It Had to Be Him

by Tamra Baumann

  Josh sent the picture to Meg with the caption We’re here. She gets her table manners from you. Hopefully Haley wouldn’t mention their outdoor bathroom adventure to Meg.

  Not a minute passed before Meg replied. Wipes in the backpack, funny guy. Use them!

  Will do. Stop worrying.

  Can’t.

  Try harder. Love you.

  There was a long pause before she typed back. I’m still working on that. Thx for remembering to text me. Have fun.

  He shook his head and then put his phone away. Did the “still working on that” part refer to the worry for Haley, or about saying she loved him back? Probably both. He hoped.

  After a quick wipe down, he grabbed Haley from the backseat and plopped her onto the ground. “Let’s go see Charlie.”

  They circled around the barn because he worried about the dust and Haley’s asthma too, and walked to the back pasture. Eric and Mr. J were inside the fence working on Charlie’s hoof. Other horses were milling about. Mr. J lifted a hand in greeting, but Eric didn’t seem to notice they were there. Probably had his earbuds in again.

  When Haley saw the puppies and their mother, she let out a yelp. With their stubby little tails wagging, they all ran full tilt toward her.

  Giggling and trying to pet all four dogs at once, Haley sat down and let them crawl all over her. Pure joy lit her face as she rolled around with them.

  Yeah, she needed a puppy. The trick might be getting her to pick just one.

  With Haley content, he hopped the fence to see about Charlie.

  “Hey, guys.” When he got closer, Eric finally turned around. The kid had a shiner under his left eye, a busted lip, and cuts and bruises all along his arms.

  Eric nodded, then quickly looked away.

  Hot anger, mixed with memories of his own humiliation at the hands of bullies, made Josh tilt his head, silently asking to speak with Mr. J alone.

  His former mentor said, “Eric, why don’t you finish up here while I talk to Josh for a minute?”

  Eric nodded and got back to work.

  Once inside the barn, Josh asked, “When did that happen?”

  Mr. J’s jaw twitched in annoyance. “Last night. And the night before last. He’s miserable here and not making friends. I’ve looked into other options, but no one can take him until August. I called his grandmother this morning to see how she’s doing. She’s in the hospital again so she can’t take his guardianship back.”

  Josh was supposed to be staying detached, dammit. Maybe helping at the ranch, with all the memories, hadn’t been the best idea. He might have to rethink that and find another venue to help.

  But Eric was a good kid who needed a break. And for the first time in his life, Josh was in a position to help. “So Eric just needs a place for a couple of months?” Meg could probably use some cheap manual labor at her lodge. Or maybe Eric could help out in Zeke’s shop.

  When Eric screamed, “No, stop!” Josh whirled around.

  Haley had followed a puppy under the fence and into the horse corral. His heart lurched as he took off at a full run.

  Josh laid a hand on the fence and swung his feet over. As his boots hit the dirt, Eric scooped up a crying Haley and then the pup, hauling them both out of harm’s way. Eric handed Haley to Josh. “I’m sorry I scared her. I didn’t want her to get hurt.”

  Josh took Haley and held her close, not sure who was more scared—her or him. “Thanks, Eric.”

  The kid smiled. “My little sister always did dumb stuff like that too. You gotta watch them all the time.” When Eric’s smile slowly faded and sadness flashed in his eyes—missing his little sister, no doubt—Josh was a goner.

  He was going to take the kid and the damn dogs Eric loved too. It was just for a few months. There’d be plenty of room at the lodge for all of them. And they’d find homes for the other dogs.

  Meg was going to kill him.

  Meg sat next to Casey on the couch at Pam’s house. With girls’ night in full swing, Meg reached for her phone again, but still no word from Josh. They should have been back an hour ago.

  Casey whispered, “They probably just stopped for dinner. Here.” Casey stuck a glass of wine into Meg’s hand. “Drink up. I’m gonna get some more nachos.”

  “Bring me some too, please.” Pam always threw a fun party, but Meg just wasn’t feeling it. Especially after Sarah had told her that Amber had tried to convince Sarah’s husband, an electrician, not to work at the lodge.

  Hopefully Beau would be able to convince the subs to ignore Amber too, or Meg might be in trouble. She had more pre-booking money now and couldn’t afford to open late. Her stomach ached thinking about what would happen if she couldn’t finish in time and had to return money already spent.

  Pam sat down beside her on the couch. “So what’s up with you and Amber? She said if you were coming to the party tonight she wasn’t. When I told her that was stupid, she said she was too busy anyway. Some PowerPoint thing she had to get done for Founder’s Day tomorrow.”

  Meg usually told Pam everything, but had decided not to tell anyone about her and Amber being sisters—yet. Not because her father asked her not to, but because she didn’t need any more complications at the moment. “I’m sure she’s just being her usual drama-queen self.”

  “Yeah, probably. So how’s it going with you and Josh?”

  Casey returned with three bowls of nachos. After she handed them out, she said, “Yeah, Meg. Spill.”

  “Wait. We want to hear too.” Meg smiled as Sarah, the married love of Ryan’s life; the new dentist, Tara; and Aunt Gloria gathered around.

  “The sex is fantastic. But that wasn’t ever our problem. When we first met, Josh was super attentive and sweet. But as time went on he changed. He became such a workaholic it was hard to get him to put away his phone or laptop long enough to watch a half-hour television show with me. But now he’s back to the way he was before. He asks about my day and we talk about his, we take turns making dinner, he takes Haley for little outings every day, never checks e-mail while we eat, and actually pays attention when I tell him something. I used to have to send him e-mails if I wanted him to remember things we had planned. It’s pretty much great between us now.”

  Casey took a deep drink from her glass. “There’s an unspoken ‘but’ in there. What is it?”

  Her sister knew her too well. “Besides being concerned he might slip back into workaholic mode, I’m worried that after having that high-powered job he’s going to get bored with small-town life and leave us again. I mean, seriously? No matter how much he tells me he’s happy getting his hands dirty for a change, how can a guy who used to work practically nonstop and made a gazillion dollars doing it be happy working on copters and engines with Zeke?”

  Meg took a quick nacho break. They were just too good to ignore. “I’m pretty much committed to staying here now, no matter how badly Amber wants to run me out of town. So I’m afraid to take that final leap and dive in all the way. It hurt too much when he left the last time.”

  Pam nodded as she popped another nacho in her mouth. “Yeah, and didn’t you say he wants to work with troubled kids? Not enough of those around here to keep him busy with that. You may have a point.”

  Aunt Gloria shook her head. “I see the way that man looks at you. And the way you look at him when you think no one is watching. You’re already in, whether you want to admit it or not.”

  Was she? While she pondered that, Meg’s phone vibrated in her back pocket. “Maybe this is Josh.”

  Meg tapped the text icon. Got delayed with some paperwork, but we’re back now. Have a few surprises for you. Maybe you can ask the ladies if anyone wants a puppy?

  Josh had already mentioned the little boy at the ranch needing to find homes for the dogs. But paperwork? Something was up. What kind of surprises? Don’t tell me you brought a puppy home!

  Okay, I won’t tell you. Gotta go. Haley’s hungry.

  Dammit.

  She looked up at all th
e women, who were waiting patiently to see what was up. “He brought a puppy home. I’m going to kill him.”

  Tara, a tall, thin, beautiful blonde, laughed. “That’s the sign of a committed man, if you ask me. I saw the picture he posted at the diner. Those are some pretty cute pups. I’ve been thinking of taking one now that I’m all settled in my house.”

  Sarah, always so quiet and sweet, smiled. “They really are adorable. I asked, but Ed won’t let me have one. It just melted my heart when Haley told me at the fund-raiser how badly she wants a dog, Meg. You have all that room now.”

  Aunt Gloria nodded and took another slug of wine. “Dogs are good for kids. Teaches them responsibility.”

  Pam stood and grabbed another bottle of wine, then went around topping off everyone’s glasses. “You always had a dog growing up, Meg, so why shouldn’t Haley?”

  Casey nodded and opened her mouth to add her opinion, but Meg held up a hand to cut her off. “Okay. Fine. She can keep the dog. But Josh is going to have to do the housebreaking.” Relieved that Josh and Haley, and a new puppy, were back and safely tucked into the guesthouse, Meg drained her wineglass, ready to have some fun.

  Just before midnight, Meg reached for the handle on the guesthouse door. Josh hadn’t locked it like she’d expected. Which was a good thing because she didn’t have her keys with her. Hopefully he’d waited up. He’d been right earlier—a hot roll in the hay would be the perfect ending to a pretty great day.

  As she quietly swung the door open, three little balls of fur slipped past her feet. A bigger version walked out slowly behind.

  What the . . . ? She’d wrapped her head around one dog, but not four! Josh was so not getting lucky now.

  She waited while they all did their business, then shooed them back inside. There was an overturned box by the door that must’ve been where the pups were supposed to be sleeping. She righted the box and then wrestled the dogs back inside while the momma dog laid down to watch over the whole affair. One pup who looked like a little pirate with a patch over one eye tried to make a run for it, but Meg snagged him. When she lifted him to eye level to scold him, a rough little pink tongue slipped out and licked her cheek. Instead of chastising him, she kissed him on the top of the head, then plopped him into the box with the others.

  She reinforced the box with extra weight at the bottom, then turned and pulled up short. A boy with a bruised face was sound asleep on the love seat and Josh and Haley were both asleep on the couch. An open book lay facedown next to Haley’s head on Josh’s chest. They must’ve fallen asleep reading.

  It melted her heart.

  But not for long, because the house was a disaster. There were books, toys, and torn-up stuffed animals all over the floor. The puppies must’ve gotten ahold of them after they’d busted themselves out.

  Josh was usually a light sleeper, but it looked like he’d slept right through the stuffed-animal murders. Two kids and four dogs must have worn him out. Served him right.

  Josh had some serious ’splaining to do in the morning.

  After getting ready for bed, Meg switched off the light and crawled under the sheets. Just as she was about to drift off, soft whining accompanied by scratching on her door made her throw the covers back. At this rate, she was never going to get any sleep.

  Whipping the door open, ready to scold the momma dog, she looked down. A lone escaped pup looked up at her and wagged his stub tail. It was pirate face.

  Resigned, she huffed out a breath and lifted the pooch up. After creating a makeshift bed out of towels and a laundry basket, she settled the pup in and laid the basket next to her bed. “I’m right up here, see? Now go to sleep.”

  Just as she closed her eyes, the puppy whined again. Meg reached down and petted the dog until it quieted. But no sooner than Meg had fallen asleep, the whining started again. It was like having a newborn.

  This dog was lucky it was her favorite of the three puppies or she’d make Josh deal with it. She reached down and petted the dog until it settled again. Brother. Look at her, getting all attached after only a half hour.

  Closing her eyes, she gave up and just left her hand on the puppy’s back, willing herself to sleep.

  Meg awoke to a warm tongue licking her tingling, numb fingers. It was morning, but just barely. The pooch probably needed to go outside again.

  With her stiff arm, she lifted pirate pup from the basket and stared into his adorable, furry little face. “I hereby dub you Captain Jack Sparrow. No. What the heck, maybe I’ll just call you Johnny Depp. You’re both pretty darned cute. And you’ll probably have the chance to meet him. He’s a big tipper and one of my favorite guests.”

  And, she was talking to a dog.

  Sheesh.

  When she opened the bedroom door, the boy was up. His hands were full of stuffed-animal guts and the room was almost tidy again. Josh and Haley were still asleep on the couch.

  She whispered, “Hi. Thanks for cleaning up. I’m Meg.”

  Relief flashed across the kid’s face. “There’s the missing one.” He dumped the stuffing into a garbage bag and then held his hands out for the pup. “I’m Eric. I’ll take him outside with the others. I made a pen for them.”

  “Thanks, Eric.” Meg handed the dog over and started for the kitchen. A kid who cleaned up and figured out how to make a pen all before six a.m. didn’t seem like the kind to get into fights. There must be some big story behind Eric and the dogs. Best to load up on caffeine before she and Josh got into it.

  As she flipped the switch for the coffeemaker, a big set of hands slipped around her waist.

  “Morning.” Josh pulled her against him and wrapped her up tight, trapping her arms at her sides. Then he nibbled on her neck. A move that would have normally driven her wild.

  “Not gonna work, pal. But you’re smart to restrain my fists. I’m tempted to belt you.”

  He kissed her cheek. “I deserve it, but will you hear me out first, please?” He let his arms fall to his sides, releasing her.

  It was hard to fight with someone who admitted his guilt right up front and sounded so sincere, but she was willing to try. Spinning around, she said, “You knew I didn’t want a dog right now.”

  He crossed his arms. “That’s why my plan was to get a puppy for myself, so you wouldn’t have to deal with it. But then things got complicated.”

  Struggling to keep her voice low so as not to wake Haley, she said, “It doesn’t work that way with kids.”

  Josh’s brows crumpled in confusion. “What do you mean?”

  “She’s going to fall in love with it and think of it as hers, no matter if it’s mine or yours.”

  “I didn’t think of that. But why does that matter?”

  Temper flaring, she blurted out, “I don’t appreciate you making this big a decision about our daughter without me. I understand this is all new to you, but if things don’t work out . . . well, it just adds a complication we don’t need right now!”

  Josh’s jaw tightened. “If things don’t work out? I thought—” Eric came back inside, so Josh took her arm and guided her to the bedroom. He shut the door behind them. “I thought we were on the same page here. Clearly we’re not.”

  He was angry too. But holding it together better.

  Haley’s puppy was going to be one more thing they’d have to share for years to come. Bonding them even tighter. Half of her liked the idea, but her other half was terrified.

  Meg sank to the edge of the bed. As she opened her mouth to try to explain, he said, “I’m in this for the long haul, Meg. I thought you were too.”

  She stared into his eyes; they were swimming with pain and frustration.

  The girls had all ganged up on her the night before, telling her she needed to deal with her trust issues. Those junior shrinks concluded it had started with her dad, and then Amber made it worse when she’d suddenly turned on her. That’s why Meg had kept most people at arm’s length and picked emotionally remote men whom she expected to dump her.<
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  Until she’d met Josh. He was the first guy she’d allowed herself to trust. Then he’d left her too. But, unlike the others, he’d come back. That had to count for something. People make mistakes; she’d certainly made her share.

  Casey had admitted she actually liked Josh, thought he was good for Meg.

  If Casey liked him, then maybe he wasn’t the usual type Meg always picked. Casey’s approval made the decision easier. Maybe it was time to break the cycle and get over it. He’d changed, so maybe she could too.

  “I’m sorry. What I should’ve said was that when it comes to Haley, we need to start making decisions together—especially something as big as getting a dog, Josh.”

  He cringed. “Well, then maybe I’d better tell you the rest. About Eric. But first, I’d like to tell you what it was like for me growing up at the ranch.”

  Josh opened up for the first time about his past. It was a subject he’d never wanted to talk about, so she’d never pressed. It had made it that much easier not to tell him about her past either.

  She couldn’t imagine Josh as a skinny kid, getting beat up regularly. There were few who’d take him on now. No wonder he was so good about going to the gym and keeping fit. It must have given him a sense of control he never had as a kid.

  By the time he’d finished his story she felt so sorry for Eric, there was no way she could be angry at Josh for taking the kid away from the pain and the bullying.

  But keeping a kid and four dogs at the lodge while it was being renovated was no small thing and he should’ve at least called her. “Fine. Eric can stay for the summer. And one pup. I vote for the little pirate. But no more decisions like this without talking to me. Got it?”

  “Yep.” He smiled so sweetly it weakened her defenses, as usual. “How about I lock the door and we finish making up?”

  “Or, how about you go out there and make breakfast for that crowd while I take a shower and try to figure out how to find homes for those other three dogs before Haley gets too attached?”

  “Or I can do that.” He stood and opened the door. “Thank you, Meg. I knew you’d understand. You have a big heart under all that bluster. It’s what I love most about you.”