Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 96850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96850 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Eve and Veda laughed.
“Speaking of your dog, do you think we should split up into two search parties?” Eve asked. “You two head in one direction, me and the kids will head in the other?”
“When do we get to see the dog?” Landon called from the back seat.
“I’m petting it first,” Lark sang.
“Aunt Eve said we’re petting it at the same time,” her brother said through his teeth.
“That’s right, Landon.” Eve turned toward the kids and vigorously rubbed her hands together. “We have to find the puppy first, though, don’t we? Are you guys ready for an adventure?”
“Yeah!”
“Yes!”
“I knew I could count on you two.” Eve crouched down to put them at eye level. “And you know, when we find this dog, we have to celebrate. What do I always say about celebrations?”
“They suck unless there’s ice cream.”
“That’s right.” Eve turned to face Rhonda. “What is the dog’s name, so we can call for him?”
Rhonda hesitated, her attention straying to the twins. “She’s a teacup poodle, you see . . .”
Eve raised an eyebrow.
“Her name is Pocket Rocket.”
“Of course it is,” Eve deadpanned.
Veda doubled over laughing.
And so, minutes later, Eve, Landon, and Lark walked through the prestigious Thornwood Estates of Lincoln, Rhode Island, calling for Pocket Rocket.
“This is definitely going to be my show-and-tell on Monday,” Lark announced.
“Great,” Eve said, shining the flashlight on her phone beneath a parked Mercedes. “Can’t wait for that phone call.”
“What phone call?”
“The one from your teacher to tell me how well you’re doing.” Being the only adult in on the truth made her miss Madden. A lot. She’d only had one single day of him helping with the kids and already, his absence was so much more . . . profound. He would have known exactly where to look for this dog. He’d have been so casually confident helping them in the search, answering the kids’ questions without having to overthink.
He’d be holding Eve’s hand.
Who knew she’d ever miss having her hand held so badly?
Madden’s steadying touch would reassure her right now, when she felt kind of . . . wobbly. Why did she have two kids out in the dark looking for a dog named for a portable vibrator? Didn’t children need more stability than this?
She had to be doing this wrong.
“Aunt Eve?”
“Yeah, Lark?”
The little girl stopped to perform a spin. “Can we do this every day?”
“Oh, um . . .” Eve glanced down at the twins, warmth spreading in her chest at the identical grins staring back up at her. “I don’t know if we want the dog to get lost every day, right? We want him to stay inside where it’s safe.”
“But this is fun!”
“Dog hunt!” Landon growled. “You make everything fun, Aunt Eve.”
A boulder hit her in the chest. “Really?” She shook herself. God, that sounded needy. “I mean, yeah. It is fun. It’s fun because we’re together, right?”
The twins smiled at each other. It was only fleeting.
But it made Eve feel like she was doing something right.
An urge to text Madden rose up swiftly, but she didn’t have a chance to follow through because when they came upon the next car, also a Mercedes, they stopped in their tracks at the faint sound of yelping.
Lark and Landon gasped. Then they looked at Eve for guidance.
Okay. Maybe I’ve got this aunt/guardian thing handled. As well as I can.
Eve got down on her knees and shined her flashlight beneath the car. “Pocket Rocket?” she said, hoping the owner of the closest house wasn’t listening. “Pocket Rocket, your rescue team has arrived.”
The smallest dog Eve had ever seen came scuttling out, shaking its one-inch tail and snarfing, his little nails clicking happily on the ground.
“Can we get a dog?”
“No. But we can get ice cream.”
Chants of Pocket Rocket echoed down the manicured block, slowly transitioning into the twins in a barking competition. With the tiny pup cradled to her chest, all Eve heard were two happy voices and the beginning of a feeling.
Contentment.
Temporary, sure.
The kids weren’t hers to keep forever.
Neither was Madden.
But the feeling exceeded her expectations.
Made her want to dream about forever. Just dream.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Madden brought the chest guard down over his head, shifting it into place. His helmet went on next. Leg guards. Forty-five minutes to game time and he needed to be on the field, warming up. Most of his teammates were in the tunnel now, although some of them lingered behind him in the locker room, including Ruiz, today’s pitcher and the motherfucker responsible for the black eye that had finally returned to normal.
Without Ruiz on the field, Madden had no reason to be out there himself. Hard to warm up as a catcher without someone to throw the ball.
Glancing back over his shoulder, Madden noted the pitcher didn’t seem inclined to budge any time soon, lest he lose his staring contest with the floor. Madden opened his mouth to ask the veteran if he was all right, but the man’s forbidding energy had him closing it again, reaching for his phone to kill a few minutes while the pitcher got his head together.