Page 93 of Will Bark for Pizza
“His parents?”
“A problem he left behind a long time ago.”
“He’s lucky to have you, then.”
I heard the clink of an ice cube, as though someone took a drink. It was my cue to leave, but the next thing Pauline said froze me right in my tracks.
“What’s up with that daughter of yours? The redhead.”
Her tone made me flinch. I held my breath, desperate to know what this woman had against me. Because with a question like that, she obviously had some reservations about me that weren’t entirely in my own head. And why the hell did it matter? Beckett and I had agreed to just be friends. I didn’t need her approval for that.
That didn’t seem to stop me from wanting it, though.
“Still can’t get used to that hair,” Dad said, his tone amused.
“Beck’s prone to the redheaded curse. Just want to make sure she’s?—”
The sliding door to the patio opened, alerting me I was about to get caught if I didn’t move.Dammit. I scurried up the stairs, bribing Husker with the promise of treats so he didn’t give us away.
TWENTY-EIGHT
BECKETT
“Where’s Aunt Kira?”Opal asked as I set a couple of camping chairs between the metal patio furniture already stationed around the firepit to accommodate the additional guests. Connor’s daughter insisted we have an epic s’mores night before she headed off to summer camp tomorrow so she’d be a pro at it, and no one, Nana included—I swear, that woman was immune to jetlag—had the heart to turn her down.
“I think she took Husker for a walk,” I said, remembering the two disappearing into the woods earlier. Maybe it was a good thing Nana was here, because the urge to join Kira for that walk was overpowering. More so since we agreed to bejust friends.
“They’re back,” Opal said, matter-of-fact.
I scanned the patio, but no one else seemed interested in Kira’s whereabouts. Luke was chopping wood, and Connor was carrying the split pieces to the firepit.Dale was a dozen yards away, arms folded and deep in conversation on the phone.
Kira might be inside helping Nana and Connie with the s’mores fixings. Or she might be upstairs, hiding from everyone. She did that a lot, isolated herself, even though she loved her family. I didn’t know much about her past, but I certainly knew a thing or two about healing from one.
I remembered the panic attack at the bookstore, and my pulse doubled.
What if something was wrong?
“I’ll go check on her.”
“Bring a treat for Husker,” Opal said, reaching into her pocket and handing me a bone-shaped morsel, as though she knew I had yet to fill my own pockets.
“Thanks.”
I took the stairs to the second floor two at a time, waiting until I reached the end of the hall to call her name. Her door was closed, but I knocked anyway.
I saw the paw under the door first.
“Beckett?” Her voice sounded off, and I went on high alert at the strangled sob. It reminded me of the times Madeline admitted defeat with our parents when we were younger, after they showed their true colors and broke her heart once again.
“Can I come in?”
“Please go away.”
Hand resting on the knob, I leaned my head against the door. If she didn’t want me to come in, I would leave her. But I had a sneaking suspicion she really didn’t want to be alone right now.
“Please, Kira?”
After several beats of silence, she finally said, “Okay.”
