“What’s your excuse?” Agnes demanded.
“Well, it’s one I’d like to deliver in person, if I could.” The simple, honest reply helped ease Finnie’s heart. “Is Colleen here, by any chance?”
“She’s gone for the day,” Finnie said, her old eyes still searching his face to see if she could find the boy she remembered inside a man who must be sixty-three. He’d been a plain-looking lad, with a flop of golden hair that the young men favored in those days and skin so smooth Finnie had wondered if he even shaved when he was courting Colleen.
Truth was, he was better-looking as a man than he was as a teenager. And she could somehow see why Agnes would meet this man, determine he was single, and zero in on Colleen as a match for him.
“But she’ll be here tomorrow,” Agnes said quickly, evidently ready to forgive a past sin she knew nothing about. “You could come back.”
He nodded slowly, still studying Finnie. “You really do look terrific, Mrs. Kilcannon.”
“Scottish,” she murmured, transported back to the days when she and Seamus ran a farm and raised two kids there. “McIntosh is Scottish.”
“You liked to call me Highlander.” He lifted his brows. “Do you remember?”
“Aye,” she said. She certainly remembered using the nickname when he’d come by to pick up Colleen for a date. She’d liked that his family roots went back to a country near the one where she’d been raised. And until the night he’d broken Colleen’s heart, she’d been fond of the lad, but he’d simply disappeared.
But Joe Mahoney had appeared, and no one else had a chance after that.
“I…guess I’ll come back then,” he said, looking from one to the other. “And see Colleen tomorrow.”
“Unless you want to buy a dog treat,” Agnes said, gesturing toward the covered glass counter where all the high-end decorative dog treats were displayed.
“I don’t have a dog,” he said. “But I’ve always wanted one.”
“Then now’s your time,” Agnes said. “Bitter Bark is the most dog-friendly town on earth.”
He smiled at that. “I’m not sure how long I’m in town. I’m here to look after my father’s affairs and sell his house.”
“Mac McIntosh!” Finnie’s jaw dropped. “I completely forgot he still…” She caught herself before saying lived here, or anything else about a man who was definitely not loved by the townsfolk of Bitter Bark. “He passed, then,” she added. “My sympathies, dear. I hadn’t heard.”
“Thank you.” He didn’t sound too broken up. But then, they were talking about a surly man who probably hadn’t had three people at his funeral.
Mac had owned McIntosh Auto & Tire Service and lived on the outskirts of town. Before he retired at least a decade or more ago, he’d been a well-regarded mechanic, though not known to bend the rules or give a customer a financial break.
“But if you’re only here for a while…” Agnes said, coming to the other side of him. She turned the placard around. “Then you should foster a dog. Bone Appetit is sponsoring a month-long foster program, which ends on December twenty-fourth.”
“Peppermint Bark,” he said aloud, reading the sign. “Cute.”
“Colleen thought of it,” Agnes informed him, sliding just the briefest of looks at Finnie, though she still managed to communicate her thoughts. We both know the name was Ella’s idea, but I’m working here. “Will you be here until December twenty-fourth? I know you mentioned being single when we chatted in the bakery.”
Subtle, she was not. But Finnie couldn’t help a burst of affection for her dear Agnes, who never met a match she wouldn’t tackle. If given free rein, she’d have Finnie herself out on a date with a complete stranger.
The man nodded, his gaze skimming the details of the Peppermint Bark program written on the board. “It’s lonely out at my father’s house, and there’s plenty of space,” he said, half to himself. “I would like some company while I’m here, yes. Fostering would be perfect.”
“Oh dear,” Finnie whispered as she remembered the truth. “We don’t have any—”
“There’s one left!” Agnes proclaimed.
There was?
“A darling little Westie named Bucky. Do you like Westies, Tim?”
A Westie named Bucky? Finnie blinked at her in shock. That was Colleen’s—
“Do I like Westies?” He laughed and looked at Finnie. “What Highlander wouldn’t?”
“But he’s…”
Agnes stepped behind the man and made a show of slicing her throat, popping her eyes, shaking her head, and generally making a complete fool out of herself.
A fool that Finnie suddenly understood and loved more than life itself. What a brilliant scheme! Of course she’d know Colleen would balk, but if these two met over a dog they both believed they were going to foster, surely that would start a conversation…maybe more.
If nothing else, he could deliver his long-overdue apology, and that felt right to Finnie.
“You will love him,” Finnie said.
Behind him, Agnes pumped her fist in victory before she said, “You can pick him up tonight at Waterford Farm.”
It was his turn to look surprised. “Waterford… You still live there?” he asked Finnie.
“Not I,” she told him. “My son, Daniel. Do you remember him?”
He gave a soft laugh. “Very intimidating guy.”
“Well, you were courtin’ his wee sister,” she said. “But he owns the property now and runs a fine canine facility there. All the dogs for the Peppermint Bark program are housed there until today.”
“Oh, great.” He nodded, a smile pulling. “I remember the place well.”
“But you can’t come too early,” Agnes said, popping up next to him. “No sooner than five o’clock. Exactly.”
Because Colleen would be there by then.
“Well, then, I’ll be there tonight. Will I see you ladies then?”
“Oh, we wouldn’t miss it,” Agnes assured him.
“Great, great.” He smiled, green eyes sparking with warmth. “Oh, why don’t you let me buy some treats for little Bucky? And…what else will I need?” He glanced around. “A bed, of course. And a leash and collar, and food and…whatever a dog fosterer needs. Set me up, ladies. I’m very happy about this.”
“So are we,” Finnie said. Whatever caused him to miss that date all those years ago could be forgotten once Colleen looked into those green eyes. “So are we, lad.”
Chapter Four
“Mom, I’m proud of you for coloring your hair,” Ella said, shooting Colleen a look while zipping way too fast down the highway on the way back to Bitter Bark. She reached out to flutter Colleen’s hair. “You didn’t even break out in hives at the idea of a change.”
“Eyes on the road, El. And foot off the gas.” Colleen absently stroked her hair, grateful she’d won the battle to keep it long. It felt strange falling over her shoulders, but she’d fix that the minute they got home. If she braided it now, Ella would start harping on her again.