She hadn’t asked Ayla why she’d rushed out of town without clothes—no one had, actually—which was a testament to their class and respect for Miz Marie.
“You’re not supposed to tell me what?” Ayla asked Darcy.
“What the Dogmothers do,” Darcy replied, sliding a sly look to Cassie, who cracked up.
“The Dogmothers.” Ayla shook her head, officially lost. “Okay, from what I can tell, every woman here is a dogmother. Even you, Destiny.” She pointed to the young Lab mix next to her.
“Mavvie!” The little girl threw her arms around the dog’s neck and kissed him. “I’m not his mother. I’m his best friend!” The stutter seemed to disappear when Mavvie was close, Ayla noticed.
“The Dogmothers are Gramma Finnie and Yiayia,” Darcy explained. “They picked up where my dad, who we call the Dogfather, left off.”
“Left off from…what?” At their very sly smiles, she added, “Or don’t I want to know?”
They laughed, and Darcy got a little closer. “Let’s all walk down and watch the game, and we’ll tell you.”
“Don’t let them know you’re telling her,” Cassie warned, thumbing toward the porch behind them where the two grannies rocked and talked. “They don’t like their work to be public until they know they hit a home run. Then they’ll be all over town blabbing that they scored again.”
Ayla looked down at Destiny. “Why do I think she’s not really talking about baseball?” she asked with a teasing smile.
The little girl giggled, but just then, John Santorini, the tall, bearded man who was about to become Destiny’s stepfather, walked toward the porch.
“Where’s our water girl?” he asked, reaching out for Destiny with both arms.
“Here I come!” She literally threw herself off the steps into his arms, her corkscrew hair flying. “Come on, Mavvie!”
“Come on, Mommy.” John looked over the girl’s shoulder at Summer. “You’re going to play a game of touch football, aren’t you?”
“I’m going to sit this one out,” she said, tipping her head toward Ayla, “and keep our guest company. I think the conversation is about to get interesting.”
Behind his glasses, his dark eyes flickered with some humor, then he spun Destiny in a circle, making her giggle. “Then I got the water girl!”
As they took off, Summer gazed after them, her smile locked in place.
“You wanted to know what the Dogmothers do?” Darcy said, giving an elbow jab to Ayla. “Just look at the joy on that soon-to-be-married woman’s face, and you’ll know.”
Summer did look joyous, but that did nothing to clear the confusion.
“It used to be my dad,” Darcy said, slipping her arm through Ayla’s to walk them all toward the sideline of the game. “And he was good. Got all six of us hitched and happy, as he likes to say. But then he found his own match in Katie Santorini.”
Ayla glanced over her shoulder to the older couple walking the property with two dogs, one a gorgeous but slow senior setter, the other a golden who never left his side. Daniel Kilcannon was a handsome man in his early sixties, a patriarch clearly adored by this clan. Next to him was one of the first people she’d met today, Theo’s mother, Katie, who looked at Daniel a lot like Summer had looked at John.
“That’s when the Greeks invaded,” Cassie added, “and the Dogmothers took over the family business.”
“I thought the family business was dog training,” Ayla said, gesturing toward the expansive outbuildings, training pens, and dormitories around her.
“That’s one of the businesses,” Summer said on a laugh. “The other is…”
“Looove.” All three of them said it together, dragging out the word and punctuating it with hoots of laughter.
Ayla had a feeling that’s where they were going, but—
“Are you not playing, Darcy?” A young woman about Ayla’s age bounced over on her sneakers, grabbing Darcy’s arm. Ella had come late to dinner, and Ayla had briefly met her, but she remembered that a couple of the men here called her Smella, which didn’t seem to bother her a bit.
“With Theo home? It’s going to get rough out there today.”
“Then I’m out, too. I don’t play this game without you, Darce,” Ella said, sliding her fingers through short, dark hair that accentuated her big brown eyes and striking cheekbones.
“Let’s hang and not get all sweaty trying to beat these guys at their game,” Darcy said.
“We were going to tell Ayla what the Dogmothers do.” Cassie lifted a brow. “You don’t want to miss that, do you?”
“Miss it?” Ella’s eyes flashed at Ayla. “I could kiss you! Thank you so much for showing up and finally taking the heat off me. I guess it’s Theo I should thank, but since they’ve zeroed in on you…” She made a big sweep of relief over her forehead. “Whew. I can fend off those relentless matchmakers for a while.”
“Matchmakers?” Ayla choked softly. “Theo? Is that what this is all about?”
“What is what all about?” The question came from another woman who’d joined the group, this one with the stunning contrast of silver-blue eyes and long black hair, a hand comfortably resting on a pregnant belly.
“Oh, Evie!” Cassie said, pulling her into their circle. “You are a perfect example of how they work.”
“How do they work?” Ayla asked, not sure she wanted to hear this, but knowing she had to. What had she walked into here at Waterford Farm?
They all answered at once, so all she caught were snippets about how good the Dogmothers were and how they’d all been matched—except Ella—and how they’d pounced on their next match the minute they’d seen Theo and Ayla talking in the driveway.
“Their next match?” She laughed and looked from one to the other. “You cannot be serious,” she finally said.
Summer looked at Cassie, who looked at Darcy, who looked at Evie, who looked at Ella, who shrugged.
“I’m the last female standing,” Ella said. “So if you want my advice? You either run for the hills, pretend you’re already taken, or get ready to stare into the eyes of two very determined old ladies and say no. Which is nearly impossible. I’m worn to a nub from telling them I’m not interested in settling down.”
They reached a grouping of blankets that had been laid out for anyone who wanted to watch the game. Right now, that included only Clementine, who was being supervised by a little boy and a German shepherd. Clementine stared intently at the field, and Ayla didn’t even need to look to identify the object of her attention.
“So, how do they do it?” she asked as they all sat down together.
Summer held up her left hand, showing off a glistening engagement ring. “Yiayia practically tied me to a chair the day Destiny and I walked into Santorini’s Deli for the first time. Next thing I knew, I was moving in with the guy who owns the restaurant. Just as a tenant at first, but then…” She turned to Cassie.
“I saw them coming for me,” Cassie said. “I fended them off with a fake relationship with Braden Mahoney—”