“I mean, what kind of guy takes a drunk girl home, a drunk girl who’d just kissed him, and then sleeps on the couch?” Tia asked.
“I can’t be certain, but I think they call them nice guys,” Mackenzie joked, knowing that Hunter was as good and as nice as they came.
“Nice guys are like unicorns. I hear about them, people swear of their existence, but I’ve lived in the birthplace of the southern gentleman for three years now, and I have still never seen one with my own eyes.”
Tia rested her hand over Mackenzie’s but didn’t say a word. The longer the silence, the more self-conscious Mackenzie felt.
“There must be something magical about him, because you’re here and I didn’t have to threaten you.” Tia laughed. “I was beginning to wonder if I’d have to come over and bribe you with the new Nicholas Sparks movie in order to see you again.”
“No bribe necessary.” All she needed was an empty house that smelled like a big, sexy good old boy with an interest in lace to get her moving.
“How is Muttley doing?” Tia asked, still ignoring the dog in question, who was displaying model behavior.
“He got into the dishwasher again last week to clean the dishes, and he still hides under the covers whenever the garbage truck comes. But last night he rode on the floor of the truck the entire way home,” Mackenzie said with pride, but from the sounds of Muttley’s panting, Tia still hadn’t given up the treats. She was a tough-love kind of person.
“Is he still growling at Arthur’s shoes when he visits?”
“No.” Which was not a lie. He wasn’tgrowlingat anyone’s shoes anymore.
“Did anyone ever tell you you should never play poker?”
Mackenzie let out a frustrated sigh. “No more growling, but he has started stealing any shoes left around the house and hiding them in his bed.” A habit he’d started after the ill-fated playdate with Caroline.
“I trained a search and rescue dog who used to steal stuffed animals from kids and hide them in his bed. What started out as a reward system for the dog led to a really bad habit,” Tia said. “So learn from my friend’s mistakes and don’t be a pushover. What’s cute now will become a pain in your backside later. Trust me. You need to nix this before it becomes cemented and Muttley uses his protectiveness of you to justify a shoe problem.”
“Stop being a pushover, got it.”
“I worry about you,” Tia said softly.
“I know.” Mackenzie worried about herself sometimes. “On a brighter note, Muttley led me through the park on the way here and didn’t give out a single doggy high five,” she said, referring to Muttley’s bad greeting habit of sticking his nose in places it didn’t belong. “There was even a Mommy-and-me playdate going on in the playground.”
“That’s progress,” Tia said, and from the excited smacking sounds, Muttley had finally received his good-boy treat from his teacher. “And how about you?”
Mackenzie plastered on a big fake smile, knowing there was no treat in store for her. “I’m here today.”
“Which is great, seeing as you skipped out on our last three sessions.”
Mackenzie cringed. “Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve been in the writing cave.”
“Yay you, for gracefully falling back into your writing,” Tia said, the sarcasm thick. “Music is therapeutic for you, makes you feel closer to the life you used have. But it’s also a vice.” Tia lowered her voice. “There’s more to reintegration than going from one cave into another. Which is why I keep stressing the importance of gaining your freedom back, finding a peer group, making new friends.”
“I have Arthur.”
“Who is as dependent on you as you are on him,” Tia pointed out. “I want to see you challenge yourself. Really put yourself out there and practice some of the new skills we’ve been talking about.”
“Muttley and I went to a business meeting the other day,” she said with a big grin. “And we didn’t get lost.”
“Did Arthur take you?”
Mackenzie’s smile tightened. “Maybe.”
What she wanted to say was, so what if her friend had driven her and walked her into and out of the building? She’d gone downtown and lived to tell the story. As far as she was concerned, that deserved a good-girl treat.
Tia clearly disagreed. “Arthur isn’t going to be around forever, and it isn’t fair to place that kind of responsibility on him, especially after he spent so much time caring for his wife.”
“Which is why he’s going on a fishing trip next week with his old army buddies.” A trip Mackenzie had given him as a thank-you for helping her get settled in her new house. “It’s two weeks in Alaska, so I’ll be managing all on my own,” she said, and the reality of exactly what that meant finally settled.
It was not a good feeling. At all.
