Puppy Love, Volumes 1 to 13

by C. Coal

  “Head home? But what if something happens?”

  “It won’t. Trust me.”

  * * *

  Carrie and Brian stayed with her mother until she’d been transferred up to a room in the ICU. When Carrie asked if that meant things were more serious than they looked, the nurse assured her that it was more a matter of the amount of monitoring they wanted to do than how serious her mother’s condition was.

  Carrie wasn’t sure she believed it, but she let them assure her that her mother would be alright.

  As they sat there, waiting for the nurse to finish setting up her mother in the new bed, her mother finally turned to look at Brian. “So, tell me Brian, how’d you come to be at my daughter’s side tonight? Thought she wasn’t speaking to you anymore.”

  “Mom…”

  “I didn’t ask you. I asked him.”

  “She called me. Well, more specifically, she called the Pooch to see if she could bring Jackson by and I happened to answer and offered to come to her instead. And then I woke my friend who’s staying with me, Chase, and brought him along so he could watch Jackson while I drove over here.”

  “Thank you. That was very kind of you, considering how she’s treated you all these years.”

  “Mother!”

  Brian just smiled. “Like I told her, you’ve been very good to me over the years, Elaine. It was the least I could do.”

  Carrie frowned. Since when had he started calling her mother Elaine?

  Her mother smiled. “It’s good to see the two of you together again. ‘Bout time.”

  “We’re not together, Mom. He just gave me a ride out here.”

  Her mother closed her eyes. “And now he can give you a ride home. Someone has to keep an eye on that investment of mine, you know.”

  * * *

  As they walked back to the car, Carrie kept turning her mother’s words over and over in her head. Finally, she just had to ask. “Brian? What investment of hers was she talking about? I thought it was Jackson at first, but that doesn’t make any sense.”

  He ducked his head and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well…”

  “Well, what?”

  She stopped, forcing him to turn and look at her.

  “Your mother is one of the investors in The Pampered Pooch.”

  “What? Why would she do that?”

  Brian met her gaze, unflinching. “Because she wanted to see me succeed.”

  “So you borrowed money from my mother? Let me guess, right after my dad died? You took advantage of a vulnerable old woman in her darkest hour?”

  He laughed bitterly. “Wow. You must really think I am just the most horrible person around, don’t you? You’d think after all that time we spent together you’d know better, but obviously not.”

  He continued walking towards the car, forcing her to almost run to keep up with him. He opened her door and walked around the car, never even looking back. And he didn’t look at her while she got in or fastened her seat belt, either.

  He drove out of the parking lot with just enough jerkiness on the wheel to let her know he was furious, but he didn’t speak as she glared daggers at the side of his head.

  Finally, Carrie’d had enough of the silence. “Are you going to tell me how my mother came to be an investor in your business?”

  He clenched his jaw.

  “Brian?”

  “She offered. I didn’t ask.”

  “How’d she know you needed investors?”

  He flared his nostrils and let out a deep sigh. “Because I got close to your family after I came back to town.”

  “What? No you didn’t. I would’ve known.”

  “Really? When were you ever back here? Twice a year? Thanksgiving and Christmas. Two days max each time?”

  “I talk to my mom every day.”

  “Well, she’s one who can keep things close to the vest when she wants to. You weren’t here, you didn’t see how they struggled. Even before your dad got sick he wasn’t exactly up to taking care of things around the house.” He shrugged one shoulder. “So I pitched in. I live right down the street. It wasn’t hard to do. I’d come over each Saturday, do whatever needed doing, and have lunch with your folks.”

  “You what?”

  He still wasn’t looking at her. “They were good to me when you and I were dating, Carrie. Better than my own folks ever were.”

  She shook her head. “That didn’t give you the right, to… All these years and no one ever told me?”

  “What would you’ve said if they had? Hey, Mom, Dad, don’t have that guy come over and fix the fence for you because I think he cheated on me back in high school and I don’t like him anymore?”

  “Something like that.” She shifted in her seat, wishing she could be anywhere but there.

  “That would’ve been a pretty awful thing to do what with you not being here to step up and help out.”

  She glared out the window. “So it’s my fault for leaving, is it?”

  “No. I know why you did, trust me. I left for a few years myself, remember?”

  “Then what?” She studied his profile in the light from the overheads as they drove down the freeway.

  He took his time answering. “If you’d let the hatred you feel for me get in the way of me helping your folks out, that would’ve been a pretty rotten thing to do. So don’t be mad at your mother if she decided it was far easier to just never let you know I was helping out.”

  Carrie chewed on her lip. “I don’t hate you, Brian.”

  “No? I seem to recall you sending me a card that said you did.”

  She crossed her arms and leaned against the car door. “That was a long time ago. Now…I just…”

  “Don’t like me?” He glanced at her before turning his attention back to the road.

  She didn’t know how to answer, so she didn’t. They drove the rest of the way home in silence.

  As Brian parked the car, she still couldn’t look at him. “I’ll send Chase out,” she mumbled. “I can drop Jackson off on my way to the hospital.”

  Brian offered her the keys. She took them, careful not to touch him or look directly at him.

  She stopped at the front door and turned to where he stood, leaning against his truck, arms crossed. “Thanks. For…for taking me out there tonight and for helping out all these years. I’m glad they had you around.”

  He nodded. “That reminds me. Yard needs mowing. I’ll be by tomorrow afternoon to take care of it. I can bring Jackson home with me. Save you the trip.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  She went inside, careful not to glance back, feeling like a glass Christmas ornament that might shatter at the slightest touch.

  * * *

  Carrie spent the entire next day at the hospital.

  It was one giant game of hurry up and wait but eventually they took her mother away to put a scope down her throat and found a bleeding ulcer that they cauterized.

  Her mother sent her home around four with instructions to pick up a nice meal for herself and relax for a change.

  Carrie didn’t want to leave, but she knew there was no point in arguing.

  * * *

  She pulled into the driveway to find Brian just finishing up with mowing the front yard.

  He didn’t have his shirt on and was covered with a thin sheen of sweat, a baseball cap pulled tight over his eyes.

  She stared at him for far longer than she should have before finally going inside to find Jackson sound asleep on the couch. He hopped down as soon as he saw her and started jumping around, trying to get to the bag of food in her arms.

  “Down, boy.”

  Jackson immediately sat, his tail wagging so fast it was a blur. He really had improved in the last week.

  Carrie set out the feast she’d picked up at the Indian place by the hospital. It was about five times more food than she could possible eat and probably not near as delicious as what she could find in the city—the Tandoori chicken wasn’t even red�
�but she’d been craving a little reminder of who she’d become.

  By the time Brian was done with the lawn she’d managed to heat everything up and put it out on the table. He paused in the doorway, the clean smells of grass and sweat surrounding him. Carrie tried not to stare or think about how long it had been since she’d been that close to a good-looking sweaty man.

  “You should be good for another week at least. Let me know if anything else comes up. And tell your mom I’m rooting for her.” He turned away.

  “Wait. You hungry? I know it’s probably not gonna be as good as my mom’s cooking, but I picked up way too much food for just me. And, you’ve been so helpful, least I could do is feed you.”

  He grinned. “You sure?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I think, maybe, we have a lot we should catch up on, you know? Clearly I don’t know everything that’s been going on back here while I’ve been gone.”

  “Okay. Let me just tell my mom I won’t be home for dinner.”

  She grinned, trying not to laugh at a grown man calling his mom to tell her he wouldn’t be home for dinner. He shrugged. “It is what it is.”

  As he turned away to talk to his mother, Carrie wondered what she was doing. She could tell herself she’d asked him to stay because she’d picked up too much food or as a thank-you for helping out with her mom, but she knew deep down that wasn’t it.

  Truth was, she was still in love with him.

  * * *

  They spent the entire night sitting at the table, talking and laughing and reminiscing and sharing stories of what their lives had been like since high school. Turns out they had even more in common now than they had then.

  “How do you do it?” Carrie asked.

  “Do what?”

  “Live here. After all the travel you’ve done, what you’ve seen. How do you come back here and not feel out of place?”

  He gave her a little half-smile. “You know what was missing from all those places?”

  She shook her head.

  “Family. I loved seeing the world, trying different things, meeting new people. But at the end of the day what I wanted was to be able to have Sunday dinner with my folks and know my local grocer and go to the high school football games with the rest of the town. I missed…knowing people and having them know me.”

  Carrie shivered. “Really? That was the worst part of being here for me. Everyone knew everything. I could never have any space to just breathe. Someone was always watching.”

  “So you’ll never come back? Once your mom’s better, you’re going to leave again?” He stared at her, his gaze so intense she had to look away.

  “I don’t know. A part of me misses it. But…I’m not sure what’s here for me. What would I do? Not much demand for senior account executives around here is there?”

  He leaned forward. “You always wanted to be a writer.”

  “I did. And I still do.”

  “Do you write much in the city?”

  “No. It’s hard. I work so many hours and then I just wanta unwind, you know?”

  “Then come back here and write.”

  She tried to laugh the suggestion away, but the look in his eyes was too intense. “I have a life there.”

  “You have a lease and a job and some friends. You can break the lease, quit the job, and stay in touch with the friends via Facebook.”

  She shook her head. “I have freedom.”

  “Do you? Are you pursuing your dreams? Or are you chained to a nine-to-five so you can afford to live there?”

  Carrie chewed on her lip, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Brian sat back. “Just think about it, would ya? Living here isn’t all that bad. Plus…” He nodded to where Jackson was curled up between them, sound asleep. “I’m pretty sure you’d break Jackson’s heart if you left now.”

  Carrie laughed. “I don’t even like dogs.”

  But looking at Jackson she knew that wasn’t true. Somehow, the pup had snuck his way into her heart, too.

  * * *

  Over the next few weeks, Carrie’s life fell into a routine. She spent the morning at the rehab center with her mother and the afternoons at home writing. Brian brought Jackson by every night and they worked on the pup’s obedience training for half an hour or so before Brian headed home.

  And once a week when Brian came by to help around the house, she invited him to stay for dinner and they spent hours talking about anything and everything. He was the only person she dared show her first short story. And he was so thrilled for her, it almost hurt.

  She couldn’t remember anyone supporting her like that except maybe her dad before he’d passed away.

  With each passing day, she cared less and less about going back to the city and started thinking more and more about staying at home.

  * * *

  Finally, they released her mother from the rehab center.

  Two weeks after that, while they sat at the kitchen table after dinner, her mother turned to her and asked, “So? When are you leaving? I expect they can’t hold that job of yours forever.”

  Carrie frowned, chewing on her thumbnail as she looked down at Jackson asleep at her feet.

  “I don’t know…” She glanced at her mom. “I was wondering if maybe I could stay here with you for a bit. I could pick up some temp work, I think. Enough to pay my share.”

  “Temp work, huh? That doesn’t sound like you.”

  “Well…” She took a deep breath, suddenly scared to share her dream. “I think I’d like to give writing a chance. I’ve been working on some pieces the last month or so.”

  “Writing? I haven’t heard you talk about wanting to be a writer since high school.”

  “I know.” She blushed. “Brian and I got to talking and he reminded me of it and…well…I know it’ll take a long time for me to make something of it, but…I’d like to give it a try.”

  Her mother smiled, the first real smile Carrie had seen since the accident. “Honey, that sounds great. I’d love to have you around here. And I’m pretty sure Brian would, too.”

  “Mom!” Carrie blushed.

  “I just call ‘em like I see ‘em.”

  Secretly she hoped her mother was right.

  * * *

  Lucky for her, it turned out Brian had a part-time opening at The Pampered Pooch. Chase had moved on, leaving them with a need for someone to pitch in and help out.

  “You’re sure you’re not just creating this position for me?” she asked.

  “And why would I do that?” Brian smiled down at her, his blue eyes flashing.

  “Brian…”

  “When one of my chief investors asks me if I can’t find a little work for her daughter, how am I supposed to say no?”

  “So you’re hiring me because my mother asked you to?”

  He winked at her, but didn’t answer. Carrie didn’t push him on it, either, because it let her do the one thing she cared about more than her writing—spend time with the man she still loved.

  * * *

  Another month passed. Carrie and Brian spent every day together at work and he was a frequent dinner guest at the house, staying long after the dishes had been cleared away.

  But he showed no signs of wanting more from Carrie.

  Finally, one night while they were sitting on the back porch swing talking about her latest story idea, she turned to him. “Brian?”

  “Mmhm?”

  “Do you not like me?”

  He stared at her, confused. “Where’d you get that impression? From all the time I spend with you?”

  “Well, it’s just…You’ve never tried to kiss me since I’ve been back. Or asked me out. Or…”

  “Oh. You mean like you, like you.”

  “Yeah.” She was trembling she was so nervous, convinced he was going to tell her he wasn’t interested in her that way anymore.

  He laughed, a loud, rumbling sound that vibrated the swing.

  “What?”

  He leaned closer, holding her
gaze. “Carrie Clopper, I have loved you since the first day I met you in high school and every single day since.”

  “Then why haven’t you said anything? Or done anything?”

  He ran a finger along her cheek. “Because I thought you still hated me.”

  “Where’d you get that impression? From all the time I’ve been spending with you?”

  He shrugged. “Well, I knew I was wearing you down, I just didn’t think I’d succeeded yet.”

  She glared at him. “Well, you have. So could we…”

  “Could we…?” He raised an eyebrow and held her gaze for a long, long moment.

  Finally, just as Carrie was about ready to scream, he smiled, leaned forward, and kissed her, a long, lingering kiss full of the memory of love and the promise of a future together.

  Carrie sighed contentedly. Finally, she’d found what she’d been missing right where she’d left it all those years before.

  She was home at last. And she couldn’t be happier.

  About the Author

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  You can contact the author at cassidycoal@gmail.com.

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  Copyright

  Text copyright ©2015-2016 M.L. Humphrey

  All Rights Reserved