He pulls out the chair next to me, bringing the scent of cologne with him as he sits down. This might be the cleanest, best smelling he’s ever been around me.
“I just care about the foundation. I want it to be successful.”
“Joan loved you, and she loves the foundation.”
He nods once. The flirty, annoyingly playful man I’ve grown used to is calm and contemplative right now. “I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
“Yes, you could have. Felony Melanie would have loved being on TV too,” I say, trying to lighten the mood.
He grins. “Are you going to tell me what Joan told you? I’m so curious it hurts.”
“It hurts, huh?” I say, poking his chest. I don’t expect it to be as firm as it is. This man is so busy all the time, I don’t know when he finds the time to work out. I lean back in my chair and heave a sigh.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything.”
My breath catches. “What made you willing to risk everything to start this business?”
“Passion,” he says without a moment of hesitation. “I didn’t love being a cop. I liked the training and teamwork, but being around criminals and writing stupid traffic tickets all day wasn’t fun. I love dogs, and I have a special love of working dogs. They give us everything and ask for nothing in return. So, I just did it one day.”
“You quit your job and started a business,” I say, not as a question but just a statement of fact.
“Yes, ma’am. The dogs deserve it.”
“You don’t have to call me ma’am,” I say, still pondering on what my passion is. What I could be or do if I had the guts to gobeordosomething for myself.
Caleb leans forward, elbows resting on his knees. He’s so close I can smell the woodsy sharpness of his cologne. “I know I don’t have to.” His eyes peer into mine, dipping down to my lips and back up again. “I want to.”
chapter twenty-four
Caleb
Living in my childhood house with my brothers is like being a kid again in so many ways. For one, it’s loud. The thunk of footsteps going up and down three flights of stairs in this old house at all hours of the night. The beep of the microwave, the gun blasting sounds of the PlayStation. After graduating high school, the three of us older guys moved out and started lives. Max and Owen never moved out, but they’re still in college. Now we’re all back here, responsible for keeping the place clean, and running a business together. It’s fun being an adult with adult responsibilities, but having all my brothers here like the old days.
Ethan taps on my open bedroom door. “Got a minute?”
I pause the TV. “What’s up?”
He walks in my room, and Ranger leaps off my bed, doing a big stretch in his direction, then waiting patiently for pets. Ethan obliges.
“I’m about to put myself back out there,” Ethan says. He gives Ranger a good belly pat.
“What do you mean?” My first thought is that he’s quitting Alden K9, but then the sheepish look on my oldest brother's face tells me he’s talking about women.
“I want to start dating. I’m finally over that last… nightmare of a relationship. So it’s got me thinking about everything. I love you guys, but I’m not sure I want to bring a woman home to this.” He gestures toward me.
“What’s wrong with me?” I ask.
“Not you, just that. Everyone is shirtless all the time around here.”
I laugh. “Man, I’m not going to steal your girl.”
“I know, but this is like a frat house. I’m getting old and I want to look into settling down and shit. Having kids and all that.”
I lift an eyebrow. “First of all you’re twenty eight. Secondly… What's the problem? We want you to have a family. No one’s going to stop that.”
“Look, I’ve been thinking. And crunching the numbers,” he says, wrapping one hand around the other. “The business is doing well. This whole dog boarding/grooming/training thing we’ve got is working. And believe it or not, Max theshirtless dog groomerhas brought in a ton of business.”
