Three Dog Night (The Dogmothers Book 2) Page 5

  She shook her head in immediate rejection of that idea. “No. Overlook Glen wines are aged.”

  “Pinot doesn’t need to age.”

  She gave him a look that said exactly what she thought of that statement. “And skip the malolactic fermentation?”

  He laughed softly. “Not sure what that is.”

  “It turns tart malic acid into a smoother lactic acid.”

  “So that’s how you make that dreamy 1410,” he teased.

  “Shut up.” She tapped his arm, but smiled. “And I would give it a better name. Like…Blue Hawk? You know, a mix of Scooter Hawkings and Blue?”

  “Exactly what your competitors will do.”

  Dropping her head back, she laughed. “Shoot down every idea, why don’t you?”

  “Just trying to help. If you’d let me.”

  “I told you, I’m cautious. And the commitment is more than you could make with your job. And I…”

  “Am scared of me,” he finished. “That’s what you said last night.”

  “When you asked me on a date.”

  He reached over and put a hand over hers. “You’re scared of me in your kitchen, too.”

  She looked him right in the eye. “Yes, I am,” she said softly. “You are very…intense, Alex. A man of emotions and passion and deep, deep…feelings.”

  “Thank you.” He squeezed his fingers a little. “I take all of that as a real compliment.”

  She sighed. “It’s not…good for me to be around people like that.”

  He lifted his hand, waiting for the rest. There had to be an explanation. “Why not?” he asked when none came.

  “Long story.”

  “I have time.”

  She shook her head. “I had a weird childhood,” she said. “That’s the short version.”

  “I want the long version.”

  She turned and looked into the back seat at the sleeping puppies. “They’ll need names,” she said.

  “Crazy Ass, Chocolate, and Needy Nellie.”

  “No.” She pointed at the box. “The brown one is Jack. The wild one is Bitsy. And the one who needs the most love is…Gertie.”

  “What if you have their genders wrong?”

  “Then we’ll change the names to match what they are.”

  “You’re the boss.” He glanced in the rearview just as he pulled up to the wide, white gates with the WF logo on them. “Welcome to Waterford Farm, Jack and Bitsy and Gertie. They say it’s a hundred acres of happy.”

  This time, she reached for him, closing her narrow fingers over his forearm. “Promise me one thing, Alex?”

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t let them get separated. Those three, Bitsy and Jack and Gertie? They have to stay together. Promise?”

  “One condition.”

  She blew out a breath. “I told you, I can’t—”

  “You’ll tell me the long version of your childhood story.”

  She just stared at him, then glanced into the back seat. “I kind of just did.”

  “What?” Now he was completely confused.

  “Okay, I promise. I’ll tell you someday.”

  “Someday soon.”

  She didn’t answer, which he took as a yes.

  * * *

  As they drove in, Alex gave her a quick rundown on who might be at the house—but it couldn’t be too quick once he reached the fifth or sixth or tenth name that ended in Kilcannon or Mahoney.

  “How do you keep them all straight?” she asked on a laugh.

  “John used to say we need a spreadsheet. Cousins left and right, couple of babies fired out in the space of a year, including two just two months ago. Now my sister is engaged to one of the firefighter brothers.” He shook his head. “Sunday dinners are insane.”

  “I can’t imagine.” And that was the absolute truth. Nothing in Grace’s life would have given her the ability to know what that kind of family felt like.

  She shifted, turning to look around, getting a glimpse of a stately yellow farmhouse perched on a rise overlooking foothills with a totally different view than she had at the winery, but as beautiful as anything an artist ever painted on canvas.

  The house itself, with three chimneys, dark green shutters, and a wraparound porch, looked like it belonged on the cover of Southern Living.

  “I’ve only been here once,” she told him. “Your mother gave me a quick tour, but I have a feeling I only saw a sliver of the pie.”

  “The property’s amazing, but the facility? It’s really one of the most impressive canine rescue and training sites on the whole East Coast. They train dogs and people who want to be dog trainers, have kennels that house dozens of dogs, a grooming studio, a full veterinary hospital, and a dorm for students who stay for weeks of specialized programs, some just to become dog trainers, some in law enforcement. There’s a couple dozen dogs here on any given day.” He gestured toward the three puppies crashed on their ugly blanket, made beautiful by their furry little bodies. “These guys’ll fit right in.”

  “So you come here every Sunday?” she asked, still a little enchanted by the idea. “Everyone in the family does?”

  “Usually. We close Santorini’s early after Sunday brunch. After my mom started seeing Daniel, John and Cassie and I would come out once in a while, then more frequently, and now? It’s just…” He shrugged. “Family, you know?”

  She didn’t answer because, no, she didn’t know. Instead, she let her gaze drift from the house to a massive enclosed dog pen surrounded by clapboard outbuildings.

  “Yep. There’s a gathering.” Alex tapped on the brakes as they reached a wide circular drive, which was peppered with a variety of trucks, cars, and one bright yellow Jeep Wrangler that had seen better days. “Liam, Garrett, Josh, and Darcy. Oh, that’s Aidan’s truck. I hope he and Beck brought pizzas from Slice of Heaven, because I usually bring the food.” He squinted at the vehicles. “And there’s Declan and Connor. Hell, more than half the family’s here, and I know Cassie and Braden are on the way. Grandmothers can’t be far behind.”

  “A full house,” Gracie murmured on a sigh.

  “Is that a problem?” There was far more surprise than challenge in his question, and it made her realize he’d never understand why the answer was yes.

  “I’m kind of an introvert,” she said with a self-deprecating laugh. It was only partially true, but telling him, Big families put me into a tailspin, would just be…weird.

  He reached across the console to pat her arm. “Just stay with me every minute. I’m pretty much the polar opposite of introverted.”

  His fingers were warm and strong, and she couldn’t resist putting her hand over his again for the sheer pleasure of more skin-on-skin contact.

  “Thanks for your help with my abandoned-puppy problem,” she said.

  “Don’t thank me.” He jutted his chin over her shoulder toward the house. “Thank the puppy cavalry. Looks like Molly shared the news.”

  She turned to see at least eight adults, a teenager, one toddler, and three dogs heading down the drive to the car, led by an effervescent blonde she remembered as Daniel Kilcannon’s youngest daughter, Darcy.

  Oh boy. Grace closed her eyes for a moment, swallowed hard, and swore she would not let envy eat her alive. What would it be like to be surrounded by a virtual army of family? Nothing could ever hurt you, no one could leave, and the security would be…breathtaking.

  Alex climbed out and gave a wave as he opened the door to the back seat. “I went looking for Yiayia’s purse and found—”

  “Puppies!” The squeal came from the beautiful dark-haired teenage girl named Prudence, the oldest of Daniel Kilcannon’s grandchildren, who’d been quite the planning expert at several of the wedding meetings.

  She tore ahead of the group, followed by a little boy who broke from his mother’s grip and ran with Pru, a gorgeous German shepherd keeping pace.

  “I want to hold one!” the little boy cried out. “I want to hold them all!”
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  As Alex carefully pulled out the carton of puppies and Grace got out of the passenger side, the lot of them descended like a human avalanche, laughing, joking, greeting, and cooing over the pups.

  “Whoa, whoa, careful everyone,” Alex said on a laugh, easing the box protectively against his chest, then lowering it to the ground. “These guys are young. And they’re feisty. And—”

  “So stinking cute!” Pru dropped to her knees, reaching her hand to the boy. “C’mere, Christian. These are just like baby Annabelle and my little brother, Danny.” Grace could hear the pride in the girl’s voice as she guided her little cousin’s hand. “You know you have to be very careful with babies.”

  Behind them, tall, dark Liam, the oldest of the Kilcannons, dipped closer to give the toddler he held in his arms a closer look. “Look at the puppers, Fee,” he whispered, making her squeal with delight.

  “These are Labs,” one of the Kilcannon brothers announced. That must be Shane, since the woman next to him wore a pink baby wrap, with a little bald head peeking out of the fabric. That would be the nine-week-old who kept him from going muddin’ at midnight.

  “And maybe some shepherd,” Liam added.

  “What they are is gorgeous.” Another brother came closer, this one wearing a beat-up old hat.

  Despite the crush of interest, not one person, not even the little boy who looked to be about seven, reached in to touch the puppies. It was clear this whole clan loved and respected dogs.

  “My mom’ll be right out.” Pru looked up at Grace. “As a vet, she should be the first to handle and examine them. They can’t be on the grass because of diseases, at least until they’re completely cleared by a vet.”

  Alex and Grace shared a look.

  “We might have broken that rule,” Alex admitted.

  “I found them in my cook’s cottage,” she explained. “And he’s gone, so we don’t have any idea who they belong to, or what they’ve been through.”

  “Someone just left them?” Christian asked, voicing with childish dismay what all of their faces said.

  Liam leaned over, clinging to the armful of pink confection he held, putting one hand on the little boy’s shoulder. “Son, this is why I tell you dogs beat people every time.”

  “What are their names?” Christian asked, shifting from knee to knee, obviously itching to pick up a puppy.

  Alex, down on one knee next to the box, pointed to the almost-all-brown one. “If we have the genders right, this is Jack. And this…” He drew a little circle over the brown and white head. “This is Bitsy. And this little girl is Gertie, the sweetest of all.”

  As the chorus of greetings rose up, Grace reached for his shoulder, pressing a hand of gratitude on that strong muscle. He looked up, smiling.

  “Did I get them right?”

  “Perfect,” she said, feeling her heart swelling over the fact that he cared so much about the names she’d given them, without even knowing why.

  Just then, a woman walked over from the house, mahogany curls bouncing with each step, a broad-shouldered man next to her who looked no less masculine despite the tiny baby in his tattooed arms. This was Molly the vet, Grace recalled from an earlier introduction, and her husband, Trace, who trained therapy dogs.

  “All right, let me at them.” Molly worked her way through her siblings, cousins, in-laws, and daughter to get to the box, her pretty face brightening at the sight of the dogs. “Look at what we have here.”

  Molly didn’t dive in and touch them, either, Grace noticed. But she fell right to her bottom and eased the box very close. Awake now, all three puppies started squirming and threatening to jump, but the lovely vet seemed to have a magical, calming presence, and her soft whispers settled them down.

  “Pru, Christian, we need some crates to get them to the vet office. There are clean ones with fresh blankets in the back storage area. Oh, and pull a bag of puppy chow, please.”

  Without being told twice, the kids took off.

  “I really did bring them to the right place,” Grace mused, getting smiles from the group around her.

  “And we’ll get them adopted.” The man in the hat stepped forward, taking it off so Grace could see that his dark good looks were as arresting as his brothers’. “I’m Garrett,” he reminded her. “And when word goes out in my rescue network that we have these three, we’ll have good homes as soon as Molly clears them for adoption.”

  Grace looked up at him, defiance lifting her chin. “They have to stay together.”

  His eyes widened a bit. “That could be a challenge.”

  “It’s not negotiable,” Alex said simply. “They’ve been through too much to be separated.”

  His statement seemed to be enough to end the subject and shift the attention back to the puppies, chattering about their breeds and health and personalities.

  But Grace didn’t hear much of it. Instead, she gave into a wave of gratitude toward Alex for his support on the subject. Affection had never been her strong suit, but Alex sure made her want to change that.

  So she just inched her shoulder a tiny bit into his and smiled.

  What Alex didn’t know was that minuscule gesture was the equivalent to a full-on, openmouthed, kiss on the lips. Which suddenly felt…possible.

  The fact was with this man, and this family, anything seemed possible.

  Chapter Six

  Molly would let only one of them in the exam room at a time, so Alex let Grace do the honors, and she seemed grateful. Ever since he’d come to her defense about separating the puppies, he’d felt a thaw from her in the form of more frequent smiles and a light in her eyes.

  Warmed by that and assured that she’d be fine in the vet office alone, he headed to the house, hoping to get some time with his older brother, Nick, who hadn’t been in the greeting committee, but had been staying at Waterford for the wedding festivities. Nick had flown in from Africa, where he worked as part of Doctors Without Borders. Their youngest sibling, Theo, had stayed here, too, but had had to report back to his Navy duty early that morning, so he’d taken a red-eye after the wedding.

  Of course, Alex had talked to Nick a few times this week, but there was always a crowd. Even if that group was only his siblings, Mom, and Daniel, there’d been no real one-on-one time with his oldest brother. And, to be honest, Alex sensed there was still a slight discomfort where Nick, Mom, and Daniel Kilcannon were concerned.

  Not long after his mother and Daniel started seeing each other, both families had been rocked by the news that Nico Matteo Santorini Junior, also known as Nick, was not the son of Nico Matteo Santorini Senior. Nick was, in fact, Daniel Kilcannon’s offspring, conceived when Mom and the young vet student dated briefly in college, before she dropped out to go home and marry Dad.

  The worst of the shock waves had passed in the ensuing months, and if anything, the three families were tighter than ever. Daniel, of course, had embraced the idea of another son. But Nick had struggled, no matter how much he’d tried to hide it. And Alex wanted to talk to him and see how he was doing, how things were going in Africa, and why he rarely mentioned the woman he’d told them months ago he loved.

  As he approached the wraparound porch, the door opened, and Declan, the oldest of the three Mahoney men, who’d all followed in their father’s footsteps to become firefighters, stepped out and greeted Alex.

  “Have you seen my brother?” Alex asked after they had a quick hello.

  “I think he just took Goldie out back for a walk,” he said. “Poor thing’s a wreck when your mother and Daniel aren’t around.”

  “I’ll find him. Thanks.” As Alex started toward the door to cut through the house, Declan put a hand on his arm and shot a thumb outside. “Go this way, or you’ll get dragged into a Mario Kart competition.”

  He smiled and nodded his appreciation for the tip, hustling around the house, right past a snoring Rusty, Daniel’s longtime Irish setter companion.

  Alex spotted his brother’s tall, lanky form and t
he dog about a hundred yards away on a path that led to the woods. “Hey, Nick,” he called. “Want company?”

  His brother turned and broke into an easy smile, the powerful genes of Daniel Kilcannon so obvious now. For Nick’s entire life, they all—including his parents—had had no idea Nico Santorini wasn’t his biological father. If not for Cassie’s Christmas present of one of those online DNA tests for all the Santorinis to take, they might never have known.

  But they knew now, and Alex wondered, not for the first time, how this life-changing news had altered his steady, stable doctor brother. Half brother, to be technically accurate. And definitely one of the greatest big brothers to ever live.

  “I heard you came bearing puppies,” Nick said as Alex approached, offering up an easy, brotherly hug. “A little like bringing sand to the beach, don’t you think?”

  Alex chuckled. “Where would you take three furbabies found abandoned in a winery cottage?”

  Nick’s dark brows lifted. “Sounds like you had an interesting morning.”

  “Extremely,” he agreed. “You?”

  He just shrugged, letting Goldie bring him to a stop so she could sniff and pee.

  “I haven’t had a chance to really talk to you,” Alex said. “I miss you, bro.”

  Nick smiled and gave Alex’s back a pat. “I miss you, too.”

  “Yeah, it’s been a long rotation. You thinking about coming back soon?” When Nick didn’t answer, Alex narrowed his eyes. “Don’t want to leave her, do you?”

  Nick huffed out a soft breath. “Lucienne has no interest in living in the States,” he said simply, referring to the French anesthesiologist he’d met about six months ago in the mobile medical unit where he worked in the Central African Republic. “I couldn’t even persuade her to come to this wedding, and it wasn’t for lack of trying or time off. She had the time, but no interest.”

  Nick made no effort to hide the disappointment in his voice.

  “Shame,” Alex said. “Last time you came home, it sounded like the relationship was serious. What changed?”