Page 3 of Deception and New Direction

“Why a greyhound?” he inquired as we pulled out of the lot. “Iheard you tellEllielast night that the breed meant something to you.”

“My dad was involved in illegal greyhound racing back home inNevada,”Isighed, hating that my father was part of this. “Heused to work at the track.Hisjob was to take care of the dogs after the races, but because my dad also placed bets on them, he would be cruel to the ones who lost him money.Eventhe ones who didn’t, he wasn’t exactly nice to them.Aftermy mom died,Iwent with him and my brother a few times.Isaw him mistreat the dogs and spoke up.Healmost got fired—not for mistreating them, but for bringing me and causing a scene.Henever brought me back again, butIcouldn’t stand that he was so callous about hurting innocent animals.”

“People who abuse animals and children are the worst kind of humans,”Jackuttered, andIcouldn’t agree more.

“I told my granddad this during one of our many chats afterImoved here,”Itold him. “Hesaid he had a buddy who volunteered at a charity that helped find homes for former racing dogs when they were abandoned after they couldn’t race anymore.Hehad already been bugging me to get a dog soIwasn’t alone, butIdidn’t want to get one untilIcould devote enough time to caring for it.Ithink this was his sneaky way of getting me one sooner since he knew there was no wayIcould turn down a dog who had been a former racing dog.”

AndItruly believed that.Mygrandfather was kind and loved me, but he was also sneaky and clever enough to pull one over on me like this.

“Smart man,”Jacksaid.

Jack made me list off all the items we would need forDashand then asked a little more about my granddad, andIrealized how easy it was to talk to him.Wehad never really had small talk before.Generallyat work, we only spoke about work-related things.Itried to avoid being with him for anything else because he made me nervous, andIhated that this man had that power over me.

About thirty minutes later, we pulled up to my grandfather’s property.Helived on three acres in the same small farmhouse that he and my grandma raised my mom and auntLibbyin.Itwas old, but he’d taken care of it over the years, so it was still in really good shape.Hehad a fully fenced-in backyard for his dog to run around in, as well as a chicken coop and a small garden.

AsJackandIexited the car and walked up the steps to the wrap around front porch, my grandfather met us at the door.

“Dumped the old boyfriendIsee,” my granddad said by way of a greeting.

“Hi,Granddad.Niceto see you too,”Ireplied then walked up to give him a hug. “ThisisJack.He’shere to help me getDashand everythingI’llneed for him sinceIcan’t fit it in my car.

“Well, maybe if you drove something bigger than a golf cart, you wouldn’t need to keep having your boyfriends drive you everywhere,”Granddadretorted.

I sighed and turned toJack, who was standing behind me with a smirk on his face.

“Jack, meet my cheeky and stubborn granddad.”

“I’m the stubborn one?Jim, you listen here,” my grandfather said, intentionally getting his name wrong just to irritate me. “Thishellcat came out of the womb stubborn and has only gotten worse since then.”

“Good to know.”Jacksmiled then reached out to offer his hand to my granddad. “Niceto meet you, sir.I’mJackHutchinson.”

My grandfather took it and shook it in return then told us to come on in the house.Hehad just put the dogs out in the backyard and told us to come have a drink first before we brought them back inside.Ashe closed the door, he spoke toJack.

“Hope you aren’t in a rush, butI’dlike a few minutes to enjoy my granddaughter’s company,” he said, andIknew full well he didn’t care one bit ifJackwas indeed in a rush or not.

“My granddaughter here is the only familyI’vegot left who lives in theUS.MydaughterLibbylives inGermanywith herAirForcehusband,”Granddadexplained, andInoted he didn’t say anything about my brother, even thoughJasonwas also alive.

“The headquarters in westernGermany?”Jackasked my grandfather.

“Yeah…”Mygranddad seemed shocked byJack’squestion. “YouAirForcetoo?”

“No.I’manArmyman, butIhave a friend stationed there,”Jackreplied, andIswearIsaw my grandfather’s eyes twinkle.

“Ruthie,Ilike this one better than the other one you brought home.Thisone’s a keeper.Getrid of the dimwit pretty boy,” my granddad said as he turned to me, andIknew the “other one” he was referring to wasArcher.

“Archer isn’t a dimwit,Granddad, thoughI’mdefinitely telling him you called him a pretty boy,”Ichuckled.

“I hope you do,” he countered. “Andmake sure you tell himIlike his replacement a lot better for dating my granddaughter.”

I rolled my eyes and sighed. “He’snot my boyfriend.Neitherof them are.Bothof them are my coworkers, andJackis here to help me withDash.”

I looked over to seeJackwith a small grin pulling at his face.Hewas clearly enjoying this embarrassing display my grandfather was putting on.

“Son, as a fellowArmyman myself,Igive you my full approval and blessing for whenever the time comes you pull your head out of your ass and ask my granddaughter out on a proper date.”Mygranddad pointed toJack.

“Duly noted, sir,”Jackreplied, his previous grin now a full-blownCheshirecat smile.

“Ugh.I’mgoing to the backyard to getDash, and then we are leaving,”Iannounced to the room asImade my way to the back door, hoping neither man could see my face, which was now likely turning deep red.

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