“Maybe. He might want to see if Troy wants to come over. The two of them’ll probably watch football all day.” Nolan wrinkled his nose. “Diego, you come too, so I’ll have someone to talk to. Bring Diana.”
It was a sweet gesture, and Diego appreciated it. They had some family in Houston, but Diego often felt like an outsider among them. “I’ll see what she’s got planned, but thanks. I’ll let you know. Oh, before I forget, I have the crate from that transport yesterday. It’s in the back of my car.”
Noah picked up his stack of dried dishes and put them up in the cabinet. “How was the transport? Did everything go okay?”
“Yeah. I mean–um. It was good. Fine.” Diego took a breath, not expecting to get flustered from that innocent question.
The brothers glanced at each other, then back at him. “Did something go wrong?” Nolan frowned. “Mom said that they hadn’t worked with that particular rescue before. Are you worried about the dogs?”
Diego shook his head as he tidied up the dining room table. “Oh no, not with the rescue. I mean, I don’t know much about the organization. But the guy who picked up the dogs, the one that runs the rescue?” He took a deep breath. “It was Brody. Brody from high school.”
Both Nolan and Noah knew the story of what happened to Diego. “The guy–you mean the one you were dating back then?” Noah asked.
Diego snorted as he sat down at the table. “Dating makes it sound so neat and tidy. We hid from everyone and met when we could, messing around in cars and backyards.”
Nolan closed his eyes. “Diego, you loved that guy. There’s nothing–” Diego knew Nolan wanted to say that there was nothing wrong with that, except that both the twins knew what happened next.
“Yeah. At any rate, he looked as surprised to see me as I was to see him.”
Noah sat down at the table next to him. “I’ll bet. Did he tell you anything about his dog rescue, or what else happened to him after he left Texas?”
Diego shook his head. “We didn’t have time. It was raining, and he had some little kids in the car with him. I guess he ended up settling down if he’s got a family now. And I brought Ash along for the ride so we could get to know each other better.”
Nolan joined them at the table. “After everything that happened, it would make sense if you wanted some closure on that part of your life. Maybe you could talk to him and just—”
But Diego shook his head again. “That part of my life should stay in the past. So much changed for everyone because Iwantedsomeone. I was selfish and my whole family paid the price.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Noah told him.
Diego frowned. “It happened because of me and my selfish needs. Was it right? No, I don’t think so. But it was my fault.” Noah’s eyes glanced downward as Diego spoke, and he regretted sounding so harsh. “I’ve come too far to look back, and just thinking about that time reminds me of how foolish and disrespectful that behavior was to everyone affected by my mistakes.” His family was ruined by Diego falling in love with Brody Hollis, and his life was altered forever by the choices he made in his grief-stricken aftermath.
Diego had a Sunday afternoon shift at the tattoo parlor, so he said his goodbyes to everyone before heading to work. “That crate’s still in my car,” he reminded Nolan.
“I’ll walk you out and get it.” Nolan walked with Diego out to his CRV. “Hopefully I’ll see you Thursday if you can make it.”
But just as Diego opened the back of his vehicle, his phone vibrated. Diego didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?” He held the phone precariously to his ear with his right hand as he pulled the crate with his left hand.
He recognized Brody’s voice immediately. “Diego. It’s me.”
Diego froze. He glanced Nolan quickly and bit his lip. “I need to take this,” he said in a hushed tone, cupping his hand over the bottom of the phone.
“Is it him?” Nolan peered curiously at Diego as he tapped the dog crate with his fingers. When Diego nodded, Nolan whispered, “Go talk,” and carried the crate toward the house with one last worried glance back at Diego before he went inside.
“Are you there?”
Shit. “Yes, I’m sorry. I’m here.” Diego cleared his throat as he positioned himself in the driver’s seat of his car and took a deep breath. His eyes then fixated on the rearview mirror as he waited for an answer to his question: “What’s up?”
He couldn't help but feel uneasy from not knowing what was about to come next.
Chapter Seven
Brody’sheartratequickened.“I'm sorry to bother you out of the blue, but...” Brody trailed off, his voice laced with apprehension. “I mentioned to you yesterday that I run K-9 Companions with my partner. We rescue dogs from local shelter and train them to become service animals for wounded veterans. That’s why we picked up those three labs from the Houston rescue. They’re doing great, by the way. Smart as a whip, all of them. Picked up some easy commands right away.”
He was nervous, but since Diego hadn’t spoken yet, Brody guessed that he was just as unsettled. “Anyway, I discovered that the rescue you work with is partnered with the Edwards Charitable Foundation, and that you know Chance Edwards, one of the directors.” Brody held his breath.
The silence stretched out for a few seconds before Diego spoke. “I do. We’re friends.”
Brody's heart leapt in his chest. Chance Edwards was a major player in the world of philanthropy, and his foundation had helped countless organizations like K-9 Companions. “I know this is asking a lot,” Brody began, “but is there any way that you could set up an introduction between him and us? We'd like to grow our rescue, but we've reached the stage where we need some significant funding to hit the next level of what we'd like to achieve.” Brody looked across his kitchen table at Aaron, staring back at him, just as invested in this conversation. “We’ve looked into their grant application process, but I think a personal connection might land the deal for us.” Brody took a breath; the words had flown from his mouth without a pause, and now he sat back and waited for Diego’s response.
