They jogged on in silence, Ollie calling their names occasionally, even though he figured it was probably in vain.As they approached the house, he started rehearsing in his head how he could explain to her.At this point, there'd be no hiding that the dogs lived here.All he could do would be to come clean and ask for forgiveness.
As they cut through the last row of vines and emerged onto the driveway, Callie shot him a panicked look."I hope you meant it when you said that we're okay to be here."She glanced up at the house."Whoever lives here..."
"Doesn't mind.I promise you that," he said."You see, the thing is, Callie..."
"Oh no, look!Here they come," she interrupted, pointing toward a Toyota 4Runner coming up the drive."Is this them?"
Ollie took a couple of deep breaths, wondering how exactly to explain things to her.The 4Runner pulled up beside them, and Rosa climbed out with a puzzled smile.
"Oh, you're here," she said."I wondered what was going on.I saw the dogs out by themselves, so I thought I'd better come check."
"Yeah."Ollie gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile."Sorry about that.We parked up at the far end to let them have a run."
He hoped that would sound plausible to both Rosa and Callie, even if for very different reasons.
"Right," she nodded."Here they are."
Peanut and Butter came trotting toward them from around the back of the house, both shooting Ollie guilty-looking glances.
"Come back here, you two," he told them.
He wasn't surprised when they went to Rosa instead of him.They knew she'd make a fuss over them.
"There you are, my babies!"she exclaimed, making Callie laugh and Ollie narrow his eyes at her.
Rosa straightened up with a smile."I know they're not babies," she said to Callie.
"Oh my goodness, I wasn't laughing at you!I was laughing because I called them the same thing."
"They may as well be his babies," Rosa told her."He takes such good care of them and loves them as if they were."She turned back to Ollie."I'm glad to see you're home.I didn't know if you'd be around this afternoon."
Ollie's heart thudded to a halt, but Callie didn't look as though she'd clicked to what Rosa meant, and he realized he could get away with it.
"Yeah," he told Rosa."We're done flying the wedding guests home now."He smiled at Callie."All except the most important one.And since she doesn't have to go back until tomorrow..."He turned back to Rosa."Oh, wait.I'm sorry.Rosa, this is Callie.Callie, this is Rosa."
The two women nodded at each other.
"It's nice to meet you," said Callie."And thanks for letting us walk the dogs here."
Ollie bit down on his bottom lip, not knowing if he'd be able to rescue the situation.Rosa shot him a puzzled look before smiling and nodding.To his relief, she answered, "It's always my pleasure to see Ollie out walking the dogs."
She petted Peanut and Butter, and they both stared up at her."Are you flying early tomorrow?"she asked."Do you want to bring them over tonight?"
He shook his head."I'll drop them off in the morning if that's okay.It won’t be too early, around ten."
"That's fine by me.I'll see you tomorrow, then," she told the dogs."And hopefully I'll see you again," she said to Callie, who simply nodded.
They watched as Rosa climbed back into her vehicle and turned it around.
"Oh," said Callie."I thought she was going home."She looked up at the house.
Ollie knew that this was his moment.He should explain that Rosawasgoing home — back to her cottage.He opened his mouth, but all that came out was, "I don't know what she's up to."
He was a coward, and he knew it.But instead of heading to the house, he took a ball from his pocket and threw it into the vines."Go get it, then," he told the dogs.
Maybe he'd find the right words as they walked back to his SUV.They had to go and collect it, no matter what else happened.
~ ~ ~
