Mommy Loves The Doggy Doctor (Mommy's Little Matchmakers Book 6)

by Deb Kastner

  “I think Pudgy needs a break,” said Luke, scooping the puppy into his arms. “Why don’t we put him into the dog park over there so he can get his wiggles out?”

  Ashley opened her mouth to protest. How was watching Pudgy run around freely going to help this situation? But Luke met her gaze for real this time, and there was something in his eyes that made her close her mouth again without speaking.

  He pressed the puppy into her arms and nodded toward the dog park. “Give me a minute, will you?” he said for her ears only.

  He looked as if he had—a plan. Or something.

  “Come on, Mommy,” Gwenny urged, already wheeling toward the dog park. “Let’s watch Pudgy play.”

  Ashley’s heart burned within her. Her daughter was showing her up, as usual. If Gwenny felt she was missing something in her life, she certainly wasn’t showing it. She made the best of everything and took joy where she could find it.

  She put Pudgy in the dog park and watched him for a moment as he joined the pack of sniffing, barking dogs. He was a friendly puppy and had no trouble fitting in. Before long he was joining in the chase, running as fast as his little legs would carry him. Meanwhile, Turbo, who had entered the park with Pudgy, was making fast friends with a few of the smaller dogs.

  “Pudgy’s like Gwenny,” Ruth observed, as if reading Ashley’s mind. “She seems to fit in wherever she goes.” She gave Gwenny’s shoulder a friendly pat.

  “Yeah,” Ashley said with a sigh of longing. “She does.”

  But there is so much more she used to be able to do.

  “Hey, Gwenny,” Luke called, jogging up to them. He was holding one arm behind his back. “Close your eyes. I have a surprise for you.”

  Ashley tensed. In her experience, surprises weren’t always good, or even mostly good, but judging from Luke’s expression, this one might be an exception.

  Gwenny squealed and squeezed her eyes closed.

  “Ready?” Luke asked. “Okay, on the count of three, I want you to open your eyes.”

  Gwenny nodded enthusiastically.

  “Great. Now…one…two…three!”

  Chapter Seven

  Luke pulled a kite out from behind his back and presented it to the excited little girl. In the shape of a golden eagle, he’d bought it off of an endcap when he’d been grocery shopping the other day. It had been an impulse buy. He’d had no idea why at the time—he hadn’t flown a kite since he was a boy. But he’d remembered the excitement of watching his kite gain altitude, the wind in his hair, the smile on his face.

  He hadn’t smiled much lately. There was no reason for it, really. He’d simply grown into a serious adult, he supposed. All work and no play made Luke a dull boy. But Gwenny and her mother had come into his life and had given him a reason to smile, and he wanted to return the favor.

  Except Ashley wasn’t smiling. As a matter of fact, she was glaring at him. So much for a surprise present.

  She looked surprised, all right.

  Gwenny, on the other hand, was delighted. Her face lit up like the sunshine and she exclaimed, “Is that for me?”

  “Gwenny, sweetheart,” Ashley began, but Ruth put a gentle hand on her elbow and shook her head.

  Ashley might not trust Luke, but thankfully, his mother did, and Ashley appeared to have some regard for Ruth’s opinion.

  But then he started questioning himself. What had Ashley been about to say? Was this a bad idea?

  Maybe. But it was too late to back out now.

  “You bet it’s for you, Gwenny,” he said, unwrapping the kite as he spoke. “Here. Can you hold it while I unwind the string?”

  Ashley folded her arms, looking entirely peeved, which obviously wasn’t at all what he’d set out to do. But at this point, the only way he could see to fix the problem—whatever it was—was to push on straight ahead. Maybe after Ashley saw what he had in mind she would be so upset with him.

  “My mom will keep an eye on Pudgy and Turbo,” he told Ashley.

  “I sure will,” Ruth agreed. “No worries there. Go play.”

  “Go play?” Ashley repeated, sounding as if she’d just been asked to wrestle a porcupine. Didn’t she ever play with Gwenny?

  Well, Ms. Staid and Somber was going to learn how to play today. He would make sure of it. And here he’d thought he was the serious one.

  He stepped out about eight feet from Gwenny until the line was taut. “The weather is perfect today. Wait for a strong gust of wind and then give it a good toss into the air.”

  Gwenny nodded and smiled at his directions, holding the kite in both hands and waiting for the perfect moment to set it airborne.

  “Go!” she called, throwing the kite into the wind.

  Luke went.

  He ran backward, letting the line out a little bit at a time until the kite was soaring high in the air, held aloft by the wind.

  Gwenny clapped in delight. Ashley pressed her lips together in a frown.

  “It’s your turn,” he told her as he carefully guided the kite back in Ashley’s direction.

  “No, thank you.”

  “Come on, Mommy. You get to fly the kite.”

  “Has it been awhile?” Luke teased.

  She lifted one brow. “You could say that. I’ve never flown a kite in my life. As a kid I—and with Gwenny—” She stopped herself before she could say more, dropped her gaze and cleared her throat.

  “You’ve never flown a kite. Okay, then, Mommy, you have to try it. It’s a real buzz. Here, take the line.” He pressed it into her hands, his touch lingering for a moment longer than necessary. Her skin was so soft, matching the silky musk of her perfume. It made his head spin.

  She reluctantly conceded, her eyes going wide when she felt the tension on the line.

  “What am I supposed to do?” she asked in a panic.

  “Run!” Luke and Gwenny said simultaneously.

  Ashley made a funny eek from the back of her throat and jogged away. From the odd expression on her face, Luke couldn’t tell if she was enjoying the experience or not. She looked so serious, as if now that the kite’s flight was all on her, she had to be the best kite-pilot ever.

  He kind of got that vibe from her in general. She always had to do and be the very best.

  “It’s dipping,” she called as she ran back. “What do I do to fix it?”

  He leaned toward Gwenny and whispered, “Shall we show her?”

  The little girl grinned and nodded.

  Luke relieved Ashley of the line and then immediately gave it to Gwenny. “Ready to rumble?”

  “Go,” Gwenny squealed.

  “What are you—” Ashley started, but Luke was already racing down the green, pushing Gwenny ahead of him. The kite stayed aloft, swirling in the air. Luke enjoyed the feeling of the wind on his face and he could see Gwenny was enjoying herself, as well. She even jerked and pulled on the line to make the kite dance, just as her gaze was dancing.

  So, his idea hadn’t been a mistake after all. He didn’t know what he would have done if his plan—or the kite—would have tanked.

  He pushed Gwenny clear to the edge of the park and then turned her around and brought her back to her mother’s side.

  Ashley looked relieved—and—not angry.

  Nope. Not mad.

  Now he’d made her cry.

  “What…?” he asked Ashley quietly as Ruth came alongside Gwenny to help reel in the kite. “Why are you…?”

  “Oh.” Her face turned a pretty shade of pink as she dashed away her tears with the palm of her hand. “I’m sorry. It’s just—Gwenny has always had a positive, upbeat attitude, but today? Well, you gave her something really special. Something I would never have thought to do. Sometimes I think my own fears limit Gwenny when she could do so much more. I hate to think I’m the one holding her back from being all she can be. Anyway, thank you.”

  Luke was thoroughly confused. “So…um…your tears are happy tears?”

  She laughed on a sob. “Silly, isn’
t it?”

  “No, not at all.” Silly wasn’t the word he would have used. Weird, maybe. Perplexing, definitely. Understanding women was definitely not his forte.

  “I guess I ought to go and get Pudgy,” she said in a clear attempt to change the subject.

  “I can do it,” he offered.

  “No, that’s okay. I’ve got it.”

  And for a moment, it appeared she did. She stepped inside the dog park and called Pudgy’s name. He immediately turned toward her and started at a dead run—right past her.

  “Pudgy,” Ashley said. “Come on. Cut it out.”

  She made the mistake of running after the dog, who then thought they were playing a game of tag. He would stop and wait until she got almost close enough to scoop him up and then would dash off in another direction.

  “Seriously?” she said, stopping for a moment to catch her breath. “Whose brilliant idea was an off-lead dog park in the first place?”

  To Luke’s surprise, there was a gleam of amusement in her gorgeous blue eyes.

  “You get your cute little spotted butt over here this minute, Turkey McGurkey,” she called.

  Luke caught her eye and raised a brow.

  “Yeah, right. I know. No more nicknames.”

  She started running after Pudgy again, waving her arms wildly—which in Luke’s mind only made the pup run harder and faster. He wasn’t sure what Ashley was up to—only that whatever she was trying to do, she needed help.

  Luke grinned and waved his hand. It was time to step in and be a real-life hero.

  Or, he could just look like a moron who didn’t know anything more about puppies than someone who’d never been around them. Pudgy was happy to add him into the chase—and he wasn’t giving Luke an inch with which to look like the man of the hour.

  The first time Pudgy ran at him, the silly puppy ran right through the middle of his legs.

  “Let’s herd him off at the pass,” she suggested. “You go right, I’ll go left, and we’ll catch him in the corner over there.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he said, tipping an imaginary cowboy hat.

  He went right. Ashley went left.

  And they met in the middle.

  Or rather, they crashed in the middle. Both of them had their eyes on Pudgy and didn’t realize they’d dived for him at the same time until they slammed into each other. He reacted instinctively, wrapping his arms around her and rolling to take the brunt of the fall.

  They ended up dogless, laughing and coughing in the dust.

  “Brat,” she muttered, and he wondered if she were talking about Pudgy or him.

  He picked himself up, brushed off his jeans and offered her a hand up. She flashed him a grateful smile as she stood and stretched from the fall.

  “Ugh,” she groaned. “That’s going to hurt tomorrow.”

  “Hold on a sec,” he said as he glanced down at her. “You’ve got a streak of mud right…here.” His voice had gone soft and husky as he brushed the pad of his thumb over her soft, if dusty, cheek.

  Their eyes met and held. Her gaze was as warm as the noonday sun in springtime and he couldn’t look away to save his life.

  Neither of them even noticed the knowing glance that passed between Ruth and Gwenny, nor the way Pudgy ran straight to Gwenny’s side when she called for him.

  No—Luke and Ashley were completely lost in their own world.

  Chapter Eight

  “Cut it out, already,” Ashley told her mooning reflection in the bathroom mirror. “You’re acting like a teenager.”

  And she was—in her heart, anyway. She couldn’t remember ever having felt this way about a man. They’d been meeting up with Luke, often accompanied by Ruth, nearly every day for a month now.

  And every day, Ashley felt more and more attracted to the handsome, gentle veterinarian. He made her laugh, and that wasn’t an easy thing for anyone to do.

  She thought she and Gwenny might be good for him, as well. Ruth had told her he was a workaholic with no social life whatsoever, and this dog-training gig was really good for him. It got him out of the office and into the fresh air, Ruth said.

  Luke was amazing with Pudgy. He’d definitely picked the right career. But he was equally as good with Gwenny, and she’d formed a strong attachment to both Dr. Luke and Granny Ruth. That was somewhat of a concern to Ashley, but she knew Luke and Ruth wouldn’t betray her daughter and just disappear out of her life one day.

  It was her own heart she needed to guard more carefully.

  Today, Luke was coming to Ashley’s house to take a look around and suggest all of the necessary modifications they’d need for Pudgy to be able to do his job. The puppy was growing quickly, and to her relief, he had really taken to his job as a service dog. He seemed to somehow sense he had something important to do.

  He’d passed all of his basic training to become an AKC Canine Good Citizen, which had been the first step in the process of becoming certified. Now he was learning all of the specifics of how to help a little girl in a wheelchair and make her life easier.

  For some reason, Ashley felt nervous today, even though she was much more comfortable around Luke now. They’d established a close friendship and she trusted him completely. But there was something intimate about inviting him to her house for the first time, even if the reason for the invitation was entirely professional.

  The doorbell rang and Ashley pinched her pale cheeks to give them some color.

  “Get over yourself,” she whispered before turning away to answer the door.

  Gwenny was already there and had opened the door wide for their company.

  Luke stood on the front porch with one arm behind his back. Ashley still remembered the last time he’d done that and the sense of sheer panic she had felt when he’d first given Gwenny the kite. She remembered how she’d thought he was being insensitive, when actually he had been spot-on and had given Gwenny a day she would cherish forever.

  What was Luke’s surprise this time?

  Luke grinned and swept his arm around to the front, exposing a bouquet of multi-colored carnations.

  No—not one bouquet.

  Two.

  He carefully separated them, handing the first to Gwenny.

  “This is for the most beautiful girl I know,” he said, and Gwenny giggled at his compliment.

  “And this,” he said, handing the other to Ashley, “is for having to continue to put up with me on a continual basis while Pudgy learns everything he needs to know to be a good service dog.”

  Put up with him?

  Did he not know she was developing feelings for him? Apparently, she was better at hiding how she felt than she’d thought. But maybe that was just as well.

  “How did you want to go about this process today?” Ashley asked, diverting the conversation, though she was unable to avert Luke’s attention from her heated cheeks. “It’s not much to look at, but shall I start by giving you the grand tour of the place?”

  “For starters.” Ruth jumped into the conversation. She waved a clipboard upon which were pages already filled with notes. “We took a look at your front porch and were very impressed. The ramp overlaying the stairs looks nice and sturdy.”

  “It ought to. When Gwenny was still in the hospital just after her accident, I had it professionally done. It cost me an arm and a leg and a lot of emotional energy.”

  Luke’s gaze swept to the little girl, who’d wheeled away, talking to her bouquet about how pretty the flowers look in a vase in her room.

  “Gwenny was in an accident, then?” Luke asked gently. Then he appeared to back off. “I’m so sorry. I’m not trying to push. I—we—” he said, gesturing to Ruth, “weren’t sure whether she’d been in an accident or if it was something she’d been born with.”

  “It was a terrible accident,” she said. Her heart still hurt every time she talked about it, but for some reason it wasn’t as bad today, maybe because she was telling the story to people she knew and trusted. “Gwenny and her fat
her were riding an ATV. As was his habit, Chase was going too fast and he hit a rut. They flipped over and rolled down a hill.”

  “We’re so sorry,” Ruth said.

  Luke remained silent, but he lowered his brow and pressed his lips.

  “They were both wearing helmets, but Chase was killed instantly. Gwenny was paralyzed from the waist down. It was awful, but it could have been a lot worse. At least I have my beloved Gwenny still with me.”

  “Indeed,” agreed Ruth. “But we know this must be extremely difficult for you.”

  Tears sprang to Ashley’s eyes, not so much because of the grief she was feeling as to find someone—two people—who really seemed to sympathize with her. She could see by the looks in their eyes that they really cared about her and Gwenny.

  “And that’s what we’re here for today,” Luke added. “To do what we can to help ease your load.”

  Ruth winked at her, trying to lift the mood. “Count on a man to want to fix everything. Am I right?”

  “Hey,” Luke protested. “Pudgy and I resemble that remark.”

  Ashley chuckled, hiccupped and wiped away her tears before Gwenny returned to the living room. She tried not to let Gwenny see her when she was being emotional, and the emotions swirling through her right now—she couldn’t even begin to sort those out.

  “These flowers are beautiful, thank you,” she said. “Carnations are my favorite. Let me get a vase for these.”

  She fled to the kitchen to have a moment to catch her breath. She wasn’t lying about carnations being her favorite, and Luke—possibly with Ruth’s help—had selected a lovely bouquet of multi-colored blooms.

  “Are you okay?”

  She stiffened. She hadn’t realized Luke had followed her to the kitchen.

  “Yes. Most of the time I’ve accepted the lot that’s been given to us, but I have my moments when it’s just--hard.”

  “I can’t even imagine.”

  She sniffed. “No. It’s not something you think about when you first find out you’re pregnant or hold your perfectly-formed newborn baby in your arms.”