“Not one of your nice ones!” Mom called.
Anna watched Addie go. “Probably some hunter who didn’t get the momma spayed,” she said in a hush. “And dumped them on the side of the road because he didn’t want to take care of them.” She patted Dad on the leg. “Either way, you might want to start finding homes.” She looked at me. “They told me about Addie’s ‘prophecies.’ First, Charlie comes home the same week Addie said she would—and now this? I don’t think you can deny it, Cash.”
My mind was reeling. Was Anna right? Was this some kind of sign?
Hadn’t I just said I needed a reason to hold on?
Dad caught my eye. “There’s no such thing as coincidence.”
“They can’t stay in the house,” Mom said. Having one indoor dog drove her crazy.
Dad raised his brows. “We could always hire another housekeeper.”
Our old housekeeper, Flora Mae, had retired last year to move to Arizona and be closer to her daughter. Mom kept insisting she had things under control. But Lula’s messes and hair made her crazy as it was.
“I’m doing fine as long as we don’t add any more dogs to the mix,” Mom said.
“You could keep them in the barn,” Anna suggested.
Dad’s eyebrow arched. “Gracie hates Lula.” Grace Note was Dad’s favorite horse.
“Maisy and Lula are besties. Let’s keep them at the barn by my house,” she said. “I’ll keep an eye on them. Belle will help.”
“No!” Addie cried, running in with a ratty pink and white plaid flannel blanket. “They need to stay here. With me.”
“We’ll go visit them every day,” Mom said.
“Five times a day,” Dad added.
“This way, you can hang out with Belle more,” Anna sang.
Addie’s shoulders fell but she smiled. “Okay.” Addie idolized Anna’s daughter. Kept asking Mom if she could have surgery to get dimples like Belle.
“What’s going on in here?” Charlie walked into the room and my pulse quickened. Her eyes got huge. “Puppies?” She gasped. She dropped to her knees next to Lula and picked up the one still snuggling its new mom. The puppy nestled into Charlie’s chest, tiny paws curling against her shirt. “Oh my gosh.” She giggled. “They’re so cute. How did this happen? I thought Lula was fixed.”
“Oh, you know,” Addie said. “Just God showing off.”
Dad winked. “Giving hope.”
“Making the impossible, possible,” Anna added with a knowing look. Mom squeezed my shoulder. “Letting us know that sometimes, when something is meant to be, it finds its way home—no matter what.”
I chuckled, my insides settling for the first time in weeks.Telling me it’s not over,I didn’t say out loud.Not yet.
Charlie looked at each of us curiously. “Puppies told you all of that?”
twenty-one
Charlie
I’d never slept better than I did next to Cash—even using his bicep as a pillow. I knew I was safe in his arms. But it was more than that. Being with Cash had always calmed me. Brought out a chill, unaffected-by-the-stresses-of-life version of myself that only happened when he was around. Now, as a full-grown man, his pull was an intoxicating riptide—and that night, I was too tired to fight it.
But I couldn’t let this become a habit. Friends didn’t fall asleep wrapped up in each other like that. The lines I’d drawn were already smudging, turning into something messy and complicated. If I was this tangled up, I could only imagine what it was doing to him.
So every day for the next week, I got up early to muck out the barn alone, did my job at the recording studio—professionally and unattached—came home, ate dinner, and spent my evenings writing music in my room. But most importantly, I slept in my own bed.
I didn’t know how long I could keep my feelings at bay or keep Cash at arm’s length. I was in a holding pattern—an airplane circling a storm, trying to find a safe place to land.
A couple of weeks later, I was in the barn again, mid-muck, manure flecked on my jeans and my right cheek, when a side-by-side tore up, grinding to a stop outside.
