Fuck.
Life could be cruel and then it could be downright savage. But he knew that better than most. He’d witnessed children become orphans, their entire family taken out by high-capacity artillery projectiles strong enough to destroy a city block. He was an instrument of life’s brutality.
“That was bad enough,” Ashanti continued. “Seriously, it was unlike anything I ever imagined living through. But then the life insurance company made it a thousand times worse.” She looked over at him again. The taut lines pulling down the corners of her mouth told him he wasn’t going to like where her next words landed. “They tried to get out of honoring his policy by saying that my dad ran the red light on purpose—that he died by suicide.”
“What the fuck? Excuse my language,” Thad said. “But that is fucked up.”
“It was awful. It wasn’t even a huge policy, just enough topay off the house and cover the funerals.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. When she spoke again, her voice was weak. Thready. “Thing is, I’m not sure if the insurance company wasn’t right.”
“Ashanti,” he whispered, barely able to get her name past the lump in his throat.
“In my heart I know Dad wouldn’t leave me and the girls alone on purpose, but my mom was his entire world. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that the thought of facing life without her was too much for him to bear.
“They met when I was seven years old, and it was love at first sight for all three of us, me, dad, and my mom. My biological dad died when I was still a baby. He had a rare form of cancer that took him within months of his diagnosis.” She shrugged. “Lincoln Wright was the only dad I ever knew, and he was perfect.”
Her smile at the memory told Thad all he needed to know about her stepdad—her dad.
“Even after the twins were born, he never once treated me as anything other than his own,” she said. “I was so broken the day we lost them. If not for Evie and Ridley at my side, and knowing that I had to be there for Kara and Kendra, I’m not sure if I would have made it through that night.”
“Yet you’ve made it through six years. And grown a business. And raised twin teenagers. I should nominate you for a Medal of Honor, or whatever is the civilian equivalent.”
Her smile broadened. “I don’t deserve any medals. Believe me. I constantly fall down on the job, and there have been times…” She shook her head. “Let’s just say it hasn’t been the easiest road to travel. The year the girls turned twelve therewere at least a half-dozen instances when I considered changing my name and running away from home.”
“Ouch,” Thad said.
“Yeah, that was the year of Kara’s Ramona Flowers phase. She discovered the movieScott Pilgrim vs. the Worldand decided that being a sulky, sarcastic preteen who changed her hair color on a regular basis was the only way to be. She’s dialed back on the sarcasm—a little—but stuck with the hair dye.” She huffed out a laugh. “Now it’s Kendra who’s the sulky one.”
“Was there no one who could help with raising them? No family members you could call on?”
“My dad has an older sister, but I don’t even want to go there. She wasnotan option.”
The hostility that entered her voice piqued his interest, but he wouldn’t ask her to wade into anything she wasn’t up to discussing. At the same time, he didn’t want her to stop.
Given how challenging it had been for him to adjust after the void leaving the Army had created, Thad was awed by her ability to overcome the life-altering loss she’d suffered. How had she managed to surmount that kind of pain at such a young age, let alone guide twin teenagers through it?
“So, what stopped you from changing your name and running away?” he asked.
This time her smile was genuine. And achingly beautiful.
“Duchess,” she answered.
Thad chuckled. “Why am I not surprised?”
“Her powers go far beyond starring in viral videos,” Ashanti said. “She really was a lifesaver. It wasn’t until about two years after my parents died that I finally conceded that we needed to talk to a therapist. He was the one who suggestedbringing a pet into the home. I took the girls to a local shelter, and we all fell in love with Duchess the moment we saw her.”
She paused as a double-decker tour bus rolled by, then continued. “It’s funny, because I had avoided getting another dog for years.” She glanced over at him. “My dad bought me a golden retriever, Toby, the year he and Mom got married. I had him through grade school, up to my freshman year of college. I wanted to wait until after I finished veterinary school before I got another dog.”
“You were in vet school?”
She nodded. “I was in my final year when Mom and Dad died,” she said. “And before you ask, yes, it was a huge blow to have to quit before I earned my degree. And, yes, I do think about going back, although I don’t like to admit it.”
She turned to him then, pulling one foot up on the ledge and resting her chin against her bent knee.
“You know what I realized not too long ago? I don’t think about it all that often anymore. I would have been a great veterinarian, but I got the idea to open Barkingham Palace after boarding Duchess at another facility. My biological dad left a small trust that was turned over to me when I turned twenty-five. I used that money to start the daycare, and I don’t regret it. I learned that sometimes the hand you’re dealt is better than the one you’d originally planned to play.”
Her optimism in the face of such tragic circumstances floored him. If anyone had the right to whine, it was her.
“Yeah, well, even a good hand can have a couple of shitty cards,” Thad said. “It sounds like you were dealt more than your share.”
