“You heard the dog!” he yelled.
He let Lola bark again, three times. Garrett swooped off his hat and held both arms up in a plea. “I miss you! I trust you! I love you!”
Each announcement came with the echo of Lola’s triple bark.
“What is all that noise, Jessie? Do you have a dog now?”
She picked up the phone and took it off speaker, still staring down at the man she loved more than life itself. He didn’t even know the truth yet, but there he was, heart on the line, as ready to forgive, forget, and try again as she was.
“Yeah. I have a dog. And I also have…everything I ever wanted.”
“What are you talking about? Mom, Jessie’s crazy.”
“You can say that again.” She hit end and threw the phone on her bed, then stuck her head out the window. “I love you, too!”
He threw the hat twenty feet into the air with a whoop of joy so loud it drowned out Lola’s incessant barks.
Epilogue
“Did you know it’s officially the first day of summer?” Pru asked after Dad finished the prayer and Sunday dinner went into full swing.
“You know how the Irish know it’s summer?” Gramma Finnie asked.
“The rain is warmer.” At least three, maybe five, Kilcannons said it at the same time.
And Gramma gave each one of them a dirty look. “You children can jus’ tell me when you’re all sick of my sayings.”
“Never, Gramma,” Molly assured her. “And yes, Pru, you are right. First day of summer. A nice long day that we used to celebrate by playing Manhunt when it finally got dark.”
“Manhunt?” Pru sat up straight, her hazel eyes wide. “What is that?”
Garrett glanced to his side and added a little bit of pressure on Jessie’s leg. “It’s kind of grown-up hide-and-seek,” he explained. “It can be a lot of fun…with the right partner.”
“You play with partners?” Pru asked.
“And teams,” Molly said. “I’m up for a game when it gets dark. Who’s in?”
“I’m totally in,” Jessie said, adding that same pressure to Garrett’s leg. “We used to play it all the time when I was younger and spent the weekends here,” she told Pru.
“And now you live here in Mommy’s old room,” Pru said. “How fun.”
“Just temporarily,” she said. “But it has been fun.” Jessie beamed at Dad. “You’ve been so kind to let me stay here while I get my bearings in Bitter Bark. Lola and I couldn’t be happier here.” She looked over her shoulder where Lola lay, her eyes on Jessie, as always.
“Stay as long as you like,” Dad said.
But it wouldn’t be long if Garrett had anything to say about it. Yes, she’d moved into the house while she started working on her first book, which they affectionately called For the Love of Lola. But that living arrangement wasn’t ideal.
She’d danced around a few apartments in town, but nothing had been quite right. Because Jessie shouldn’t live alone. She should live with him.
Garrett had his eye on a house not far from where he and Shane lived now, but he wanted things to be…official.#p#分页标题#e#
“I’ll play a game of Manhunt,” Garrett said. “But be warned. I have the best hiding places in all of Waterford.”
“I’ll catch you, Uncle Garrett,” Pru said. “Mom, be on my team.”
“I’ll play, too,” Darcy said. “Shane, partners?”
“Sure,” he said. “But be warned. I don’t lose. At anything.”
“We know,” Molly said, rolling her eyes.
“Count me out,” Liam said. “I don’t play games.”
“That’s your problem, big guy,” Shane told him. “You need to play more games. Gramma?”
Gramma laughed. “No, lad. I’m going to watch a movie in my room. And, Daniel, don’t forget you’re driving me to that Apple store to get my new computer bright and early. I have an appointment.”
Dad rolled his eyes. “Oh yes. I remember. But I have a meeting…” He glanced at Liam, then shook his head. “I’ll figure that out tomorrow.”
The chatter continued as night fell slowly, but a plan took shape in Garrett’s head quickly. By the time they finished, cleaned up, did the evening walk of about fifteen dogs currently in the kennels, it was dark enough to let the games begin.
The players met in the middle, set rules and a timer, and spread out to hide, but like he had seventeen years earlier, Garrett took Jessie’s hand and tugged her around to the kennels.