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“Why is Dad bothering Pepper?” Beau asked.
“Because of me,” I answered quickly. I paused mid-scoop, hating I’d brought her onto his radar.
“What does he want from you?” She distributed a bowl of food.
“I honestly have no idea.” And I didn’t.
We hadn’t gotten along since Mom died. He’d made basically no effort in attempting to have a relationship with me beyond trying to rule my life. But I didn’t even know why he wanted to do that.
“He wants you to come to him, and he’s using Pepper to get to you,” Lincoln said. “And you almost played right into his hands.”
I hadn’t yet ruled out paying him a visit. But once again, I was glad Lincoln had stopped me from going in with blinding anger to a situation out of my control. I needed a clear head when dealing with him. I couldn't afford any missteps.
I passed another bowl to Beau. “How do I get him to leave her alone?”
“You aren’t one hundred percent sure he had anything to do with this,” she said, taking it from me. “It looks bad, but it could be a coincidence.”
I flashed her an unimpressed look.
Muffy jetted into the room from upstairs and jumped on Lincoln. Water splashed all over the dog and Lincoln’s pants.Crap.
My brother set the now mostly empty bowl on the counter and looked at the mess. Muffy placed a paw on his thigh, and I winced, hoping he didn’t tear a hole in Lincoln’s pants.
I had no idea how he’d react.
He stared at Muffy.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His tail hit Lincoln’s shoe every time it wagged.
He snapped and pointed to an empty kennel. Muffy obediently trotted in.
Lincoln grabbed a bowl of food and set it down for Muffy. “Your name should be Jumper, not Muffy.”
Beau and I exchanged wary glances. Our brother had a good heart but liked things just so. Spills and messes and soiled pants weren’t his thing. And yet, was that softness I detected?
“I saw that,” he said.Because you have eyes in the back of your head.“And let me handle Dad.”
I wanted to take him up on the offer. Badly. But if I kept doing that, we’d all end up back exactly where we were.
With our father squarely in control.
“Want to walk some dogs with me before you have to report to work?” I deflected because I was tired, couldn’t think clearly, and needed a minute to decide what I was going to do.
Beau grabbed a couple of leashes. “Is there a trick to this?”
“Beats me.” Pepper made it look so easy.
It took a few tries, but she got one of the dogs looped and ready to go.
Muffy stood by Lincoln like a statue. My brother dropped the leash around his neck with no problem. Once it was on, Muffy yanked toward the back door. Lincoln stumbled forward and scowled but didn’t complain.
Ash gave me no trouble, allowing me to put the leash on and patiently waiting for me to lead.
It wasn’t pretty, but we made it outside. Muffy did his business fast and looked up at Lincoln.
“Why is he staring at me?” my brother asked warily.
