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“Hey, Adam,” Chuck said. “We’re just finishing up. Why don’t you get a picture with your mom?”
“Oh, Chuck,” his mom said. “That’s a great idea. Honey, what do you say?”
“Sure. You want Duke in it?”
“Whatever you want, dear.”
He posed for a few photos with his mother, some with Duke and some without. He didn’t really care, since nobody but his mom would see them.
“Chuck, come get in one with us,” his mom said. “We’re going to be a family soon. I can put it on the wall after we’re married.”
Adam cringed at the thought and prayed she’d come to her senses before that ever happened. He wanted to make an excuse to get out of it but stayed where he was and chalked up another one under the column titled “things he begrudgingly did to make his mother happy.”
“Great idea, babe,” Chuck said, sliding in beside Adam’s mom.
The photographer took a few shots and then packed up his stuff. As soon as he left, Adam addressed the money-laundering rumor he and Kate had heard from the REIT representative the week before.
“You aren’t telling people about the conversation I overheard at Edward’s, are you?”
“Just one or two friends,” Chuck said, glancing left.
“Well, apparently, your ‘one or two friends’ have spread it around enough that it came back to Kate and me the other day. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be starting rumors you can’t substantiate. It would look really bad for you if they’re not true.”
“Let me handle the politics, son. You just keep your ears open for any more information.”
Adam rankled at being called “son,” and would most definitely not be keeping his ears open for anything. He had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation, but didn’t know what else he could do to stop it.
Adam took a water bottle and got the hell out of there. He drove to his new place and dumped the remaining boxes in the garage while Duke ran around the yard. He thought about calling Kate, but between finding out his mother was engaged to a nitwit, his chat with Chuck about the rumors, and his lingering guilt over still not having come clean with Kate about knowing Chuck, he wasn’t in a very good mood. He drove back to Jacksonville, grabbed some takeout for dinner, and went to bed early.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Saturday morning, Adam stripped his bed, threw the sheets into a box, and finished loading the Range Rover with the rest of the boxes he was taking. The movers were quick and efficient and only took a couple of hours to load everything onto the truck. After making sure the movers had his new address, and with a final farewell wave to his house, he headed out. Duke was buckled into his doggie seatbelt in the back passenger seat, enjoying the fresh air.
“Won’t it be great to get settled?” Adam asked him. “And wait till you meet the cute little neighbor. Just don’t eat her, please.”
They beat the moving van by thirty minutes. Even though it was a scorcher, Adam left the slider open so Duke could come and go while checking out the place. After the moving guys emptied the truck, they helped him carry his little boat to the water. Since he didn’t have much, it was all done that day. He wasn’t necessarily “moved in,” but everything was at least in the room it should be.
After unpacking the bare essentials, he called Kate to see if she wanted to get together for dinner.
“Duke wants to know if Luna can play?” Adam said.
“She’s pretty booked up, but let me check.” He could hear Kate shuffling papers. “She says fine. She can spare a few minutes. Come on over.”
“Sweet. I’ll be at your back door in a few.”
“Huh?”
He hung up before answering and a few minutes later was knocking on her back slider, Duke sitting politely beside him. “You look great. Don’t worry, she’ll love you,” Adam said to the dog.
Kate came to the back door with a look of confusion. “What are you doing back here?” she asked.
“I brought the boat over. It only took five minutes.” He pointed to his little two-man fishing boat that’s he’d tied up to her dock.
“That’s so cute,” she said. “Um, Duke’s not gonna eat Luna, is he?”
“We’ve had a talk. I hope not.”
Kate was holding Luna in her arms, and Duke, eager to get a better look, was sniffing at her furiously. Kate bent over to let the dogs sniff each other. When it seemed like they were okay, she put Luna on the ground. Luna ran between Duke’s legs, and Duke stepped back to keep her in sight. Luna seemed smitten. Duke looked bored. As Luna ran around him, he turned to Adam with an expression that said, “What am I supposed to do about this?” Adam told him to go lay down, pointing to a shady spot on the patio. Duke obeyed, and Luna was hot on his heels. It took her twice as long to get anywhere, but she caught up, and once he was laying down and at Luna’s level, she proceeded to try to climb him.
