A beat of silence passes before Lucie agrees. “Drive safe, see you soon.”
I can’t find words for much of a response, so I just end the call. I need to calm down, but I want to scream, cry, hit something,or someone,all at the same time.
Dottie lets out a whimper in the passenger seat, and before I can say anything she licks the side of my face.
I let out a pained laugh. “Thanks, I needed that.” I scratch behind her ear as I keep my eyes on the road. “We’ll figure this out. I promise there’s no way I’m getting rid of you.”
I pull into Dex’s parking garage, then punch in the Larsen family code to get in the lobby. It warms my heart a little at that reminder that Dex and Lucie gave all of us a family-specific code so we can come over to visit them anytime without being buzzed in.
My adrenaline has subsided enough but I barely get a knock on their door before Lucie is swinging it open and pulling me into a hug.
I let out a small grunt as her body hits mine. “Luce, I haven’t even stepped inside.”
“I know, but it sounds like you need it.” Her hold loosens and she steps back. “Come on, we’ll put the guys on Dottie duty and we can have girl talk on the deck.”
I nod and manage a small smile. “How excited is Dex that I’m bringing a dog over here for Miles to get ideas about?”
Lucie waves her hand over her shoulder. “He’ll be fine. Dex is all bark, no bite.”
“I don’t exactly believe that,” I tease. Each step into Lucie’s safe space and I’m already feeling better. “Daddy Dex has to bite a little.”
Lucie snorts. “Touché.”
Once we step into Miles’s peripheral, he’s bolting over. “Jensen brought her dog!”
Miles rests his hands on his knees as he talks to Dottie. “You’re the cutest doggie ever!” He reaches to pet her as her butt wiggles. “Jensen, she looks so much bigger than she does on the phone.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, but she’s still as sweet as can be.” I kneel down next to him. “Think you can take care of Dottie for me? I need to borrow Callie and Lucie for a bit.”
Miles jumps up. “Of course I can!”
I smile handing him her leash. “I knew I could count on you.”
When I stand, Callie’s also getting up from her spot on the couch next to Will, and Miles is bringing Dottie over to show his dad. “Sorry for crashing.”
“Don’t be.” Dex waves me off before turning his attention to Miles.
“Yeah, this is a treat, I think I’m getting ideas for Miles’s birthday.” Will looks at Callie with a wink.
“No,” Lucie snaps immediately as she points to the both of them. “No, I’m serious.”
Callie comes up to my side and hooks her arm around my shoulder. “Why don’t we head outside and we can talk about that later.”
Following Lucie out to the balcony, we sit at the small table off to the side.
“Okay, so, talk to us.” Lucie pulls her legs up in her chair. “What’s going on?”
I take one deep breath, then exhale it all out. From the issues with Tally’s, the raise in rent, then the new “no dogs” policy that led to the awful experience in the hall. By the end of it, Callie’s jaws on the floor and Lucie’s up from her seat.
“You mean to tell me that he reached for Dottie’s leash! That he was waiting on you?” Lucie holds her hands up. “I’m getting Dex.”
I grab her hand. “No, Luce, what’s he going to do?”
Lucie scrunches her nose. “I don’t know…”
Callie huffs. “I know I want to take a baseball bat to his groin, but I guess that doesn’t exactly fix the problem.”
I let the idea play through in my mind, and it helps to some extent, but it’s short lived.
