Page 39 of Home Between Homes

“Well, look who’s here,” Dany said to Maggie, completely ignoring me. His voice was much higher than his stocky frame would suggest. He bent down and ran both hands over Maggie’s cheeks. Since it was obvious that they knew each other, I let go of her collar and gave them some space. His eyes turned to me, but he stayed low to continue patting Maggie. “Sorry about that. Must be weird for you.”

“I’ve just spent a week watching Jack and Maggie cuddle. Believe me, that’s harmless compared to what I’ve seen.”

“So you must be Noah.” Dany laughed as if he’d already heard all about me. His eyes swept past me into the living room. “The three of you made it through the blizzard safe and sound?”

“We all got along great, didn’t we?” I said, looking at Maggie as if she could confirm it. “By the way, Jack will be ready to go in ten minutes.”

“Sounds about right,” Dany replied, tapping Maggie’s chest with some force before he got up with a groan. “I better get going then. Tell Jack I can’t wait for him if he’s too slow.”

“He won’t be.” I grabbed Maggie’s collar again. Dany turned around, and, as expected, Maggie poked her snout in hisdirection several times to let me know she wanted him to come back. “I understand that you want to see people other than Jack and me, but this will have to do for now.” I pulled her back in and closed the door. “You’ll also have to be brave and stay alone for a little bit. But I’ll be back in a hurry, okay?”

Maggie yelped and then stomped off. I watched her go and couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge in my neck. After spending so much time together, it must be as sad for her to see it come to an end as it was for Jack and me. Or maybe it was just my subconscious projecting my feelings onto her.

Either way, there was no time to waste. I still had to freshen up and get dressed if I wanted to go with them. And there were only eight minutes and thirty seconds left on the clock.

While Jack hadhis yellow jacket open as usual, I was bundled up with a scarf, beanie, and my coat zipped up as high as it would go. Just because the blizzard was over didn’t mean the cold was gone. As we walked out the door, Maggie stared at Jack and me from the kitchen but made no attempt to follow us. This was something I had rarely seen with dogs. Usually, most of them wanted to join in on everything, but she seemed to know if it was her turn or not.

I locked the door behind me and stepped off the porch. After breakfast, I had spent twenty-five minutes shoveling a path across the front yard to the freshly plowed street. I buried my hands into my pockets while Jack had his out open in the cold without any mittens, holding onto Mrs. Candice’s book that he had promised to bring back to her today.

Dany pressed a button on the black remote control in his hand and watched as Jack’s light blue pickup rose into the air.Earlier, I had swept off as much of the snow as I could with an old broom Jack had given me, but there was still enough on the truck to create a small white cloud as it lifted.

“Happy New Year,” Jack called out to him.

“New Year, my ass. If it weren’t for this stupid blizzard, I’d be in my hot tub right now. But it’s good to see you.” Dany pressed a button, and the truck stopped, now hanging in the air, only the front tires on the ground.

“Did you check the exhaust?” Jack asked.

“For a minute, but I couldn’t see what the problem was. We’ll have to take a look at it in the garage.”

“Do you think you could?—”

“No, absolutely not. The earliest we’ll be able to get to it is tomorrow, but two to three days is much more realistic. I’m only towing because I had to come through here anyway, and we need Mr. Atchley to pick up his car from the lot. You’ll have to live with Laura’s Ford for a couple of days.”

“Won’t she need it?”

“No, she took some time off to be with her sister as much as possible.” His clenched eyebrows softened, and his voice calmed as a smile found its way onto his face. “The newest member of our family was so eager to celebrate this New Year’s Eve already that she came a little early.”

“Diane had her baby? Congratulations!” Jack beamed as he gave him a brotherly hug. “What’s the little bundle of joy’s name?”

All the happiness on Dany’s face gave way to a frown. “You don’t want to know. They named herAthena-Maeve.” Dany shook his head. “Something about honoring my brother-in-law’s heritage.” He waved his hands in the air and pointed to the front of his truck. “Well, let’s go, boys.”

Jack motioned for me to follow him around the truck and held the door open so I could climb in first. The truck hada three-seat layout with a two-person bench for passengers. Inside, the warm air carried the smell of coffee, inviting me to loosen my scarf a bit, and rock music blared from the radio.

Jack climbed into the seat beside me. He had to squeeze in so tight that his hip pressed against mine, pinning me between him and the center console.

Dany grunted as he heaved himself into the driver’s seat, making the whole tow truck shake. When he started the engine, the whole thing shook even harder, as if we were suddenly caught in an earthquake.

My hand intuitively searched for Jack’s leg, seeking the comfort I had come to rely on over the past few days. It lay there for five seconds before I noticed that both Jack and Dany were staring at what I had just done.

I pulled my hand back, but it was too late. I mumbled a “sorry” to Jack, who, confusingly enough, smiled at me as if I had just confessed my love to him.

Dany jerked the gear stick and let us roll forward. “Don’t worry about me,” he said. “I know small-town people don’t have the best reputation when it comes to gays. But this is the twenty-first century. The guy I rent a room to is gay. The couple that owns the gas station is gay. They are all good, sincere people.”

Jack took my hand and put it back on his knee. “Dany was one of the first to know when I came to town.”

“Only because my old man figured it out after a week of you helping out around the house.”

Jack blushed. “Dorian’s just too good at putting one and one together. But let’s leave it at that, shall we?”

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