“It’s his life. I’ve moved on.”

  The two of them went downstairs and Josie was sitting on the couch, one of her cartoons on. “Dee, you’re going to love this show. Avery watches it with me too.”

  She looked over to see which one it was. She watched TV with Josie halfhearted when it was cartoons. Probably wrong on her part, but there were times she was thrilled Josie was occupied while she could get things done around the house.

  She figured that was the norm for most parents.

  “Tell me all about the show,” her mother said. “Avery is going to order pizza for dinner. She should do it now as I’m pretty sure a lot of people are doing the same thing as us.”

  “Are you going to Enzo’s?” Josie asked. “It’s much better than the pizza Carter brings over, but don’t tell him I said that.”

  Avery snorted out a laugh. “It can be our little secret.”

  She went into the kitchen to get a bottle of water and placed the order, was told it’d be an hour which was more than double what she was used to waiting, and then went back to watch cartoons with Josie and her mother.

  “I’m hungry,” Josie said. “When will it be ready?”

  “Not for an hour,” she said. “But you can have a small snack if you want.”

  “No,” Josie said. “I’ll wait. And I’m excited to see my friends on Friday too. I’m still going to Patty’s house, right? She said there are going to be a few of the girls there to see me.”

  “Yes,” she said. “It’s all set up. Don’t worry.”

  “What are you going to do while Josie is at her friends?” her mother asked.

  “I’m going to brave the mall on Black Friday and try to get some Christmas shopping done.”

  Her mother burst out laughing. It was one thing Avery hated to do and Colleen had loved it. The thrill of the sales and the people. Avery always said she’d take a pass.

  Now she got it. She didn’t have time to do it and she’d have a better selection here than on the island.

  The three of them watched cartoons for forty-five minutes and she couldn’t take another minute of it and decided to leave now for the five-minute drive for pizza. She didn’t care if she was waiting there longer, it would be nice to get out of the house.

  She parked and walked in. The place was packed, names on the board of those orders that were done. Hers wasn’t up there so no reason to get in line yet.

  “Avery Keegan?”

  She turned when she heard her name. “Yes,” she said. She didn’t know who this woman was and felt horrible because she was normally good with the faces of her patients’ owners.

  “You don’t remember me, do you?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I don’t.”

  “Officer Denson. I came to see you at the clinic the day that Colleen had her accident.”

  “Oh,” she said. The woman wasn’t in uniform. “I don’t remember much from that day. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m sure,” Officer Denson said. “Colleen was a wonderful woman. She was very helpful if you went up and had any questions about payroll or benefits. How is Josie doing? You don’t live around here anymore, right?”

  “I don’t,” she said. “Josie is doing well. We came home for the holiday to see my mother.”

  “That’s nice. Do you have a minute?” Officer Denson said, looking around. As if she wanted to make sure no one was listening in.

  “Sure,” she said. “Just waiting for my dinner like everyone else.”

  The two of them moved off to the side. “A guy showed up at Colleen’s old office a few weeks ago. He was causing a scene and I and another officer had to go up and see what was going on.”

  “Okay,” she said, not sure what this had to do with her.

  “He said he was Josie’s father. And he was trying to find his daughter. That he’d heard Colleen died and he wanted his kid.”

  She felt her face pale. “Did he leave his name?”

  “Mike something,” Officer Denson said. “I’d have to go back and look at the report.”

  “Shit,” she said.

  “Is that the name of Josie’s father?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “Mike Coffey.” It seemed the day to have men from the past come into her life. Or at least knowledge of them.

  “That’s it,” Officer Denson said. “I remember thinking I needed one. A coffee. When he left.”

  “I’m not sure how he found out about Colleen’s death,” she said. Last she knew Colleen hadn’t had any communication with Mike since he signed over his rights before Josie was born.

  Officer Denson shrugged. “No clue, but since I saw you here, I figured I’d mention it.”

  “Did you get any of his information? Where he’s living or a number or anything?” she asked.

  “It’s in the report,” Officer Denson said. “If you want to stop into the department tomorrow, I’ll get it for you. I’m working. We all loved Colleen.”

  Avery wasn’t sure if she should get this information or not and the way Officer Denson all but whispered it let her wonder even more.

  “I’ll be there,” she said. It was best to know going in and prepare. Though she wasn’t so sure what she could be prepared for.

  29

  Taking What He Could

  “What are Avery and Josie doing today?” Carter’s mother asked him when he walked in the door on Thanksgiving.

  He was surprised it’d taken this long for his mother to bring it up. More so since she saw him a few times a week at the shop.

  But this week his mother was only there on Monday and then off the past two days getting ready for the holiday dinner.

  She’d be baking pies and cookies, more turkey and sides than they could all eat and then she’d send them home with leftovers and the desserts would go to the garage on Friday and Saturday for the guys working.

  “They went back to Danbury on Wednesday afternoon. She’s staying with her mother.”

  “Oh,” his mother said. “I was hoping they would have come with you today.”

  “I wouldn’t have done that without asking you,” he said.

  His mother waved her hand. “I wouldn’t have cared. The more the merrier. Even your dogs are here today.”

  “I appreciate them being able to come and the cats staying upstairs.”

  “The cats want to be upstairs. I don’t have to put them there,” his mother said.

  “I know,” he said. “Dopey leaves them alone.”

  “Doc doesn’t know any better,” his father said. “I find it funny.”

  “You would,” his mother said to his father. “How long is Avery staying at her mother’s?”

  “She’s leaving early on Sunday. She said she hopes to be home around noon if she can get on the ferry by eleven. That’s the plan anyway.”

  Which meant leaving no later than eight to give her enough time if she was caught in traffic. And Boston traffic was sure to happen. He’d warned her too when he talked to her last night. She’d laughed and said she realized that when she was leaving Boston to get on the road too.

  “You didn’t want to go with her?” his mother asked him.

  “I’m working tomorrow and Saturday. I’m swamped and you know it.”

  “You can take some time off,” his mother said.

  “I can and I do when I can plan ahead. Something like being closed or off a few days like this has to be scheduled and I didn’t. There are a lot of people with Friday off and they scheduled work on their cars that day weeks ago.”

  “Your mother knows that,” his father said. “But she’s being nosy. Vanessa, leave your son alone.”

  “Do I get left alone too?” Grayson asked, walking in the door.

  “No,” his mother said. “Now that you are here and you talk more, you can tell me what is going on in your life.”

  “Not much,” Grayson said. “Why is the extra table out?”

  “Because your Aunt Alice and Uncle Bill are coming with Mac, Sidney and the baby. Jarrett is working and Alex went to Penelope’s with Jennie but said they’d stop over later for dessert.”

  Carter did know his aunt and uncle were coming, but not anyone else. He supposed those were last minute things that happened and he never asked or cared that much.

  “You’d know those things if you talked to Mom more,” Carter said to bust his brother’s ass.

  “I talk to Mom more than you if you count the words in a month.”

  His mother laughed, his father coughed in his hand. There was no disputing that so he wouldn’t try.

  “I’ve got the snacks,” Natalie said, coming in the door. “You two can go get the rest in my car.”

  He didn’t say anything, only turned to do as he was told, but Grayson asked, “Why do we have to do it? You’re the one that makes too much.”

  His brother was grinning and Natalie stuck her tongue out at him. “Because you’ll eat more than anyone else and you know it,” Natalie said.

  He and his brother went to his sister’s car to get the snacks she’d put together. He got thinking maybe he should have done or brought something.

  Not that he thought his mother would let him, but it shouldn’t be the women doing it all either.

  He supposed he never thought much of it before he started to date Avery and saw everything that she did.

  Running her own business.

  Raising a little girl.

  Taking care of her house and the rest of the things that had to be done in her life.

  Spending time with him.

  He wished they had more time together, but he was taking what he could.

  He knew last night she felt horrible that Josie asked him to come and she didn’t. He was actually glad she hadn’t because he would have wanted to go, but it was exactly as he’d said to his mother. He was way too busy.

  But he would have felt like shit having to say that to her and it saved them both the stress and the guilt.

  It happened anyway because Josie didn’t understand the world as he and Avery did. She just wanted to spend time with him.

  You couldn’t get much better than that in terms of acceptance.

  “I hear that it’s making the way around the island that you’re dating now,” Grayson said once they set all the snacks down on the dining room table. People would help themselves for hours before the meal was complete.

  “Going to the wedding together last weekend is a sure way for that to happen,” Natalie said. “Even you aren’t normally that slow.”

  His brother and sister did like to bust each other’s butts more than anyone else.

  “It was never a secret,” Carter said.

  “Does Josie know?” Grayson asked.

  “She does,” he said. “We told her a few weeks ago.”

  “Now I know it’s serious,” Natalie said. “Mom, did you know that?”

  “No,” his mother said, frowning. Great, now he was going to be on the shit list with his mother, but it’s not like he talked to her about those things in his life.

  “I’m not sure what the big deal is,” he said. “Avery and I are taking it slow. It’s been about two months and she knew it was time to let Josie know. I’ve been fine with it either way.”

  “Don’t get defensive,” his mother said.

  He was glad when the door opened and Mac and Sidney walked in. Mac was carrying his four-month-old son, Jace, in a carrier, Sidney with a large bag over her shoulder.

  “The baby is here,” Mac said. “Who wants him?”

  Natalie all but dropped what she was doing and took off for his cousin’s baby. He knew his sister loved kids.

  “Me,” Natalie said.

  “I’ve got wine,” Sidney said. “Who wants that?”

  “Me,” his mother said, raising her hand.

  “Me too,” his Aunt Alice said, coming behind them with a box of desserts in her hand.

  “I’m getting a beer,” Carter said. “Who else?”

  Several hands went up. Mac, his father and uncle, Grayson too.

  “I’ll help you,” Grayson said.

  “Good, because I was going to tell you to,” he said.

  The two of them grabbed the beers in the fridge. “No Avery today?”

  He wanted to growl. “If you got here earlier, you’d know she went to see her mother for a few days.”

  “I won’t ask why you didn’t go. You never take time off.”

  “Really,” he said. “You probably work more than me, but you don’t let anyone know that because you’re doing it from home.”

  His brother was out to prove to the world that this side of the Bonds could be white collar workers and make a name for themselves too.

  Carter couldn’t have cared less most of the time, but it bothered Grayson more.

  Or maybe it bothered his brother longer than it did Carter.

  He knew where he came from and was content and accepting of it.

  He didn’t have to prove anything to anyone.

  Yet he wanted to prove to Avery that he could be the man for her and wondered if everyone was right. That maybe he did need to take some time away from his business to do that.

  30

  A Nice Guy

  “Hi, Payton, I’m Dr. Keegan. It’s nice to meet you and Jimmy.”

  Payton reached her hand out to shake, Jimmy the lab sitting on the floor shivering and not happy to be here, Avery could see.

  “Thanks for getting us in so quickly,” Payton said. “I’m so glad you’re on the island. The thought of having to get an appointment on the mainland and then bringing Jimmy on the ferry sick. He’s hard to pick up, but he’s my baby. I’m not sure what is wrong with him.”

  “Tell me what is going on,” she said, getting down on the ground and looking Jimmy over. She could see in his eyes he wasn’t well.

  “He’s had diarrhea since last night. He’s thrown up a few times too. I’ve been making sure he’s drinking and he is, but when he ate this morning, he threw it up and then had diarrhea again. I’m not sure what is wrong.”

  “Poor guy,” she said, feeling around the chocolate lab’s belly. The dog wasn’t wincing and she didn’t feel anything. She listened to his heart rate and it was steady, not fast. Not slow either. The shivering seemed more from nerves than anything because once she started to pet Jimmy and let him know she was a friend, he relaxed.

  “I know he’s hungry. He’s always begging for food and getting into things. I tried to give him some treats a few hours after he got sick on his dog food. He didn’t throw up, but he had diarrhea almost immediately after.”

  “If he didn’t throw it up, then I can rule out a blockage. How many treats did you give him?”

  Payton looked a little guilty. “Maybe six good-sized bones. He’s hungry and I feel bad.”

  “I understand, but dogs are like humans. If you’ve got a bellyache or have these symptoms, feeding it right away isn’t always the best course of action. Or you need to be prepared for these results. You said he gets into things—do you know if he did or not recently?”

  “I was out Christmas shopping yesterday and when I got home I noticed that he’d gotten into the bowl of candy I had on the table.”

  She lifted her eyebrow. “What was in it?”

  “Chocolate bars. Not the big ones. Just mini ones. I found empty wrappers everywhere. I mean, how did he manage to get the wrappers off?”

  “Dogs are smarter than we think. And chocolate isn’t good for dogs. Too much can poison or kill them.”

  “Oh my God,” Payton said, her hands going to her face. She figured the woman to be close to her age or so. “I’m such a horrible mother. I had no idea.”

  “It’s important to know the things in your house that are harmful to your pets. Do you know how much he ate?” she asked.

  “I think there were only eight of those bite-sized assorted ones left. I kind of went on a bender the night before. I suppose that is a good thing.”

  “Very,” she said. “The good news is a dog this size, that amount of chocolate, though poisonous, isn’t deadly unless there are more underlying health issues. It says here Jimmy is four and in great health.”

  “He is,” Payton said, wiping her nose on her jacket.

  She got up and handed her a tissue. “Here.”

  “Thanks,” Payton said.

  “The other good news is, Jimmy’s body is doing what it should do when it comes into contact with something he shouldn’t have. He was throwing it up and getting it out any way he can. This is a normal reaction to consuming chocolate. He hasn’t thrown up since this morning?” she asked.

  “No,” Payton said. “Not since seven thirty. I took the day off because I didn’t want to leave him home alone. I’m glad I was able to get him in so fast.”

  It was two right now. “What time did you give him those treats?” she asked, typing in her notes on the computer.

  “Around twelve. I’m normally working and he eats breakfast and dinner, but I know he’s hungry. I can see it.”

  “I’m sure he is. But I’m going to tell you to not let him eat any food for twenty-four hours. His belly and insides are all inflamed and we want to give them time to heal. He might not be happy, but he will thank you tomorrow.”

  “That’s it?” Payton said. “No food?”

  “Make sure he’s drinking. You can feed him at noon tomorrow, or if you’re working, then feed him dinner. If you haven’t seen an improvement, call the office and I’ll give you an anti-diarrhea for him. But I’d like to see if his body can do it on its own.”

  “I’ll take tomorrow off too,” Payton said. “I don’t want to make him wait until dinner and then if there is a problem you’re closed at that time.”

  “I’ve got an after-hour line for emergencies. Since it’s a follow-up with him, you can call me anyway if you want. I’d like to know how he is doing, even if he’s fine.”

  “Really?” Payton asked.

  “Yes.” Knowing she was the only vet on the island, she was making herself available. She realized most people didn’t bother her unless they were concerned. She appreciated that many would wait until she opened the next day.