees and holding out her hand for Penny to sniff. “What kind of dog is she?”
“Part German Shepard, not sure what else.” I smile at her then look at Steven when he asks.
“Why’d she have surgery?”
“She was tied up for too long outside without food or water. The rope she was tied up with was left so long it embedded in her fur and skin, so she had to have surgery to have it removed, along with the infection it caused.”
“People are such dicks,” he growls, and I feel my chest expand with pride.
“They are,” I agree, then continue softly, “I brought her home to get her healthy and to find her another home.”
“But—” Aubrey starts, as two sets of eyes swing to me.
“Unless you guys can prove you’re responsible enough to help take care of her,” I cut them off.
“I’ll walk her,” Aubrey says, rubbing the top of Penny’s head as she presses into her hand with her nose.
“I’ll help too, Dad,” Steven promises, and I nod at both of them.
“She has food and bowls there.” I nod to the bag I brought in. “Set her up and show her around,” I prompt, and Aubrey calls Penny to follow her while Steven stays at my side, and I know why when he speaks.
“Mom said to tell you she would be home tomorrow, so… you know, you don’t have to worry about us being over there.”
“Good,” I agree. I finally talked to Tina after days of her avoiding my calls. She made it perfectly clear she was still pissed but wanted to see the kids, which I told her I had no problem with as long as she was going to be home at night with them.
“If she’s not, Steven, I’m trusting you to call me.”
“I know,” he mutters, tucking his hands into the front pocket of his jeans.
“I’m picking up Shelby at five, and we’re all going out to dinner.”
“Dinner?” he asks, looking in the direction of his sister’s voice talking to Penny.
“Dinner with her and Hunter. That okay with you?”
“Yeah, that’s okay.” He nods.
“Good. Now go help your sister get Penny settled and tell her the plan. I need to head to the station for a bit.”
“Okay, Dad.” He nods again, and I pat his shoulder then watch him walk off toward his sister, wondering what the hell the smirk on his face meant.
Chapter 7
Shelby
“Night, Mom. Today was fun.” Hunter smiles tiredly at me, and I pull him in for a quick hug, whispering, “I’m glad, kiddo.”
With that, I kiss the side of his head before letting him go and pushing him toward the stairs. Watching him drag his backpack behind him, I wait until he’s out of sight before heading for my room and right for the shower, where I get in and let the hot water run over my sore muscles. I’m completely exhausted, and all of my muscles ache after spending the day hiking around Child’s Glacier with Hunter, who seemed to have an endless amount of energy. Finally getting out, I wrap myself in my robe and head for the bed, where I collapse face-first.
Closing my eyes, my mind goes to Zach, and I growl in frustration into the pillow. I don’t want to fall for him, but I can feel myself doing just that. It doesn’t help he’s being so nice to not only me, but to Hunter too. Rolling onto my back, I look up at the ceiling and let out a deep breath.
Yesterday, I tried to sneak out of work early to avoid him, but when I walked out of the bank, he was waiting for me out front, leaning against the side of his truck with a smile on his face. A smile that said he knew what I was up to. I was still annoyed with him from our talk that morning and let him know it, and then got even more annoyed once I realized he found my mood entertaining. After I reluctantly got into his truck, we swung by his house and picked up the kids, who were all waiting for us, including Hunter. Then we drove to the harbor.
While we were on the way, Aubrey explained excitedly that the restaurant we were going to was only open during the summer, and then went on to tell us how difficult it is to get a table unless you happened to be her dad, a movie star, or the president of the United States. I was so happy to have Aubrey talking to me and acting normal that I felt my mood shift on the drive and knew Zach felt it to when his hand found mine.
When we got to the Harbor, I realized Aubrey was not just bragging about how amazing her father was. The lot was packed with cars and there were people waiting outside to see if they could get a seat. The restaurant was a gorgeous log building that sat facing the sound, with two giant front decks that overlooked the water. Once we finally got inside and were seated, the kids, mainly Aubrey and Steven, maneuvered themselves around the table so that Zach and I were next to each other with Hunter between them. As I sat there with the beautiful view of the ocean, dusk touching the horizon off in the distance, Zach and the kids laughing and having a good time I knew I wanted that moment and moments just like it for the rest of my life.