“The bulldog’s not coming after all?” Hadley guessed.
“Um, no. It’s coming all right, and Cam’s bringing it. Like, as fast as he can walk it down to you. I think he wants to suss out his competition. Oh, and he’s got Bernie too. By himself. I trust him…kind of. But will you please keep an eye out for my daughter just in case?”
Cam…with a wheezy bulldog and a baby? This she had to see. “Thanks for the heads-up, Lucy. I promise to look out for Bernie.”
Hadley ended her call, walked back inside, and pulled up a wooden chair next to her grandmother’s wheelchair. “Lucy Cammareri called me a little while ago,” she confessed. “Nick brought in a wheezy bulldog, a casualty of a divorce.”
Her grandmother narrowed her eyes.
“I couldn’t say no, Gran.” She felt a little like she was a teenager again. “Not when we have room. I’ll front the upkeep costs. I just couldn’t turn him away. Or the little fleabag.” She cracked a half-smile. That was a little funny, wasn’t it?
Her grandmother gave her a knowing look. “You haven’t changed in the slightest.”
Oh dear. Maybe she was angry. And keeping strays when there already wasn’t much income coming in was probably a terrible idea.
“They’re going to start coming like an avalanche,” Gran said.
Oh no. “I’ll control it, I swear. I’m sorry, I—”
Gran interrupted her apology. “Hadley, dear, I’m not scolding you. I’m just pointing something out. You’ve always wanted to rescue dogs, you know.”
“I can’t help myself,” she confessed. “It’s just that they’re all so sweet and innocent. They don’t deserve to have to deal with hardship.” Especially hardship brought on by negligent owners. “I’ll rein in the compulsion. I’ll focus on the direction you want to take your business in. I was just waiting for you to tell me—”
“Hadley. All I’m saying is you’ve got a fresh slate here. And a couple of dogs who need homes. And your skill set includes everything it takes to rescue animals”—she paused—“as a business.”
“Wait,” she said. “You’re telling me to…rescue more dogs?” The thought was scary. But a little thrill ran through her.
“And make it work.” Gran was on a roll now. “Donations, fundraising, networking…unless you’re fed up with that stuff and you just want to walk dogs all summer. That’s okay too.”
“No, I…What are you saying?” Was Gran saying that she do exactly what her impractical, silly teenage self would have done? But she was serious.
“Why not take this opportunity to explore what you might want to do?” Gran opened her arms wide to indicate the possibility. “There’s no pressure because we’ve got Cam working on his ideas too. And I know you have a job to potentially return to. But maybe now’s a good time to…reassess.”
“My life?”
“Yes.” She nodded emphatically. “Your life. As I’m reassessing mine. I…I might enjoy retirement. I think I’m done with the boarding business. So now’s your chance to take that info and run with it wherever you might want.” She eyed Hadley carefully. “And I do love Cam but you’re my granddaughter, so I’m telling you first.” She paused. “We don’t get many opportunities to reimagine ourselves, but this might be one of them. So think about what you truly want.”
“I…” She couldn’t even spit out an I don’t know. Her head was whirling. No. This was too ridiculous. She wasn’t sixteen and dreaming of working at Pooch Palace for the rest of her life. Begging Gran to help poor homeless animals.
She’d gone on to do other things. Serious things. She’d moved away to climb the ladder of success.
Except the view from the top hadn’t been all that great.
“Oh, look at the time,” Gran said, eyeing the old clock on the wall with different dog breeds marking each hour. It was cocker spaniel o’clock, apparently. Otherwise known as 10:20. “My drill sergeant will be here in no time. Before I go, how are things going with Cam?”
Hadley sighed. “He’s just as hardheaded as ever.”
“And…?”
There was no use lying. Her grandmother made it just as impossible now as she had when Hadley was eight and stole cookies from the pan fresh out of the oven. She’d confessed as soon as Gran walked into the kitchen. “And as handsome.” Hadley sighed. “I met him on the beach last night walking home from Darla’s. We had a little…talk. He told me he was sorry for breaking up with me all those years ago.”
“Is that right?”
“Don’t get your hopes up,” Hadley warned. “I really don’t like him any better.”
“But?” Gran couldn’t disguise her hopeful look.
“Well, I appreciated the apology,” Hadley said. “He told me he felt I was out of his league and it was just a matter of time before I moved on. Do you believe that? Someone like him, who’s always been so confident and successful?”
Gran tapped her lips thoughtfully. “There are few of us who are as confident on the inside as on the outside. I guess the question is, do you believe him?”
“I…I almost did,” she said. “But then his agent or his manager or someone came up and started talking about all these things that are going on about naming his restaurant and…it’s clear he’s going full speed ahead.”
“Did you ask him why?”
“Why he wants this building so badly?” She peeked out the window for a frazzled man with a baby and a wheezy bulldog. Nope, no one in sight.
“That, but also why he wants the restaurant so badly. Why he’s in such a hurry.”
Hadley shook her head. “I guess he’s always been focused. I just assumed he’s going at this like he did everything else.” She frowned. “I can’t help but feel that you like him a little too much.” This time she checked her watch. How many minutes did it take to wheel a baby and a dog four blocks? She’d better get Gran out of here quick or she’d be drooling all over Cam.
“I’ve always believed people’s behavior is driven by certain things. Maybe it’s important to understand each other.” She cleared her throat. “As part of your reassessment plan.”
Hadley was onto the blatant matchmaking attempt. She looked up to see Paul on the sidewalk, ready to walk in. “Okay, Gran, but this goes two ways.”
“All right, ladies,” Paul said through the screen door. “Time’s up.”
Hadley lifted her brows and tilted her head toward Paul. “Your reassessment plan has arrived.”
Gran’s face instantly turned scarlet. As she kissed Gran goodbye and watched Paul wheel her out, she realized that being able to give Gran some advice—and receive it—felt really good.
Chapter 10
Cam could handle strolling Bernie the four blocks to Pooch Palace—but add a wheezing, snorting, drooling dog whose leash kept getting tangled in the stroller wheels every two feet into the equation and what you got was a sweaty mess. And he wasn’t talking about the dog.