About a Dog

by Jenn McKinlay

  Ms. Poole caught her eye and smiled. “It’s good to have you back, Mackenzie.”

  “It’s good to be back,” Mac said and she meant it.

  Ms. Poole addressed the group, “Welcome, everyone, let’s have you all join our bride and groom on the dance floor, shall we?”

  Jillian sidled up to Mac as they migrated to the dance floor. “You got this?”

  Mac glanced at Gavin where he was joking with Sam.

  “Yeah, I mean we’ll be swaying back and forth like high schoolers for an hour or so—how intense can it get, right?”

  “Good point,” Jilly said. “See you on the other side, hopefully without any broken toes.”

  Mac moved to the far side of the dance floor. She could feel her palms beginning to sweat and felt overly aware of her heartbeat. Nerves, lovely.

  Gavin strode across the floor toward her, looking way hotter than any veterinarian she had ever met. She tried to picture him as the scrawny, brace-faced kid who used to sneak up on her when she was wading in the ocean and grab her leg in an attempt to pull her under, scaring the dookie out of her every time.

  But the man in the dress shirt was blocking that image with his broad shoulders, lean hips, and wide, wicked smile. Oh, dear. Mac swallowed. This was Gav, her best friend’s little brother, who her best friend had raised like a son, Mac reminded herself. She had to maintain healthy boundaries for her friendship’s sake, for her relationship’s sake, for goodness’ sake.

  Gavin stopped a foot away from her. He looked amused when he held out his left hand as if he knew what she was thinking. Mac put her hand in his, too aware of how his fingers wrapped gently around hers. He put his other hand high on her back, right below her left shoulder blade.

  Mac could feel the heat from his palm through her dress, scorching her skin. She put her left arm on top of his, resting her hand on his shoulder. She didn’t look up at him, afraid that her face would give away her über awareness of his nearness. Instead, she stared at the button at his throat.

  The position felt very formal, which was excellent. She had been a bit worried that his scent would distract her and she’d trip and land them both on the hardwood floor in a heap, but this distance was doable.

  “Very nice,” Ms. Poole said to them as she walked by. “You have a lovely form.”

  Gav leaned close and whispered in Mac’s ear, “I think she’s talking about me.”

  She jerked back from the feel of his soft breath caressing her skin and gave him a one-eyed squint.

  “Really?” she asked. This was good; a little trash talking would reestablish the sibling-like relationship between them. “Done much dancing, have you? Don’t tell me, let me guess—you can bust out the Dougie and you think you’re dancing.”

  “What’s wrong with the Dougie?” he asked. “I’ll have you know I also do a mean Soulja Boy.”

  “Uh-huh,” Mac said. She gave him an unimpressed look, which was totally bogus because, honestly, any man that could dance even a little was pretty cool in her book.

  “So full of doubt,” he said. He shook his head at her and Mac had to fight her smile, because if she smiled at him that might be construed as flirting and she was most definitely not flirting. Not at all.

  Ms. Poole instructed the group on the basic box step, using Emma and Brad as models, but Mac wasn’t listening. Now that she had made the unfortunate move of looking at Gavin, she found it difficult to look away.

  He was just a whisper away from her. When he met her gaze, the dimple in his right cheek deepened, and his long lashes fluttered down as he looked at their feet. She could see the smooth line of his jaw and wondered if there’d be any end-of-the-day stubble if she traced his chin with her fingertips.

  Suddenly, Mac wanted to press up against him and just sway. She didn’t care if they danced a step. She wanted to feel both of his arms around her and the press of their two bodies together. She wanted to step up on tiptoe and kiss the curve of his mouth from corner to corner.

  “Okay, people, let us begin,” Ms. Poole said. She clapped and broke the spell that Mac had been falling under.

  Mac shook her head. What had she been thinking? This was Gavin! She had to get her head together. Healthy boundaries!

  Ms. Poole pointed a remote control at the iPod in the corner and the sound of a waltz swelled out of the small speaker and filled the room.

  Mac braced for Gavin to step on her toes, to lean from side to side on the offbeat, to flail around like a man signaling that he was drowning, to hold her too close, push her too far away, or to careen out of control right off the dance floor.

  She was not prepared for him to execute a perfect box step around the dance floor that he ushered her through with the gentlest pressure of his hand on her back. Nor was she ready for him to spin her out and pull her back in or to pick her up and twirl her before putting her back on the ground while never missing a step.

  “I’m sorry,” she gasped when he resumed the box step. “Are we auditioning for Dancing with the Stars?”

  Gavin laughed and sent her back out into a spin, then caught her in his arms after pulling her close.

  “Surprised?” he asked. His breath tickled her ear and she shivered, and not in a bad way.

  “More like stunned,” she said.

  “Dude, quit it, you’re making the rest of us look bad,” Zach hissed as he and Carly galumphed by like two water buffalo caught in quicksand.

  Mac pressed her face into Gavin’s shirtfront to keep from laughing out loud. When she looked up, Gavin was smiling down at her and she felt happy, purely happy. She smiled back, thinking this was one of life’s perfect moments. Then she remembered it was all based on a lie and she took a step back and resumed the proper posture.

  As they waltzed, she asked, “Where did you learn the snazzy dance moves?”

  “An ex-girlfriend from my college days,” he said. “She was a dance major.”

  “Oh.” Mac nodded. She felt an inexplicable spurt of jealousy. Emma had never told her about any dance major girlfriend of Gavin’s. Mac would have remembered. So, yes, she had to pry. “Emma never mentioned that you dated a dancer.”

  “I don’t tell Emma everything,” he said. Then he gave her a look that seared her soul. “As you should know.”

  Mac’s eyes went wide with alarm. He was going there. She didn’t want to go there. He was talking about them. She knew he had never told Emma about that night, because she was quite sure Emma would have said something, or, you know, shanked her. Mac hadn’t said anything either. Did he know that? Did he want to know that? Was it relevant? Mac felt her breath hitch.

  “I don’t tell her everything either,” she said, just in case that was what he wanted to know.

  “So I gathered,” he said.

  Mac searched his face. What was he looking for from her? Acknowledgment of that night? An interest in revisiting it? At the mere idea, her internal body thermometer spiked and she felt scorched from the inside out. She stumbled on her feet, but Gavin caught her and steadied her as easily as if it was his purpose for being. Oh, boy.

  Chapter 16

  When he smiled at her, it was full of warmth and affection. As he held her gaze into a turn, Mac was surprised to find that she didn’t feel shame anymore. Instead of a dirty little secret, that night between her and Gav suddenly felt more like a special moment in time that they shared. It wasn’t terrible, awful, or ugly, but rather, it was magical and lovely and smokin’ hot.

  “All right, that’s it, you show-offs,” Emma said as she and Brad waltzed by them. “You two are not allowed to dance together at the reception until after Brad and me. Clear?”

  Mac glanced at her friend and just like that all of the shame and horror about defiling her best friend’s baby brother came crashing down upon her. She stepped back from Gavin, widening the space between them, and stiffened her
back.

  “Of course, we won’t,” she said. “In fact, probably, we should split up and help the others.”

  She let go of Gavin in midstep and turned away. Grabbing Zach and Carly, she broke into their dance and pushed Carly at Gavin while she stepped into Zach’s arms.

  She saw Jillian and Sam go by. They were well suited and had mastered the basic step but were not bold enough to try anything else. Jillian sent her a concerned look and Mac forced a smile that she knew looked a little manic; still, she grabbed Zach and began to haul him around the dance floor.

  “Whoa, easy there, killer,” Zach said as they careened toward the corner. “I think I’m supposed to lead.”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry,” Mac said. She relaxed her grip and took a deep breath.

  “And one, two, three—oh, sorry, damn,” Zach said as he went the wrong way, kicked Mac’s instep, and then tripped.

  Mac caught him before he fell and they both started laughing.

  “I swear I can walk across a room without falling,” he said.

  “And by the end of this, you’ll be able to dance across the room without falling,” Ms. Poole said as she joined them. She glanced at Mac. “Great idea to pair up the good dancers with the . . . er . . . less good dancers.”

  “Thanks,” she said.

  “All right, Zachary, we’re going to try something different with you,” Ms. Poole said.

  “Story of my life,” he quipped.

  “Mackenzie is going to dance the lead and I want you to put your hands on her hips and stand behind her and mimic the steps she takes,” Ms. Poole said. “Once you get that down, I’ll let you have a partner again.”

  She arranged Mac in front of Zach, who stood behind her and put his hands on her hips.

  “Just follow Mac,” she said. “And one, two, three.”

  Mac felt a bit like an idiot with her arms up, holding no one, but at least she wasn’t in Gavin’s arms thinking impure thoughts. So that was something.

  Zach kicked her heels a couple of times but after making it around the floor once, he started to get the rhythm of things.

  “Hey, check me out,” he said and Mac glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him.

  “Looking good, Zach,” she said.

  They passed by Gavin and Carly, who seemed to be doing well. Gavin held her in the proper position, leaving plenty of room between them, which was good because Carly had her head down with her eyes glued to her feet as if to make sure they didn’t go where they weren’t supposed to.

  “Carly, look at me,” Gavin said. “I promise I won’t step on you.”

  “It’s not you stepping on me that I’m worried about,” she said. “It’s me stepping on you. I don’t want to cripple you. I’m not exactly a size two. More like a size six times two. I mean, these curves cannot be contained, which is awesome, but they might prove deadly if they crash into you at full speed.”

  Carly glanced at him quickly, looking so vulnerable that Mac felt her throat get tight. Her curvy Italian friend was clearly feeling self-conscious about her robust figure, which never happened, and Mac desperately wanted to go over and hug her.

  “You won’t crash, I promise,” Gavin said. His voice was firm but gentle, and then he picked Carly up and twirled her in the air and set her back on her feet, never missing a step.

  “Holy crap!” Carly squealed. She looked at Mac and asked, “Did you see that? You need to take a picture of that shiz, because I am going to Instagram the hell out of that. Hot damn!”

  Mac burst out laughing and she noticed that the other couples did, too. Meanwhile, Zach stopped dancing behind her and shouted, “Way to set the bar too high for the rest of us, Gav.”

  Ms. Poole joined them and gave Zach her fierce look. “You will be able to do that before you leave this class.”

  “You’re in trouble now,” Mac said.

  Ms. Poole took Zach’s hand and separated him from Mac, so Mac took the opportunity to take some pictures. She even got one with Carly in midtwirl. She looked radiant. For that alone, Mac wanted to go over and kiss Gavin on the mouth; okay, not just for that but it sounded much better in her head when she blamed her longing for a lip-lock on his kindness instead of her own lust.

  She watched him as he took Jillian for a spin while Carly danced with Sam. He laughed at something Jillian said and then he twirled her, too. Mac snapped a pic and marveled at how Gav managed to make everyone feel at ease.

  She was reminded of how gentle he had been with Tulip when she was sad and scared. Then she remembered how kind he had been to her the night her life had unraveled completely. There was so much more to Gavin Tolliver than the fact that he was her best friend’s little brother. And yet, she really couldn’t get past that, could she?

  So far, she had lied to Emma about the true nature of her relationship with Gavin. Yes, it was a lie by omission but still a lie. She had been vague about the status of her status with everyone, not a total lie but not exactly the truth either. And then there was Trevor; were they still a couple? Would they be one again?

  She had no business looking at any man while she was still kind-of-sort-of with him. She knew her friends didn’t care for his inflexibility, but it was an undemanding relationship that worked for Mac. She had companionship when she wanted it and she didn’t when she didn’t.

  Theirs had always been a relationship that worked because neither of them suffered the day-to-day compromises that strangled the life out of other relationships. Trevor was a good man and Mac was happy with him. It was unfortunate that Emma had asked her not to mention him to Gavin, because that really would have cleared up most of Mac’s problems. Then again, if she told Gavin they were taking a break, he’d probably look at it as a green light to make a move. She could only imagine how Emma would react if Gavin made a serious play for Mac.

  She glanced at her friend and saw Emma, who was now dancing with Brad’s brother Bobby while Brad danced with the very pregnant Linda, watching Gavin with a happy smile. How many years had Emma put her life on hold to fuss and worry over her little brother? Too many. Mac didn’t have the heart to take that away from her right now.

  Fine. For Emma, she would continue to play the single girl to Gavin’s sad boy, although, she had to admit he really didn’t seem that sad to her. But maybe that was because she was only seeing what he wanted her to see. Maybe Gavin was suffering a lot more than she realized because he was pushing it all aside for the sake of his sister. That did seem like something he would do. Man, when did life become so complicated?

  “All right, everyone, let’s go back to our original partners,” Ms. Poole said. She looked a little weary after her time with Zach.

  Mac put her phone on the bench and crossed the floor to Gavin. He held open his arms and she stepped into him, feeling a comfortable familiarity sort of like coming home.

  Ms. Poole cranked up the music and they began to glide across the floor. Gavin’s gaze caught hers and Mac found she couldn’t look away—didn’t want to, in fact. There were no spins and twirls this time. It was just the two of them, studying each other, seeing the changes the seven years apart had wrought and bridging the time and distance with simple acceptance and understanding.

  Suddenly a funky beat sounded over the waltz and everyone’s attention was drawn to the bench where Mac had left her phone. She noted the screen was lit up and vibrating while “Uptown Funk” cranked out of its speaker.

  “Is that your ringtone, Mac?” Zach asked. “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

  He let go of Carly and busted out a dance move that involved squatting and flailing his arms. Ms. Poole stepped forward, grabbed him by the back of his shirt, and hauled him to his feet.

  “No, just no,” she said. She turned and frowned at Mac.

  “Sorry,” Mac said. “I’ll just get that.” She stepped away from Gavin and hurried acro
ss the room. She snatched up the phone and noted the display read Aunt Sarah. What?!

  “Aunt Sarah?” She held the phone to her ear.

  “You need to come home, right now, and bring Gavin with you,” Aunt Sarah said in her usual brusque manner.

  “Why? What’s wrong? Aunt Charlotte—”

  “Is fine,” Sarah said. “It’s Tulip.”

  “Is she—”

  “She’s as sick as a dog, as they say,” Sarah said. “So hurry.”

  Sarah ended the call and Mac looked up at Gavin.

  “It’s Tulip,” she said. “She’s sick.”

  Chapter 17

  “Let’s go.” He charged across the floor toward the door.

  “Thank you, Ms. Poole,” Mac said. She looked at Emma. “Sorry! I’ll call you later.”

  “Do!” Emma said.

  Whatever else Emma had been about to say, Mac missed because she was jogging after Gavin, who was already halfway across the parking lot. He opened her door and hurried around the front of the truck, letting her pull her own door shut.

  He fired up the engine and shot out of the driveway and back onto the main road. It had taken them fifteen minutes to get here earlier but Mac had a feeling they’d make it back to her house in half of that.

  “What did she say exactly?” he asked.

  “Nothing much, just that she’s as sick as a dog,” Mac said. “What do you think it could be?”

  “I won’t know until I see her,” he said. “Try not to worry.”

  She ignored his advice and went into full-on worry mode. “Oh, no, what if she did eat some of those tulip bulbs?” Mac asked. “I thought I checked carefully but what if I missed something?”

  “We’ll make her well,” Gavin said. “I promise.”

  “She’s just a baby,” Mac said.

  Gavin reached over and took Mac’s hand in his. He squeezed her chilly fingers in his warm grip and Mac felt reassured.

  “Let’s save the panic until we have something to panic about,” he said.