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He continued to rub both dogs. “They all have their personalities, don’t they?”
“They do.” I picked up leashes off the desk. “I’m going to take them outside.” Muffy jumped up at the wordoutside. It never ceased to amaze me how intelligent they were.
“You’re ready to go.” Ash lifted her head, and Mr. October stroked it. “I’ll take them. We won’t go far.”
I hesitated. Why did I always do that? He was a fireman. He’d come by to check on Ash. I doubted he was going to take off and never come back.
I tossed the leashes beside him. “Thanks.”Bark. Bark. Bark.“I’m going to feed her before she loses her voice.”
He laughed, and I was grateful for the desk to support me. After a second, I moved toward the back.
“You should stay for supper. I don’t know what we’re having yet, but that’s irrelevant.” I stumbled at Miss Adeline’s invitation. We never had anybody over for dinner. We couldn’t havehim. I was still struggling with the fact he was at the rescue and why he made me so damn uncomfortable.
I willed Sadie to be quiet for two seconds so I could hear his answer.Bark. Bark. Bark.I craned my neck toward the front and tried to tune out the barking.
“Sure.”
Oh my God.
Chapter Six
Teague
“Best decisionI made all day. Eye candy and decent food.”
The old woman I’d come to know as Miss Adeline shoved mac and cheese into her mouth.
“Decent?” I asked, pretending offense. These two women went back and forth like an old married couple and somehow, I’d fallen right into the mix. Dinner with them reminded me a lot of eating meals at the firehouse.
“Yeah, it’s decent.”
“She’s not going to sugarcoat anything,” Pepper said as she hedged around her serving of mac and cheese to the black-eyed peas.
“When you get to be my age, you have to cut through the crap.”
Pepper smirked as she took a sip of water. “You definitely excel at that.”
Muffy nudged me with his nose, then put his head in my lap. Discreetly, I fed him a bite of chicken. He smacked so loudly, I was busted.
The warning glare Pepper shot me was enough to put a little fear in me. “I noticed you barely touched your mac and cheese,” I said to her.
She opened her mouth to respond but Miss Adeline beat her to it. “She doesn’t like it.”
Pepper's glare shifted from me to the older woman. “Yours is good . . .”
“You don’t have to eat it,” I said. That tiny, tentative bite she’d taken earlier made more sense now.
“Unlike some people”—she cut her eyes over to Miss Adeline—“I don’t want to be rude.”
“It’s not rude to not like something,” Miss Adeline said as she scarfed down the rest of hers.
“My feelings are only a little hurt,” I said with a pout.
Pepper’s mouth flattened, making mine turn up. “You were kind enough to make dinner and—”
“Noted. No more mac and cheese on the menu.”
Lines creased her forehead.
