A dog barked from somewhere close by. Maybe it wasn’t her grandmother after all. Maybe someone actually wanted to rent a room. Ellie closed the judge’s door, hurrying down the hall to inspect the other rooms for one she could quickly make ready for a guest. But as she sprinted past the stairs, she caught a glimpse of the woman entering the inn. It was her sister.
Ellie backtracked. “Bri?” she said as she made her way down the stairs to the reception area, taking in the Irish setter sitting at her sister’s feet. The dog looked as nervous as Bri. “What’s going on?”
“Good morning to you too,” her sister said, looking less than her perfect self. Her blond hair was disheveled, her face was makeup-free, and she looked like she’d slept in her clothes from yesterday.
“Sorry, but come on, Bri. You can’t be shocked that I’m surprised to see you here after yesterday’s meeting. I assumed you were heading back to Charlotte.”
“No. We stayed with Mom and Dad just outside of Highland Falls. Richard’s client has a vacation home that he let us use.”
“Would that be the same client they’re attempting to sell the inn to?”
“Ellie, please, I don’t want to fight with you.” Her sister sounded tired.
“What do you want?”
Bri searched her face. “When did you become so hard? This isn’t like you.”
“Dealing with family that would throw an old man out of his home and try to sell it out from under him will do that to a girl, I guess.”
“It’s not like that, Ellie. Mom’s just trying to do what she thinks is best for Grandpa. I don’t know why you can’t see that.”
“Grandpa can’t either. Maybe you’d like to explain it to him. I’ll call him right—”
“No, don’t. I just…I need a favor, Ellie.”
She was about to tell her sister she had a strange way of going about asking for a favor when an image of Richard and Bri fighting came to her. She saw Richard grab Bri and the dog intervene. The dog—Toby, they called it Toby—lunged for Richard, pulling at his arm. Richard shoved him off, yelling as he kicked the dog. Her sister went down on her knees, crying, cradling Toby in her arms.
Ellie gasped, the words tumbling out of her before she could stop them. “You have to leave him, Bri. Any man who could do that to a—”
Her sister backed away from her, looking as scared as Ellie was horrified. “Stop it. Stop saying things like that. Mom told me, Ellie. She warned me that this is what you’d do. That you’d pretend you can see things, pretend that you can read people’s minds, but I didn’t believe her. Do you know how crazy you sound?”
Ellie felt her pulse race, unable to contain the anger that had caused her barriers to drop and show her the images in her sister’s mind in the first place. She held Bri’s gaze and crouched in front of the dog. “Come here, Toby.” She held out her hand. “Come here, boy.”
Her sister shook her head. “That doesn’t prove anything. I must have told you about him. You heard me call his name.”
“I didn’t even know you had a dog, Bri. You don’t talk to me anymore.” Not since Ellie had confronted her sister about her husband’s controlling behavior. “So if you’re not here to ask me to take Toby, why are you here?”
“I…I thought he’d be good for Grandpa. The client who left him to me had a stroke. Toby’s a therapy dog. He can help with Grandpa’s recovery.”
“Grandpa doesn’t need help, and I don’t need someone else to look after.” It was true, but she couldn’t stop the images of what had happened to Toby and her sister from playing in her mind.
“Okay, fine. If you’re going to be like that—”
She reached for sister’s arm to stop her from leaving. “Wait.” When Ellie’s fingers closed around Bri’s bicep, her sister cried out. Toby growled, baring his teeth at Ellie. She backed away and held up her hands. “It’s okay, boy. I’m not going to hurt her.”
“It’s not what you think,” Bri murmured, facing the door. “Richard doesn’t mean to hurt me. He doesn’t know his own strength, that’s all. He’s been under a lot of stress lately.”
“If a client said that to you, Bri, what would you tell them to do?” It was a question Ellie had asked herself many times over the past two years. She didn’t understand how a brilliant woman who had everything going for her stayed with a man who was obviously abusive.
“You don’t understand.” She tugged on the dog’s leash. “Come on, Toby.”
“Stay, Bri. Stay with me and Grandpa.”
“I can’t. We’re heading back to Charlotte in half an hour. I have clients this afternoon.”
“Leave Toby with me.” She couldn’t in good conscience let him go. It was hard enough letting her sister leave.
Bri turned, her sky-blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Really? You’ll take him?”
She nodded, retrieving the dog’s leash from her sister’s hand. “Don’t you know I’d do anything for you? I love you. You’re my baby sister.”
Bri let out a small sob and threw her arms around Ellie. “I’m sorry I said the things that I did. I love you. I really do. And I’m sorry for what Mom and Richard said to you yesterday. I know you’re just looking out for Grandpa.”
Ellie gently rubbed her sister’s back. “I don’t want you worrying about that. I just need you to promise me that you’ll take care of yourself.” Ellie pulled back, holding her sister’s gaze. “We’re here if you need us. Call anytime, day or night. There’s always a place for you here.”
Her sister nodded and went down on her knees to hug Toby. “I love you, boy. I’m going to miss you.”
“We’ll take good care of him.” She didn’t need to read her sister’s mind to know Bri was devastated at the thought of leaving Toby behind. “You can talk to him on FaceTime. I’ll send pictures.”
“Thank you. I have to go.” She took one last look at Toby and then opened the door, practically running down the steps.
Toby whined, straining against the leash to go after her. Ellie closed the door, crouched in front of the dog, and took his face between her hands. “It’s going to be okay, Toby.”
“Ellie,” her grandfather shouted, “come here. Me and the judge have a plan.”
Toby started to shake, a liquid warmth seeping through Ellie’s shoe. He’d peed on her sneaker. She bowed her head and sighed. “I’m here, Grandpa.”
She straightened as Joe and Jonathan came down the hall from her grandfather’s room. Upon seeing Toby, the two men backed up against the wall. “Who’s that?” Joe asked.
“Toby. Bri thought he’d be good for you. He’s a therapy dog.”
“We have a no-animal policy for a reason,” her grandfather said. “I don’t like them.”
The judge held up his hands. “Don’t look at me. I’m a cat person.”
“He’s not going anywhere, so you both better get used to him.”