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Sadie had stopped barking, so I heard Miss Adeline loud and clear . . . and nearly dropped the bowl in my hands.
Once I set it down and closed the kennel, I faced her. “Why would you do that?”
“You could use a friend. And he has the bonus of being a nice one to look at.” She gave me a pointed look and continued to unstack bowls on the counter so I could fill them.
“I already have all the friends I need.”
“Who? Do you have a secret companion I haven’t met?”
“You,” I said without looking up.
“You’re going to need someone else someday. And you keep everyone at a football field distance instead of arm’s length.”
“I don’t need anyone else.” My stubborn streak reared its ugly head. “I have the dogs. And you.” And I refused to think about when she would be gone from my life.
She smirked. “And Mr. October soon.”
“Don’t meddle, woman.” I pointed at her before setting a bowl in Muffy’s kennel.
“I already am.”
I narrowed my gaze on her. “Whenexactly did you invite him?”
She busied herself with sliding the next bowl to me to fill. “Today.”
“How?”
“I called him. That texting thing is for the birds.” Miss Adeline was up with the times, but there were some things she refused to do. Texting was one of them. “People need to remember how to communicate. With their voices.”
She wasn’t wrong, but I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture. Especially when she’d dropped a bomb that Teague was coming over for dinner.
Wait. She didn’t actually say he was coming. She said she’dinvitedhim. Something about that eased the tension inside me.
“What did he say?” I asked carefully as I fed Otis.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” That old woman had invented the word mischievous.
“Yes. So I know if I need to fix more food.”
She put a hand on my arm. “He’s coming.”
Great. I’d planned on having cereal for supper. It had been a long day, and I didn’t feel like spending even an hour in the kitchen.
“Hope he likes Lucky Charms,” I muttered.
“He said he’d bring dinner. So if you don’t want to be friends with a man who can cook, I will be.” She winked.
I groaned. The funny thing was, Miss Adeline didn’t have any friends either. Sure, she knew lots of people and could charm anyone. But she wasn’t exactly a social butterfly other than when she had to be for the rescue.
“It’s different for me,” she said as if reading my mind. “You’ve got a lot of life left and only having an old woman around isn’t enough.”
I set down the bowl I’d just picked up. “It’s so much more than I deserve.”
A sheen came over her eyes, but she nudged another bowl in my direction. “Don’t go getting all sappy on me, girl.” She grabbed a water pitcher. “Besides, if you get close with him, I benefit too. Maybe he’ll bring more firemen over.”
“Woman!” The word may have been a complaint, but deep down I loved her spunk.
“What? He might.” She distributed the water bowls. “If you won’t think of yourself, think of me.”
