“I think that’s a great idea!” Haddy paces back and forth behind me, bouncing Lucy on her shoulder. “Were any of the calendar hounds fosters? I’ll let the team know.”
“What’s a foster dog?” Maddie flops onto the couch beside me holding Peepee.
“It’s a dog that needs a home for a little while.” A frown pulls her lips, and I try to explain better. “Like maybe its owner can’t keep it anymore or the owner passed away, and the shelter needs to place it with some nice people until they find a permanent home. Peepee was a foster dog.”
Maddie looks down at the teacup poodle, stroking it with her finger.
She blinks up at me, wrinkling her nose. “I’m like a foster dog.”
Haddy does a spit-take behind me, and I put my arm around Maddie, pulling her close. “No, you’re not. You have your daddy and your aunt Heather.”
“My mom passed away.” Her voice is quiet, and I glance up at Haddy before answering.
“I know, honey.” I rub my hand up and down her little arm. “Does that make you feel sad?”
“Not really. I never met her, but my daddy said she was real nice and she loved me a lot. My grammy Britt said her heart grew so big with love for me, she had to go on up to heaven and be an angel watching over me.”
My throat aches, and I lean my cheek against her little head. “People who love us that much make the very best angels.”
“You’re real nice, and I’m staying with you until we find a home.” She looks up at me. “I’m a foster dog, too!”
“I mean…”
Haddy jumps in to save me. “Do you think it’s a good thing to be a foster dog?”
Maddie’s lips twist, and she pauses. Then she smiles, nodding and blinking up at us. “Peepee’s cute, and she’s your real dog now. Maybe someone nice could be my mom one day, too.”
“Know what? I think youarea foster dog.” Haddy smiles, reaching down to boop Maddie’s nose with the tip of her finger. “And I bet one day, you’ll have a very nice mom, who’ll love you very much.”
I’m not sure if this is okay, but at the same time, my heart is so full of affection for this little girl.
I think about all the things Owen and I have said to eachother. They are here temporarily, but what if our situation became permanent?
Things are changing between us, and while it’s way too soon to say anything certain, maybe one day… who knows what the future holds?
The door opens, and the guys come bustling in. Gavin immediately takes Lucy out of Haddy’s arms. Owen walks over to where Maddie and I are sitting on the sofa, and Mav extends his arms wide.
“Great news!” he announces. “The Schillingers are selling their house.”
“What?” Haddy turns to him, pulling one of his arms. “Where are they going?”
“Moving to Malibu, just like all the other old people in this ‘hood.”
“What does that mean?” I look from my cousin to Owen, who’s now sitting on the other side of his daughter wearing a satisfied expression.
“It means, we’re going to make them an offer they can’t refuse,” Mav says. “And the Stones will be our new neighbors a block to the north!”
He’s so confident, and I turn to Owen. “Is this what you want to do?”
Even though we love our secluded little neighborhood, it’s a bit of a drive to the arena where they practice every single day and where many of their games are held every week.
“I mean, if I were coming here alone, with no attachments or needs, I’d probably look for something closer to downtown.” He shrugs. “As it is, I’ve got a daughter and a sister… and I want to be close to the people I care about.”
The warmth in his voice, the way his eyes fix on mine,puts a knot in my throat. His meaning is clear. If the people he cares about were only Madison and Heather, they could easily move with him downtown, closer to the arena.
“Well, I think that’s perfect!” Haddy skips over to hug Owen’s shoulders, moving quickly to Maddie’s. “We’ll be great neighbors, and Lucy can grow up with family close by…”
I don’t correct her use of the wordfamily. I know they’re all lobbying hard for Owen and me to be a couple, but the truth is, you can’t hurry love. It’s a song, but it’s also a fact.
