Page 51 of Puppy Christmas

Lila stood at the end of Ford’s driveway, jumping only slightly at the sight of a parka-bundled woman running across the street toward her.

“Oh, good. I was afraid I wouldn’t catch you before you left for the day.” Helen didn’t wait for a response before grabbing her by both hands and giving them a squeeze. “Are you and Ford going out tonight, or did you have other plans?”

“Actually, I was going to—”

“Whatever it is, reschedule. I just cracked that bottle of rosé and will drink every drop of it myself unless you come over and share it with me.”

“Rosé?” Lila echoed blankly.

“A nice one, too,” Helen promised. With a somewhat embarrassed look, she added, “I know I threatened to ask all kinds of nosy questions about you and Ford if you came over, but I didn’t really mean it. I come on strong sometimes, but that’s only because I have to. Most days, it’s just me alone in that house with Byron and Neil. I love them to death, I really do, but if I didn’t coerce other adults into keeping me company from time to time, I’d be drinking that wine by the case. So you’ll come?”

“That’s really sweet of you, thanks, but—” Lila stopped herself before she finished the sentence. The polite refusal had sprung automatically to her lips, her customary approach to overtures of friendship like this one. There was plenty of work to be done back at home—puppies to train and paperwork to fill out. She might even go crazy and run a vacuum cleaner over the floors. In fact, that was exactly what she did most evenings. Even though the puppies weren’t allowed in the house, their hair seemed to follow everywhere she went.

She tamped down the images of all that fur breeding in dark corners and put on a smile instead. Cleaning and hard work were the hallmarks of Lila Vasquez, dog trainer and general stick-in-the-mud. That image no longer fit. Now she was Lila Vasquez, adventurous seductress and breaker of conventions.

One, moreover, who had asked Ford Ford out on a date and been gleefully accepted. Ordinary life held no allure for her anymore.

“You know what?” She pulled out her phone and sent Dawn a quick message asking her to run home and feed the puppies. “That sounds perfect, actually. Thank you.”

The beaming smile that Helen bestowed on her was more than enough to convince Lila that she’d made the right choice. She might not have much in common with this woman—a busybody of a single mother who made no attempt to hide her feelings from the world—but she liked her all the same.

“Oh, famous!” Helen clasped her gloved hands together. “You have no idea how much I need this.”

On the contrary, Lila was starting to develop a very good idea of how much Helen—and how much she—needed this. Wine. Companionship.A friend.

“And I meant what I said about promising not to ask anything you don’t like,” Helen said as she led her across the street. “The moment I cross a line, just say the word. I don’t take offense easily. I’m a difficult woman to ruffle.”

That much became apparent the moment Lila followed her through her front door. The house was almost an exact replica of Ford’s, the small living room-kitchen combo offset by a cramped hallway that led to two bedrooms and a single bathroom. It also bore the same kind of busy, homey cheer inevitable when small children lived in close proximity to their parents.

All resemblances, however, ended there.

“En garde!” One of the boys lunged at them from the arm of the couch, a foam sword in his hand and a band of fabric with eyehole cutouts around his head. Lila wasn’t sure, but she thought this one was Byron.

“None shall pass!” the other one added. He was also carrying a sword, but his attire ranged more on the side of caped crusader than pirate. “Walk the plank, ye ugly scabbards.”

“I don’t think you’ve officially met my monsters yet,” Helen said, taking the scene in without a blink. “Byron and Neil. Boys, this is Ms. Lila. You saw her at school this morning. She’s the princess helping to train Emily’s new puppy.”

Lila was torn between feeling grateful that Helen tactfully avoided any mention of her relationship to Ford and a strong urge to laugh. As soon as the wordprincessentered the equation, both boys shied off with strong expressions of horror.

“Retreat!” cried the piratical one. “Blow the man down!”

“Gross,” said the other. As he also paused thoughtfully to add, “I like that puppy, though,” Lila didn’t take too much offense.

“You can see why I had to make my Christmas party pirate-themed.” Helen sighed as she watched them scamper toward the bedrooms. “Every year, I have visions of an elegant soiree with gold-dipped candles and a champagne fountain. Every year, I get voted down. Take my advice, and don’t run your family like a democracy. Last year we did dinosaurs.”

It was just as well that Lila couldn’t think of any response to this, because Helen moved to the kitchen with a gesture for her to follow. A pair of stools sat pushed up against the counter, which held a tray of fresh-baked cookies and the bottle of wine already uncorked.

“Took a lot for granted, didn’t I?” Helen set two unbreakable silicone wineglasses in front of them and poured generously. “If you said no, I was going to resort to bribery. My chocolate-chip cookies are amazing. Try one.”

Lila didn’t have to be asked twice. Since she and her sisters had inherited their inability to cook from both parents, home-baked goods were a rarity. If she’d had any doubts left that Helen was a delight of a human being, one bite into that doughy cookie was enough to convince her forever.

“See?” Helen laughed and started crumbling one into pieces in front of her. “They always say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, but I find it works just as well with women. Better, actually, because it’s rare that someone cooks forus.”

“You didn’t have to make cookies to get me over here,” Lila said, somewhat guiltily reflecting that had the invitation come a few weeks ago, nothing would have prevailed upon her to accept.

“I know. But I wanted to. I like baking.” Helen smiled, but it was offset by the anxious way she kept poking at her crumbs. “I also sort of wanted to, um, ask you a favor.”

“A favor?”