That Ring: Chapter 10

“It seems so weird not to have Angel begging for some of my breakfast,” Chase says this morning as he’s eating toaster waffles at the kitchen table while I wrap my hands around a warm cup of coffee.

“I was thinking the same thing,” I tell him. “And I haven’t been here that long. Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want her to suffer, but it’s hard to let her go. I have two tests today that I haven’t studied for with everything, so I’ll be busy during school, trying to prep, which hopefully will take my mind off it. What are you doing today?”

“It’s Danny’s bye week, so I think we’re going to hang out.”

“Well, have fun,” he says, getting up, rinsing his plate, and putting it into the dishwasher before heading out the front door. “See ya.”

I’ve moved into the study. Jadyn is up in her office, making calls, and I’m nursing my second cup of coffee and looking at the lake. It’s gotten cold, and the water has a frosty look that’s really pretty.

“Hey,” Danny says, coming into the room and sitting on the ottoman next to me. “I just wanted to stop by and say hi before I headed to work.”

“But it’s your bye week. I thought you were off?” I pout.

“It’s considered a recovery week. Our goal is to heal up but stay in good condition. We still have to practice; it’s just a little less strenuous. And,” he says with a grin, “I’ll be home by one.”

He leans over and kisses me hard.

“And I need you to be ready when I get here,” he says, taking my hand in his and grinning. “We have somewhere to go.”

“And where’s that, Danny?” I coo, assuming he’s referring to my bed.

“Dallas.”

“Oh,” I say, surprised. “What for?”

“Where’s Jadyn?” he asks, looking around.

“Up in her office.”

“Cool. ’Cause I don’t want her to hear this. So, there’s this dog breeder who raises and shows English Labradors. Her name is Carrie, and she’s incredible. I touched base with her years ago when I was hoping to talk Lori into a dog. Now, I’m obsessed with following her on social media. Her dogs are so well trained.” He grabs his phone and scrolls for a few moments. “Watch this.”

While I watch, he narrates, and I can tell he’s watched the video multiple times. “See, it’s this dog’s birthday, and they are all celebrating. But look how she sets out ten little individual birthday treats. How the dogs wait until she tells them to eat. And they only eat the one in front of them.”

“Not only are they well trained, but they have good manners, too,” I tease.

“And look at this,” he says, pulling up another video. “In this one, she’s lying in a chaise by the pool. Each dog is lined up with their own ball and waiting for their turn for her to throw it in the pool, so they can retrieve it. And once they do, they take their ball and go wait at the end of the line.”

“It is pretty impressive,” I say with a smile.

“And don’t even get me started on the puppies. Look at these babies,” he says, showing me more photos.

“They are adorable,” I gush.

“I called her yesterday. I want to get a puppy for the Mackenzies. I’ve already been vetted, and I told her the story about Angel. It just so happens that she has an older puppy she thinks would be perfect for them. And because she’s a little older, the puppy has the added benefit of being almost completely potty-trained. We’ll go down there, see if we like her, and then bring her home with us if we do.” He shows me another photo. “This is her. She’s even yellow like Angel.”

“She’s beautiful, Danny. That’s so sweet of you.”

“Thank you,” he tells me. And I know he means it.

“I’d love to go with you. I also wanted to thank for something you did for me yesterday.”

He smirks. “You mean, late last night?”

I grin back. “Well, that was amazing, as always, but I was referring to when you hugged Jadyn and Phillip, and you invited me in.” I put my head down, feeling overcome with emotion again. “A lot of people say they love you, but you showed me last night. I just want you to know how much I appreciated it.”

He puts his finger under my chin, gently lifting it, and then finds my lips with his.

“I appreciate that you appreciated it,” he says sweetly. “I wish I could take you to bed and stay there all day, but I have to go.”

I wrap my arms around his neck. “I’m going to need a really good kiss to tide me over then.”

I’m surprised that Jadyn didn’t question us about why we needed their plane this afternoon. Normally, she would be all over whatever lame excuse Danny must have given her, but she’s probably got a lot on her mind right now with the hotel and the kids. Not to mention, her own grieving. I haven’t stayed at their house all that long, and even I feel the lack of Angel’s presence, and when I took my coffee into the study, I cried over her again.

“I think what you’re doing is wonderful, but do you think it’s too soon to get them a dog? Like, do they need to grieve a little first?”

“I’m not trying to make them get over losing Angel. They’ve had a puppy ever since they lived in their house. It seems odd not to have one.”

“But Jadyn is traveling all the time, and Phillip works hard and travels, too. With the kids in school all day, the puppy would be alone. Plus, you don’t want to add to Jadyn’s stress.”

“Phillip and I hung out the other night. He told Tripp the only way he would sell the company is if he became chairman of the board and gave up his role as CEO. It would allow him to retire but still help oversee the company he helped to build.”

“What did Tripp say?”

“He agreed. Now, they just have to get it all on paper.”

“That’s crazy. Tripp talked to Jadyn just the other day about buying hers, too. I don’t know if she’s even told Phillip.”

“I’m sure she has. She tells him everything. Always has.” He leans his head back in the seat and smiles happily.

“What?”

“I was just thinking about the timing of all this. I’ll retire after this season. Phillip takes on an advisory role. And maybe Jadyn gets to slow down some. The constant travel is rough on her.”

“She works the whole time she’s on the plane. She says she gets a lot done. But what about until all that happens? What about the puppy?”

“Angel went to work with Phillip every day until recently. As she aged, it seemed to wear her out, so he kept taking her less and less. Mostly because if she went to work, she didn’t have the energy to play with the kids when they got home from school. She loved her car rides though. And she was like his company’s mascot. His employees will be thrilled if he brings a puppy to work again.”

“I think if you like the puppy, you should bring her home.”

When we get to Carrie’s farm, we meet a whole lot of Labradors of varying ages. All are sweet and well mannered. And I can’t even fathom how this woman’s house stays so tidy with all of them, but it is.

“Come on, kids,” she says to all the dogs who greet us outside. “Go play in the backyard while we introduce these nice people to Winger.”

“Winger?” I ask.

“Yes, that’s her name. She was pretty rambunctious when she was little. High-spirited. She would try to keep up with the older dogs—jumping, running, just throwing herself into everything she did. That, and her perfect bone structure led me to believe she would be a great show dog. One of the trainers who helps me used to tease that she did everything on a wing and a prayer. She got the nickname Winger, and it stuck. On paper, she is Lady Guinevere. I was going to call her Winnie, so it’s close. Hang on, I’ll go get her.”

“Wasn’t that the name of the stuffed dog that Chase put in the casket with Angel?” I turn to ask Danny.

“No, that was Wings, but close enough. They can call it either.”

Carrie returns with a chunky puppy trotting behind her.

Danny and I sit down on the floor to meet her. She barrels straight into Danny’s face, hitting his nose.

“Ouch,” he says, but then he grabs the dog and picks her up. “Aren’t you the cutest thing ever?”

When he sets her down, she waggles her tail and comes to check me out by sniffing my crotch and then jumping on my lap to lick my face.

“I think she likes me,” I joke.

“I understand your backyards open up to each other, so it sounds like the puppy can run around in a pretty big area.”

“That’s correct,” Danny says. “And one of these days, I’m going to get her a friend.”

“How about a cousin?” Carrie suggests.

“What do you mean?”

“I know that you were waiting until you retire to get a puppy,” Carrie says, “but I have one ready to go home. The family who was supposed to adopt her called a couple of days ago, and due to an illness in the family, they didn’t feel like they could handle her right now even though they were heartbroken. I also think Winger is one of those dogs who would benefit from having a sister. She’s used to being around a lot of dogs here.”

“Uh, yeah,” I say. “Your kids would go crazy. I cried when they talked yesterday about how their mom wouldn’t let them have their own dog.”

“Can I take a look at her?” Danny asks.

Carrie comes back with the most adorable puppy. She’s smaller than Winger, and she has black fur. She’s got a piece of red rickrack tied around her neck instead of a collar.

Carrie sets her down, and the two puppies play with one another, running around me and Danny, jumping over our laps.

After a few minutes of hard exercise, the black puppy comes and plops down in Danny’s lap, panting hard.

Winger follows, curling up next to me and promptly falling asleep.

The little puppy on Danny’s lap chews on his finger for a few minutes and then looks at me and licks my face. Which is easy since I’m bent over as close to the little thing as I can get.

“She has puppy breath. Is there anything better? Can we take her home?” I realize what I just said. “Uh, I mean, can you take her home?”

“Are you a couple?” Carrie asks.

Danny and I look at each other, emotion filling our eyes.

“We’re friends,” I say. “It would be his dog, of course, but I’m going to love her, too.”

“I don’t mean to be rude. I’m just very particular as to where I place my babies,” she replies.

“And that’s exactly why you’re the only breeder that I called,” Danny says, flashing a grin that causes Carrie to practically swoon.

I put my head down, nuzzling it into the dog’s head to hide my smirk. There’s something very sexy about Danny Diamond being charming. The crazy thing is that when I met him, he was all young, cocky charisma. He’s still got swagger for days, but he’s grown into it. Like he almost doesn’t realize its potential anymore, whereas before he’d power it up—on purpose. Now, it seems to sneak out of him in the most endearing ways.

And I love it.

Actually, I love him.

Danny quickly fills Carrie in on our situation, telling her the truth about our past and his upcoming divorce.

“Have you had a dog before?” Carrie asks me.

“No, but I’ve always wanted one. And I just bought a new home in LA for when we would be there. It’s got a nice-sized backyard, and it’s fully fenced.” I take out my phone and show her photos. “And I checked. The iron rails are pretty close together, so once a puppy grows a little bigger, you won’t have to worry about her getting out. Although I would never leave my dog alone outside.”

“I would worry about other wildlife in the hills even though it’s a suburban setting,” Carrie says. “They also shed. A lot.”

As if in a show of solidarity, the puppy leaps out of Danny’s lap and into mine, nipping me on the nose while giving me a big kiss at the same time.

“You little rascal,” I say, cooing at the puppy. “Oh, look at her paws. They are huge. Her calves run straight into her foot. She has cankles!” I crack up. “What are you going to call her, Danny?”

“What makes you think I’m taking her home?” he replies.

I roll my eyes at him. “Because there’s no way you couldn’t. I mean, if Carrie approves.” The puppy jumps off my lap, runs in a circle, chases her tail, and then goes to pick up a toy, bringing it back to Danny.

“Look at her, already a retriever. My kids are going to die with happiness.”

“How do you think the Mackenzies will take it?” I ask. “Carrie, you have more experience with this. Is it too soon? Do they need more time to grieve? Will they feel like they are betraying Angel?”

“No, I don’t think so. There’s nothing that heals a broken heart better than a puppy.”

“I’d very much like to take them both home then,” Danny says.

The puppies are good on the flight home. Of course, neither one wanted to be in their kennels; they are much more content while curled up in a ball on our laps or nibbling on our fingers.

“You look happy,” I say to Jennifer, who is gently rubbing our puppy’s ears as she sleeps.

“I’m overcome with love and joy and happiness.”

“’Cause you’re here with me?” I grin.

She points down at the puppies and gives me a smirk. “I think I love them the mo—”

I shut her up with my lips before she can finish.

And although it was supposed to be a quick, fun kiss, it heats me up. I deepen the kiss and pull her closer.

She pulls away. “Can’t do that with the kids right here. Plus, you didn’t let me finish my sentence. And it was important.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I was going to say that I think I love them the most but also that I can’t imagine how it must feel to hold your baby.”

I want to ask. I would love to make babies with this woman. “Saying it’s amazing doesn’t do it justice. It’s this fierce, unconditional, and mesmerizing love.”

“Maybe, someday, I’ll get to experience it.”

“I hope you do,” I say just as we land in Kansas City.

“I just talked to Devaney,” I tell Jennifer. “My kids are over at the Mackenzies’ house, and everyone is home, so we’ll go straight there. And just so you know, Jadyn thinks we went to Dallas to see a Dream Wish child.”

“You lied?” she teases. “And used sick children as your excuse?”

“I want them to be surprised, and I didn’t want her to think it was callous of us to ditch them the day after their dog died, you know?”

“And that was the one thing she couldn’t get mad at you about?” she asks.

“Right.” I glance at my watch. “And I timed it about right. She told me she would feed the kids dinner but that she and Phillip would wait to eat with us.”

“How are we going to do this?” Jennifer asks, apparently needing me to set the scene. “Just walk in with the kennels? Like, do you have a plan?”

“I haven’t really thought about it. But, no, I say we leave the kennels in the car and just carry the pups in.”

“So, we just walk in the front door, not ring the bell or anything?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm,” she says, seemingly not thrilled with my plan. “What if we sneak in, close the door, and then let the puppies go? I bet they will run around, playing with each other. We’ll just hide and wait to see what happens.” She turns to the kennels strapped into the backseat. “What do you think, girls? Will you be good and play along? Go racing into the room for the kids?”

Winger responds with a yip, wanting out of her kennel.

“I think that’s a yes,” she says, wrenching her arm into the backseat and putting her finger in between the kennel grates so that she can chew on it.

A few minutes later, we pull into the drive, take the puppies out of their crates, let them pee in the yard, then sneak in the front door, and set the puppies down. At first, they just sniff around a little.

“Go make your big entrance,” I whisper to them.

About that moment, Winger nudges our yet-to-be-named puppy and drops her face to the floor, leaving her butt up in the air—a sure sign she wants to play. They take off, running across the room with Winger yipping the whole way.

“What the heck?” I hear Chase say.

“Puppies!” Haley yells. “Mom, look! Puppies!”

Jennifer and I sneak around the corner to find Chase, Haley, and Devaney down on the floor, looking at the puppies play in awe.

“Dad!” Devaney says when she sees me. “Did you bring puppies?”

“Puppies?” Jadyn asks, coming up the stairs from the basement with Ryder and Madden in tow.

“Puppies!” the little boys shrill and rush toward the dogs. “Puppies! Puppies!”

“Danny Diamond, what did you do?” Jadyn asks, picking up the yellow puppy and then the black one and nuzzling their noses before setting them back down to play with the kids.

“Where are Phillip and Damon?” I ask, not wanting to tell her the truth until everyone is here.

“They’re out in the garage, working on a project for wood shop,” Chase replies.

“I’ll go get them,” Jennifer offers.

“Puppies!” Damon yells the second he sees them. “Why are there puppies here? Ohmigosh, they are so cute! Aren’t they so cute?”

“Yes, Danny,” Phillip says to me. “Why there puppies here?”

“Jennifer and I didn’t really go to Dallas today for work. We went because the breeder who I have always wanted to get a dog from is there. After Angel passed away, I called her to see if she had any litters coming up because I wanted to get you a puppy. Turns out, the yellow puppy was available, so I went down to meet her. Jennifer and I liked her, so we brought her home. She’s for you. She’s four and a half months old. And her name, if you want to keep it, is Winger.”

“Winger?” Chase says, picking up the puppy. “That’s like my lovey toy, Wings.”

“It is,” Jennifer replies. “Her full name is Lady Guinevere. Winnie was supposed to be what she was called, but when she was being trained to be a show dog, she failed. By the way, the trainers used to joke that she did everything on a wing and a prayer. Thus the name.”

“I love it,” Chase says. “She looks like a show dog. I mean, just look at that face.”

The puppies are having a ball. Ryder runs over to the basket that still holds Angel’s stash of tennis balls and grabs one. He tosses the ball toward the puppies. Both of them take off running after it. Winger powers her way through to it, takes it in her mouth, and returns it to Ryder.

“She already knows how to play fetch!” Ryder screeches with happiness. “Can we keep her, Mom?”

“Can we?” Madden, Haley, and Chase say in unison.

“What about the black puppy?” Devaney asks.

“What do you think, Jadyn?” I ask. “I don’t want to be disrespectful to your love for Angel, but I also believe that she wouldn’t want her family to be without a dog to love.”

Jadyn stands across the room from me, and I watch as tears fill her eyes. She nods her head, wipes away a tear, and says, “I do think Angel would want that.”

“But,” Phillip says to the kids.

“We know, Dad,” Haley says. “Having a puppy is a big responsibility. We promise to take good care of her.”

“Then, yes,” Phillip says, “we can keep her. However, I’m with Dani. I want to know about the black puppy.”

“What do you think of her?” Jennifer asks Devaney, who is holding the dog up and talking to her.

“I think she’s beautiful. She has the softest fur. And puppy breath. I love her.”

“Good,” Danny says, “because she’s ours. We just have to name her.”

“Ours?” Devaney asks. “Are you serious, Dad? We get a puppy, too? To, like, keep in our house?”

“Dad, don’t joke about something like this,” Damon says. “It’s not nice.”

“Your dad isn’t joking,” Jennifer says. “This puppy is twelve weeks old. Her mother and Winger’s mom were sisters, so the puppies are cousins. The breeder suggested that because Winger is older and is used to being around other dogs, it would be nice if she had a sister, so to speak. And since your backyards can open up as one, they can play together all the time. Just like you kids do. You just have to decide on a name.”

I nod my head, agreeing with everything Jennifer just said and fighting back tears. The look of joy on my children’s faces is almost overwhelming. And I feel so bad for not standing up to Lori about this before.

Damon scoots over by his sister and pets the black puppy. “What’s her full name?”

“Austin Aurora,” Jennifer replies.

“Aurora is the goddess of sunrise,” Devaney, who has been studying Greek literature this year in school, states.

Haley slides on over next to them. “I’ve been researching puppy names all day.”

“You have been?” Jadyn says in surprise.

“Yes, I was going to petition for a new dog. But I wanted to come up with a name first. Something that honors Angel, but there can never be another Angel. So, I have a few ideas. Destiny.”

Phillip, who is now standing next to me, gives me an elbow nudge and stifles a laugh, reminding me of the Thanksgiving when Lori was pregnant with Devaney. We were getting together with a bunch of friends at the bar. The guys were all a little tipsy after doing a few shots. Jadyn asked Lori if we had thought of any baby names yet, and it took a turn for the worse.

“We had no idea what life with kids would be like,” I say to Phillip. “We were blissfully clueless.”

“And, now, we’re blissfully crazy.” He laughs as Haley continues the name game.

“I looked up names that mean ,” Haley says. “Some of my favorites are Angelica, Evangeline, Ariel, and Seraphina.”

“Oh, Seraphina is really pretty,” Devaney says.

“You know,” Haley says to her, “if we named our new puppy Angel, it would seem like we are trying to replace her. If you named your puppy Angel, it would be out of respect.”

“And if we did that, we’d have angel and wings, just like our parents’ tattoos!” Damon says.

“Yeah,” Chase says, looking emotional, “which is why Angel’s name meant so much to our family in the first place.”

“I love it,” my daughter says, agreeing, “which is why it’s the best choice for our puppy. We loved Angel and would love to honor her in that way.”

Haley picks up the little black puppy, holding it front of her face and talking, “You know, if you are going to be named after the best dog in the world, you have a lot to live up to. But Angel could be naughty. Actually, she could be naughty a lot, but she loved us so very much, and that’s what mattered. So, all you have to do to be like her is love us as much as we already love you.”

The dog licks her on the nose and proceeds to piddle on her lap.

“I’d say she qualifies,” Chase says with a laugh while Jadyn throws her a dish towel.

“Let’s all take Angel and Winger out to show them their new backyards,” Phillip suggests, which causes all the kids to jump up, excited to do just that.