Page 15 of Never Fall Again
“I think so.” They walked outside. Cal opened Landry’s door, then put everything in the back of his king cab. “Just a minute.” She turned toward the house. “The weather’s been so nice, we had a few windows open. I need to make sure—”
“I’ll help.” They moved through the house and found two open windows that they closed and locked, then returned to the truck.“Good thing you thought of that,” Cal said as he held Landry’s door.
She buckled her seat belt and didn’t speak until he had maneuvered through The Haven and was heading toward town. “I don’t leave the windows open often, but it was so deliciously cool last night, I couldn’t resist.”
“It doesn’t bother Eliza?”
“Not this time of year. I have to be more careful in the spring with the pollen. But fall is usually a good time for her.”
“Does she have an inhaler?”
“She does.” A small smile flitted across her lips.
“What’s funny?”
“You surprised me. Not many single men think about things like inhalers.”
Her words were a kick to the most bruised part of his heart, but he kept his voice light when he responded. “When I was a kid, my mom was the only doctor in town. We didn’t have an urgent care facility, so I grew up seeing kids on our front porch when their parents brought them to Mom at all hours. I’ve seen kids in the middle of an asthma attack. It’s terrifying for everyone.”
“Fortunately, the air here is so clean, we’ve had very few issues. But a couple of years ago when that forest fire went through Tennessee, there was enough smoke in the air to mess her up, so now I’m a little paranoid about it.”
“Understandable.”
They made small talk until they arrived at the ice-cream shop where they were cajoled into joining the party. Eliza’s delight at getting to have a sleepover at “Abby’s Aunt Meredith’s house” was infectious. Cal was sure Landry was still feeling the stress of the evening, but her demeanor was more relaxed by the time he took her and Eliza back to her car, which was still at his office. Landryfollowed Cal to his home and into the small, covered parking area he shared with Mo and Meredith.
Cal had barely made it out of the truck when Meredith came out of her house, Mo right behind her. “Welcome!” Meredith smiled huge at Landry and Eliza as they climbed from their car.
Mo gave everyone a nod but stayed back.
Eliza ran straight to Cal. “Which one is yours?”
Cal pointed to the tiny house on the left.
Eliza’s eyes lit. “It’s cute!”
She pointed to the house in the middle. “Is this Dr. Quinn’s?”
“It is.”
She narrowed her eyes at Mo, frowned, and took two steps closer to Cal. “Who’s that?”
“That lump of jocularity is Mo. He’s Meredith’s brother. My cousin.” He dropped his voice and in a whisper that would carry across the yard with no difficulty said, “He currently looks like a grizzly bear, but he’s more of a teddy bear.”
Maisy chose that moment to bump against Mo’s legs. Mo dropped to one knee, pressed his face against Maisy, and ran his hands over her head. Maisy’s tail wagged exuberantly before she lay on the ground and rolled over. Mo’s grumbled “Spoiled rotten dog” didn’t fool anyone watching.
“Mo’s the reason Maisy’s addicted to belly rubs.” Cal pointed toward his cousin. “Maisy thinks he’s her personal masseuse.”
Eliza wrinkled her face. “What’s a masseuse?”
Mo answered. “Someone who gives massages.”
“Is that what you do? Give massages?”
Cal wished he had a camera to catch Mo’s reaction to Eliza’s innocent question. He stared at her for a few seconds before he managed to say, “No. I’d scare away all the clients.”
“What do you do?”
Clearly, he wasn’t scaring Eliza. Mo gave Maisy one final patbefore he stood and answered. “I’m a forensic accountant. Which means I spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer.”