“I wanted to show Colleen my new dog.”
Rafe gasped. “Oh! She’s beautiful! If I didn’t have my hands in ten pounds of chicken breasts, I’d be all over her.”
“Lady Fluffy is really cute, Connor,” Jordan said, blushing.
“Thank you, Jordan,” Connor said. She dropped a glass. Right. He wasn’t supposed to look directly at her. “All right. Lady Fluffy and I are leaving. It’s my day off.”
“Oh, you have a life all of a sudden?” Colleen asked. “Lucas, I’m walking my brother home. I need exercise and fresh air if I’m gonna push this kid out.”
“I’ll be here, mia. Waiting for you.” Another glass crashed to the floor. Apparently, Connor wasn’t the only one to affect poor Jordan.
“I hate to be the one to bring it up, but strolling two blocks isn’t really exercise,” Connor said, putting the dog down on the sidewalk and clipping on her leash. She came up to his ankle. Lucas had a point; Fluffy might need a bow. They headed off, Fluff’s tiny little paws blurring as she trotted along, happily snuffling the air.
“So what are you doing today?” his sister asked, waddling beside him.
“I’m teaching Davey Dunn to cook. But don’t say anything to Jess. He wants to surprise her.”
“God, you’re so cute. You’re adorable. I mean that. Connor O’Rourke, you are a sweet little cookie, that’s what you are.” She put her hands on her back and sighed.
“You doing okay?”
“Oh, sure. I’m thirty-seven weeks pregnant, I burp like a frat boy and hit my recommended weight gain about four months ago, and yesterday, I broke out in pimples. For the first time in my life, Connor! Faith looked like a goddess when she was pregnant. I look like a bloated hippo corpse.”
“I can’t disagree, sadly.”
She smacked him on the head. “Sorry,” he said. “You glow, Dog-Face.”
“That’s better. How you doing with Dad and Gail and baby makes four?” she asked.
He sighed. “I don’t really care a lot. I mean, I’m sure I’ll love the baby. I love Savannah. It’s just... I don’t know.”
“You don’t feel connected to them.”
“Why would I?”
She shrugged, her expression a little sad. “I don’t know. He’s our father, yada yada. How’s the brewery coming? You getting investors?”
“Actually, yeah. Jeremy somehow heard about it—” he cut his sister a look “—and asked if he could buy in. But I have a meeting in a few weeks with some serious money people.”
“That’s great, buddy! This might really happen, then! Imagine, you doing something without me and not having it be an abysmal failure.”
“Really appreciate the confidence.” They waved in unison at Lorelei, who was walking out of the bakery with a cake box in her arms.
“Can I give you some advice?” Colleen asked.
“Why ask? You know you’re going to.”
“Let Jessica do the presentation with the investors. She’s gorgeous, you’re ugly, she’s friendly, you’re grumpy and can barely string two sentences together. And, brother mine, she can say great things about you, whereas you’ll look grouchy, ugly and pompous if you say them yourself.”
“Your faith in me...it’s humbling.”
“I know what I’m talking about. And you know I know.” They were at his house now, where she’d lived until last fall. “Pick that dog up so I can kiss her. If I have to squat, I’ll have the baby right here.”
He obeyed. “You scared?”
“What? Me? Nah!”
“I’ll come to the hospital if you want,” he said, and suddenly, his sister’s eyes filled with tears.
“I’m terrified,” she whispered, and he hugged her, his tiny dog licking Colleen’s face.
“You’ll be incredible, Collie,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “I know what I’m talking about, too. And you know I know.”
“Everything will be so different. What if I’m not a good mother?”
“Then give the baby to me.”
She sputtered with laughter, then smacked him on the shoulder. “You’re a jerk.”
“Coll. You don’t need to worry about being a good mother. You already are.”
Her eyes filled again. “I hate you.” It was what they always said when emotions were a little too high.
“I hate you, too. Now, I have to go. You need someone to help you waddle back to the restaurant?”
“No. I think I’ll go see Faith so I can sniff Noah’s head. I’ll just cut across the yard.”
“Tell your husband where you are so he doesn’t freak out.”
“Admit it. You’re starting to like him.”
“I admit nothing. See you later.”
He watched until she was in Faith and Levi’s house; their backyard was diagonal to his own. When she was safely inside, he put Lady Fluffy down. “Welcome home,” he said. “Try not to get stepped on.”
* * *
AN HOUR LATER, Davey sat in the kitchen with the dog on his lap. If Lady Fluffy could help Connor marry Jess, he’d commission a statue of her to be put in the park, like Balto, the dog who’d brought drugs to the sick kids in Alaska. Gerard had dropped Davey off and then went to the bakery to see Lorelei and said he’d be back around four.
“So you never cook at all,” Connor clarified.
“I can use the microwave to soften my ice cream.”
“You ever make popcorn or anything like that?”
“No.” He scowled.
“Right. I thought we’d start with scrambled eggs. So first rule of the kitchen, wash your hands.”
When Davey was clean, which took three tries, because he kept picking up Fluffy, Connor started him on cracking eggs. He had two dozen, since he thought it might be a little challenging.
It was. Davey crushed the first egg, getting it all over his hands. And table. And some on the chair. That was fine; Connor would do a bleach-down of the kitchen later on. “This is gross,” Davey said, reaching down to touch Fluffy.
“No touching the dog, remember? You’ll get it. Watch this.” Connor cracked an egg with one hand.
“So what?”
“So it’s one of my few tricks.”
“I don’t like your tricks.” The kid—man—was suddenly angry. The good old internet had said his mood might change on a dime, and for reasons that were unclear to someone unfamiliar with Davey’s issues. Little frustrations could build up, then explode.
“Listen, Dave,” he said. “I know you don’t like me a lot. And you don’t have to. But I would really like us to try to be friends, even if it doesn’t work.”
“I wouldn’t like us to be friends. You’re a show-off.”
Ah. Shouldn’t have cracked the egg one-handed.
“I have a question for you about dogs.” Redirect. That was one of the bits of wisdom that had been offered again and again. He remembered Jessica asking him about Superman or something when Davey had freaked out that time. Then, it had seemed she should’ve just told him to knock it off. Now it made more sense. “Do you think Fluffy would like it if I played music?”