The Bachelor Boss (18 page)

“You’re kidding me.”

“My wish was Lily’s command much of the time. Both my grandparents loved to spoil me, but at least Gramps had some common sense. Lily never saw the danger in things—only the fun. Danny hasn’t been talking about martial arts or downhill skiing, has he?”

“Now you’re scaring me, Ty.”

He followed her into the kitchen and sat down at the table while she went to the oven and pulled out an apple pie. He was getting accustomed to domestic bliss, he thought. He watched her take out a plate, a fork and an ice-cream scoop and lay them on the counter.

“We’ll have pie à la mode as soon as this cools.” She sank down into a chair. “I’m feeling the urge for a jolt of pure sugar to keep going. Life’s short. Eat dessert first, don’t you think?”

“What’s happening in Trisha’s financial saga?” he asked as he imagined bits of apple in melting vanilla ice cream.

“She called me last night to wish me happy birthday and apologize for not buying me a present. I told her all the present I needed was for her to quit spending money frivolously and get her financial responsibilities figured out. She’s trying, I know she is.”

“Then what’s troubling you?”

“I’d still like to know more about Jason, this boyfriend of hers. She says he’s a nice guy and that they aren’t serious, just friends.”

“And you believe her?”

“I’ve always believed her until this money fiasco. Now I don’t know what to think. She’s reminded me that she’s still young and that common sense isn’t her strong suit.”

“Maybe common sense isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Ty commented mildly.

Her head snapped up. “What do you mean?”

“Even people with the most common sense need to let go once in a while. Take you, for example.”

“Me? What does this have to do with me?”

“You’ve been logical and sensible for so long that you may not even see how things have changed in your life.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Trisha isn’t fourteen anymore. And you aren’t married anymore. Your house might not be right for you any longer. You’re trying to maintain a life that existed years ago.”

“Trisha’s just a kid! And my house... Steve and I...” She drooped in her seat. What he was saying was true. Trisha was at the age now when she and Steve had decided to marry. The house was an anchor that held her to the past. Steve was never coming back. Why was she holding on?

Had it been a sad life she’d lived before coming here? A restrained life, perhaps, one without much spontaneity, one in which her filter to every question had been
what would Steve have done?
Or,
what would Steve have thought?
She had rarely asked
what does Hannah want?

She jumped to her feet, threw open the freezer door, pulled out the vanilla ice-cream bucket and began to saw at the rock-hard contents. Then she gave the ice cream scoop to Ty and cut the pie. She didn’t want to think anymore. Maybe if she ate enough ice cream her brain would freeze solid.

It was unnerving, she realized, that Ty watched silently, not commenting on her frenetic behavior. He said nothing as they sat together and devoured half the pie and far too much ice cream.

Hannah was suffering the welcome distraction of a painful brain freeze when they heard footsteps and voices at the front door.

“At least now we’ll find out what they’ve been up to,” Ty said.

“Do we even want to know?” She imagined Danny with a pair of nunchakus, a knife or his own race car. Ty’s stories had not calmed her mind in any way. What would Steve say if he got hurt...

She stopped herself. It was what she thought that mattered, Hannah reminded herself. She had to live for herself and Danny, to finally learn to embrace the unknown. Those were muscles she hadn’t used in a very long time.

“I suppose we’d better see what went on,” Ty said grimly. “It could be perfectly harmless—but knowing Lily...”

What they saw when they walked into the entry of the house was harmless, but it had the potential to disrupt this already fragile household and spread chaos wherever it went.

Danny held snuggled in his arms a yellow puppy with a lolling pink tongue and soft brown eyes.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“D
anny! What are you doing with that puppy?” Hannah gasped.

“Lily! What have you done now?” Ty glared at the threesome. Danny and Lily looked delighted. Irene was a picture of guilt.

“She made me do it, Mr. Ty. I told her you wouldn’t like it, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“She never does. It’s not your fault, Irene. I’ll take it from here. Why don’t you take Danny to the kitchen with the pup? Hannah made an apple pie.”

The woman scooted off toward the kitchen, relief on her face. Danny, blissfully unaware of the undercurrents among the adults, followed her, his arms firmly around the squirming yellow Lab, a dog just like the one Ty had had as a boy.

Danny stopped in front of Ty. “His name is Crackers. Lily said you had a dog named Crackers when you were a boy. She said he loved to eat any kind of cracker. I’ll bet this dog likes them, too.” He looked hopefully into Ty’s eyes. “It’s okay if I name my dog Crackers, too, isn’t it?”

“Every boy needs a dog, Tyler.” Lily fixed those bright blue eyes on him and dared him to challenge her. “Remember how much you loved your dog? You two were inseparable. You wouldn’t deny the child such joy, would you?”

This was beyond even his tolerance for Lily’s antics. “Did you ask his mother about this? Isn’t she the one who should make a decision like that?”

“Oh, she doesn’t mind.” Lily looked to Hannah for confirmation. “Do you, dear?”

“I... I...” Hannah looked like a deer in the headlights as she blurted what was obviously the first thing that came to her mind, “I’m not sure I can afford a dog, Lily. What if we keep him and I don’t find another job after I leave here?”

Lily looked horrified. “You’ll be working here, for Ty and me!” She turned toward him. “Won’t she, Ty?”

He opened his mouth, but it was Hannah who answered first. “I’ve only been hired to stay until you’re back on your feet, Lily. Soon you won’t need me. Look how well you’re doing with physical therapy. Irene can cook and clean for you. There won’t be a reason for a caregiver. You’ll be on your own again.”

What was happening to him? Ty wondered. He hadn’t felt anything like this in... When
had
he felt like this before? Not since Anita had he been so drawn to a woman. The realization came crashing over him like a tsunami. He’d long believed there was only one soul mate for him and she had died. But now...

“I don’t want to be on my own. I want
you.
But we don’t need to think about that now. It’s going to be fine.” Then Lily did as she’d always done—what Ty called “pulling a Scarlett O’Hara.” Every time Scarlett ran into something unpleasant, she refused to think about it. Exactly what Lily was doing now.

“I’m that puppy’s foster grandmother and Ty is his adoptive uncle. Crackers won’t starve. I’ll pay for obedience school, if you wish. Besides, we have everything he needs in the car. We bought a kennel, a bed, toys, some grooming tools, a leash, a collar, food, even a toothbrush!” She touched Hannah’s hand. “Don’t worry, dear. It will be fine. I’m sure of it.”

Hannah gave her a weak smile. “Well, thank you for giving my son such a generous gift.” A tear slid down one cheek.

Ty couldn’t tell if it was inspired by gratitude, anger or fear.

“Oh, honey, don’t cry. When I’m fretting about Clara’s situation, you tell me to have faith. It’ll all work out, Hannah.”

Then, demonstrating exactly how far she had come with her therapy, Lily clutched the bars of her walker and took herself to the kitchen, leaving Ty and Hannah alone together.

She grabbed his sleeve. “Oh, Ty, I didn’t hurt her feelings, did I? I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful. The puppy is a lovely, if overwhelming, gift. It’s just that the first thing I thought was that I didn’t need another mouth to feed.”

“I’ll tell her she has to undo this whole thing, Hannah. Don’t worry.”

“Don’t do that! Did you see the look on Danny’s face? He’s always said he was sure his dad would have bought him a dog someday. He knew I wouldn’t because of the hassle, the money. Now he’s finally gotten his wish. I can’t take that away. I also don’t want to hurt Lily. She was only trying to help.”

“Her idea of help could sink ships, Hannah. She put you in an impossible situation. Of course, she’ll be paying dog support to Danny for the next fifteen years.”

She pulled him by the sleeve, indicating he should follow her into the kitchen. “Let’s go properly meet the new member of our family. We’ll worry about how to pay for him later.”

Our family.
He liked the sound of that.

* * *

The next morning Ty had gone to work, Danny and Lily were closeted in Lily’s room with Crackers and Irene was scrubbing the kitchen floor, leaving Hannah at loose ends. It was time to do something she’d been dreading.

Hannah entered the kitchen carrying her purse and keys. “I’m going out for a bit. Call me if there’s a problem.”

“Only problem I can foresee is that puppy piddling on one of Mr. Ty’s wool rugs.” Irene shook her head ruefully. “That little critter is about the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen. I’m just sorry that it wasn’t you who drove them to the pet shop instead of me.”

“Don’t feel bad. None of this was your fault. Besides, Danny is blissfully happy about that pup.”

“Just so you know, Miss Lily has been asking me to take her to her friend Clara’s house, too. Because she asks during my work day, I always tell her I don’t have time.”

“Does she do it often?”

“Getting to be more so. She and Clara also talk on the phone but never when you’re in the room. I think they’re devising something they don’t want you to know about.”

Lily was a hatchery; if ideas were chicks, she had a million of them.

“I’ll talk to Ty about it tonight.”

“Mr. Ty is softer with Lily than he really should be. Of course, that’s because of that promise he made to his grandfather. Mr. Ty never breaks a promise. His word is good.”

Irene paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, “You make a good team because Lily loves you and listens to reason with you. That makes it easier for Mr. Ty. You’ve taken a lot of pressure off his shoulders these past weeks. I think we’re all dreading the time when you leave, Hannah. You and Danny have brought wonderful life to this house.”

Hannah had a myriad of thoughts in her head as she drove downtown to run some errands. Irene had reminded Hannah about the promise he’d made when he was young. She had an ever-growing admiration for the man Ty was.

When she returned to the Matthews’ home, Danny was playing with Crackers in the front yard. Lily, ensconced on a lawn chair, watching them with delight. On the sidewalk was a boy about Danny’s age. Hannah recognized him—Terrible Kevin of the Black Eye. His gaze was fixed on the squirming, yapping puppy, and his expression was one of longing.

Danny saw the boy about the same time Hannah did. She could see the wheels turning in her little son’s head. Then he picked up his puppy and walked slowly toward the other child. A conversation ensued before Danny nodded and the boy reached out his hand to stroke Cracker’s head.

Her chest felt clogged with emotion.

Danny was turning out well despite the roller coaster that was her life, not because of it.

Lily waved the boys over so she could meet Danny’s new friend.

Hannah began to think of how Danny would miss Lily terribly when they left. Lily had a doctor’s appointment this week. Hannah’s best guess was that he’d ask Lily to do a couple more weeks of physical therapy and then pronounce her fit to live in her own home again.

* * *

“I saw that Kevin was with you in the yard today,” Hannah mentioned casually over dinner.

“Yeah. Me and Ty talked about it one day when you weren’t home, didn’t we, Ty? He told me about in the Bible where it says we should keep forgiving someone—like seventy times seven. That’s four hundred and ninety times! And Ty said God forgives us even more than that so we should act like Him. I told him that was pretty hard, so he said I should just practice turning the other cheek.”

Bless Ty’s heart!

“I didn’t get that turn your other cheek stuff,” Danny admitted, helping himself to more mashed potatoes. “I figure that if you turn your other cheek on a bully, he’ll just slug you there, too, but I tried it.”

“How did it work out?” Ty asked.

“Pretty good. Kevin’s mom won’t let him have a pet. I could tell it made him sad, so I asked him if he wanted to pet Crackers. He got nicer after that. He really likes dogs so he was pretty happy that I’d let him play with mine. He’s gonna come over tomorrow and we’re going to teach Crackers to fetch. Kevin apologized, too—for that stuff he said about you, Mom. He’s okay, I guess.”

The boy said it matter-of-factly. His nemesis was becoming his friend. Hannah and Ty exchanged glances. She smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. He winked back in a secret exchange between them.

Hannah felt tears burning in her throat. Ty Matthews was the only father figure Danny had had in a very long time.

Hannah went upstairs to tell Danny to get ready for bed, but to her surprise he was already in his room, teeth brushed, pajamas on and a book in front of him. Flat on his belly, feet splayed, Crackers was sleeping soundly on his dog bed.

“What got into you? Going to bed without being told a half-dozen times? Are you sick?” Hannah pretended to feel his forehead for fever.

Danny grinned at her. “Lily told me if I’d rest up tonight, she’d have Irene take us to the pet store again. They’re having a sale on dog accessories.”

“Danny, do you know what dog accessories are?”

“Not really, but I bet with Lily it’s going to be fun!”

Suddenly, an image of Ty at Danny’s age, trusting his grandmother to plan their next outing, sprang into her mind. It was no wonder that Ty loved her so much or pampered her so lavishly. If only her own parents had been able to meet Danny.