Just a Kiss

by Denise Hunter

  Despite the woman’s friendly smile, Paige’s stomach twisted. “Margaret. This is unexpected. How are you?”

  Margaret removed her glasses, letting them dangle from the metal chain around her neck. “Oh, I’m fine, dear. Business is quite good, and my daughter just had her baby.”

  “Congratulations! That’s four grandchildren now, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, indeed. This one’s my first granddaughter though.” She extended her phone, showing a photo of the sleeping baby. She forwarded through a dozen more photos.

  “Oh, she’s just precious.”

  “Sofia Grace, for my mother. She would’ve been so pleased.”

  “What a beautiful name. You must be thrilled.”

  “I am. I only wish they lived closer, but I’ll be making a trip to meet her soon. Only for a couple days, though. The inn is like a short leash sometimes, but I do love it.” She tilted her head. “While I was in town I heard the Callahan boy is back.”

  “He is. It’s so good to have him home.”

  “He’s had a rough time of it.”

  “He sure has. But we’ve got him hooked up with a good physical therapist, and he’ll be back on his feet in no time. He’s at my place for now.”

  “I’d heard that. Well, just be careful. Traumas like that can really affect a person. One of my friend’s sons came back from Iraq a completely different man. Sullen and angry and violent. He got into trouble with the law and ended up serving prison time. Such a shame.”

  Paige’s spine lengthened even as the memory of being shoved across the room flashed in her mind. That was different. Riley had been asleep and unaware of what he was doing.

  “Riley would never do anything like that. He’s strong and independent. He’ll come out of this the better for it.”

  “I’m sure you’re right, dear.” Margaret dropped her phone into her bag. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

  Paige’s chest felt weighted with a cement block. “Of course. Lauren should be back from lunch any minute. Come on back.” She led the way to her office.

  The room was small and basic with brown paneling and an old oak desk. Paige kept her space clean, and if it smelled like dog, she’d long ago lost the ability to tell. Her only adornments were her monster fern in the corner and a desk photo she’d taken with the Callahans several years ago on the Fourth of July. She’d jumped onto Riley’s back just before the camera’s click, and the candid shot captured his surprise.

  “Have a seat.” Paige gestured toward the only other chair in the room. “Can I get you some coffee? Water?”

  “No, thank you. I just had lunch at Frumpy Joe’s. My stomach hasn’t quite recovered.” Margaret shifted on the chair, making her straw handbag crackle.

  Paige laced her hands on her desk, pushing back the anxiety that wormed in her gut. “I can tell something’s wrong, so why don’t we just get it out on the table?”

  Margaret gave her a look that could only be described as pitying. “This is difficult. I know how much Perfect Paws means to you, and how hard you’ve worked. I’m afraid I’ve come bearing bad news.”

  Paige braced herself, her heart thundering in her chest. The shelter had been running on a shoestring budget for a while. She imagined all the possibilities. Maybe they’d lost another sponsor. Or were going to have to start charging for their free services. She balked at the thought. There were so many who couldn’t afford vaccinations and spaying, and those things were critical.

  “Just tell me what it is. I can take it.”

  Margaret gave a strained smile. “I’m afraid we have to close the shelter.”

  The sucker punch drove the breath from Paige’s body. “What? No!”

  “I understand this is upsetting—”

  “We can’t close, Margaret. The community needs us. The animals need us. Even right now there are—”

  Margaret leaned across the desk and placed a hand over Paige’s fist. “I know, dear, I know. Settle down. Take a deep breath.”

  Paige tried, but her lungs seemed to have shrunk in the last ten seconds. At this very moment she had twelve dogs and nine cats that needed care. What would happen to them? To all the animals they saved and found homes for every year? Not to mention the wounded wildlife that she maybe sort of rescued—off the record.

  “You know funding has been drying up the past couple years. Some of our benefactors have moved from the area, and others have had setbacks. It’s a tough economy.”

  “But we’ve found new funding.”

  “Not enough. Not with the free vaccinations and the free spay and neuter clinics we did last year.”

  “Those things are important. And they pay off in the long run because—”

  Margaret held up her hand. “I know all the benefits. The problem is that they cost a lot of money. The vet fees, the medications, the vaccinations . . . Those services drain our funds, and now we’re in an untenable position.”

  Paige blew out a breath. Priorities. She had to think. “All right. I know I’ve been a little stubborn about this in the past, but we’ll just have to start charging for those services. I don’t like it, but it’s better than nothing.”

  Margaret shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, dear, but it’s too late for—”

  “I’ll find a grant. Grants. I’ll make it work somehow.”

  “You know how long it takes for grants to come through, if they ever do. We don’t have time for that. The board doesn’t see any reasonable alternative.”

  “A fundraiser then! Remember the lobster dinner benefit we did a few years ago? I can throw that together pretty fast, and the town will come through, you’ll see.”

  “Paige . . .”

  “The community needs this shelter, Margaret! You know it does.” The image of Bishop’s sad eyes surfaced in her mind, and her throat closed up tight. “Animals will die without it, dozens of them, needlessly.”

  Something in the woman’s pale blue eyes softened.

  “Just give me three months. I’ll find new sponsors, do fundraisers, get grants, whatever I need to do. Just don’t let them do this.”

  “You’ve already got your hands pretty full at home, Paige.”

  “I make time for what’s important, and when I set my mind to something, I make it happen. I’ll make this happen, Margaret. Please.”

  The woman studied her for a full thirty seconds while Paige worked hard to telegraph her resolution. Her lungs seemed frozen in place as her heart kicked against her ribs.

  Margaret let out a sigh that seemed to come from her toes. “I really think you’re biting off more than you can chew here. Maybe if Riley’s family stepped in to help a little more.”

  Surely the woman wasn’t going to make her choose between running the shelter and caring for Riley.

  “I am Riley’s family. You don’t need to worry about that. I can do this. Not only will I get additional funding, I’ll go over the expenditures and cut every spare cost. I’ll initiate a fee for lost pets and charge for every service we offer if I need to. Just give me a chance, Margaret. Three months, that’s all I’m asking.”

  Margaret’s eyes searched hers for a long moment. “All right. I think I can talk the board into three months.”

  Paige’s breath tumbled out.

  She was in a fog as she walked Margaret out. After the door fell closed behind her, Paige turned and let her weight sag against it.

  Three months to raise thousands of dollars. What had she gotten herself into?

  Chapter 5

  Riley maneuvered through the Roadhouse doors on his crutches. The local hangout was noisy for a Thursday night. Loud TVs broadcasted the Red Sox game, and the chatter of patrons rose above it all. It was only the spicy aroma of hot wings that drove him forward.

  “Are you sure you don’t want your wheelchair?” Paige let the door fall shut behind them.

  “I’m sure.” He was sick and tired of looking up at everybody.

  He scanned the restaurant for his br
others, finding them in their usual spot, a large corner booth. He headed that way, working the crutches carefully as his therapist had shown him. His missing leg threw him off balance. He’d almost taken two nasty falls while Paige was at work this week. Not that he was going to tell her that.

  He greeted his brothers energetically as he approached, and they scooted over to make room.

  “Why don’t we get a table,” Paige said. “There’s an open one right here.”

  “What for?” Beau asked. “We always sit here.”

  “I just thought”—her eyes darted off Riley—“it’d be, you know, easier.”

  Warmth rode up Riley’s neck. “It’s all good.” He backed up to the seat, shifted his crutches to his good side, and lowered himself into the booth. The act took a good thirty seconds, and a sweat broke out on his forehead with the effort.

  Remember when sitting wasn’t an event?

  Riley stowed his crutches beside him and picked up the menu. “I’m starving. Where are the girls?”

  “Playing pool,” Beau said. “Or trying to.”

  Riley spotted them in the far corner. Eden stood back while Lucy lined up a shot.

  “Hey, now,” Zac said. “Lucy’s gotten a lot better. We beat you last week, if you’ll recall.”

  “Dumb luck.”

  Zac rolled his eyes.

  Paige popped up. “I’m going to the ladies’ room. Order me the buffalo chicken salad, will you?”

  Riley watched her retreat for a moment before turning his attention to the menu.

  “Since when does she use public bathrooms?” Beau said, frowning after her.

  It irked Riley that his brother knew her so well, but Beau and Paige had dated for months, after all. Nothing like watching the love of his life fall for his older brother. He’d joined up because he couldn’t have what he wanted most, but enlisting had only ensured he’d never get it. The irony wasn’t lost on him.

  “She’s not using the restroom,” Riley said. “She’s pretending to use the restroom while she clears a path for me just in case I need to go.” Just like she’d removed all the rugs from the main level of her house, tucked away each stray cord, and moved every item he could possibly need to waist level.

  “She’s just trying to be helpful,” Zac said.

  Riley’s jaw tightened. He didn’t want Paige’s help or her pity. He didn’t want the woman he loved looking after him as if he were an invalid. He wanted to be functional and independent. He wanted his flipping leg back.

  “Hey,” Beau said. “You’re doing great. Already getting around on those things like an old pro.”

  Yeah. He was a real pro. A month ago, he could run five miles in full battle rattle; now he had to learn to walk again like a toddler.

  He plastered a smile on his face. “All in good time, right?”

  “You’ll be back to lobstering before you know it,” Beau said.

  Riley’s eyes cut to his as he gave a mirthless laugh. “Yeah right.”

  “Well, why not?” Zac said. “Amputees do all kinds of things these days. Look at that Olympic runner.”

  Riley scowled at him. Even walking across the room on his own steam seemed like a fairy tale at this point. His future looked about as bright as a black hole.

  So much for all the “plans You have for me,” huh, God? Prosper not harm? Hope and a future?

  Right.

  “What?” Beau said. “There’s no reason you couldn’t go back to fishing.”

  What planet did his brother live on? “Yeah, with my luck I’d lose a hand in the rig. No thanks. I’d like to keep the rest of my limbs, thank you very much. I don’t really have any to spare at this point.”

  The girls returned to the table, exuberant, squishing into the other side, alleviating the growing tension.

  “Where’s Micah?” Zac asked. Eden almost always had her seven-year-old son in tow.

  “My dad took him fishing. In other words, they’ll throw their lines into the water for about fifteen minutes, then give up and go get ice cream.”

  “Smart guys,” Lucy said. “Nothing better than a big ol’ scoop of ice cream. Unless it’s two.”

  Zac nudged his wife’s shoulder, giving her a fond look. “I remember a certain someone who put a scoop right in my lap. As I recall, the incident led to a rather sweet and lengthy first kiss.”

  She smiled at him, her eyes going soft. “A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.”

  Riley absently massaged his stump. Zac and Lucy’s history was long and twisting. They’d been engaged until she ditched him a week before their wedding. Then she turned up with amnesia months later and didn’t remember anything but being in love with Zac. Riley had missed all that while he was in the sandpit. But the two seemed to have come out of it on the other side somehow.

  The newlyweds were still looking into each other’s eyes like they were the only ones in the room.

  Beau shifted. “All right, you two, get a room.”

  Zac gave a cocky smile and made to stand. “If you insist.”

  Lucy elbowed her husband, laughing. “Stop that now.”

  Beau scowled at Eden. “How many days till our wedding?”

  “Hang in there, babe,” Eden said. “Just two more months.”

  Beau closed his eyes. “Months. Why are we waiting so long again?”

  “So she has time to realize what a big mistake she’s making,” Zac said.

  Beau shot his brother a look as Paige returned, scooting in opposite Riley. She greeted the girls.

  “Is it true what I heard about the shelter?” Lucy said, her tone full of dismay.

  Riley’s eyes fixed on Paige. They’d been alone together all week, and she hadn’t even hinted at a problem. “What about the shelter?”

  Paige gave a tight smile, her eyes flittering around the group. “We’re experiencing some financial difficulties, that’s all.”

  “Charlotte said they were going to shut it down,” Lucy said, referring to the owner of Frumpy Joe’s. “That the board decided yesterday.”

  “Is that true?” Riley asked. But he already knew it was by the look on Paige’s face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “It’s not so dire as that. They’re giving me three months to turn things around. It’ll be fine.”

  “What are you going to do?” Eden asked.

  “Find new sponsors, head up a fundraiser, and apply for grants.”

  Riley frowned at her. “When are you going to find time for all that?”

  “Evenings and weekends. I can get some of it done during slow times at work. Lauren will help with the grants—she’s a whiz at paperwork. It’ll all work out. You’ll see.”

  Riley’s gaze narrowed on Paige. He saw all right. Saw the way her eyes tightened at the corners, the way her brows furrowed, the way her fingers fidgeted with her napkin.

  “If you need help with the fundraiser, let me know,” Eden said. “I can add a page to the shelter’s website and do anything else you need.”

  “Count me in too,” Lucy said.

  “Thanks, girls. I appreciate it.”

  The server came over and took their orders. Riley’s stomach twisted in hunger as another server passed with a steaming basket of atomic wings. It had been too long.

  “How’s PT going?” Beau asked as the girls settled into their own conversation.

  “Good. Guy that’s helping me reminds me of a drill instructor I had back in boot camp.”

  “Sounds fun,” Zac said.

  “Anything that gets me back on my feet.” Foot.

  “Let me know if you ever need a ride,” Beau said.

  The conversation shifted to the Red Sox game. Riley fixed his eyes on the screen and pretended to listen.

  He’d been down since this morning when he’d passed the harbor on his way to therapy. It hit him like a sucker punch. Seeing the lobstermen getting their boats ready, recognizing the markings on the buoys, remembering when he was one of them. Remembering his own co
lors out there, bobbing in the water. He should be out there right now, hauling traps, seeing how many legals he’d caught.

  He felt a yawning ache to be out at sea, the briny wind in his face, working the way his father, and his father before him, had. Lobstering was in his blood.

  But it was all over now. Beau and Zac had only made it worse, making it seem as if he could just stick on a prosthetic limb and jump back on a boat.

  It was a dangerous trade even for an able-bodied man. He’d lost boots and gloves when they’d gotten tangled in the line. Most lobstermen did. Thankfully he’d never had a body part entangled, had never been dragged overboard. But a prosthesis wouldn’t allow for the dexterity needed to avoid that. Or if it did, it would take years to develop.

  Something in the girls’ conversation tweaked his ear, and he listened in, his eyes still on the TV.

  “Isn’t he the one who bought your picnic lunch at the auction last summer?” Lucy was saying.

  “That’s the guy,” Paige said. “We went out once after that, but he was just coming out of a long-term relationship and he told me he needed to take some time. Then about a month ago he asked me out again.”

  His stomach twisted. Who was she talking about? And why hadn’t she mentioned it to him?

  “Friday’ll be our fifth date.”

  Fifth? He turned a dark look on Zac, who was too busy watching the game to notice. Thanks for the warning, buddy.

  “So where are you going?” Lucy asked.

  “I don’t know. He’s going to surprise me.”

  “He has the dreamiest brown eyes,” Eden said.

  “Like a puppy dog,” Lucy added. “Has he kissed you yet?”

  Riley clenched the napkin in his lap, fighting the urge to cover his ears. He was glad when the Red Sox scored the tying run and the patrons erupted in applause, causing him to miss Paige’s response. He didn’t want to imagine some other guy’s lips on hers. He’d had the privilege only once, and he remembered every detail. That was the only image he wanted in his brain.

  “Those shoulders were made for crying on, sugar,” Lucy was saying. “He goes to our church, doesn’t he?”

  “Yeah, the early service though.”