“No, I’m not. I love animals, but I’ve already got more than I can handle.” He swung his free hand wide, indicating the shop, the land. “I have to get this place in shape. That’s my business, my bread and butter. I’m living in a house that isn’t mine and could use a little work, and I’m being very kind there. On top of that, I’ve got a baby who doesn’t like to sleep, a sister in rehab for alcoholism, and a mother recovering from a stroke. And none of that’s whining. It’s fact. Period.”
“Are you done?”
“Probably. You want a home for this pup?” He held it out. “Take him. He’s yours.”
Molly backed up a step. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
She tapped his totally out-of-proportion paws. “He’ll grow into those feet. I have a small apartment and no yard.”
He simply stared at her.
“Come on, Brant. Bubbles wouldn’t survive a puppy.”
“I don’t have a house.”
“Yes, you do. Lem won’t care.” She laid a hand on the puppy’s head and stared at Brant with sad eyes.
“I’m already cleaning up baby poo. Why would I want something else that’s not housebroken?”
“I actually know the answer to that,” Molly said.
“Oh, you do, do you?”
“Yes. Research shows a pet nurtures a child’s EQ.”
“His EQ?”
“Emotional quotient, how well he’s developing. Kids need pets.”
“Lainey won’t take it when she comes for the runt.”
“Probably not, but by then I don’t think you’ll want her to.”
“You’re wrong. Molly, I can’t.” His gut ached. “I lost Henry, my collie, a few months ago. He kept me company for fifteen years, first at the house, then as our shop dog. I can’t go through that again.”
With a sigh, he set the puppy down in the grass.
He tripped over Brant’s foot, skidded, and fell, whimpering.
Molly cried out.
Brant stood, head back. What difference would it make to take in one more stray? He plucked it up and got a quick swipe of stinky dog tongue in thanks.
Molly wrapped an arm around his waist and buried her head in his shoulder. “Thank you. I knew you wouldn’t let him die.”
“You’re being melodramatic.”
“No, I’m not. He’d have starved or been hit by the first car to come along.”
“We’ll make him the new shop dog. What do you say to that, Lug Nut?”
“Lug Nut? What kind of a name is that?”
“It’s spot-on. If he’s gonna work at the shop, he needs a name that fits. Unless you want to take him with you.” He held out the dog again. “In that case, you can name him anything you want. If he stays here, it’s my call.”
“Fine. I’m sure the name will make sense to somebody.”
“It absolutely will.” He frowned. “Do you think he’ll get along with Jax?”
“You’ll have to watch them, but Labs are great with kids.”
“I must be insane.” Closing in on the shop, he placed the dog at his feet again. Two steps, and Lug Nut somehow managed to step on his own ear, tumbling head over heels. Brant jammed his hands in his pockets. “Guess this means another trip to town, for dog supplies. Between the pup and the baby, I’m gonna be penniless.”
“I’ll buy what you need. I’m the one who talked you into keeping him.”
“Nah. I’ll pick it up on my way to day care, but he needs a bath before Jax starts chewing on him.” The pup’s needle-sharp teeth caught the hem of Brant’s jeans, and he backed up, growling and shaking his head.
Reaching down, Brant pulled him loose. “This should be fun. Which of you will win the chewing game? Of course, Jax has no teeth yet, so he’ll probably just pull your ears off.”
“What?”
“I’m kidding, Molly! Have you no sense of humor?”
She met his gaze. “No.”
“What am I going to do with you?”
“I ask myself that all the time.”
He chuckled. “Come by tonight. With a kid and a new pup, I can’t leave. Take pity on me.”
“I’ll bring dinner.”
*
When Molly got back to the store, she sent Lettie off to have lunch and run some errands. Almost instantly, she regretted it. A group of five friends had driven up from the city, and they came ready to shop. She sold them lingerie, jewelry, and shoes.
They’d barely left when the door opened again to a newly engaged woman and her mother. The bride and her fiancé had booked Magnolia House for their upcoming wedding, and Amy hoped to buy her dress in Misty Bottoms.
She rejected the first one before Molly even had it zipped. Five dresses later, the bride fell in love with an ivory tulle mermaid gown with a court train, appliqués, and pearl beading. Lettie returned in time to discuss the necessary alterations.
When five o’clock finally rolled around, Molly was for once happy to lock up.
A woman on a mission, she stopped at the store and bought a teething ring in case Brant had forgotten. She also grabbed a small rawhide bone to give Lug Nut something to chew on besides Brant’s jeans.
Then she ran into Dee-Ann’s to pick up dinner. She’d hoped to sneak upstairs to put something together, but since that didn’t happen, she’d called in an order.
“Hi, Dee-Ann.”
“Had a busy day, did you?”
“And how.”
“Well, your dinner’s all ready. There’s meat loaf and mashed potatoes, with an extra scoop for Jax. I put the gravy in a separate container, so you can add it yourself.”
“Thank you!”
“Everything will travel well, and you can heat it up in the microwave,” Dee-Ann said. “There’re two big slices of coconut cake, too. Tell that man of yours I said hello.”
“Oh, but—”
The bell in the kitchen rang.
“Gotta go. That’s the pastor’s order, and he’s in a hurry tonight.”
Bags in hand, Molly stepped outside. Her man? Brant wasn’t her man. He couldn’t be.
She headed to his house, her mind moving faster than the car.
He’d been right today. His plate was heaped until she didn’t know how he kept it all from tumbling off.
But he wasn’t the only one with a lot going on.
After the busy afternoon, she’d run upstairs to change and found the message light blinking. Her dad. Guilt nagged over not returning his call.
She would tomorrow and give him a rundown on the business and do what she could to ease his mind about her ability to repay the loan on time.
This thing with Brant was even more unsettling.
Now that he was living and working here, things had changed. They no longer had a preset expiration date. And when they did finally call it quits—and didn’t the idea of that make her want to hop into bed and pull the covers over her head—it would suck big time.
In a town the size of Misty Bottoms, they’d run into each other constantly. Brant would eventually find someone else and settle down. Make babies.
Taking a turn too fast, she watched their food bag slide across the seat. She slowed and willed it not to tip over.
It didn’t, and she let out a big breath.
Her mind churned out another thought. Maybe, after his stint with Jax, he’d decide on a life of chastity, unwilling to risk a baby.
She groaned. What a waste that would be, like locking away a national treasure. Maybe she’d experience a little of that national treasure after the baby went down for the night.
Ugh! She slapped herself on the forehead. That was exactly the problem.
How could she ever walk away from Brant Wylder?
All the turmoil in her mind settled when she pulled up in front of Brant’s and caught sight of him on the front porch. He sat in the old rocker, reading. Lug Nut was asleep at his feet, a teddy bear in his mouth, and Jax banged a rattle on his new swing.
She
opened her car door, and Lug Nut woke with a start, tearing off the porch to greet her. Kneeling, she rubbed his ears, which Jax hadn’t pulled off. “You look and smell a whole lot better than the last time I saw you, puppy.”
Reaching inside the car, she pulled out the small bone and held it out to him. He dropped the bear and nipped the bone between his teeth. Then he wrestled with the bear, trying to get it in his mouth, too. Finally, he dropped to the ground where he was, paws on the bear, bone in his mouth.
“What’s with Teddy?”
“Jax tossed it at him, and the scrawny little thing adopted it. I don’t have the heart to take it from him.” Brant stood. “Need help?”
“Nope, I’ve got this.” She gathered the bags and held them up. “Not quite home-cooked, but…” She shrugged. “The shop got crazy busy. I sold a wedding gown.”
“That’s great, Mol.”
“It is.”
The pup abandoned the bear and scrambled up the steps ahead of her. Dropping his bone, he put his paws on the side of the swing and licked the baby’s face. Jax leaned toward the dog and licked him back.
“That can’t be hygienic,” Brant grumbled.
“When you were a kid, I’ll bet you had a dog lick your face,” she said.
“That was different, and I darned well didn’t lick the thing back.”
Different. Yeah. So was her world a few weeks ago. What would it look like a few weeks, a few months, from now?
Lonely.
Chapter 22
Brant felt restless.
Last night’s dinner with Molly had been fun. Their stolen kisses were excellent, but not enough to slake his hunger.
The rest of the evening? Frustrating. Jax hadn’t wanted to sleep, and Molly’d gone home before things got serious, leaving him to a cold and solitary midnight shower. Not quite what he’d hoped for.
While Brant was practically inhaling his morning caffeine, Kemper Dobson called. He’d spoken with Jason and laid out how and when his child-support payments needed to be made. Afterward, Jason’s father called their attorney, who confirmed that everything Dobson had outlined was correct.
At this point, Jason was straddling the fence. While he didn’t want to give up his parental rights, neither did he want to assume the financial responsibilities of a father. He’d agreed Jax was where he needed to be right now and promised there’d be no more surprise visits, no more threats.
While Jason wasn’t even close to what Brant wanted for his sister, he hoped they could work something out. He’d hate to have Jax find out someday that his own father wanted nothing to do with him.
Since he’d spent the whole day spinning his wheels, Brant hung it up early, picked up an ecstatic Jax from day care, and drove home. The temperature mild, Brant moved the playpen outside so he could keep an eye on the kid while he pruned a bush to let in more light.
Accepting that he really did need to find another house, he looked up when a vehicle rounded the corner.
Lem Gilmore swerved into the drive in a new Cadillac Escalade.
Lug Nut had been snoring, sprawled in the grass beside Jax’s playpen. When Lem, dressed in bib overalls and a ragged Atlanta Braves cap over wispy gray hair, got out of the vehicle, the pup fell all over himself in his rush to greet this new person.
Lem crouched, his knees creaking. “Come here, little guy.”
The puppy dropped onto his side and wriggled to work himself closer. Lem scowled at Brant. “This animal’s nothing but skin and bones.”
“You should have seen him yesterday. Molly and I found him alongside the road, tangled in some briars. I’ve put out some feelers, but nobody’s claimed him.” He laid the clippers on the porch and pulled off the leather gloves he’d bought at Beck’s store. “Listen, if I’ve overstepped my bounds and you don’t want a dog in your house…”
Lem raised his hand. “I’ve got no problem with that.” He ruffled the dog’s ears. “I’d love to have one myself.”
“Want me to tie a bow around this one’s neck?”
“Nope. Lyda Mae’d kick him and me both out to the garage. She’s a good woman in every other way, but she’s not a dog person.”
Brant made an assenting sound. “Feel free to come visit him anytime you want.”
“What’s his name?”
“Lug Nut.”
Lem smiled. “I like it.” He stood and walked, more than a little bowlegged, toward the baby. “And look at you, young man.”
Jax started jabbering. His ball cap was twisted to one side, and he wore a snazzy pair of red sunglasses.
Lem took one of the baby’s tiny hands in his own gnarled one. “Lyda Mae’d eat you right up. Yes, she would.” When the baby babbled back at him, Lem put a hand to one ear. “What’s that? You want a cookie? Grow some teeth, boy.” He chucked the baby under the chin. Stuffing his hands in the pockets of his overalls, he scuffed a foot through the grass. “Heard you were good with cars.”
“You could say that.” Here it came. The price of this free rental.
“Sam, the new cop in town, bought my truck.”
“He used it to deliver some baby furniture to me.”
Lem dropped onto the porch’s edge and nodded toward the Cadillac. “That’s our go-to-town car. Don’t like to drive it much. Gives everybody the wrong idea.”
Brant smothered his hoot of laughter. From everything he’d heard, Lem Gilmore, who enjoyed playing the down-on-his-luck card, could buy and sell the whole darned town. Sam had paid dearly for his rust-bucket truck with coffee, meals at Dee-Ann’s, and trips to the dump with Lem. Still, Sam really liked the old guy.
And he’d put a roof over his and Jax’s heads.
Time to pay the piper. “What do you need, Lem?”
“Bought myself a new truck.” Lug Nut practically crawled into Lem’s lap and earned himself another good rub. “Sam, now that he’s working and he and Cricket got themselves hitched, doesn’t have much time to haul me and my stuff around.”
“Hmm.” Brant remained noncommittal.
“Anyway, this truck’s a beaut. You ought to see her. She’s a ’66 El Camino.”
Brant whistled, genuinely impressed.
Lem grinned. “My friend Sid bought the thing new. Since he can’t drive anymore, I bought it.”
“Tell me you’re not thinking about using it as a beater.”
“Kind of.”
“There are people who’d give their eyeteeth for that truck.”
“That’s what I hear.” He swiped a hand over his day’s growth of gray beard.
Brant dropped onto the front-porch steps, the puppy tugging at his shoe laces. “I’ll provide the labor gratis. I owe you that for putting Jax and me up, but you’ll need to pay for the parts.”
Lem nodded. “Fair enough.”
“Here’s the thing, though. Right now, I don’t have the tools to pull it off…or the space. The old garage isn’t ready yet.”
“I’m in no hurry.”
“Then you’ve got yourself a deal.” Brant stuck out a hand, and they shook.
He heard another car. Recognizing the Mini’s engine, he smiled. She’d come to him. Again.
A hand on the railing, Lem slowly stood as Molly pulled behind his Cadillac. “Time for this old man to skedaddle. What with that wedding business of Jenni Beth’s and all you young’uns moving into town, sure is a lot of romance in the air.” He winked. “Might be time to steal my sweetheart away for a weekend in Savannah.”
“Enjoy, and I’ll let you know when we can start on your truck.”
Lem walked to Molly’s car, leaned in, and spoke to her. Then he straightened, waved to Brant, and left.
“Hello, beautiful,” Brant called out.
Molly crossed the small yard, stopping to rub Lug Nut’s belly. She plucked Jax from the playpen, kissed him, and sat down on the step beside Brant. “Thought I’d watch the sunset with you tonight.”
*
Hard at work the next day, Molly heard a motorc
ycle. She peeked out the shop window, and there was Brant leaning against his Harley. He crooked a finger, and her pulse kicked into overdrive.
She opened the door.
“If you can take time for a quick picnic lunch, I’ve got one. Stopped at Schatzie’s.” He patted his saddlebag.
“Pastrami on rye?”
“You got it.”
“Lettie—”
“Go on,” Lettie said from behind her. She dropped her voice. “Get out of here. You don’t want to resist that, even if you could.” Louder, voice stern, she said, “Have her back by two thirty. She has an appointment.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Instead of driving out of town, they picnicked in the town square. The Ladies’ Garden Club had been busy, and the park was picture-perfect pretty. So was the day.
They sat side by side on the park bench and shared the deli sandwiches. “I need a couple of days off, Mol. I’m tired.”
She shifted to face him.
“I thought I’d go home to Lake Delores for two or three days.”
“You should.”
“But?”
She laced their fingers. “I’ll miss you.”
“Come with me.”
“What?”
“I know it’s asking a lot, but is there any way you can clear your calendar for a few days? Lettie can take care of the shop, right? I want you to meet my mom and dad.”
She blanched. “Meet your parents? Brant—”
“No, no. Not like that.” He shook his head. “I haven’t forgotten that blasted timeline of yours.”
“It’s not—”
He held up a hand. “That came out wrong. Sorry. You’re important to me, Molly. They’re important to me. I’d like you to meet each other. No strings, no obligations or expectations attached.”
She shouldn’t. She really shouldn’t. “When are you leaving?”
“Tuesday. Since you’re closed on Thursdays, you’d only need coverage for two days. It’s about an eight-hour drive, although with Jax it might take longer. Cole offered to keep Lug Nut for me. They’ve already got animals, so it won’t put them out too much. If we leave by seven, we can be there by midafternoon. That’ll give us Tuesday evening and all day Wednesday with my folks. I’ll pack some of the things I need from my house Thursday morning, then we can head back.”
Must Love Babies Page 27