If it had only been about her, she’d dive in and never look back. But as a mother, she had to protect her kids from the emotional backlash that might happen if they fell in love with Adrian as a father figure and things didn’t work out.
Adrian had said that he’d be there for her kids—and for Charlie—no matter what she decided about their relationship. They’d made a pinkie swear that they would always be friends. If all that was true, then Adrian would understand when she told him tomorrow that they needed to go back to being friends and let any relationship that might grow out of that friendship evolve more slowly.
With that decision made just as the sky began to lighten outside her bedroom window, Heather finally let herself sleep.
***
Winky sat in the towel-lined crate that smelled like Adrian’s house. All alone in the dark room that didn’t smell like anywhere he’d ever been before, Winky wondered why he’d been abandoned.
He had tried to connect his mind to Adrian’s several times, but it wasn’t working. Adrian’s mind was encased in a dark fog that Winky couldn’t penetrate. The only explanation that made sense was that Winky’s trusted human friend had closed the door of communication, and Winky didn’t know why.
Had he not been good? He’d done his best.
He’d been tricked into surrendering his freedom and opening his heart, only to be left behind.
He vowed to himself that he would never trust humans again. He vowed that if someone opened the door to the outside, he would take the chance and run. He knew the way back to freedom because he’d paid attention when Adrian carried him up the stairs in the crate. When Winky got free, he would go back to being untethered to anyone. He would go back to being independent. He would go back to fighting for survival. He would challenge Old Gray, and this time, he would finally beat the old warrior.
Because Winky’s time with humans had changed him.
He had learned how to love, and now that his love had been rejected, he was learning how to hate.
***
Leaving Jasper at home, Heather and the kids arrived at the shelter about an hour before the grand opening of Magnolia Bay’s Furever Love Animal Shelter. The fund-raiser and celebration aspect of the grand opening would take place entirely at Bayside Barn under the direction of Reva and the barn volunteers. Abby and Heather would take turns giving guided tours of the shelter every half hour.
The kids scattered immediately. Erin had been exchanging texts all morning with Quinn’s son, Sean, and the teenagers had arranged to meet up in the pavilion next door at Bayside Barn. The twins made a beeline for the bouncy house, under strict instructions not to go inside unless and until an adult was there to supervise. One cracked-open head a week, Heather had told them, was more than enough for her.
Heather walked over to where Quinn had set up a row of tents along the tree-shaded fence in the shelter’s parking lot. He had also erected a rope barrier marked with flapping flags to keep idiots from attempting to drive or park too close to the adoption tents. Heather waved to her friend Sara Prather. The editor and photographer of the Magnolia Bay news flyer and VP of the Magnolia Bay Elementary School’s PTA, Sara was directing several people who were unloading dog crates from vans and walking dogs around the parking lot.
Sara had organized and advertised an adoption event for rescue organizations and shelters from neighboring towns. Arrangements had been made for the animals who didn’t find forever homes today to become the first shelter residents. The hope was to foster long-term relationships between this shelter and others in order to pool resources to find homes for animals in need.
Sara’s long copper hair glowed like a new penny in the sun as she waved to Heather and motioned her over. Sara pulled Heather aside and spoke quietly. “I heard about Adrian’s accident yesterday. Is he going to be okay?”
“I got a text from his mother this morning. She says he’ll be fine. They kept him in the hospital overnight, but they’re going to release him later today.”
“Wow.” Sara gave Heather a penetrating look. “Was it very bad?”
Heather nodded. “The ski sliced his forehead open. There was so much blood.” She closed her eyes and shook her head, dispelling the memory. “I almost fainted.” She didn’t add that the reason she’d almost fainted wasn’t simply because there was blood. She’d almost fainted because it was Adrian’s blood.
“Quinn said your kids were in the boat when it happened and that y’all were all very upset and worried for Adrian.”
“We were hysterical.” She didn’t bother to split hairs about which of her kids were there and which weren’t. “He was knocked out at first. It looked like he was dead. It was…horrible.”
Sara made a soft sound of commiseration. “That’s awful. Quinn said that you and your kids are really close with Adrian.” Sara cocked her head and put her hands on her hips, assuming the stance of a good friend who’s been unfairly left out of the loop. “I didn’t know that.”
Heather shrugged. “He comes over sometimes to ride Charlie, that’s all.” But her blush gave her away. She could feel it creeping up her neck and into her cheeks, making the heat of her slight sunburn glow even hotter.
“Um-hmm,” Sara said in a skeptical voice. “I see how it is.”
“No,” Heather hit back. “No. You don’t see how it is. There is nothing between Adrian and me but friendship.” At least, Heather hoped they could still have a friendship once she asked him to cool their relationship for a while, but that remained to be seen. Since Adrian lived in New Orleans and she lived in Magnolia Bay, was it even practical to expect anything to come of their mutual attraction? Would any of it even matter in a few months’ time?
“Just friendship.” Sara scoffed. “I’ve known you since third grade. And I didn’t fall off the turnip truck yesterday.”
“Just friendship,” Heather repeated. “If that.”
A rescue volunteer came up to them, leading a charmingly scruffy midsize dog on a leash. “I’m sorry,” she said to Sara, “but we totally forgot to bring poop bags. Do y’all have any to spare?”
Sara turned toward Heather.
“Yes, of course,” Heather answered. “Come with me.”
“It’s turned out to be a beautiful day,” the woman commented on their way across the parking lot. “Hasn’t it?”
Heather looked up at the endless blue sky for the first time that day. She’d been so preoccupied with her worry over Adrian and their relationship that she’d completely forgotten to ground herself in the here and now. The weather had indeed cooperated to ensure a perfect day. A tropical storm brewing in the gulf, the first storm of this hurricane season, was still several days from landfall. It hadn’t yet sent a cloud into the sky, but already it created a lovely warm breeze that flirted with the skirt of Heather’s sundress. “It’s perfect,” Heather agreed. “I’m so glad y’all could come and be a part of our celebration.”
Heather took the woman into the shelter and provided her with poop bags. “Best of luck finding homes for the dogs you brought to the adoption event today.” They chatted all the way back to the adoption event, then Heather waved to Sara and walked through the large drive-through gate that had been left open between the shelter and Bayside Barn.
The pre-storm breeze flirted playfully with the flags that decorated the food booths, and fluttered the edges of the disposable tablecloths on the tables in the pavilion. In early September down here, the weather was still hot as blazes, so these breezy days before a storm brought welcome relief from the oppressive, muggy heat that often persisted into October.
Most of the tropical storms in the gulf either fizzled out or went somewhere else. Gulf Coast residents took the threat of storms with a grain of salt until they knew they had a real and imminent danger to guard against or flee from. There was no use fretting; people did what they could to prevent damage, then prepar
ed to hunker down or flee as the situation evolved.
As with Bayside Barn, the shelter was prepared to ride out all but the most severe hurricanes. The new buildings at the shelter had all been built to withstand a Category 5 storm. Part of the shelter’s planning phase had included coming up with a hurricane preparedness plan, and the team had decided that animals housed in the older buildings would be evacuated for a storm rated Category 3 or higher, just to be safe.
Worried about the conversation she planned to have with Adrian, Heather sought out Reva, who always made her feel better, no matter what was going on. She found her standing near the portable corral where the two ponies, Sunshine and Midnight, were decked out with flowers and ribbons braided into their manes and tails. “Ready for the pony rides, I see.”
“Yep.” Reva nodded toward the big red barn. “And Sean and Erin are bringing out the donkeys now.” The donkeys, Elijah and Miriam, looked comical and cute in flower-bedecked straw hats with holes cut out for their ears. “I’ve tasked them with making sure that the equines and their handlers have plenty of water and time to rest in between rides.”
“Erin will love that.” Heather noticed the happy glow on her daughter’s face as Erin chatted with the handsome teen. “Sean seems not to mind either.”
“They’re both pretty taken with each other.” Reva glanced at her watch. “People will be arriving soon. Are you and Abby set to give shelter tours?”
“I’ll walk over in a minute.” Someone had set up a canopy by the big gate between the properties with a sign advertising shelter tours every half hour. “I noticed the tour station when I walked past.”
Reva opened the corral gate so Erin and Sean could lead the donkeys through. “Y’all all set?” she asked the kids.
At their thumbs-up, Reva and Heather walked toward the dividing wall between the two properties. Food tents with festive banners lined the Bayside Barn parking lot, which would remain closed to vehicles today. A critter-petting enclosure had been erected outside the barn, and volunteers wearing colorful Bayside Barn T-shirts were beginning to take their stations. Tickets for food and fun would be sold at the gate by the road and at the pavilion, which had been set up as a food court with tables and chairs. “How’s Adrian doing today?” Reva asked. “Have you heard?”
Heather filled Reva in on the text Eileen had sent earlier. “I’m worried about seeing him though.”
Reva ran a hand down Heather’s arm. “Why?”
Heather shrugged. “I’m going to tell him that we need to go back to being friends. I had no business thinking…” She shrugged again, then left it at that.
“Thinking what?” Reva pressed. “Thinking you deserve to be happy?”
“Starting something this intense with Adrian was stupid. I’m not ready for a romantic relationship.”
Reva made a tsking sound. “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a coward.”
Heather lifted her chin. “The kids and I were just beginning to move on with our lives after Dale’s death. Starting to gain some equilibrium. But I let Adrian get too close too fast, and when he got hurt, it put us right back where we started. I just need to back up a bit and reassess.”
“I can see how bringing a new man into your life might stir old ghosts, and his accident was upsetting, but—”
“Caroline had that old nightmare about Dale dying last night,” Heather interrupted. “She hasn’t had that nightmare in months, but seeing Adrian so hurt brought it all back.”
“Sure it did.” Reva’s voice was soft, and she put a gentle hand on Heather’s back. “But that doesn’t mean you should give up trying to be happy, does it?”
“I’m not giving up. I’m just…postponing.” Heather’s eyes stung with tears, but she blinked them away. “I think that Adrian and I need to learn how to be friends before we think about being lovers.” She swallowed. “If the kids and I fall in love with Adrian and anything happens to him, we won’t survive it.”
Reva rubbed Heather’s back softly. “And what if you’ve already fallen in love with him?”
Heather straightened her spine. “I can’t afford to think about that.”
Chapter 17
Adrian felt like growling at everyone who gave him shocked glances as he walked past the people leaving Bayside Barn and heading toward their cars. His forehead and nose were both bandaged, and even though he wore his sunglasses, the entire top half of his face was bruised and swollen.
As the medics had predicted, he did indeed look like Frankenstein.
At the gate, he paid the entry fee for himself and his parents and bought a bunch of tickets for them plus more for Heather’s kids. “Y’all have fun,” he said to his parents. “I’m gonna go find Heather.”
Even this late in the afternoon, the place was packed. The hot breeze carried the sound of a live band playing Zydeco music along with the mingled scents of barbecue, funnel cake, and grilled corn on the cob.
Adrian found Erin and Sean taking tickets for the pony and donkey rides. Erin’s eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open.
Seeing the expression on her face, Sean followed her gaze. “Whoa,” Sean said. “Holy shit, Batman.”
Surprising Adrian, Erin gave him a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” She pulled away and studied his face. “I mean, I hope you’re okay. At least you’re walking, right? I mean, at least you’re not—”
“Right.” He was glad he wasn’t dead too. “I might not win any beauty contests for a while, but I’m gonna be okay.”
“Can I see?” She made a motion asking him to remove his sunglasses.
He lifted them up for a second, revealing two spectacularly black eyes.
Erin winced, and Sean turned away to take someone’s tickets and tell them where to stand to wait for the next group’s ride. But not before Adrian saw the pained look on Sean’s face. “It’s not as bad as it looks,” he said to both teens. Then, to Erin, “Do you know where your mom is?”
Erin pointed in the direction of the gate between the shelter and the barn. “She and Abby are taking turns giving shelter tours.”
He had walked right past there, so Heather must have been giving a tour. “Okay, thanks. What about the twins?”
Erin shrugged. “Around here somewhere. They ran out of tickets a while back, so…” She shrugged again.
“Okay. If you see them, tell them to come find me at the shelter. I’ve got more tickets for them.”
“Will do.” Erin hugged him again. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks.” Adrian hadn’t walked ten feet before he was tackled from behind, and two spindly little arms wrapped around his legs. He’d know that tackle and those spindly little arms anywhere. “Josh, hey.”
“Ade! You came!” Josh released him, and Adrian turned to see Josh, Caroline, and another kid about their same size staring at him. “Whoa!” Josh yelled, apparently delighted at Adrian’s gruesome appearance. “You’re all bruised up. Can I see your scars?”
“Maybe later.”
Caroline stood behind the boys, looking uncomfortable. Adrian knelt. “Come here, Caroline.”
She eased forward, and he gently guided her to sit on his knee. “I’m sorry you had to see what happened yesterday. I know that was very upsetting for you.”
She nodded, her green eyes solemn.
“But I’m okay now.”
She didn’t say anything. She just stared.
“Are you okay?”
She stuck her thumb in her mouth and shrugged.
“She had nightmares,” Josh offered. “Didn’t you, Caroline?”
She nodded.
He smoothed her long blond hair. “I’m really sorry about that.”
“Did you get stitches?” Josh asked, clearly enthralled with the idea.
“Yep.” When Adrian looked at Josh, he noticed Caroline studying his f
ace. When he turned his head, she would’ve been able to see the bruised skin beneath his sunglasses. Not black, exactly, but certainly a nice deep purple.
“How many?” the other kid, a boy with curly red hair and freckles, spoke up.
“Forty-six,” Adrian answered.
“Wow,” both boys said at once.
“Did it hurt?” Caroline asked in a soft, hesitant voice.
Adrian thought about sugarcoating it, but he knew Caroline would know better, and he wanted her to trust him. “Yes, it did. It hurt pretty bad. But not the getting-stitches part. They gave me shots so that part didn’t hurt.”
“Shots hurt,” Caroline said. “Don’t they?”
He smiled. “Yeah, but not much because after the first few shots, everything starts to go numb.”
She reached up and touched the bruise that wasn’t quite hidden by his sunglasses.
“Is your nose broke?” Josh asked with avid curiosity.
“No. My nose isn’t broken.” They’d done a CT scan to determine the severity of his concussion, so even though his nose looked broken, they knew for sure that it wasn’t.
“Mama said you had a combustion, though.”
Adrian laughed, then winced because any kind of movement still hurt like hell. “I had a concussion. But it’s going to be okay too.”
“Okay, well,” Josh said, now that all the fun of examining Adrian’s injuries was over. “Max and me are gonna go play. Caroline, are you coming?”
Caroline looked at the boys, then at Adrian, weighing her options.
“You can come with me if you like,” he said to her. “I’m gonna go find your mother.”
She smiled at him, a tiny upward tilt of her lips. “I’ll come with you.”
Adrian stood, and Caroline slipped her hand into his. He gave a handful of tickets to Josh, who yelled, “Thanks, Ade.” After counting his ticket windfall, Josh grinned. “I’ll split with ya,” he promised his friend, and both boys took off in the direction of the bouncy house.
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