“Food’s in here, right?” Beau stood next to the refrigerator.
I nodded and grabbed the large container while she held open the door. I was so grateful she knew where things were. She might not live in the States but since she'd met Pepper, she'd basically commandeered best friend status.
Lincoln pointed to the glass container with his chin. “I thought dog food came in a bag?”
“Not this dog food,” Beau said haughtily. “Lexie is a genius. And a humanitarian. Or dogitarian.”
“I’m not even going to ask.” Lincoln continued filling bowls with water.
Sadie finished her breakfast, took a quick look to make sure I was doing everything correctly, and then scooted back upstairs. To be with Pepper.
“Why is Dad bothering Pepper?” Beau asked.
“Because of me,” I answered quickly. I paused mid-scoop, hating I’d brought her onto his radar.
“What does he want from you?” She distributed a bowl of food.
“I honestly have no idea.” And I didn’t.
We hadn’t gotten along since Mom died. He’d made basically no effort in attempting to have a relationship with me beyond trying to rule my life. But I didn’t even know why he wanted to do that.
“He wants you to come to him, and he’s using Pepper to get to you,” Lincoln said. “And you almost played right into his hands.”
I hadn’t yet ruled out paying him a visit. But once again, I was glad Lincoln had stopped me from going in with blinding anger to a situation out of my control. I needed a clear head when dealing with him. I couldn't afford any missteps.
I passed another bowl to Beau. “How do I get him to leave her alone?”
“You aren’t one hundred percent sure he had anything to do with this,” she said, taking it from me. “It looks bad, but it could be a coincidence.”
I flashed her an unimpressed look.
Muffy jetted into the room from upstairs and jumped on Lincoln. Water splashed all over the dog and Lincoln’s pants. Crap.
My brother set the now mostly empty bowl on the counter and looked at the mess. Muffy placed a paw on his thigh, and I winced, hoping he didn’t tear a hole in Lincoln’s pants.
I had no idea how he’d react.
He stared at Muffy.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His tail hit Lincoln’s shoe every time it wagged.
He snapped and pointed to an empty kennel. Muffy obediently trotted in.
Lincoln grabbed a bowl of food and set it down for Muffy. “Your name should be Jumper, not Muffy.”
Beau and I exchanged wary glances. Our brother had a good heart but liked things just so. Spills and messes and soiled pants weren’t his thing. And yet, was that softness I detected?
“I saw that,” he said. Because you have eyes in the back of your head. “And let me handle Dad.”
I wanted to take him up on the offer. Badly. But if I kept doing that, we’d all end up back exactly where we were.
With our father squarely in control.
“Want to walk some dogs with me before you have to report to work?” I deflected because I was tired, couldn’t think clearly, and needed a minute to decide what I was going to do.
Beau grabbed a couple of leashes. “Is there a trick to this?”
“Beats me.” Pepper made it look so easy.
It took a few tries, but she got one of the dogs looped and ready to go.
Muffy stood by Lincoln like a statue. My brother dropped the leash around his neck with no problem. Once it was on, Muffy yanked toward the back door. Lincoln stumbled forward and scowled but didn’t complain.
Ash gave me no trouble, allowing me to put the leash on and patiently waiting for me to lead.
It wasn’t pretty, but we made it outside. Muffy did his business fast and looked up at Lincoln.
“Why is he staring at me?” my brother asked warily.
“He wants a treat.”
He looked at me incredulously. “I don’t have any.”
I dug in my coat pocket and handed him one. Muffy jumped on Lincoln.
“Off.” His voice was authoritative. Unfortunately, Muffy didn’t understand . . . or pretended not to.
Lincoln kept the treat secured behind his back. Muffy put all four paws back on the ground, waited a second, then circled my brother. He nudged Lincoln’s fist.
Beau and I took the scene in, trying not to laugh.
“He did what he was supposed to do,” I said.
Muffy pawed at his hand, growing impatient. Lincoln snapped and pointed to a spot in front of him.
Muffy sat.
Lincoln gave him the treat.
Muffy pawed him for another.
“Demanding, aren’t we?” He adjusted the leash.
I put my fist against my mouth to keep from laughing. Lincoln wasn’t amused.
Muffy headed back toward Grey Paws.
Beau grinned gleefully. “You two are a perfect match.”
As busy people, we rarely had time together like this as siblings working together, and despite the stressful circumstances, I was truly thankful for this moment with them.
Chapter Seven
Pepper
The bed dipped.
A gentle hand brushed my hair back.
A wet tongue licked my cheek.
I pried my eyes open.
Miss Adeline sat on the edge of the bed, looking tired. Sunlight streamed into my room, bright and cheery as if last night hadn’t happened.
“What time is it?” I stretched and yawned. Everything felt heavy. I wanted to go back to sleep. Back to yesterday morning when life looked promising and nothing seemed impossible.
“A little after ten.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. I’d only been asleep a few hours, but it was a luxury I couldn’t afford any longer. There was too much to do . . . including to check on our dogs at the Elliotts’.
“They’re fine.” Miss Adeline touched my face. “I just spoke to Vivian. And Daniel.”
What she didn’t say was that she’d filled them in on what had happened. She didn’t have to. It was in her posture.
My body relaxed and seized at once. We’d always solved our problems with little outside help. I couldn’t get used to others chipping in when I fell short. I was grateful and still uneasy about that.
And I wanted our dogs back under one roof.
I wanted normal.
I wanted peace.
I wanted a shower.
None of those things seemed possible in the near future.
“What happened?”
Miss Adeline was the most confident person I’d ever known. When life got hard, she never got down. She always promised things would be okay, and they always were. But she hadn’t said those words one time since I’d come back in the wee hours of the morning.
“I’d prefer you didn’t go anywhere by yourself for the time being,” I said wearily.
“I’ll take Mr. March as my bodyguard.” Finally, there was a hint of normalcy.
“Only Mr. March? I thought for sure you’d need at least January, February, and maybe July.” One corner of my mouth lifted.
“August. I need August too.”
I laughed before Teague’s father’s words came back to me. “Did you have a doctor’s appointment recently you didn’t tell me about?”