by Trina Solet
"You guys going for a drive?" Wyatt asked.
"We are," Julian told him.
"You kids on your way to school?" Rob asked the kids as he rolled down the car window on Danny's side and leaned over.
A chorus of answers from the kids confirmed it. Then Riley asked. "Where are you going, Danny?"
Danny leaned forward to answer him, "We're going to the other town, where they have the doggies!"
"We're going to Ashbury," Rob told them since they seemed puzzled by this town full of doggies.
"That's over there," Sammy said, and she and the other kids all pointed in different directions while Wyatt shook his head. "I went there lots of times, but I never saw any doggies."
"Me neither," Riley chimed in. "I only saw one dog and another dog."
The adults tried to make sense of his nonsensical claim then gave up. But Danny didn't like what he was hearing. He frowned at Rob and Julian worriedly.
"We'll find where they keep the doggies. Don't worry," Rob reassured him.
"I know where it is and how to get there," Julian told Danny and gave him a smile.
"Good luck, guys," Wyatt told them. He could probably figure out why they were going to look at the doggies, but knew not to say anything. "Lets get you to school. You guys have a lot to learn, like geography."
"Have a good day at school," Rob said to the kids and they all waved. Danny waved back even after he couldn't see them any more.
"I don't go to school," Danny said once he was done waving.
"But you will," Rob told him.
"With everyone?" Danny wondered.
"Yes, with everyone. You'll have lots of fun," Rob told him.
Until now, Julian expected Danny to be apprehensive about school, but seeing all those kids going there together made him want to go too. That was very different from the way he had been at daycare, where the unkind children made him shrink back inside himself.
Judging by his own unhappy experience at school, Julian had assumed that it might always be like that for Danny too. That was obviously a mistake. He couldn't let his own skewed expectations cast a shadow over his little brother.
Glancing into the rearview mirror, Julian caught Rob's eye. Looking into those deep, green eyes, Julian felt that Rob was the key to him finding his way. If Rob would only stay with them, live the small town life a little longer despite the kind of social life he must be missing, Julian knew everything would turn out well.
Ashbury was significantly bigger than Peach Tree, but not so big that they could easily get lost in it. They found Dr. Vallarta's office easily and were soon sitting in the colorful waiting room.
"I'll go in first," Julian said to Danny when the receptionist told him he could go in. "You stay here with Rob. I'll be back soon."
Going inside the bright and cheerful office, he found that Dr. Vallarta was fairly young for a psychologist. She carried herself confidently and greeted Julian with a firm handshake and a warm smile. They sat to talk for a while and Julian eyed the play area, where she would probably be talking to Danny.
"I've been in touch with Danny's previous therapist. Dr Sadler sings your praises," she told him.
"He does?" Julian said as he turned back to face her.
"He saw a marked improvement once you entered Danny's life," she said.
"Danny is coming out of his shell more every day. And today we'll be visiting an animal shelter to see if we can adopt a dog. He did well when he met some dogs from the neighborhood. You don't see a problem with that, do you?" It was a question in form only and Dr. Vallarta noticed.
"You don't want to hear any objections to this, do you?" she said and raised an eyebrow at him.
"No," he admitted. "Danny doesn't know we're adopting, only that we're visiting some dogs, so we'll see how it goes."
"As long as you don't rush into anything, it should be fine," Dr. Vallarta said and made some sort of note.
"I don't rush in as a general rule," Julian said, but he could think of a recent job offer he made at record speed. And he invited Rob to move in as well, like he had to grab the man for himself right then and there.
That's not what he told Dr. Vallarta as he described Danny's current living situation and that Rob was helping with him. They went over a few more things, then Julian went to get Danny.
The little guy was still apprehensive, but his reaction to Dr. Vallarta was generally positive. Still, Julian had a feeling he wouldn't be too chatty his first time speaking with her.
Waiting outside with Rob, Julian was antsy and had to read the emails he was going over several times. Rob wasn't much better. At one point he huffed and said, "With this and the animal shelter, I feel like I'm going to have to keep my fingers crossed all day today."
"So I need to reassure you?" Julian asked with a grin.
Rob mumbled something in reply, and Julian could swear he said something about holding his hand. No. He must have misheard.
Once the session was over and Danny ran out, Rob seemed as relieved as Julian.
"Are we gonna go see the doggies?" Danny asked.
"Yes, we are," Julian told him, while he watched for any signs that he was upset. He seemed fine, just obsessed with the doggies.
When Julian had a few words with Dr. Vallarta, she told him, "It's remarkable that he has already made some friends."
"So he told you. I think we lucked into meeting some nice people," Julian told her.
Since it was only his first session, Dr. Vallarta seemed cautiously optimistic and told Julian to take things slowly. New they were free to go and Danny couldn't wait to get to the animal shelter.
Located on a little traveled street, Ashbury Animal Shelter was tucked away behind a carpet store and an insurance office. The place was pretty small. Julian wasn't sure they could find the right dog for Danny there.
As they went in, the woman sitting at the only desk was on the phone and looking at a computer monitor at the same time. While they waited and looked around, Danny was nervous and Julian was too. Rob pointed out the corkboard on one wall, which featured photos of pets and people as well as thank you letters and postcards. The proof of happy adoptions raised Julian's hopes a little.
Danny peered all around. "Where are the doggies?" They could hear them barking, though it didn't sound like there were a lot of them.
"I think they're in the back," Julian told him.
The woman on the phone, whose nameplate read Devina and nothing more, covered the mouthpiece and asked them, "You here to meet some little friends?"
"We are," Julian told her.
"I'll be right with you." Soon she was off the phone and showing them into an area in the back. "Meet the kids," she said and waved the three of them toward the pens and cages in there.
Only a few animals were in the cages. Most were in the pens and getting along OK. With Julian holding his hand, Danny peered at the cats then the dogs then settled himself in front of one cage and wouldn't budge.
Signs warned them that there was no petting allowed, not to reach inside the pens or cages, and not too feed the animals. Rob told Danny about the rules but he didn't need the warnings. He didn't try to do any of those things. He just stared at the Yorkie in the cage in front of him while the little dog barked at him and pawed at the cage door. As the dog tried to push its nose through the gaps in the cage, Devina came over and crossed her arms as she eyed Danny.
"Has that little guy made his choice already?" she said in wonder.
"I guess so. Can you tell me about that dog?" Julian asked as he went over to stand with her a little away from Danny, Rob and the little dog. He was worried there might be some problem and he didn't want Danny to overhear.
"His name is Lenny, and he's a sweetheart. We just got him. His mommy passed recently. She was old and frail. He misses her, but he is very friendly," Devina said.
"Why is he in the cage?" Julian wondered.
"Just 'cause he's new. We want to make sure the newbies can get along. You
think you might want him?" she asked.
"I think so. Is there a procedure with approval and a home visit?" Julian asked.
"We don't have the people for that. You want him, you get to take him home," she said. "There is a fee, you understand. It helps to keep this place running."
That seemed too easy. "That's no problem, but we can take him home today? Really?"
"We don't get that many people coming in here. We will need some references though," she said, so there was an obstacle.
"Do they need to be local references?" Julian wondered.
"That's what we like," Devina told him.
"We only just moved here," Julian said. Mrs. York, the orchard attendant, could be a reference, but she worked for him and he hated to bother her while she was out of town. Other than her, Julian had kept in contact with the sheriff and a few other people but not in person.
"You do know a few people," Rob pointed out as he came over. He must have overheard and now he was making a list of who they knew. "Mitch and Rico, Lara, Noreen, the Hayes's, Mrs. Del Rio."
"You know Mrs. Del Rio. 'Nuff said," Devina told them.
"A reference from her would work?" Julian asked.
"Sure will. Let me call her up," Devina said and went out front again to sit at her desk. "What's your name?"
"Julian Brenner," he said as he followed her and left Danny in Rob's care. He overheard Devina talking to Mrs. Del Rio at length, laughing it up with her. Once she was done, she got down to the paperwork, handing Julian a clipboard and made a copy of his ID.
While Julian filled out forms, the dog was let out of the cage and put on a leash, so Danny could get introduced to him.
"This is Lenny. Say hi to him," Devina said to Danny.
"We're going to take him home and he's going to be your dog. Do you think you can take care of him?" Julian asked.
"Yes," Danny said but he looked overwhelmed by the awesome responsibility.
"Don't worry. Julian and I will help," Rob told him.
"Yes, we will. Do you want to say hi to Lenny?" Julian asked and took him closer to the tiny dog.
Danny crouched in front of the dog, who rose up to rest his front paws on Danny's knees.
"Hi, Lenny. I'm Danny. I'm gonna be your friend," he whispered to the little dog and Julian wanted to cry.
Rob was right next to him and he nudged Julian with his shoulder. "Love at first sight," he said.
Julian could only nod. Seeing Danny already smitten with that little dog and having Rob beside him combined to choke him up with emotion. Though he couldn't speak, Julian knew he had to hold it together.
As they watched Danny with the dog and waited for Devina to print up some paperwork and instructions, Rob shook his head. "I can't believe it. Do we really get to take him home?" he asked like he was the kid.
"It looks like it," Julian told him with an amused smile. He expected a lot more red tape, but he wasn't going to question the shelter's methods if it got them Lenny to take home right away.
"We'll have to do some shopping," Rob said.
"There is a pet store not too far from here," Julian said after looking it up on his phone.
"Oh and they let you bring dogs inside a pet store, right?" Rob asked. "This will be great."
"I get the distinct impression that you wanted a dog when you were a kid," Julian said to him.
"Yeah, but we never had one. My mom was afraid of them." Rob looked so sad, and it wasn't about not having a dog. Julian had noticed that his expression turned sad any time he mentioned his mom.
The shopping trip was a big hit with Danny, especially the toys they got for Lenny. They grabbed lunch on the go, and Danny let Lenny eat some dry dog food from his hand. That made Julian worry, but Danny laughed and looked so happy.
Back in the car, Rob got to hold Lenny in the back seat. They didn't want to put him in the crate they got.
Danny leaned over from his car seat and kissed the dog on the head. "That's like Julian kissing my head." He pointed to his own head then turned to Rob. "You can kiss Lenny too," Danny said generously.
"Oh, I can," Rob said then he did. "He's nice and soft."
As soon as they got home, Julian went straight to his office to attend to business, and Rob and Danny took Lenny for his first walk. Julian wished he could go with them, but he had work to catch up on.
"What did I miss?" Julian asked when Rob came into the office after their walk.
"Danny is watching Lenny drinking his water. He can't get enough of that dog. I took pictures of their first walk," Rob told him then he came around to his side of the desk and showed him his phone. "Here's Lenny sniffing your car. I think he wanted to pee on a tire or two, but we didn't let him. Here's Danny making a face while Lenny does his business."
As Rob kept showing him more and more pictures from just one short walk, Julian had to ask, "How many did you take?"
"I couldn't help it," Rob said then he showed him some more. "Here is a picture of Danny and Lenny and here is Lenny and Danny."
"You covered all the bases," Julian told him while being very aware of Rob leaning over him, their heads close as they looked at the rest of the photos.
"I'll upload them for you," Rob said, finally reaching the end.
"Thank you," Julian said as Rob left to go check on Danny and his new friend.
Now that Rob wasn't standing so close to him, Julian let out a long breath. What he was feeling wasn't relief though. It was more like regret. He could breathe easier now, but he would rather still be in that moment of tension, not breathing, so close to Rob that his scent and his body heat were inescapable.
Chapter 11
Lenny was sniffing at everything in the library, and Danny had been instructed not to let him chew on anything or pee on anything. From the office, Rob and Julian kept an eye on the two of them while they worked.
Julian might have told Rob to use the big office, but Rob spent most of his time in the smaller office with him or with Danny and his new buddy. Rob was fine with that. Being close to Julian didn't make doing his job easier, but he couldn't deny himself the thrill of temptation.
In late afternoon, they were done with work and it was time to take Lenny for another walk. This time Julian came with them.
"Lenny made a stinky," Danny announced and pointed to it in the grass.
"Oh, man," Rob said as he got the bag ready, but Julian took it from him.
"I'll deal with it.
"You have the best big brother in the world," Rob told Danny.
Danny nodded and beamed at Julian, who looked kind of nauseous as he picked up the fresh dog deposit.
When they got to the house, Julian washed his hands for about an hour straight. Coming over to where Lenny was drinking from his brand new dog bowl while Rob and Danny stood watch, Julian frowned at his phone then he sighed.
"We have an invitation to drop by Mitch and Rico's," Julian announced. "I was texting with Mitch about the work over here, and I mentioned the new dog. Then he mentioned it to Rico, and now we have to go over to their house or else. What do you say?" Julian raised those pretty, brown eyes to Rob.
"I don't see why not," Rob said then he consulted Danny. "You want to show Sammy your new dog?"
Danny was eager to show him off.
"We can stop by their house and then go out to dinner," Julian said. "Or maybe get takeout?"
"We can play it by ear," Rob said as they both looked down at Lenny. "I'll go get ready."
"All three of us should go get ready," Julian said but Danny held up four fingers.
"It's four. Four. We have Lenny," Danny reminded him.
"Four. Right," Julian said with a smile.
Driving down a long driveway, they arrived in front of a two-story house where Rico, Mitch and Sammy were waiting for them in front. Sammy was already jumping with excitement as they got out of the car.
Plastic Halloween pumpkins were lined up on the porch but not lit. "It's Halloween here already," Rob said as
they went up to introduce Lenny.
"They're friendly pumpkins. They won't scare you," Sammy said. She seemed to be talking to Lenny, but she was right. Their jack o'lantern faces were pretty goofy looking.
Lenny had proved to be pretty easy to manage, so Julian let Danny hold his leash as he was introduced. "His name is Lenny," Danny said as Sammy got down for a close look.
"I like him. He's nice," Sammy said and Danny was pleased. Lenny was pretty happy too, jumping between them.
"Lenny wants to be friends with you," Danny told her.
"He needs something for his hair. He can have my scrunchie." Sammy took off the small scrunchie that held a little bit of her hair to one side. Mitch helped her put it on the dog. It made Lenny's hair stick up but it kept it out of his eyes. "You can keep it, Lenny," she said to the dog.
"So you got a little dog," Mitch said as he crouched in front of Lenny. When he rose up on his back legs, Mitch held his paws.
"How did you pick him?" Rico asked as he got down and petted the dog.
"He was talking to me," Danny told him.
"He was?"
"Mostly he said yip, yip, yip," Rob said and Danny nodded.
"Come meet the cats," Rico told them.
With the kids and Lenny leading the way, they followed a wrap around porch to the back of the house.
"That little guy seems like he's going to be a really good fit," Mitch said as he watched the dog trotting along between the kids.
"I wanted a small, friendly dog for Danny. And we got exactly that with Lenny," Julian said.
"You sure did," Rico said. "Mitch could carry him around in his pocket."
"Don't look down on that dog," Rob told him.
"How do I not look down on him? He doesn't even come up to my ankles," Rico claimed.
"He is going to be good company for Danny. That's all that matters," Julian told him.