“In that case,” Zach said. “You cowboy up and do the hard thing.”
His friend’s words hit him like a lightning bolt, and in that moment, Caleb knew the solution to his dilemma. Slapping Zach on the back, he said, “Thank you, man. Now I’ve gotta go.”
It was five p.m. and Home for the Holidays was officially over. Ava, her parents, and all the volunteers had worked nonstop, Caleb and his hands included.
Exhausted, Ava slumped in the office chair beside her mom. Dad had gone into the house to feed Stephen King, Minnie Pearl, Oscar, Felix, and Cinderella their dinners.
“I can’t believe we got all the cats and most of the dogs adopted out except for two.” Ava yawned. “Someone even took poor old Waldo.”
“It is a Christmas miracle,” her mother said, sounding wistful. “The place hasn’t been this empty since we started the shelter. And plenty of people would have adopted those last two if you’d allowed them to be separated.”
Ava peered over at the Romeo and Juliet, who were curled up together on the sofa. “Mom, they adore each other. How could I split them up?”
“Most people aren’t ready to take on two dogs at once. I appreciate that it’s sad to adopt them out separately now that they’ve bonded, but they’re dogs. They’ll adjust.”
“Maybe they won’t,” Ava said, toying with a pencil. “Maybe they’ll always secretly pine for each other for the rest of their lives.”
“Dogs don’t have the same emotions that people do.”
“How do you know?”
Her mother cleared her throat and sent Ava a pointed look. “This isn’t about Romeo and Juliet. This is about you and Caleb.”
She didn’t even bother denying it. Instead, she got up and moved to the couch where both dogs curled up on her lap and gazed raptly into each other’s eyes. Absentmindedly, she scratched them behind their ears and thought of Caleb.
Just then, as if she’d conjured him, the door to the shelter opened and Caleb walked in.
Immediately, Ava sat up straight, her gaze flying to meet his. “You’re still here. I heard the ATVs start up and thought you’d gone.”
He was holding his Stetson in his hands, looking uncomfortable. “I was about to head out. Phil and Mort have already gone back to the Leaping Longhorn. Just wanted to say congrats on clearing out the shelter.”
Ava displaced the dogs and got up, her eyes clinging to his. Her stomach was tied in knots and she could barely breathe. “Thank you so much for everything. Honestly, we couldn’t have done it without you.”
“My pleasure.” A quick smile appeared on his lips, and then it was gone.
Clearing her throat, she sent him a pleading expression. “Could we talk?”
He shook his head. “Ava, there’s nothing to say.”
Nothing? He wasn’t even going to give them a chance to work through this. There had to be some kind of compromise. When two people loved each other…
“I’ve been selfish,” she said.
“You haven’t. You took care of yourself and that was wise. I admire you for it.”
“I do too,” her mother added from behind the desk.
“Caleb, if you just—”
“Ava,” he said. “I have to go.”
Putting his hat on his head, he turned and left her with a gaping wound where her heart used to be.
Chapter 11
“There’s something I have to tell you,” her mother said. “And I don’t want it to affect your decision about Singapore.”
Ava turned back to her mother. What she hadn’t told her mother was that earlier that day, after Caleb had come to her rescue, she’d made a very important decision regarding Singapore and had tested the job recruiter with her answer. That could wait.
“Mom?”
“Your father and I planned to wait until after Christmas to tell you, but I think you need the information now.”
“And yet you don’t want it to affect my decision?”
Her mother threw her hands in the air. “Okay, all right, I know it will affect your decision, but I hate that it will. You need to make your choices for you, not me and your father.”
“Mom,” she repeated, feeling her eyes widen and her pulse speed up. “What is it?”
“Please don’t panic—”
“Don’t say that. Now I’m panicking.”
Her mother got up, came over, took her by the hand, and led her to the couch. Ava’s pulse went from a cantor to a gallop. “Mom?”
Marjorie eased between the doors and took Juliet into her lap. She motioned Ava to sit.
She did and gathered up Romeo, grateful to have something to hold on to. “What is it? Please tell me. I’m officially freaking out.”
“Your father has cancer—”
That word. That horrible word. An icy blast froze the blood in her veins.
Her mother took her hand. “It’s okay, okay. I’m botching this. It’s skin cancer. Granted it could be a deadly skin cancer but it’s not. They caught it early. It has like a ninety-nine percent cure rate when caught early. He’s going to be fine.”
Ava panted, her emotions knocked first one way and then another. Her father had cancer, but it was completely curable.
“Caleb knows—”
“You told him and not me?”
That hurt, but why should it? Caleb was closer to her parents than she was. She’d been globetrotting while he’d been here taking care of business. Love for him grew in her chest and swelled. He was such a good man and she kept brushing him aside for life on the road. Why? What was wrong with her?
“I’m sorry if we hurt you by withholding the information, but I’m telling you. Your father will have the mole taken out after the holidays and there won’t even be any chemo. But—”
“But?” Ava echoed, clutching Romeo to her chest.
“His diagnosis has been a wake-up call. We’re closing the shelter. We’re renting a small house in town and we’re putting this place up for sale.”
“The shelter is your livelihood. You’ve run it since you first got married. It’s been here thirty years. What will the town do for an animal shelter? You—”
“It’s time for your father to get what he wants. The shelter was my dream and because he didn’t have a strong preference as to what he did for a living and because he loved me, he did this for me. It’s his turn now. He gets to plan the next thirty years.”
“Oh, Mom! I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’re happy for us. We’re looking forward to the next chapter of our lives. And thanks to you and your amazing photography and marketing skills, you’ve cleared out the shelter for us. It’s the prime time to go. We only have to worry about finding a home for these two little guys now.”
“I’ll take them!” Ava said, still so overwhelmed by her mother’s news that she couldn’t think straight.
“To Singapore?”
The mention of Singapore stopped her in her tracks. Her mother’s news changed everything. This was an earth-shattering moment, and Ava knew it was finally time to come home for good.