He chuckled and said, “Yet look at the job you did,” he said. “Jeremy’s fantastic.”
“He is,” she said with a big smile. “Of all the things that I feel good about in my life, he’s the big one,” she said with a bright smile. “No regrets in having him at all.”
As they headed back into the kitchen, he left the porch door open and slowly dropped Sabine’s leash.
“Is that safe?” Laurie Ann asked from the kitchen, as she measured the coffee.
“Let’s find out.”
At that, the dog immediately walked to the doorway’s edge, as Kurt stopped and watched. Then Sabine walked the perimeter of the fenced yard and came back again, where she sat down in front of the open door.
“I guess she’s not used to being inside, is she?” Laurie Ann asked in sudden understanding. “That’s why you left the door open.”
“I don’t want her to feel pent up or captured,” he said. “She needs to know that she’s been rescued and lifted up out of her ugly life. I know it seems like it’s a minor difference, but it’s one that matters.”
“All of it matters,” she said quietly. “I certainly understand the need not to feel caged.”
“Right,” he said, “that’s how you felt when you found out you were pregnant.”
“I did,” she said, staring at him. “How did you know?”
“Because that’s how I felt when I was here in this town,” he said. “I needed desperately to get out. I didn’t know why. I didn’t know how. I just knew I needed to leave.”
“And, in my case, I knew I needed to have Jeremy. I just didn’t know how or why or what it would entail,” she said. “The hardest part was my parents.”
“I understand,” he said. “And I have to deal with the fact that I wasn’t there for you all these years. It’s easy to say, I didn’t know, but, at the same time, neither did I check. So I have to live with that too.”
“Well, why don’t we just start fresh?” she said. “I’m totally okay to do that.”
“That sounds like a deal,” he said. “You’re very forgiving.”
“I’m still me,” she said. “Whether you remember all the nuances of the life that we shared back then, I was always a very forgiving person.”
“I do remember,” he said. “You’re also very loving, very loyal, and extremely defensive of me.”
“Well, an awful lot of people out there wanted to bash you. The more they did, the more I went against them,” she said, chuckling. “If only they knew that.”
“Your parents would have had a heart attack if they understood that,” he said with a grin.
“So it’s a good thing they didn’t,” she said, “because Jeremy is still well worth having.”
“I agree,” he said. He looked around and said, “And I know you said there were leftovers, but, if there aren’t enough, I’m quite happy to order in.”
“What would you order?” she asked curiously.
He frowned and thought about it and said, “Well, I would probably order in burgers and a few spare patties for the dog.”
“Right,” she said, looking over at the opened door, where the shepherd lay. “She hasn’t eaten, has she?”
“Not a whole lot, no,” he said, “just the treats.”
“Well, we have to fix that.” She went to the fridge, opened it up, and said, “I’ve got leftover roast beef.”
“Do you have any bread?”
“Yes, of course.” She looked over and asked, “Why?”
He said, “I’ll have a roast beef sandwich, and, if there’s enough for the dog, I’ll split it with her, depending on how much there is. How about you?”
“I’m not sure I can eat yet. My emotions have my stomach stirred up. But I may eat something later.” She pulled out a good-sized slab of roast beef, and he nodded.
“Was this designated for another meal?”
“No,” she said, “not at all.”
“Since you’ve got bread, I’ll make it.” When she brought out a loaf of French bread, he nodded with a big smile. “And that’s perfect,” he said. He quickly cut several slabs and then sliced the roast beef paper-thin.
“Are you just having an open-faced sandwich, like that?” she asked.
“Yep, I sure am,” he said. “I love it this way.”
She smiled and watched as he very capably cut up the bread and the food, and then she asked, “What about Sabine?”
“Do you have a couple bowls or plates for her?”
“Yep.” She got down two large wide bowls.
He immediately chopped up some roast beef and put it in one.
“She shouldn’t have just straight meat, should she?”
“You had any leftover rice, some carrots, some cooked veggies?”
She brought out more leftovers and then watched as he put a bunch together, mashed them up, added a little bit of butter, and put that all in the other bowl. He set that down first for the dog. The dog looked at him, not too impressed, but she hadn’t eaten very much lately, so she dug in. When she’d eaten half of it, he dropped the roast beef in on top of the rest. She immediately devoured the rest of the bowl. “Wow,” she said, “that was pretty tricky.”
“Well, Sabine’s smart, and it won’t work all the time,” he said. “But she’s so hungry and tired, and she’s done without enough that, right now, she’s quite happy to eat whatever we give her.”
“We have to put dog food on the grocery list,” she said.
“I know. I’m just not sure I want to take her out too much to many public places yet,” he murmured. He reached over and gently stroked the shepherd. She took a few steps to come closer and leaned against his leg.
“I love to see that,” she murmured. “Already a bond has formed between the two of you. Have you considered the implications of that?”
“I haven’t stopped thinking about it,” he said. “Can’t let her go now.”
“So you can keep her?”
“I think so,” he said. “I’ve talked to my bosses about it.”
“I don’t know where you live,” she said and then shook her head. “I haven’t even asked you about any of that, but can you have a dog?”
“I’ve been living in New Mexico in a rented apartment temporarily, while I decide on my new future. As to keeping her, I’ve been trying to figure out where I’m going with my life.”
“Did you figure it out?” she asked with a smirk. “Because, if you did, maybe you could help me figure mine out.”
“You know exactly where you’re going,” he said, looking at her. “You’ve got a beautiful son. You’ve got a beautiful home, and you have the career you’ve always wanted.”
“I do,” she said with a smile. “But somehow it still feels a little on the empty side.”
“That’s because I’m not in it,” he said with a bright grand smile.