Page 47 of Survive the Night
“We’re never getting the puppies back, are we?” Otto asked.
“Never,” Grace, Jules, and Hugh chorused.
Jules patted Otto’s hand. “Sorry.”
He gave her a small smile. Honestly, Sarah didn’t think Otto was too torn up that the puppies had been confiscated. He had too much on his plate as it was, and getting up every three hours for feedings on top of all his other responsibilities would’ve been brutal.
“Thank you for taking care of them,” Sarah said, looking around the table. “We miss them, but it’s nice having sleep.”
“We’ve been trading off.” Grace took a sip of her coffee. “It’s still rough, but they’re cute, so that makes up for it.”
“I think that’s what new mothers say, too.” Jules grinned until one of the other customers called her name. “Sorry. I’ll get your food. Sarah, what would you like? I know everyone else’s orders.”
“The pancakes, please. With strawberries.”
“Whipped cream?”
Her instinct was to say no, since her father or her brother would’ve made some comment about how she needed to be careful not to get fat, but then she remembered that she was free. She could eat whatever she wanted to eat. She could be whatever size she wanted to be. “Yes, please. Extra whipped cream.”
As if she could read Sarah’s thoughts, Jules’s smile grew huge and supportive. “You’ve got it.”
“You like pancakes?” Otto asked her.
“They’re my favorite breakfast food.” She noticed that everyone was quiet, listening to their exchange, and she looked around the table. In her previous life, she’d hated it when the focus was on her. It never turned out well. Now, though, her new friends all looked relaxed and interested in what she had to say. It was different from before, but she still shifted a little, unsure if she liked the attention or not. It was a lot to get used to.
“I’ll make them for you,” he said. “You’ll like my pancakes.”
“I’m sure I will.” The words were out, thick with innuendo, before she could think twice. Hugh was grinning ear to ear, and Grace tossed a balled-up napkin at him.
“See? That’s how normal people flirt,” she said. “There’s no yelling involved.”
Hugh caught the napkin. “If I were normal, you wouldn’t love me so much.”
Eyeing him for a long moment, Grace finally shrugged. “Not a lie.”
Theo, in uniform, pulled up a chair to the end of the table.
“Careful,” Hugh warned, reaching down to shift the puppies’ carrier away from Theo’s feet.
“Of what?” After glancing under the table, he refocused on Hugh, his eyes narrow. “Are those the puppies?”
“Shh!” Everyone except Hugh shushed him.
“Why are they here?” Theo looked at the carrier again, and his frown deepened. “There’s not an outlet down there. Don’t they have their heating pad? They’re going to get cold.”
“We put a couple of hand warmers under their blankets,” Hugh said. “They’re fine. If they weren’t fine, they wouldn’t be quietly sleeping. They’re not shy about letting us know when they’re cold—or hungry or too warm or in any way not comfortable.”
Although Theo’s grunt sounded like grudging agreement, he still didn’t look happy. “I should’ve taken them to work with me.”
“You can’t bring puppies on calls with you.” Jules popped up next to him to pour a cup of coffee and kiss him on the cheek. “The puppies are fine with Hugh. We trust him to babysit the kids. The health inspector might close the viner down, but the puppies will be okay.”
“I thought you weren’t going to let me babysit the kids anymore after the cat incident,” Hugh said.
“That’s Otto,” Jules corrected before rushing off to serve another table.
“Hey,” Otto said mildly. “I didn’t find the cat. If I hadn’t gotten it down, Dee would’ve climbed up herself.”
Theo shrugged slightly as he took a drink of his coffee. “She’s just kidding. You’re still our second pick after Grace.”
