He scowled, parked his truck and got out, taking the time to go to the passenger seat and lift Hank out gently.
He never wanted to make the old dog jump out on his own.
It didn’t seem right.
Hank followed him right up to the front door, and Nancy opened it before he could knock.
“Come in, come in,” she said, pulling him in for a hug before pushing him into the house.
Her love was aggressive. And appreciated.
Then she stepped away from him and looked down at Hank. “And who is this distinguished gentleman?”
“This is Hank,” he said.
She looked up at him. “Lydia said that he belonged to your dad.”
“Yeah,” he said, his voice rough for some reason now.
“How are you doing with that, Remy?”
“Just fine. He didn’t have any impact on my life.”
She looked at him as if she felt sadness, but not pity.
She rubbed his shoulder. “Well. If you ever need to talk, you know you can talk to me.”
He nodded.
When he stepped deeper into the house, he could smell the aromas of all his favorites. “Thanks for having me over.”
“Of course. It’s not a family dinner if you’re not here.”
He believed her. That was the amazing thing. He really did believe it.
“Matthew and Jackson are on their way. They said it took forever to get Wesley into the car.”
He chuckled. “Better them than me.”
“You would be a wonderful father,” she said.
The words hit him oddly. “Well, that’s a nice thing to . . . to say. But I can’t actually imagine . . .”
Right then, Lydia came down the stairs, wearing a floaty white dress, the kind of thing he rarely saw her in, because she was usually dressed for the shelter or to take care of her animals.
She stopped and looked at him, her cheeks going pink, and everything in him went quiet.
That moment back at his place replayed in his head. And he had to wonder . . .
What would have happened if he’d kissed her then?
If he’d pressed her against the wall of the shower and . . .
For God’s sake. He had to get his head on straight.
“It fits,” she said, her cheeks getting even pinker.
“So it does,” said Nancy. “I won’t get rid of it then.”
