“Thank you, Jack.”
“For?”
“Letting me share your day,” she said quietly, wishing she were brave enough to tell him that she’d had a mini meltdown in the shower and had been close to falling apart when she first answered his call. “I needed to talk, and you’re a great listener.”
“I think you have it backward, Cait. You’re the one who listened when I started talking about my day.”
She smiled at the idea. “So we’re both grateful.”
“And we both needed to talk,” Jack said. He hesitated, then asked, “Can you stop by tomorrow around noon to feed Jamie and let him out?”
“Absolutely…during lunch and again on my way home. Where’s he sleeping tonight?”
His soft chuckle added to the unsettling effect he had on her. Then, he totally distracted her when he said, “In the middle of my bed.”
Their shared laughter had her day ending far better than it would have without it. “I’ll call you tomorrow after I’ve taken care of Jamie.”
There was a slight pause before he cleared his throat and said, “I can make a late dinner for us if you wait for me. I should be home around eight o’clock.”
Her heart picked up the beat as her stomach filled with butterflies at the prospect of being with Jack again. “Why don’t you let me make supper for you tomorrow? You can cook dinner another time.”
“I’d like that very much. Good night, Caitlin.”
The sound of her name resonating through the tiny speaker in her hand had her inner child dancing a jig. “Night, Jack.”
With a sigh of contentment, Caitlin turned off the light and snuggled beneath the covers. Her last thought before she closed her eyes was being held in his arms and watching Jack’s dimple wink at her as his lips pressed softly against her own.
***
A few miles away, Jack hung up his phone and smiled, pleased with himself that he’d reached out to Caitlin. It sounded as if she’d been eager to talk to him. They’d made a connection—a solid one. It might just be the foundation they’d needed to build a relationship on.
One thing was certain, he intended to see more of Caitlin. “Hey…no bites!”
But the little ball of fur cuddled against his side wasn’t listening; he was too busy lining up Jack’s oblique muscle—as if to pounce on it—and Jack knew what would be next—the puppy would nip at it again.
“OK,” he said, picking the pup up so they were eye level. “There are a few house rules that you’re going to have to learn.”
The puppy squirmed and tossed himself around until Jack had no handhold and had to let go. Jamie landed on Jack’s abs and proceeded to pounce on Jack’s chest before settling in to chew on his chest hair.
With a huff, he held the dog like a football and got up to grab a shirt. “Rule number one: never bite the hand that feeds you.”
Jamie looked up at him, a serious expression in his big brown eyes. “OK, I’ll give you that one—you weren’t biting my hand, but still it’s the principle of the thing.” Setting the dog on the foot of the bed, he pulled his favorite PT shirt—a gray T-shirt that simply said navy on it in capital letters—over his head. “Don’t chew off any body hair while I’m sleeping, got it?”
Jamie lunged at the hem of his shirt and Jack sighed. “It’s gonna be a long night.”
Sliding beneath the covers, he turned off the light and heard a little doggy whimper. His heart went out to the little stray. “Come here, boy.”
Jamie leapt onto his chest and began to lick his face from forehead to chin. Once the dog quieted down, he settled in the curve of Jack’s arm and within minutes was softly snoring.
“Night, you little devil dog.” As the warmth of the little dog seeped into Jack’s side, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
***
Mary Murphy was waiting on her front porch swing. “Oh, Joe, what happened? You look awful.”
“Sometimes bad memories sneak up on me.”
She patted the seat beside her. “Let’s just rock a bit. When you’re ready, we can talk about it, OK?”
Joe nodded and sat down on the swing, and Mary settled in the circle of his arms. Pushing off with one foot, he breathed a sigh of relief as the rhythmic motion started to relax him.
“Did you ever wonder what you did right in life to deserve another chance at happiness after you thought your world had come to an end?”
Mary leaned her full weight against him. “I remember lying awake at night wishing I could die…it hurt so much to be the one left behind.”