Page 48 of Saving Veronica
Ronnie wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “Yuck.”
“Yeah, don’t get me wrong, if I thought I had a fighting chance then maybe, but there’s something about him that makes me believe that he’ll keep his two lives separate. Work and home.” Lorna used her hands in a chopping motion as she said the two words. “Besides,” she paused then grinned at Ronnie. “Starting next week Marc and I will be working closely with Finn to get this fundraiser off the ground. I won’t bore you with the details, but it’s going to be intense. We only have until the end of October to pull it off.”
“Wow.” Ronnie shook her head at a loss for words. “Not that I mind, but what brought you out today?”
“I wanted to tell you my news, and I was wondering if I could discuss my homework with you.” Lorna grinned as she reached into her beach bag and pulled out a thick binder. “I know it looks big, but it’s not really. I went a step further. You told me to write things down. I did that, but if you remember I’m a visual person. This notebook is ideas of what I want.” She passed it over to her friend, and as Ronnie opened it, Lorna jumped to her feet and refilled their coffee. She screamed when she turned back around and saw the bird on the back of her chair.
“Awk! Don’t eat the bird! Awk!”
Ronnie bent over laughing, while Lorna scowled at the bird as she grabbed the towel off the table and mopped up the mess she’d made.
“What the hell is that?”
“That’s my birthday present,” Ronnie said, and held out her finger. Both women watched as the bird climbed on, then went to Ronnie’s shoulder. “This is Captain. He’s a McCaw, just like Kip was. Captain’s not quite a year old yet, and I’m teaching him to talk and to fly with a tether. I’m sure I’ll teach him other things too, but that’s all for now. Slow, baby steps.”
“Why did he say not to eat him?”
“I had him in the barn earlier, I introduced him to the horses. One of the barn cats took a swipe at him with their paw. I yelled at the cat not to eat the bird.”
“Works for me.” Lorna giggled and leaned in so close that she touched noses with the animal. “I won’t eat you if you don’t shit on my head.”
“Awk! Don’t shit! Awk! Don’t shit! Awk!”
“Thanks a lot, Lorna.” Ronnie shook her head in amusement.
“What are friends for?” Lorna laughed and watched her friend go through her dream book. They spent the rest of the morning and into the afternoon going over it, where Ronnie asked questions and Lorna answered them. By the time she put everything away for the night, Lorna said she was happy with the decisions.
“I don’t like to do this at home. I think Mother goes through my things. I’ve done the whole book at the library. I even keep this bag locked in my trunk. Now, I just have to grab the Sunday paper and look to see what is available.”
“Pick it up tomorrow and come back out. I’m sure we can find something, or at least get an idea of what you’re wanting.”
“Thanks, Ronnie.” Lorna hugged her friend and left shortly after. Ronnie made herself a sandwich and settled in to read her homework.
Chapter 16
Finn and Patch pulled into the driveway at the Pennyworths’ and were directed where to park. “Thanks for driving, man. I’m sure I could have gotten it.” Finn grinned when Patch snorted.
“Yeah, right. Broken left ankle, in a cast, and a clutch. Not a good combination, bro.”
Finn laughed and held Patch back. He called Major forward and winked at Patch’s frown. “Major, you’re going to meet a lady today. If her owner likes you, you might be able to become a daddy soon. So you have to be on your best behavior.”
Major looked over at Patch, who was choking back a laugh, and actually rolled his eyes. Patch lost it. “You tell him that every time before he gets laid? Scare the guy for Christ’s sake.”
Finn punched him in the arm and they exited the truck. They slowly made their way to where a bunch of guys were standing, and Finn stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a female dog that he swore was Major. The only thing different was she had blue eyes and Major had green.
“Holy hell,” Patch said, as he saw the same thing. They slowly made their way up and when they were five feet away, Finn held out his hand toward the dog.
“Hey, pretty lady.” She looked up at the man beside her, who gave her a nod, and Finn watched as everyone turned to observe the female dog approach Finn. When she sniffed his hand and wagged her tail, he rubbed her down like he did Major. “You’re a pretty lady. What’s your name?”
“Molly,” came a gruff voice, and he looked up and saw the man was looking behind Finn. He looked over his shoulder and saw Major standing there.
“Major, come meet Molly.” He held out his hand, and for the first time in all the years he’s known him, he acted shy.
“Performance anxiety?” Patch leaned down and asked. He thought he’d been quiet, but others burst out laughing.
“How old?” Norm asked, and went down on his haunches. “I’m Norm, by the way.”
“Finn. And he’s Major. He’s seven.”
