“Oh, hi.” Her tone relaxed. “I didn’t have your number in my phone. How is Truffles?”
“Doing great. The afternoon was nerve-wracking as she came out of the anesthesia stupor. Dr. Lia warned me about it beforehand and assured me it was normal, but experiencing it was hard.”
“When Harper had her tonsils taken out, I went to the hospital with Tynley. I’ll never forget Harper coming off the anesthesia. If it’s anything like that with animals as well, I can’t imagine it was pleasant.”
Of all the comments she could have made, he hadn’t expected that. She hadn’t so much as mentioned her sister until now.
“How is your sister doing?” he braved asking.
He heard her surprised gasp, as if she’d just realized the topic she’d broached. Then a sense of pride entered her voice as she spoke. “She’s doing very well.”
“I’m glad.” He wrapped his hand more tightly around the phone. “Is she still at KapMart?”
He knew the answer to that, but she couldn’t know that he knew.
“No. She was recruited to be a corporate trainer at Best Sales about five years ago, and she’s been there since. Actually, she met her fiancé there.”
“She’s engaged?” That he hadn’t known.
“Yes. They’ve set the date for next March, and Ryan is a good, Christian man.”
“How does he treat Harper?” It wasn’t his business, but his curiosity got the better of him.
“He loves her, and they are filling out the paperwork for him to legally adopt her.” A sigh, happy this time, came over the line. “Tynley’s life is in an amazing place. Her walk with God is solid, she recently celebrated six years of sobriety, and she has a beautiful little family.”
“That’s wonderful. Really great.”
She cleared her throat. “I’m not saying this to start a fight, I truly am not, but I’m surprised you care.”
“I’m not my father,” was all he could say. There was more, much more, he wanted to tell her, but not now.
For a moment, the line between them was silent. Finally, she spoke. “I’m starting to believe that.”
It was more than he could have asked for, the first step to a new beginning. “Truffles and I owe you big time. If you’d like to see her, maybe you could stop over tomorrow after work, and I’ll treat you to dinner, here if you don’t mind. I’d rather not leave Truffles for long the first few days of recovery.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Please? Truffles wants to thank you in person.”
His plea elicited a laugh from her. “Does she now?”
“By tomorrow when she’s fully functioning, she will.” His mouth twitched, and he broke out in a smile. He would have respected her boundaries and not pressed her further had she remained adamant, but he sensed she wanted to say yes, but was nervous. So was he. “Why don’t you stop by and see her. I’ll have food on standby, but if you don’t want to stay and eat, that’s fine.”
“What time will you be home?”
“I made plans to work from home the remainder of the week, so I’ll be here all day.” He leaned down and patted Truffles’ head, grateful he could accommodate her.
“Most days, I leave by five-thirty, unless something comes up. I could drop by around six.”
“Six is perfect. I’ll text my address to you.”
“Can I bring anything?” she asked. “For if I decide to stay for dinner.”
He chuckled to himself. “No, it’s entirely my treat. Assuming you will stay, do you like steak?”
“I do.”
“Any allergies or dietary restrictions I should know about?”
