Page 3 of V is for Valentine
“What happened this weekend? Wait…the date with Muff?”
She let out a breath and nodded.
“It didn’t go well?”
She laid her hands back on the table, leaning forward as she said, “How good can a date be when it puts an innocent old man in the hospital with a broken leg?”
Danny sat up straighter as he put two and two together. “No. What?”
She nodded as she sat back in her chair. “You know what a goof Bonzo is.”
Her teenage Labrador retriever was a bit of a handful.
“Matt and I were walking in the park, Bonzo got loose, and when I called him back, he skidded into this older man from behind, knocked him down and broke his leg.”
Danny closed his eyes.
“What?” Sandra demanded.
“I think that guy is my neighbor.”
“Pete Evans?”
“Yep.”
“And the woman I waved at?”
“His daughter.”
She jumped to her feet. “I have to apologize.”
“Later.”
“Later?”
Danny pushed back his chair and stood. “She just drove in from Seattle. She’s exhausted. Not the best time.” His mouth tightened on one side. “Trust me, she’s better after she’s had some sleep.”
“Better?”
“Less lethal.”
Sandra’s eyebrows shot up, and Danny gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’m kidding.” A little bit, anyway. “We grew up together. I know her very, very well. She won’t blame you for what a big pup did.”
He was certain of that, just as he was certain that if he’d been on the scene, she might have taken a shot at blaming him. It was how things were between them. Had always been between them.
Sandra stared down at his mom’s new kitchen floor for a moment, then raised her gaze, her expression thoughtful. “When I visited Pete in the hospital yesterday to apologize, he said it was an accident. My insurance is covering his bills.”
“There you go. You’ve apologized to Pete. You don’t need to deal with his relatives immediately, too. Especially the ones who need some sleep.”
“Pete’s other daughter runs the animal shelter, right?”
“Forever Home. Right. So if anyone understands that it isn’t your fault, it would be the Evans family.”
Sandra let out a sigh. “All right. I’ll hold off on the familial apologies. But I’m still sending over a big basket of snack stuff when Pete gets discharged.”
“Good plan.” Danny’s head came up at the sound of an engine starting nearby. He craned his neck and saw a flash of red through the living room window as Felicity’s sports car pulled out onto the street. Was she heading to the hospital? Or to the worksite?
“I have another appointment,” Sandra said, and he was glad to see that she looked a bit more convinced that things would be okay with the Evans family. “I’ll be in touch.”
