Love at First Bark Read online

  As the morning passed, Irene and Victor tossed sugarcoated insults at Lynn, while Lynn’s disdain for their lifestyle became more brazen and unadorned. Mia shot off a text to Ben, asking if he wanted to place a bet on who ended up throwing the first punch, her mom or Brad’s parents. After a few minutes, he replied.

  Lynn, no question. And I hope she kicks some ass.

  Mia laughed to herself and put her phone away after wishing him a good day. He was driving out to see his half sister and her kids who lived an hour outside the city. It was probably a touch inappropriate to wish he was here instead, and Mia did her best not to wish it, but she did anyway.

  He’d texted her earlier to say he’d watched Patrick’s video of Ollie and Pepper’s puppies on both Facebook and Instagram, and he’d loved it. Mia didn’t think she was just being a proud mom to agree with him. It already had over two thousand views, and the number was growing steadily.

  Patrick’s video turned out to be more touching than Mia would’ve guessed. By the time Patrick had given the puppies their chew toys and started filming, they’d been tuckered out enough to plop down beside Ollie and have a good gnaw while he read. Halfway through the video, the chubbier of the two puppies planted his head on Ollie’s lap and chewed lazily at his pants. Ollie had chosen to read “The Night Before Christmas,” a perfect choice because he’d been read it enough that he’d nearly memorized it.

  It was the perfect cap to this holiday, which after last night, Mia wouldn’t have guessed could’ve gotten any better, with the possible exception of Victor and Irene breaking tradition and finding something else to do this morning. After an evening of games and good food and laughter and bedtime books with Ben and Lynn and Ollie and the dogs, Mia had fallen asleep thinking it was her favorite Christmas Eve ever.

  And she was fairly certain her mom had gone back to suspecting there was something between her and Ben because of an odd comment she made as Mia was headed to bed. “I’d bid you sweet dreams, but I’m pretty sure you’re already having them.” When Mia asked her for clarification, her mom had simply shrugged and said it was the mulled wine talking.

  Mia was a bit surprised when her mom didn’t follow up with a better explanation. Lynn wasn’t usually one to hold her tongue. Case in point, as Christmas morning went on, in the throes of present opening, the comments between Lynn and Victor and Irene were escalating rather than ceasing. Thanks to the antics and distraction of the dogs, coupled with Ollie’s unfettered Christmas joy, her son remained oblivious to his grandparents’ dislike for one another. Mia was pretty sure a hurricane could whirl behind him and he wouldn’t notice.

  And even had the dogs not been deaf, Mia suspected they wouldn’t have noticed the tension either. They seemed more than content in the chaos of wrapping paper and package stuffing being tossed into the air and boxes being broken down and crumpled. Sadie continuously dove under the pile of recycling, acting for the first time since Mia had brought her home like the two-and-a-half-year-old dog Dr. Wentworth had predicted she was. Sam chased her under the mound, yipping and biting at her tail and her back feet.

  Ollie, who was cross-legged on the floor, belly laughed over their antics until he collapsed back against the hardwood, hands clutching his stomach. This drew the dogs’ attention, and soon they flanked his sides, licking his ears until he laughed and farted at the same time. He was still laughing when he pushed up and dashed off to the bathroom, yelling at everyone to hold their noses.

  When the bathroom door smacked closed, Mia caught all three of the adults’ attention with a lingering “So.” When she had all eyes on her, she dove ahead. “This seems like a good time to remind you guys it’s Christmas, and today’s about Ollie. And if you think it’ll help, there’s a dartboard downstairs. My guess is that physical competition would serve you guys better. But right now, I’d appreciate it if you’d please be on your best behavior.”

  In the sharp silence that followed from Irene and Victor and the sincere but short apology breathed out of Lynn, Mia found herself unexpectedly thinking of Brody. Had anyone come together to celebrate his first Christmas? And holy hell, what would Irene and Victor do when she told them, whenever that was.

  Hoping her words would make a difference as they settled in, Mia used the break in present opening to get Sam and Sadie outside. The dogs were going on twenty-four hours of being accident-free, and she didn’t want to break this new record. Sadie didn’t mind the drizzly rain and trotted out to sniff her new territory, but Sam had to be coaxed out from underneath the covered deck onto the grass. When he squatted and peed immediately, Mia inundated him with visual and physical praise and treats.

  By the time she got Sadie’s attention and herded them back inside, Ollie was tearing into the giant snowman-wrapped present from Lynn. It was light enough that after he had the paper off, he lifted the closed box over his head and shook it, drawing Sam’s attention. The damp, furry puppy dashed around him in circles and jumped on Ollie’s legs, dousing his neck and ears with fresh licks.

  “I love him so much,” Ollie said through his laughter. “He reminds me of Dad.”

  Irene was looking out the window with her arms folded over her chest, placed a hand on the back of the armchair. She pulled a Kleenex from the box on the side table and dabbed at her nose, and watching her, Mia let go of her anger.

  When she turned back to Ollie, he’d pulled the top of the box open, and fake snow was pouring out onto his lap and all over the floor. Sam dove face-first into it and was yipping and wagging his fluffy tail, while Sadie backed timidly away.

  “What’s this about?” Ollie said, cocking his head and shaking the last of the snow everywhere.

  “There’s a brochure in here somewhere,” Lynn said, kneeling on the floor and fishing through the mound of glistening snow. “Aha!” She waved it with typical fanfare overhead, then sank to the floor next to Ollie, tucking her long, brightly colored skirt around her. “Your mom may have mentioned you have a hankering for snow this holiday. Well, guess what? So do I, and I figured we should do something about that.”

  “Do what?” Ollie’s eyes were big and wide.

  “We can’t make it snow here, but we can go where we know there’ll be snow.” She dropped the brochure—the color was flat, and it look self-printed—into Ollie’s hands. “It’s a cabin in the woods. Up north. There’ll be enough snow that you can build an army of snowmen. And we’ll make hot chocolate and have snowball fights and build a snow fort, you name it.” Her gaze flitted to Irene and Victor. “The only skiing in this part of Minnesota is cross-country, but there are extra rooms in the cabin. You’re welcome to join us for a few days if you’d like. We were able to get it for five nights. We leave in two days, and we’ll have it through New Year’s.”

  Mia wasn’t sure what to think. Aside from the money involved, a cabin retreat sounded perfect. It would give Ollie his wish for snow, and Mia could step back a bit and hopefully make sense of all that had been rolling around her head the last few days.

  And aside from the mural work that she was largely holding off on until after the holidays anyway, there was no reason they couldn’t get away. However, Lynn hardly had a spare dime to her name. She’d been given some money in her parents’ will, but Mia didn’t want her depleting that on a vacation.

  She was about to comment as much when Ollie spoke. “What about Sadie and Sam?” Concern was evident in his voice.

  “We’ll bring them, of course. It’s a pet-friendly cabin. Ben’s coming. And he’s bringing Taye’s dog too. He’s not sure about Taye yet. Taye’s grandparents are coming into town.”

  Irene inhaled audibly. “Ben is coming? With you?” Her tone was sharp and accusatory. Hearing it didn’t ease the rush of guilt that was racing just behind the unexpected delight flowing through Mia’s veins.

  “Of course.” Lynn gave a one-shoulder shrug. “He’s Ollie’s godfather. I’d expect him to.�
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  Mia’s voice was locked in her throat. She could understand Irene’s shock. Ben had never gone on vacation with Ollie before, and it made about as much sense as it didn’t that he’d start now.

  But Ollie was screaming with delight and throwing handfuls of glittery snow into the air. It cascaded down across the room, exciting Sam and sending Sadie in reverse until she was safely out of range. And no one seemed to notice that Mia’s cheeks were flaming hot as it occurred to her that she was about to have five nights under the same roof with Ben, so she’d better start attempting to untangle her crazy mess of feelings, ready or not.

  Chapter 17

  There were never good times to run out of coffee, but scraping the bottom of the tin and barely managing to come up with a measly half scoop this morning didn’t help dissipate the thick fog clouding Mia’s brain. She’d woken up at four thirty and hadn’t been able to fall back to sleep, especially knowing Ben would be here around six in order to get an early start on a twelve-plus-hour drive.

  The cabin was north of Duluth, and Mia suspected they’d be driving on snow-packed roads for the later portion of the trip. She intended to doze in the back with Ollie, then take over for Ben before the roads grew too messy. While Lynn was doing a bit of driving around town, she was out of practice enough that no one, not even Lynn herself, wanted to count on her as a driver.

  Once they reached snow-packed roads, Ben would be on his own. It was funny, but even though Ben had never claimed to be confident driving on snow, something about having summited Everest seemed to make this a given. And Mia had dangerously fishtailed after hitting an ice patch a couple years back and hadn’t been comfortable driving on snow since.

  Her heart still pounded every time it hit her that she was about to spend five nights and six days under the same roof with Ben. She hoped they’d have time to themselves to talk, but she wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted to talk about. Or at least she wasn’t sure she was ready to admit it aloud.

  Lynn and Ollie were still asleep, and Mia was sorting through the bags of groceries she’d bought for the trip when her phone began to buzz. She crossed to the table and did a double take after spotting Irene’s name and number on the screen. Whatever was she doing, calling at so early an hour?

  “The last few days, I’ve been thinking how much he’d want to be a part of this trip,” Irene said as soon as Mia answered.

  Mia had thought the same thing, but the trip had also been Lynn’s idea, and if Brad were alive, they’d be wrapping up a divorce, not going on a trip together. However, pointing that out to his grieving mom didn’t seem like the kind thing to do. “He would very much have enjoyed a winter trip to Minnesota,” was the best answer Mia could come up with on the spot.

  “I have the urn. With his ashes. I wasn’t planning on dispersing them yet, but when I couldn’t sleep last night, it occurred to me that perhaps the best way to honor him is to leave a part of him up there. Not only there. Other places too. Places we know that he loved.”

  Mia tended to disagree with Irene more often than not. But it occurred to her this could be good for Ollie, help him get a bit more closure. All in all, he’d been holding up well, especially since the dogs had come home with them, and for the last week or so, his laughter filled the house as often as ever. But he also got angry or broke down over simple things, like when the scissors weren’t under his usual command or when he found a hole in the pocket of his favorite sweatshirt or when he couldn’t find the match to the sock he’d picked to wear.

  “I think that’s a good idea, Irene.”

  “When I first thought of it last night, I wanted to send the urn with you, but I can’t help but feel as if I need to be there for this. I haven’t been able to talk Victor into it, but if you have room, I’d like to ride along. I’d stay a few days and fly out of Duluth, then meet Victor in New York. We’re going to Italy for a few weeks. To get away. I’ll pack light for Minnesota, and Victor will have the rest of my things with him. I won’t take up much room.”

  It was a plea, or at least as much of a plea as Mia had ever heard from Irene. And although she couldn’t imagine Lynn and Irene under the same roof for any stretch of days, much less in the same car a full day, Mia’s heart told her this wasn’t something she should discourage. She felt a swell of disappointment, knowing how it would change the dynamic—whatever that dynamic might’ve looked like.

  And though it was a quiet whisper of a feeling, some part of her realized Irene might be the goalkeeper her heart needed while she figured out what all those kisses had meant…on Ben’s part and hers.

  “Yeah, of course. Do you, uh, want us to pick you up, or are you coming here?”

  “Thank you, Mia. Thank you. And Victor will drop me off.”

  After clarifying a few things, like the time Ben was due to arrive, Mia hung up and shook her head in disbelief. Irene and Lynn and three dogs and a little over seven hundred miles. It was going to be a really long ride.

  Chapter 18

  Even though she usually had a hard time sleeping in cars, Mia somehow managed to doze most of the way through Illinois. She wasn’t sure how Ben had managed to swing such a nice rental, but the metallic-silver Escalade ESV transporting them to snowman land was decidedly upscale. Using her fluffy coat as a blanket and propping her pillow against the window, Mia decided her middle-row bucket seat was as comfortable as any seat she’d ever ridden in. And even though the floor space in the middle and rear of the SUV was taken up by overflow luggage, Mia propped her legs on top of a duffel bag that was crammed in near her. To get everything to fit in addition to the dogs’ kennels, they’d needed to be creative with space.

  When Ollie had found out that with Irene riding along, one person would need to sit in the third row while the other half of the row would be folded down to make room for one of the dog kennels, he begged for dibs to sit back there. With the dogs in eyesight, a pile of books, and his imagination, he made it a hundred miles farther than Mia would’ve guessed without asking for a potty break.

  When he finally declared he had to pee, he’d held it so long that he’d not been able to wait for a gas station. Ben pulled over near a stretch of empty fields, and Ollie did his business with the car shielding him from the highway.

  Just north of Rockford, Illinois, close to the Wisconsin border, they stopped at a state park so that everyone, including the dogs, could stretch their legs. To Ollie’s delight, there was ample snow on the ground, particularly in compacted mounds on the sides of the sidewalk, but judging by its slight discoloration, it wasn’t even close to fresh. Mia had to remind him several times as they walked to the restrooms that it wasn’t safe to eat.

  “It’s coming,” she promised. “Bowls and bowls of it. I even packed the sprinkles.”

  Whenever it snowed heavily enough, they’d set out a bowl to collect snow, and Ollie would get to add sprinkles like it was ice cream.

  After the group had gone to the bathroom and it was time to walk the dogs, neither Lynn nor Irene were interested in doing anything more than stretching their legs on the short, cleared path that led to the lake, so that left Mia and Ollie and Ben to walk the dogs. Since Sam was young and clingy enough, he could be trusted off leash to follow Sadie, and only Sadie and Turbo needed to be leashed.

  The dogs had dozed in their crates for the most part, lulled into sleep by the drone of the highway, but now they were wide awake and more than ready to get out. After a dozen steps down the wooded trail, Ollie tugged Mia’s sleeve. “Hey, Mom, this is Sam’s first snow, isn’t it?”

  “I hadn’t thought of that, but yeah it is.” Although the puppy didn’t seem too fazed by the experience, it did seem as if Sam was lifting his furry feet a bit higher than typical. The snow on the walking trail was packed, and he wasn’t sinking in. Mia figured he’d have a different experience all together once they got to the cabin and he experienced fresh, untouched snow.
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  Ollie frowned as Sam trotted alongside his mother, who was tentatively sniffing every mound and twig, her tail tucked tight against her bottom.

  “I don’t think he gets how fun it is. Sadie either.”

  Seeing Sadie’s hesitation, Mia wondered if she’d ever gotten outside the house where she’d lived before. All the new experiences she was getting had to be daunting for a sheltered dog, especially one who’d been raised by a hoarder.

  On the other hand, Turbo was pressing against his leash, pushing forward hard enough to prance sideways like a racehorse as he gazed into the trees at something Mia couldn’t see. If he even noticed the packed snow under his feet, it wasn’t apparent.

  Mia had a hard time imagining Turbo handling the housebound life they’d led without going completely stir-crazy. Perhaps what they were seeing now were the residual effects of all that.

  “They’ll get used to it,” Ben offered, ruffling Ollie’s hair.

  Ben didn’t seem bothered by Turbo’s intensity. Mia had heard him comment in the car about how energetic the dog consistently proved to be. This, added to what she’d heard from Megan and Tess about the rest of the group, had her suspecting she’d brought home the easiest two of the bunch.

  When Mia’s gaze settled on the strip of dark-blue leash wrapped around Ben’s hand, her pulse burst into a sprint. Like the rest of him, his hands were strong, masculine, and lean, nothing wasted, nothing extra. She could perfectly imagine splaying those fingers apart and pressing her lips against his palm. And then letting them trail up his wrist until they were impeded by the cuff of his coat sleeve.

  To keep her thoughts from slipping down an unexpected rabbit hole of desire, she locked her attention back on Ollie, whose coat was hanging open and who’d accumulated more than his fair share of crumbs on the button-down collar of his pullover shirt from all the car snacks he’d devoured. She gave the collar a quick shake and sent most of the crumbs flying to the ground.