Page 73 of Puppy Kisses

“Dressing me up as a princess and spinning plates like a circus clown. Emily still talks about that. She thinks you’re the most talented person in the world. Come to think of it, I do too.” Despite the laughter in her voice, Lila’s brows came down in a tight line over her eyes. “So what’s wrong? You don’t know how to fix your own problem?”

Oh, she knew how to fix it, all right. Re-creating the poker game that had gotten Dearborn Ranch started was just the kind of far-fetched plot Dawn specialized in. It was unexpected and ridiculous and would most likely end in tears, laughter, or explosive bursts of anger—just as all her plots did.

“I do have an idea,” she admitted. Gigi decided that a head on the knee wasn’t enough comfort, so she pawed at Dawn until she gave in and lifted the puppy to her lap. “And it’s right up there with partial nudity and princess role-play. But…”

Her sisters watched her without blinking or breathing, the air of expectation heavy enough to touch. There was nothing Dawn could do with it except reach out and grab with both hands.

“But I’m terrified of what will happen if it doesn’t work,” she said. The words came out so rushed and soft, it was a wonder they heard her. But the looks of wide-eyed sympathy from both told her there would be no turning back now. She’d cracked open the deepest recesses of her heart, and there would be no shoving everything back inside again. “I’ve come up with a way to make Adam face me, but I’m afraid he might not want me. It might not be enough.Imight not be enough. What happens if I put myself—therealmyself—out there, and he says no?”

She pulled her lower lip between her teeth and held on to Gigi as if she’d never held on to a puppy before. Of everyone at this table, Gigi alone knew what it meant to be rejected by Adam Dearborn, to give one hundred percent of herself to that man and have the door slammed in her face because of it.

“Then you figure out a way to live without him,” Lila said as though it were the easiest thing in the world. Considering how happy she was with her own soul mate, the response seemed a little callous. “Your heart breaks and your world falls apart, and it sucks more than anything has ever sucked before. Maybe you grow old and bitter and lonely because of it, or maybe you reinvent yourself by scaling mountains or opening a great essential-oil scented-candle shop on the beach.”

“I would absolutely invest in your essential-oil scented-candle shop on the beach,” Sophie promised.

Dawn knew she was supposed to laugh and accept this gesture in the same vein it was being offered—cheerfully and without tears—but her stupid eyeballs weren’t paying attention. A hot stinging behind her eyes made her hug Gigi even tighter.

“But I don’t want to open a candle shop,” she said, her voice thick.

Lila had the audacity to smile at this. Tosmile. “Then don’t. It was only a suggestion. All I meant was that whatever happens, you’re still going to be you. Beautiful, talented, generous, fun, resourceful, adventurous—”

“Don’t forget softhearted,” Sophie interjected. She started to smile, too. Dawn had never felt so betrayed in all her life. How dare they look so ridiculously gleeful at the thought of her heart being crushed in one of Adam’s large, work-worn hands?

“Definitelysofthearted,” Lila said. “Dawn, please don’t cry. Or do, actually. Open those tear ducts and let it all come pouring out. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cry before. Not even when we watchLegends of the Fall, and that movie makes me sob for days afterward.”

“Even thinking about it is making me misty,” Sophie agreed.

The waitress stopped by with their food before either of them could say more. Dawn had never been so happy to see a cheeseburger and fries in her life, and there had been times when months of no-carb dieting made for some serious competition.

Unfortunately, the waitress was one they knew well. They’d even thrown her a baby shower a few months back when her sister had been stuck in a layover from hell and couldn’t make it in time to get everything set up.

“Uh-oh,” she said, whisking the tray of food up out of their reach before Dawn could touch so much as the parsley decorating the plate. “I can see that there’s some serious girl talk happening here. Want me to put this under the heater until you’re ready?”

“Yes, please,” Sophie and Lila said in unison.

“Don’t you dare,” Dawn warned. “They’re ganging up on me. I need sustenance.”

“Five minutes should do it,” Lila said without regard for either Dawn’s feelings or her stomach. Her air of authority was such that the waitress took her word as law. “We’re just trying to convince Dawn that she’s the most amazing person in the world.”

The waitress blinked down at Dawn. “You mean she doesn’t know it already? Damn, honey. And here I thought you had all your shit figured out. Ifyou’rehaving doubts, then what are the rest of us supposed to do?”

“See?” Sophie demanded as the waitress whisked herself off—and took all their food with her. “Even Wendy knows what you’re worth, and she’s seen you pick lettuce out of your teeth and eat cookies that have fallen on the floor.”

“I only did that one time, and it was the macadamia-nut kind!” Dawn’s protest was offered through a haze of half-shed tears and a bubbling laugh that was building up in the back of her throat. It was too much—an emotional confrontation in the middle of Maple Street Grill during a dinner rush, her sisters cracking jokes about floor cookies, a puppy trying to lick her ear, the waitress stealing her food and holding it for ransom. Didn’t they know she was supposed to be miserable over here? “And I don’t see what that has to do with anything. We’re supposed to be talking about my future life’s happiness.”

Lila extended her arms over the top of the table and held them there until Dawn placed Gigi in them. The puppy had no problem with this high-handed approach to her care. In fact, she made a quick dive for the cracker packets on the side of the table, sending an accusing look at Dawn when Sophie swooped them out of her reach at the last second.

“Wearetalking about your future life’s happiness,” Lila said. “Look—you’re laughing.”

“I am not. I’m crying.” She yanked a cracker packet out of Sophie’s hands. “AndI’m hungry.”

“You’re also getting a taste of your own medicine for once,” Sophie pointed out. “It’s not so easy, is it? Being forced to laugh when you feel like crying? Being surrounded by sisters who know how to make you smile even when you’re breaking apart inside?”

“I don’t do that.”

“Youalwaysdo that,” Sophie said. “You always have. No matter how dark things get for us, no matter how fast the world is slipping out of control, you’ve always been ready to lift us back up again. God, I used to curse you something fierce for it. There’s nothing worse than someone who denies you a really good wallow.”

It was enough to set Dawn cry-laughing again, but Lila had more to heap on top of Sophie’s words. “Does Adam love you? I don’t know. I’ve never met the man. Is he going to break your heart? Maybe. Men do that sometimes. But we’ll be here, Dawn, no matter what and for as long as you need us.”