For Love of a Dog

by Janice Carter

  Luca couldn’t help but smile. As simple as that. There were no eggs, so he headed out to the coop and by the time he got back, Kai and Thomas were sitting at the table watching Isabel. They looked as surprised as he’d been. When Margaret and Harry came over, the eggs and bacon were on the table. The toast was burned because Isabel had been distracted by the speed at which the eggs had cooked, but nobody complained. Talk at the table was limited to the aftermath of the storm, and Luca noted how not a single word was mentioned about when Isabel—or anyone else—was leaving.

  Kai seemed to be evading his efforts to get her alone, and he planned to ask her to go for a walk with him as soon as breakfast was finished. Maybe she was simply tired or just as confused as he was about where she wanted to end up. As long as it’s with me. That’s all that mattered.

  He was starting to clear the table when the phone rang. Margaret reached it first, and Luca guessed from her frown and serious tone that it was an important call. When she hung up, her face was flushed.

  “That was our Realtor,” she said. “We’ve had an offer on the farm.” She paused to catch her breath. “For the whole asking price.”

  “What? No bargaining?” Harry sounded incredulous.

  “But that’s so fast. I thought you said the market wasn’t good right now.” Kai stood and put her hands on Thomas’s shoulders reassuringly.

  Luca watched the scene play out as if from a distant place. He was part of it, but not. Amigo shifted under the table, settling his front paws on Luca’s foot.

  “The market isn’t good right now, that’s what’s so odd about this offer,” Margaret said. “But how can we complain? This is wonderful news. What do you think, Harry? Susan said we could call back if we didn’t want to go through with it. We have a bit of time to make a decision.”

  All eyes turned to Harry, except, Luca couldn’t help but notice, his mother’s. Isabel had gotten out of her chair to pour herself another cup of coffee.

  After a suspenseful minute, Harry said gruffly, “I guess this is a sign. Full price. Huh.” Then he added, “Did Susan say anything about the buyer?”

  Margaret shook her head. “Not really. Some kind of holding company. She dealt with another Realtor, who said his client chose to remain anonymous.”

  A small prickling at the back of Luca’s neck triggered the first alarm. Holding company? The second was his mother’s stiff back as she stood at the sink, gazing out the window. Not terribly interested in the drama taking place behind her. But no. He must be wrong. The idea was crazy. She wouldn’t.

  She would. If she thought it would make him happy. That was the way she’d always operated. Whatever it took to make Luca Rossi happy.

  “Mother?”

  His raised voice caught everyone’s attention. Isabel turned slowly and raised her hands palms up. “What?”

  He knew then. That expression, the faked innocence, were remnants of his childhood.

  “Is there a problem?” she asked. “I mean, it’s a win-win solution, isn’t it?”

  Kai moved away from Thomas, closing in on Luca. “What’s happening? What’s she talking about?”

  Luca kept his eyes on Isabel but said, “I think the buyer might be my mother.”

  Time sped up then. Later when he went back over it, all he saw was the disbelief in Kai’s face. He vaguely recalled questions from Margaret and Harry, but it was the image of Kai and the whole range of emotions beaming out from her.

  “Did you know about this, Luca?” Her voice pitched and without awaiting an answer she cried, “Is this what you meant yesterday about exploring other options?”

  “I’m hearing this for the first time.”

  “She’s your mother. How can you not know? When were you going to tell us? Tell me?”

  Words failed him. All he saw were stunned faces, except for Isabel, who looked frightened. Wondering if she’d miscalculated? And while Luca was searching frantically for the right words to convince them—especially Kai—Thomas jumped out of his chair. He covered his ears with his hands and screamed. Amigo reared up from under the table, barking. Thomas ran to the door, pushed it and stumbled onto the porch. Amigo shot out after him.

  “Great. Just great.” Kai brushed past Luca and left the room.

  Margaret was still standing by the phone while Harry looked dazed. Luca stared at Isabel.

  “I thought I was doing everyone a favor,” she murmured.

  “Are you sure about that, Mother?” Luca slammed out the kitchen door to go after Thomas.

  He didn’t get far. A screech of brakes froze him steps away from the house, and the screams that followed got him running. He met Thomas halfway to the road. He was hysterical, screaming and sobbing at the same time. And yelling. “Amigo! Amigo’s hurt! Amigo’s hurt!” He clutched and grabbed at Luca’s arms, pulling him to the road.

  Looking past him, Luca saw a car angled across the drive next to the mailbox. A man was bending over something in the tall grass. Luca’s heart pounded. “Go and get Kai. Right now. Tell her to bring the car.”

  Dry mouthed, Luca sped to the top of the drive. Bryant Lewis was running his hands over Amigo. “I’m so sorry! I was just coming to see how Margaret and Harry managed during the storm and first the boy, then the dog!” He was gasping. “I didn’t see them until the last minute. I swerved because Thomas came charging first, and I didn’t know the dog was right behind him.”

  Luca got on his knees. Amigo was whimpering. He couldn’t tell how badly hurt he was, but the fact that Amigo wasn’t moving didn’t bode well. Luca got to his feet. “Mr. Lewis, you should move your car. We’re going to have to take Amigo into Lima.”

  “I didn’t mean to hit him,” Lewis babbled.

  “It’s okay. I know you didn’t. But move your car now.” He knelt again, stroking Amigo while Bryant climbed shakily into his idling car, reversed and continued down to the farmhouse. Kai passed him on the way, roaring toward Luca in her father’s Buick, Thomas sitting beside her.

  She’d thought to bring a blanket, which they wrapped around Amigo before lifting him into the back seat. Thomas got in beside him, so Luca sat next to Kai. She turned onto the highway and drove as fast as she safely could. No one said a word as they sped toward Lima. Luca darted a glance at Kai, whose grim expression met his. He guessed they were both thinking the same thing. Amigo was hurt. And Thomas was talking.

  * * *

  LUCA SEARCHED FOR vets in Lima on his smartphone while Kai drove, settling on the one closest to the town limits, and fifteen minutes later they arrived at the Allen County Veterinary Clinic. Kai waited while Luca got out to gently gather Amigo in his arms, then followed him—hand-in-hand with a sniffling Thomas—inside the clinic.

  Except for a receptionist, who leaped to her feet at their entrance, the place was empty and Kai breathed a sigh of relief, knowing they’d be seen right away.

  “Oh my goodness, the poor thing. Come right in while I get Dr. Steve.” The receptionist ushered them into a small treatment room, and seconds later a tall man in a short white lab jacket came in.

  “Good morning, people. I’m Steve Jeffery. What have we here?” His pleasant, affable expression turned to a frown as he eyed Amigo on the examining table.

  “Our dog was hit by a car.” Kai briefly explained what happened while the vet gently ran his hands over Amigo, all the while making calming murmuring sounds. Thomas, still gripping Kai’s hand, hung back.

  “Is this
your dog?” Dr. Steve was speaking to Thomas, who nodded solemnly. “We’ll take good care of him, don’t worry. I think he’s going to be okay, but I need to take an X-ray first, after I give him a shot of something to help his pain and make him relax a bit. Sound good?” He directed this to all of them, but it was Thomas who replied.

  “Please make him better.”

  In spite of where they were and why, the sound of Thomas’s voice was like music. She hadn’t heard it in almost a year and marveled at how clear and strong it was. The wonder of it overwhelmed her, and she wanted more than anything to embrace Thomas and Luca, to revel in that small, miraculous, moment. Kai looked across at Luca, standing next to Amigo on the other side of the table, and read the same emotion in his face.

  Dr. Steve prepped Amigo for his needle. Thomas moved forward and touched the vet on his arm. “Will it hurt?”

  “Have you ever had a needle?”

  Thomas nodded.

  “Did it hurt?”

  He considered that question briefly. “A little bit.”

  “Well, it’ll be the same for...what’s your dog’s name?”

  “Amigo.”

  “Amigo. Friend. I like that. The needle will be much the same for Amigo. A small pinch.” He quickly inserted the syringe into Amigo’s flank, eliciting no more than a low groan.

  “Okay, folks, I’m going to get you to leave the room while Amigo has his X-ray, and then we’ll see what’s up.”

  They filed back into the waiting room where Thomas paced back and forth. Luca sat next to Kai and clasped her hand in his, squeezing gently. Tears welled at his comforting touch, and she bit down hard on her lower lip, not wanting to add to Thomas’s obvious distress.

  “He’s in good hands,” Luca whispered in her ear. “I think everything will be just fine.”

  “It’s Thomas. Hearing him speak.” She kept her voice low, watching her nephew flick through magazines at the other end of the room. “After all this time and all our efforts, to think it was Amigo who got him to talk.”

  “Fitting, too.”

  Kai turned to Luca. “How so?”

  “It took a friend.”

  His comment struck home with Kai, reminding her of other times these past weeks when she’d seen this intuitive side to Luca. His calm steadiness in critical situations was an anchor to her more anxious and impetuous self.

  Dr. Steve came back into the waiting area. “Amigo has a hairline fracture of his right radial leg bone—and some cuts and bruises, of course. I think a splint and maybe a rest overnight here in the clinic should get him on the road to recovery.”

  Thomas rushed over and wrapped his arms around the vet’s middle.

  “Don’t worry, Thomas, he’ll be just fine and chasing after you in a few weeks. Would you like to come in and talk to him for a few minutes before you go?”

  Thomas nodded and followed Dr. Steve back into the examining room. Kai and Luca stood in the doorway, watching as Thomas leaned over to whisper in Amigo’s ear. She felt Luca’s arm around her waist and sagged against him, relieved that everything was going to be okay.

  Until she remembered the scene at breakfast.

  * * *

  KAI WAS EXHAUSTED. She leaned back against the headrest, glad Luca had offered to drive them home. The hours since the morning’s fiasco had given her some perspective. She was beginning to think she might have accused Luca unfairly. He’d seemed almost as shocked as the rest of them, and had been tongue-tied when she’d asked if he’d known about his mother’s purchase beforehand. Her eyes had read guilt in his pale face but maybe she’d been wrong. She cursed her old habit of making assumptions and vowed to clear the air as soon as they were alone.

  Margaret met them at the kitchen door. She hugged Thomas tightly, kissing the top of his head until he squirmed away. “Call me when dinner’s ready,” he called out as he went up to his bedroom.

  “Just like that?” Margaret said.

  “Just like that,” Luca echoed. Then he asked, “Is my mother upstairs?” When Margaret nodded he said, “If you’ll excuse me, ladies.” Without a glance at Kai he took the stairs two at a time.

  “Your father and I had a chat with Isabel, dear,” Margaret told her once he was out of earshot. “She assured us she meant well and thought we’d all be surprised.”

  “We certainly were!”

  “Don’t rush to judgment, that’s all I want to say. We’ve decided to take her offer—unless of course she changes her mind. Right now, everything’s still up in the air.”

  Kai was scarcely listening. She wanted to run upstairs to talk to Luca and explain her angry outburst, but he was probably deep in discussion with his mother.

  “Kai?”

  Dazed, she looked at Margaret.

  “Earlier this morning, Luca said something about driving her to Lima this afternoon. Do you know if he still intends to?”

  Kai’s attention shifted again to the hallway upstairs. She could hear voices—a low rumble belonging to Luca and softer, protesting tones.

  “Kai? Hello?” Margaret was smiling.

  “I have no idea, Mom, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry for snapping, but it’s been a hectic day so far and I’ve got a splitting headache.”

  Margaret patted her arm. “Why don’t you go lie down? Your father’s doing that in the bungalow. There’s still some bedding on the living-room sofa if you’d rather not go upstairs just yet.” The sound of a door closing above them caught their attention.

  Kai hesitated. She wanted to talk to Luca but wasn’t sure how long he’d be. “Okay. Good idea.”

  As she turned to leave the room, Margaret stopped her. “By the way, you should know that Bryant stayed for a bit, after all of you left for Lima.”

  Kai nodded. “Luca told me he was on his way to see you and Dad when he struck Amigo. Did he apologize?”

  “Oh, profusely. He was very upset.”

  “Did he and Dad...”

  “Talk? Some. They were very stiff with one another, as you can imagine. But Bryant made a point of saying that his recent health scare—which you hadn’t told us about, by the way—made him realize some things.”

  “Like how awful he was to Dad after what happened last year?”

  Margaret sighed. “I don’t think we can put all the blame on Bryant. No one was thinking rationally in those first few days. Anyway, I don’t know if the friendship can be restored, but at least they shook hands when Bryant left.”

  “And talking is a start, Mom. Now I’m going to take that nap.” She drifted into the living room, rearranged the sheets and crawled in.

  Sometime later, muted voices from the kitchen and the closing of the screen door roused her. She lifted herself up on her elbows to peer out the window and saw Luca loading Isabel’s suitcase into his SUV. Good. Maybe we can have some time to ourselves after dinner. When she reached the kitchen, she spotted the SUV heading up the drive to the highway.

  “Luca’s driving his mother home,” Margaret said, turning from washing vegetables at the sink.

  “Home?”

  “He said he’d be in touch, but I think he took his things, too.”

  * * *

  LUCA KNEW HIS mother was sorry. He accepted her explanation that she’d meant well, though a tiny voice deep inside him suspected she was only partly sincere. She’d insisted that Margaret and Harry wanted to go through with the sale, and he could understand tha
t. It probably didn’t matter to them who actually bought the place. They needed to sell, and they’d got what they were asking.

  While Isabel had repeated several times while they were packing that it was a win-win for everyone, he couldn’t help but think, maybe not for me, recalling Kai’s face when the news had come out.

  He knew it was shock that accounted for her extreme reaction but couldn’t help but wonder why she’d so swiftly accused him of being in on it. The idea that he’d conspired with his mother was ridiculous, and if Kai knew him as well as he’d thought she did, she’d never have considered that possibility. Then again, he had to admit he had a history of keeping things to himself.

  When they reached Lima city limits, Isabel finally spoke. “You can drop me here, Luca. I’ll take a taxi to Toledo.”

  He turned her way, surprised. “Mother, didn’t you notice that I put my own bag in the car, too? I’m taking you home.”

  “Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You can’t simply leave like that, without saying goodbye.”

  “I said goodbye to Thomas in his bedroom and to Margaret as we left.”

  “That’s not what I mean. You didn’t say goodbye or offer any explanation at all to Kai.”

  “I’m not sure she’ll care,” he said, recalling her angry face earlier in the day.

  Isabel harrumphed. “I’ve always thought you were very good at reading people, Luca. Don’t tell me I’ve been wrong all this time. Clearly you’re in love with her and she with you. After all you’ve been through this past year, what more can possibly matter than being with the person you love?”

  Luca braked at the red light and turned to his mother. Her voice wobbled slightly but she said, “Drop me off at a taxi.”

  He didn’t have to think long. “It’s not that far to Toledo. Just another hour or so. I’ll drive you to the airport.” The extra time would give him a chance to figure out what he’d say to Kai when he got home. Home. It really was home now.