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My brain immediately went into overdrive. Was she going to ask me about Logan? Was she going to ask me about my intentions with him? Was she going to threaten to beat me up if I hurt her brother? Not that I’d ever intentionally hurt Logan, but still. Oh, God, she wouldn’t ask if I slept with him, right? Maybe she’d already assumed I had.
“Okay…”
Abby cleared her throat and I was preparing myself for the worst kind of third degree when she said “Knox and I are thinking about adopting a dog.”
My breath whooshed out and I gave a sigh of relief, more than happy to talk about a possible adoption at Arden. No attention or focus on the subject of mine and Logan’s relation/friendship.
“Oh! Well, that’s great. Really, there are so many incredible dogs that need loving homes. Arden is actually overpopulated right now.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Really? And you run things there? The adoption process and stuff.”
“Yeah. You and Knox can fill out an application and I’ll go over it with my coworkers. I’d have to come out and do a house check, but just by looking around now it seems that this is an appropriate place to raise a dog.”
Abby clapped her hands together, her excitement evident. “Yay! This is so exciting. My parents never let me have a dog when I was kid and Knox’s dad was allergic to them, so he couldn’t have one either. Do you think there’s a certain dog that would fit best with us?”
Truthfully, if Logan hadn’t already claimed ownership of Mac, I would have recommended him to Abby. She seemed rambunctious and sweet, someone who would be great with any kind of dog. But I didn’t know Knox well enough, so I didn’t know what would be a good fit for the both of them.
“Hm,” I said and chewed another piece of cookie dough while I thought about it. “There are a few older dogs at Arden right now. All of them are so sweet, especially this Great Dane, Allistair. He’s just this big wall of love and muscle. Very relaxed.”
Abby nodded and then grabbed a pen and paper from the center of the kitchen island. She wrote down what I said nearly word for word and then looked up at me, waiting for another option,
“There’s Mutt,” I said and she raised her eyebrows. Laughing, I continued. “His name’s Mutt because we literally have no idea what kind of breed he is. He’s only two and his owner couldn’t handle his hyperactive behavior, so she dropped him off at Arden and never looked back.”
There was a bad taste in my mouth as I thought about the day I met Mutt. His owner pretty much dragged him in and then handed him to me. She didn’t even turn around when she left while he sat there, watching her with his scruffy little head cocked to the side. I made a big effort not to pick favorites, but Mutt had a special place in my heart. He was hyper, but he was hands down one of the sweetest dogs Arden had ever got.
“That’s terrible,” Abby said with a hand pressed to her chest. “How could someone do that to a dog?”
“Some of these dogs have been through so much worse than that. It’s just awful. People don’t realize that a dog isn’t just an animal. It’s a part of the family, like another child, and to abandon or abuse them is mind boggling. Disgusting.”
“Assholes,” Abby said with a shake of her head. “I’d take them all if I could.”
I laughed. “Trust me, I feel the same way.”
She bit her lip and leaned forward, looking a bit more anxious than I’d ever seen her. “Listen, I, uh, I’m not sure if Logan told you about what happened last year. Or if you read it in the paper.”
I nodded my head. “I heard about what happened to you. I’m so sorry, I can’t imagine how scary that must have been.”
Abby nodded her head and looked down at her hands, which were clenched tightly in her lap. Dealing with a stalker must have been horrific, especially after finding out it was her own therapist. She must have been completely traumatized by the whole ordeal. I remembered hearing that Knox suffered a brutal concussion after getting in some sort of fight with the stalker.
“Yeah, it was a rough couple of months. But I’m better than ever now. I’m living with the love of my life, I have a good job. Things have really… slowed down, you know? Anyway, Knox still gets a little paranoid and some nights he works pretty late at the gym. He doesn’t like me coming home to an empty house. It’s like, full blown alpha male syndrome, but he wants a dog that’s going to protect me if something were to happen again.”
My heart did a little backflip. I knew I’d liked Knox the second I met him. He was sweet and seemed so wrapped around Abby’s finger. I could understand, the Ashford family could really cast a spell on people. But the fact that he wanted her safe, protected at all times was endearing. Again, I was thinking that was something I could understand.
I rattled off a few more of the dogs and she copied everything down before writing down the Arden Farm and Rescue phone numbers, including my direct line. I was more than willing to help out anyone who wanted to adopt one of my dogs, especially Abby. I could picture a dog running around the house and sleeping on the large couch that sat in the living room. The house was cozy, but it’s open floor plan left plenty of room for a pet to roam around comfortably.
We continued to eat cookie dough and drink coffee while we got to know each other better. I learned that Abby was quite nosy as she asked me about college and my childhood. Instinctively, I knew that it was because she wanted to get a feel for the woman Logan was dating, and as nervous as I was, I still found myself answering honestly, even when I mentioned the fact that Gran raised me and my parents had been M.I.A. for most of my life. I didn’t know why I cared so much, but I wanted her to know that I wouldn’t hurt her brother, that I cared about him enough to admit to my own flaws and mistakes, including my awkward social tendencies.
“You were so quiet that night at dinner, I was nervous we were gonna scare you off.” She laughed as we moved to the couch and sat down on the soft cushions.
My eyes widened. “Absolutely not. I had so much fun that night. I loved getting to know everyone and hearing stories from Logan’s childhood was hilarious. He was such a punk.” I laughed.
She did too and then nodded. “He still is. He’s a good guy, though. You know that, right?”
And there it is, I thought as I sipped my coffee. “I know. He’s a very good guy, and he loves you so much. He talks about you all the time.”
“You care about him?”
