A New Leash On Love

She glanced at Matt, who was quiet.

“Just one rule,” Claire added to the girl. “No putting your fingers in the kennels. Some dogs might nip because they’re a little nervous or need more training time.”

At Ellie’s serious nod, Claire stopped in front of a six-month-old shepherd mix, Tabitha, whose amber eyes darted over at them. She stood and barked up a storm, sending the other dogs into a commotion, and ambled over to the bars of the kennel. She sniffed the air for a treat and when one wasn’t forthcoming, she padded back over to her bed and began chewing on her rope toy. Tabitha had an ear infection that required medication for the next week, and the irritation might have been making her act out a bit.

“She’s really cute,” Ellie said with a bit of a frown. She knelt down in front of the cage. “Hi, puppy. I’m Ellie.”

The puppy barked like crazy again and came over and sniffed the air again, then went back to her bed.

Ellie tilted her head and bit her lip. Claire could immediately tell the girl didn’t feel a connection with Tabitha.

“And next we have a five-month-old springer spaniel puppy,” Claire said, moving to the spinning pooch in the next kennel. In true form, Belle began spinning in circles, trying to chase her tail.

Ellie gasped. She dropped down on her knees in front of the kennel, watching the puppy with delight on her face. “Hi, there! Hi, puppy!”

The puppy stopped spinning and came closer to Ellie.

“Remember, sweetheart, don’t put your fingers in the kennel,” Matt said, and Claire nodded at him.

Belle barked, excitedly wagging her tail, jumping up at the kennel door and trying to sniff Ellie. She sat down and barked at Ellie, then made a play bow.

“She wants to play with me!” Ellie said. “You are so adorable!” she added. “You’re exactly what I dreamed about!”

Belle began barking like crazy and spinning around, desperately trying to catch her tail in her mouth.

Claire widened her eyes and looked at Matt, who was grimacing.

Ellie laughed, her entire face lit up with happiness. “I see your name is Belle, and I know that means beautiful, and you are, but I think you look more like a Sparkle. That’s what I’d name you, Sparkle.” She bolted up. “This is the one! This is my puppy!”

Claire couldn’t remember the last time she saw someone so excited, and she saw excited kids a lot during the course of adoptions.

“Yup, you’re the one, Sparkle!” Ellie said, dropping down to her knees again and smiling at the puppy.

Who squatted and peed right on the floor, the mess seeping into the corridor to the point that they all jumped back.

“Oops,” Ellie said. Then she seemed to remember what her mom said about housetraining, and worry slid into her expression. Her shoulders slumped, and her face scrunched up for a moment. Claire could tell the girl was trying not to cry.

“Well, Sparkle is definitely not housetrained,” Matt said gently, a hand on his niece’s shoulder. “And she sure is noisy and busy. Why don’t we—”

“I’ll clean it up!” Ellie added, looking from her uncle to Claire, and back at the puppy, and then back at Claire. “Are there paper towels or something?”

Claire smiled and got the roll of heavy-duty brown paper towels. “I’ll take care of it, honey.” She quickly mopped up the mess.

“Your mom made her requirements very clear, sweets,” Matt said. “So even though Sparkle is cute, she’s a long way from being trained and she seems kind of hyper.”

Ellie’s little shoulders slumped again, and she sucked in a breath.

Aww. This was always a difficult thing, when someone fell for an animal that wasn’t the right fit for the home. “Ellie,” Claire said, “two kennels down is an adorable chiweenie named Tucker who’s housetrained and knows basic commands. A chiweenie is a cross between a Chihuahua and a dachshund. He’ll be small even when fully grown, so he’s a great size for a kid.”

Ellie followed Claire to Tucker’s kennel, her head hung low. “I’ve never heard of a chiweenie before.” But there was no excitement in her voice.

“Meet Tucker,” Claire said, gesturing at the little dog, who was as calm as could be. He lay on his bed, gnawing on a rope toy. He was very cute, with floppy, cinnamon-colored ears and a long snout, and tended to look like he was smiling.

Ellie gave him something of a smile. “Hi, Tucker. You seem nice.”

Tucker didn’t even glance up.

“He can be slow to warm up to people,” Claire explained.

But Ellie raced back to Sparkle’s kennel and knelt in front of it. “I wish I could take you home, Sparkle.” She sat there and watched the dog chasing her tail.

Claire looked at Matt, whose expression matched his niece’s. This couldn’t be easy, and she probably should have thought to warn him that something like this could happen. She’d been a little too shocked yesterday when she’d seen him at the shelter to even form an extra thought. And last night at the restaurant, all rational thought had poofed from her head.

“Well, let’s look at the other pups,” Matt said, reaching his hand toward Ellie. He glanced at Claire. “I’ll bet there’s another puppy that Ellie will fall in love with.”

“Definitely,” Claire said. “Because guess who’s next, Ellie? A super sweet year-old shepherd mix named Dumpling. I’ll bet you’ll like him. He’s super snuggly.” He was inconsistent on commands, but he did know stay. He was slated to be on the large side of medium, which might be stretching it. Sometimes it was impossible to really know how big a dog would get.

“I guess I can meet him.” But Ellie didn’t get up from where she sat in front of Belle’s cage. And even from here, Claire could see the glistening of Ellie’s eyes. The girl was trying hard not to cry.

“Honey, maybe we could come back next weekend for the adoption event,” Matt said. “These puppies will have had an extra week of training, and you might just fall in love with a dog you barely noticed this time.”

“Okay, Uncle Matt,” Ellie said, but she still didn’t stand up. “It’s okay, Sparkle. You’ll find someone to love you, and you’ll be best friends. That’s what my mom tells me when I’m sad about not having a best friend.”

Claire held her breath and glanced at Matt, whose broad shoulders slumped.

“As long as I’m nice and friendly, I’m doing my best,” Ellie said to the puppy. “Then one day I’ll make a best friend. It can happen anytime, Mommy said.”

Claire swallowed.

Ellie let out a little sigh. “You’d be a great best friend, Sparkle. But maybe another girl will come here today, and you’ll get to go home with her. Just be nice and friendly, okay, Sparkle?”

Oh God.

Ellie stood, tears shimmering in her eyes. “Bye, Sparkle. I love you.”

Claire looked at Matt. He looked like he might cry too. And she’d seen him cry. Just once, a long, long time ago when he lost his brother.

Matt cleared his throat. “Tucker might be just right for you, once he gets to know you,” he said, kneeling down to be eye level with his niece. “Then you get to say chiweenie a lot. ‘I’m taking my chiweenie out. Chiweenie, where are you?’”

“I guess,” Ellie said. She started to follow Matt toward Tucker’s kennel next door. “Uncle Matt?” she asked, stopping. “I know Sparkle isn’t housetrained like Mommy wants, but I could housetrain her. I’ve read all about how.”

Matt seemed to consider that. “Well, let me send your mom a picture of her.” He took out his cell phone and snapped a photo. “Ooh, that’s a good one. I’ll let her know Sparkle doesn’t exactly meet the requirements, but that we’re both willing to work extra hard training her.” He texted something and then waited.

Claire was hoping Laura would be unable to resist the puppy’s adorableness.

His phone pinged. “‘Not housetrained?’” he read aloud. “‘Doesn’t know a single command? I’m sorry, Matt. No.’” He turned to Ellie. “Sweetie, you’ll be at school from the time you leave at seven thirty until you get home at three,” Matt said gently. “That’s all day. That would put everything to do with caring for Sparkle on your mom’s shoulders.”

“Yeah,” Ellie whispered, and her face scrunched up again. Claire knew the girl was willing herself not to cry.

“Could we put a hold on Belle—Sparkle?” Matt asked. “Just until we can talk to my sister face-to-face? Maybe she’ll compromise on a requirement.”

“But not both,” Ellie said, her face crumpling again. “Sparkle isn’t housetrained. She doesn’t know any commands.”

Claire’s heart was so heavy, her knees might not hold her up much longer. “I’ll put a hold until tomorrow,” she assured him.

Ellie looked both hopeful and not. “Thanks for showing me the puppies, Miss Claire. Bye, Sparkle. I love you.”

The little brown-and-white pup gave a little bark and then continued chasing her tail.

“She said bye back!” Ellie said, a smile breaking through.

Matt smiled and took his niece’s hand. “Why did I think this would be a snap?” he whispered to Claire.

“Few things ever are,” Claire said.

He held her gaze for a moment. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I can.”

So much for keeping her distance, cutting contact, moving on. Claire bit her lip and nodded, watching the pair walk away, Matt’s arm around the little girl’s dejected shoulders.

Oh, am I in trouble, she thought.

“No and no,” Laura whispered after Matt made another pitch to his sister for Sparkle. They stood at the kitchen island, Matt badly chopping peppers for a salad while Laura checked the chicken roasting in the oven. The house sure smelled good. “But look at this face,” he said, picking up his phone and showing her the adorable pup again.

“You’re getting pepper bits on your phone,” Laura said, refusing to look at the photo. “And could you cut those a little thinner?”

“Uh-oh, you’re mad at me.”

“Of course I am!” she said. “I explicitly said the dog had to be housetrained and know basic commands. This Sparkle is neither! And now I’m the bad guy.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. But she’s incredibly cute,” Matt said. “And Ellie fell for her hard.”

Laura sighed and put on oven mitts to take out the baked potatoes. “I just had all the area rugs cleaned, and the bedroom carpets are brand-new. I work part-time, I volunteer at Ellie’s school. I can’t housetrain a puppy, Matt.”

Wait a minute.

Yes.

Of course!

Why hadn’t this occurred to him before? “I’ll train the puppy,” he said. “I’ll read a book, watch some videos. I’m sure I’ll figure it out.”

Laura looked at him. “Matt, honey, I appreciate that, but no. I don’t want accidents in the house for weeks on end. I don’t want a dog that doesn’t stop or stay when I need it to. Sorry, Matt, but I’m putting my foot down.”

She had every right. “Ah hell, I really screwed this up,” he said. “I shouldn’t have taken Ellie to see puppies she wouldn’t be able to adopt.”

His sister put a hand on his arm. “I’m sure that just the right puppy will come along.”

“I guess,” he said, hating that he’d have to disappoint his niece—and Claire.

“Thanks for helping with the salad,” she said, eyeing the bowl of misshapen lettuce and oddly shaped peppers and cucumbers. She laughed, then shrugged. “I’ll call it Uncle Salad.”

“I’d better go call Claire and let her know to release the hold on Sparkle,” he said.

Laura nodded. “I am sorry it didn’t work out with this particular dog. And I do appreciate you doing the heavy lifting with the search. It’s not easy being the yes or no woman.”

He smiled. “I know.”

“Dinner in ten minutes,” she said, which meant he’d better go tell Claire now, and then Ellie.

His sister had always been no-nonsense, though when you had kids you probably had to be, or you’d end up with four untrained puppies peeing on the area rugs.

He nodded and headed up to the guest room and closed the door. Phone in hand, he sat on the bed and fished out the card Claire had given him, the shelter’s information on one side, her cell phone on the back.

He punched in her number. The sound of her voice saying hello? sent a little tremor through him. He’d probably never get used to just calling her up, hearing her voice, running into her.

“Hi, Claire, it’s Matt. You can let the hold go, unfortunately.”

“I’m sorry. Is Ellie okay?”

“No. My sister’s mad at me for making her the bad guy, so my brother-in-law is probably getting an earful right now and will be pissed at me too.”

“Oh no,” Claire said.

“I even offered to train Sparkle myself, but my sister won’t go for it. I get it, but I wish this could have worked out.”

“You’d be willing to train the puppy?” Claire asked.

“Sure. I mean, I know I don’t have experience, but I’d do my research. It’s not like I’m focused on anything else right now.”

She was silent for a second, then said, “Matt, I have a crazy idea.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I live in the Kingdom Creek development—a house with a big fenced yard. There’s a small one-bedroom apartment over the garage. Maybe you could move in temporarily to foster and train Sparkle, and when she’s ready, she can be adopted by Ellie. Your niece can even help you train her.”

Huh. Win-win for everyone, especially him in the short-term. He’d have his own place, even if it was connected to Claire’s house. He’d have some space to figure out his future. And Claire had used the word temporarily, so she was making it clear he’d go when the puppy was trained.

Best of all, he had an immediate mission: to train a cute puppy for his beloved niece.

“I’ll move in tomorrow,” he said.

There was silence for a moment, then she rattled off the address and some information about the place. The apartment came with basic furnishings, so he’d just have to move his big duffel bag.

“Thanks, Claire,” he said. “I know I’m probably not your first choice of tenant.”

“At least I know you. Or did,” she said. “The last couple I rented to was a disaster.”

Or did. The words hit him like a left hook in the gut. “See you tomorrow,” he said, needing to get off the phone, to break the connection with her.

But despite her saying goodbye and the click in his ear, an image of Claire Asher in a long, pale pink dress came storming into his mind. Prom night, so many years ago. They’d long planned to lose their virginity to each other that night as a tribute to their past and a promise for their future, but as the night went on, Matt knew he wouldn’t touch her. She’d known he was going to enlist, like his brother had before him, but she kept talking about when he came home, saying that she’d wait for him, reminding him she’d be semi-local in Chapel Hill for college but that she could transfer depending on where he got stationed. But on prom night, with Claire looking like a movie star in that beautiful pink gown, the whole world open to her, all Matt could think about was smart, interesting Claire putting her life on hold when she deserved so much more.

Except she’d stayed in Spring Forest. Had gone to the local college. Married a hometown guy. Why? Why hadn’t she used the opportunity of being free to spread those glittering wings of hers? He didn’t understand it.

He supposed he’d have a lot of chances to ask her now that he’d be living in her house.

Chapter Four

“You what?” Claire’s sister, Della, said as she handed Claire her sesame chicken from the Taste of China delivery bag. Della had come over to catch up on the blind date, running into Matt at the restaurant, and what-is-this-about-helping-him-and-his-niece-pick-out-a-puppy? By the time Claire got to the part about Matt moving into the “in-law apartment” to train the dog, Della was shaking her head with older sister wisdom. “You’re going to be living together!”

“Hardly,” Claire said, opening up the container of sesame chicken. Nothing, not even her nerves, could spoil her appetite for this deliciousness. “The apartment is completely separate with its own entrance. I’ll rarely see him.” She pulled apart her chopsticks and dug in.

Della narrowed her gaze and picked up a succulent bite of beef in garlic sauce and a broccoli spear. “Except the entrance is up those deck stairs.” She pointed with her chopsticks toward the sliding glass door to the backyard, where Dempsey lay in her memory foam dog bed. “You’ll see him every time you’re sitting here. And considering we’re in your living room and your kitchen is directly in front of us, you’ll be seeing him constantly.”

“He is nice to look at,” Claire said. “So that’s a plus.”

Della put down her chopsticks. “Honey. There isn’t even a word for how badly he hurt you. You can’t go through that again. I can’t!”

Yup, Claire remembered. All her plans for herself had gone up in smoke. Maybe another girl would have rallied and gone off to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, as planned. Planned—ha! Back then “the plan” had been for Matt to be in basic training, then stationed somewhere stateside or overseas, and they’d see each other when he could come home for precious and rare breaks. She’d graduate, he’d come home for good and then they’d plan what was next. Except instead, he’d broken up with her with barely an explanation, and she’d been so heartbroken and confused that the pain had messed with her head. She’d been unable to think straight, to think of anything except how her life had been derailed.

Her poor sister had tried to get her to see that it was also an opportunity, to go to school and start her new life far away. But Claire hadn’t been able to pull herself up and out of her heartache. She hadn’t gone away to school, hadn’t gone to college at all that first semester. Instead, she’d cried constantly, unwilling to get out of bed, unwilling to imagine a future without the guy she loved—without Matt Fielding.

Her sister had come over every day, bringing her food she ate one bite of, brushing her hair, making her bed around her, and finally, after three weeks, dragging her out of bed for a sisters trip to the Bahamas, whether she wanted to go or not. Della had packed her suitcase and forced her on the plane. The white sand and turquoise water, the fruity drinks and warm, breezy air had helped restore her.

Back home, she’d finally enrolled in the local college, married her second boyfriend, a man she hadn’t realized was all wrong for her. Luckily, by then, her passion for becoming a teacher, particularly of middle school kids in the throes of figuring out who they were, had gripped her. Claire had run with it, getting her master’s and advising extracurricular groups. She loved teaching. By the time her marriage had fallen apart, Claire had had her own busy life, which included volunteering at Furever Paws. Or at least that was what she’d told herself to explain why her husband’s betrayal hadn’t steamrollered her the way it should have.

I don’t believe you ever really loved me, her husband had said when he told her he’d fallen for someone else, really fallen, and that he was leaving Claire. But he was wrong; she had loved him, very much. I think you rebounded with me after your high school sweetheart destroyed you.

Destroyed. Heavy word. One her sister would apply, as well. But Claire hadn’t been destroyed. People had to be resilient, had to move on. Still, no sense not being careful with yourself to avoid having your heart smashed to smithereens in the future.

Claire smiled and squeezed her sister’s hand. “Eat up. And stop worrying. Matt Fielding and I aren’t getting back together. I’m just bringing together a little girl and a puppy.”

“Except Matt and said puppy are moving in upstairs.”

Claire put down her bite of sesame chicken. She could lie to herself all she wanted, but she’d never been able to lie to Della, who saw through her. “Every time I see him, my heart races and my stomach flip-flops, and these little chills slide up my spine.”

“Yeah, that’s called not having gotten over your first boyfriend. Who broke your heart. Who’s moving upstairs. Who you said has no plans—to stay or go.”

Claire sobered up fast. She had to be careful about Matt.

“I’m just saying, Claire. You want what you want—a husband and child. A family. You’ve been saying yes to men who ask you out in the supermarket. You’ve been saying yes to blind dates—although, you derailed a perfectly good one, even though I suppose you might have dodged a bullet with that one too. You know what you want. So don’t get sucked in by a handsome face and memories, Claire. He hurt you terribly.”

It didn’t mean he’d hurt her again, though. Necessarily. Eighteen years was a long time. Maybe this was meant to be their second chance. He’d been put in her path. And now he was moving into her rental apartment.

Oh God. Their second chance? Now she was concocting a fantasy about him? Why did he have such a hold on her after all this time?

What she needed to do was to focus on what she wanted out of life: the right partner and a child. That meant really getting out there, and so that was what she would do. She’d kissed her share of frogs since her divorce, but there was bound to be a “prince” out there somewhere. She’d focus on finding him, and then the hold Matt had on her heart, mind and soul would be released.

Right? Yes, right.

“I’ll be careful,” she promised her sister. “And by the way, I’m open to more blind dates.”

“That’s my girl,” her sister said, stealing a hunk of sesame chicken from her container.

Maybe she’d even join a dating service to speed things up, vet the men via email “chats” before they even met.

“But no matter what, I’m here if you need me,” her sister said. Knowingly.

Claire bit her lip. Even her wise sibling knew how strong the Matt Fielding hold was.

Cripes.

“Guess what, Ellie-Belly?” Matt said, sitting down on the round braided rug in his niece’s bedroom. Not bad, he told himself as he realized he got down on his bad leg in record time and without wincing.

Ellie was playing “dog tea,” serving her huge stuffed dogs who were sitting around the rug in a semicircle. Half had fallen over, but she’d prop them back up when it was their time for tea.

“What?” she asked, pouring for the white poodle beside her.

“What do you think about me moving to my own place nearby and fostering Sparkle and training her so that you could adopt her in about a month’s time?”

Ellie gasped so loud that his sister came running up the stairs.

“Everything okay?” Laura asked, looking from her daughter to her brother.

Ellie flew into Matt’s arms. “Uncle Matt just told me he’s going to train Sparkle for me so we can adopt her!”

Laura smiled. “He told me all about it. I’ll miss having you around, though, Matt. You just got here.”

“I’ll be five minutes away,” he said. “And, Ellie, you’re welcome to come over whenever your mom says it’s okay. You can help me train Sparkle.”

“This is the best day of my life so far,” Ellie said, throwing her arms around Matt for another hug. “Thank you.”

“Anything for my favorite niece,” Matt said.

“Aren’t I your only niece?” Ellie asked.

“What about Sparkle? Isn’t she my other niece?”

“I guess she is!” Ellie said. “But don’t tell her I’m your favorite. She’ll get jealous.”

“I won’t.”

He glanced at Laura, who was smiling. He looked at Ellie, who was also smiling. Even the stuffed dogs were smiling.

But he wondered if Claire was even remotely happy about the situation. She saw a win-win for everyone and had made the offer. But he couldn’t imagine she’d be happy having him on her property.

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