Free Puppies
Oh, lovely. Tyler groaned. A little girl not much older than Adam was holding one of the puppies while talking to Adam. Just behind her, several more puppies wiggled and squirmed inside a pen. No sign of other adults around the child. Tyler hoped the little girl’s parents were at least within visual range of their daughter.
Tyler hurried up just as Adam took the puppy from her. Tyler tried to keep his voice calm and friendly. “Adam, what’s that?”
The little boy turned. “It’s a puppy, Daddy.”
It was all Tyler could do to keep from laughing. “I know that. I meant what are you doing with it? We can’t get a puppy right now.”
“Why not?” He held the little tricolored dog in his arms. It licked at his face.
“Because we’re in the RV.” He could leverage that argument, at least. “We don’t have room for a large dog.”
Of course, upon returning home was a different matter.
“It’s okay, sir,” the little girl said. “Their mom and dad were both small. They won’t get more than about twenty pounds, my daddy said.” She picked up another puppy, larger than the one Adam held. “That one there’s the runt.” He certainly looked smaller than the others. “He probably won’t even get as big as the others, Daddy said.”
Tyler looked to Andrew for help. He simply shrugged.
No help there. “Adam, honey, we can’t have a puppy right now. Please, put it back.”
Adam finally gave the puppy back to the little girl. Both children looked heartbroken. Adam hitched up the straps on his backpack and slowly followed Tyler back to the sidewalk.
“Thanks for the help, Dad,” Tyler said as they stopped by the next building to look at the window displays.
Andrew smiled. “I thought they were cute.”
“Nevvie already wants to string my bollocks up on the rearview mirror. Allowing Adam to get a puppy without her input will spell my demise.”
Adam tugged on his hand. “Daddy, can I go back and get her e-mail address?”
Tyler absently waved him on, and Adam scampered back to the tent. “Besides,” Tyler continued as he shifted Mikey’s backpack on his shoulders, “we aren’t exactly in the best situation right now to have a puppy. A puppy, in an RV? And it’ll be at least three weeks or longer before we get home, depending on how long it takes us to get home.”
Tyler glanced over at Adam to make sure he was all right. Sure enough, he looked like he’d pulled his notebook and a pencil out of his backpack. He smiled at his son’s antics before turning back to his father. “I’d love a dog. Eventually. But not right now.” He was about to call to Adam when he saw him hefting his backpack, carefully shouldering it, and slowly returning to them.
“Are you all right, Adam?” Andrew asked.
“Yes, Grandpa.”
He noted Adam’s backpack. “Would you like me to carry that for you?”
“No, Grandpa. I’ve got it.” He grabbed Andrew’s hand and looked up at Tyler. “When do you think we could get a puppy, Daddy?”
Tyler cleared his throat. “One day, love. Just not today.”
Adam solemnly nodded. “Yes, Daddy.”
* * * *
Sticking to Tyler’s schedule, they made it on time to Gardiner, Montana, just north of Yellowstone. It was close to dark when they arrived, but Nevvie and Tom took the time to unload the SUV instead of waiting until morning while Andrew and Tyler prepared dinner and took care of getting the boys ready for bed.
Nevvie was too tired to even think about sex when they all collapsed into bed. As exhausted as she was, she awoke several times after unsettling dreams. Usually relating to Preacher Jim.
Nevvie didn’t know if that son of a bitch would be there when she talked to Mary, but if he was, she’d damn well give him a piece of her mind.
When she awoke for the last time a little after six in the morning, she gave up any ideas of trying to go back to sleep. Truth be told, she was excited about going into Yellowstone. She’d never been there before, and both her anger at Emily and her irritation at Tyler over the Mitchell incident had waned.
She would have fun. Tyler had worked his ass off trying to make this trip a memorable one.
So he screwed up. He feels bad about it. It wasn’t like he’d meant to leave them behind.
Nevvie was just starting to think about getting up to make coffee when Tom’s cell phone rang. With Tom and Tyler still sound asleep, she reached above her head to the shelf it sat on and fumbled around until she found it. In the process, she dropped it onto her forehead, hitting herself squarely between the eyes and making her see stars. How she managed to not wake her men baffled the crap out of her.
Somehow, she answered it without killing herself or poking out an eye. “Hello?”
“Nevvie?” The frantic voice sounded familiar, but for some reason, she couldn’t place it at first. “Nevvie, is that you?”
Then it hit her. “Eddie? What’s going on?”
“Oh, thank God I got hold of you.” It sounded like he broke down sobbing.
She reached over and first smacked Tyler on the shoulder, then Tom, to wake them up. “Eddie, sweetie, what’s wrong? What is it?”
“I’m so sorry I had to call. He’s going to kill me, but I had to. I don’t know what else to do!”
Nevvie felt stress winding up like a giant, sour grapefruit in her chest. “Eddie, calm down and talk to me. What’s going on?”
By now she sensed Tom and Tyler sitting up on either side of her.
“It’s…it’s Pete. He’s in the hospital.”
“Oh, Eddie, is he okay? What’s wrong? What happened?”
He started crying again. “He’s been having stomach trouble and wouldn’t let me take him to the doctor. Early this morning, I had to take him to the emergency room because he was throwing up blood and had a lot of pain. They had to take him in to emergency surgery.” He started crying again.
“Eddie, honey, calm down. Did they say what’s wrong with him?”
She heard him blow his nose on the other end of the line. “He has peritonitis. The doctor said he had diverticulitis and the infection got so bad it perforated. They’re removing the bad section now, but he’s got an infection so he’s going to be in here for a while.”
“But is he going to be okay?”
“They don’t know yet. It depends on how his body responds to the antibiotics they’ve got him on and the surgery.”
Great. Two of their best friends needed them, and they were across the country on Tyler’s wild-ass RV adventure. “Do you want us to come home?”
“No, but I heard on the news this morning we’ve got a tropical storm out in the Gulf that they think is going to hit our area. I don’t know how to put up the shutters on your house.” He let out a harsh laugh. “I don’t know how to put up the shutters on our house. Pete usually takes care of all of that…” He dissolved into another fit of tears.
Tom tried to take the phone from her. She covered the mouthpiece and gave the men a quick rundown on what was happening. When she finished, Tom took the phone from her. “Baby girl, go boot your laptop and pull up the NHC website for me. Now.” He talked into the phone. “Eddie? Listen, I’m going to have Nevvie take me to the airport in Bozeman, and I’m going to be there by sometime tonight, okay? I’ll take care of the houses and help you out. You don’t worry about them. Is Bob there with you…”
Nevvie didn’t catch the rest as she plugged in the air card and got her laptop booting. While she waited, she started the coffee. Tom appeared in the galley a few minutes later, still talking to Eddie on the phone. She pulled up the National Hurricane Center’s webpage and Tom sat in front of the laptop to study the site. He frowned.
“Now Eddie, listen, you quit arguing with me. Okay? I’m coming back, and that’s that.” He switched to a travel site page and browsed so quickly Nevvie couldn’t keep up with him. “I can get a flight out this morning from Bozeman.” He held his hand out to Tyler, who a
pparently interpreted correctly. He dropped Tom’s wallet into his hand. Tom never skipped a beat talking with Eddie as he ordered his tickets. “I’ll call you from TIA as soon as I land. You go take care of yourself and hang tight…Right. Bye.” He hung up the phone as he leaped to his feet. By now, Andrew was awake and listening.
“Baby girl, get a quick shower. Right now. I’ll grab my stuff. You’re going to run me over to Bozeman. I’ve got three hours before that flight takes off. It connects me through Minneapolis.”
“Okay.” She left the door to the back bunk open as she grabbed what she needed. She could hear everything out in the cabin.
Tyler spoke up. “Thomas, wouldn’t it be better if I drove you and Nevvie stayed here with Dad and the boys?”
Nevvie returned as Tom shook his head. He pushed past Tyler. “She drives faster than you, and I’m going to be hurting enough as it is after a day in an airplane to drive to Bozeman on top of it.” He stopped, backed up, and planted a quick kiss on Tyler’s lips. “Sorry, buddy, but it’s the truth.” He grabbed Tyler by the shoulders. “You stay here with Dad and the kids. Under no circumstances are you to move this RV. Do you hear me? You wait for Nevvie to get back.”
“Love, I am perfectly qualified to—”
“Tyler!” Nevvie barked. “Please, don’t argue with us!” She pushed past them into the bathroom and started her shower. Tom packed while she bathed, then grabbed himself a fast shower while Nevvie threw together a couple of breakfast sandwiches and travel mugs of coffee for them. In less than twenty minutes, they were ready to go. The boys were just waking up, and Nevvie and Tom kissed them good-bye.
“Remember, Tyler,” Nevvie warned him, “just stay here. Go talk to the campground manager when the office opens and tell them we need to keep the site a couple more days. Do. Not. Move. This. RV. Have I made myself clear?”
“Crystal, darling.”
She gave him a smile. “Good.”
Tyler kissed Nevvie and Tom. Then they climbed into the Pilot.
“You think he’ll behave?” Nevvie asked Tom as she cleared Gardiner and hit the main road leading up to Livingston.
Tom snorted as he settled back in his seat. “Not likely.” He reached over and patted her on the thigh. “I’m sorry to dump this on you, baby girl. I’m counting on you.”
“How bad is the storm?”
“They’re predicting it’s going to be a Cat 1 or stronger by the time it makes landfall.”
“Terrific. Maybe I should just load everything up and turn around and head home. I can put Tyler on a plane to Seattle in Rapid City.”
Tom shook his head.
“Really, I mean it. I don’t mind.”
“No, don’t do that,” Tom said. He squeezed her hand. “It’ll take me a day or less to get both houses boarded up. I’ll fly back out here once I know what the storm is going to do. If it’s not going to be bad. And if Pete’s going to be okay.” He looked at her. “I want you all to have fun and enjoy yourselves. Keep sightseeing. Adam’s really looking forward to it.”
“I’m not looking forward to butting heads with Tyler over driving.”
He snorted. “Honey, he’s never driven in the mountains before. Once he gets a look at some of those roads in the park, he’ll be happy to let you do the driving.”
* * * *
They made it to Bozeman with plenty of time to spare. Outside the departures area, Thomas hugged Nevvie tightly to him. “You’ll do fine, baby girl. You all explore the park.”
“But you’ll miss it.”
“It’s okay. Hopefully, I can fly back out and we can stop by on our way home. But like I said, I need you to keep Tyler out of trouble. I don’t want to have to worry about you all while I’m home. If you’re in charge, I won’t worry.”
She laughed. “I’ll have my hands full.”
“Have Dad help you.”
She buried her face against his shoulder. “I’m going to miss you. Hug Pete and Eddie for me.”
He hugged her back tightly. “I will.” He kissed the top of her head before gently untangling himself from her. “I’ll hopefully see you in a few days.”
She fought back tears and nodded. “Okay.” She blew him a kiss as he picked up his carry-on bags and headed inside the terminal.
Nevvie pulled through a drive-through and got herself a large coffee for the drive back. She wished she could go with Tom, but understood this was the only option. Eddie and Pete weren’t just like family to them, they were family, as far as she was concerned. It didn’t matter that they weren’t related by blood or marriage. They were part of her extended family.
Now alone in the car, she tried not to worry about Pete. When Tyler had his heart attack, it was Pete who’d held her in the ER when she found out about Tom and broke down.
He’s a strong man. He’ll come through this all right. She called Tyler to let him know she was on her way back.
As she drove onto I-90, headed back to the RV and Yellowstone, she tried not to cry but couldn’t help it.
* * * *
Tyler fixed everyone breakfast once Nevvie and Tom left. “Adam, why don’t you sit over here with us at the table?” He couldn’t help but notice his son had suddenly become very fixated on whatever he’d put in his special storage drawer that they’d assigned him for his toys.
Adam shook his head as he munched on his biscuit. “I’m okay, Daddy.”
Tyler knew this was exactly the sort of behavior Nevvie and Tom had both warned him about over the past couple of months. Pushing boundaries. He needed to stay in charge. “Son, that wasn’t a request. Please come sit with us.”
Reluctantly, the little boy stood and brought his plate to the table, where he climbed into the booth next to Andrew.
“There. Isn’t that better?” Adam looked a little worried. “Mommy will be back soon, honey,” Tyler assured him.
“I know, Daddy.”
“And I know you miss Poppa, but hopefully he’ll be back in a few days. Never you fear, Uncle Pete will be fine.”
Adam nodded. “I know, Daddy.”
“Then what’s the matter?” The thought suddenly struck him. “You know we’re still going to tour Yellowstone, don’t you?”
Adam studied him. “But Poppa won’t see it. And don’t we have to wait for Mommy?”
Andrew chimed in, sounding a little nervous. “Yes, don’t we need to wait for Nevvie, son?”
Tyler realized he’d hit on the source of Adam’s worry, besides missing Tom and Nevvie. “Adam, it’s quite all right. Poppa said we can still go tour the park. How about we drive to Mammoth Hot Springs, just inside the park, and Mommy can meet us there? We can get a head start on our sightseeing. How does that sound?”
“Son, Thomas and Nevvie were very clear when they said—”
“Dad, it’s quite all right. They’re just overprotective is all.” He returned his attention to Adam. “Mommy can meet us there. It’s only a few minutes away, just right inside the park. How does that sound?”
Adam quickly nodded. “That sounds good, Daddy.”
Tyler clapped his hands together and laughed. “Aces!”
Mikey mimicked him, clapping and laughing.
Andrew cleared his throat. “Nevvie said she’d be back in a couple of hours, and that we’re to wait.”
Tyler waved his objections down. “It’s fine, Dad. Truly.”
While the men were discussing this, Adam grabbed another biscuit off the plate and climbed out of the booth. Tyler noticed he was headed straight for the drawer again. He tapped his father on the shoulder, interrupting him in mid-sentence. Both men watched as Adam gently pulled the drawer open and slipped the biscuit inside.
“Son, what are you doing?” Tyler asked.
Startled, Adam jumped, quickly closing the drawer and sitting against it. “Nothing, Daddy,” he said with a shake of his head.
The men exchanged a knowing glance. “Adam,” Tyler said, “what is in the drawer?”
Adam s
hook his head, but didn’t answer.
The men walked over. Tyler extended a hand to his son, who finally, reluctantly took it and stood to join him. Andrew reached down and opened the drawer.
Both men gasped.
Surprised by the sudden light, the little puppy blinked and stared at them.
“Oh my god,” Tyler whispered.
Andrew let out a laugh. “Tyler, you realize Nevvie’s going to kill you, right?”
Tyler gulped.
Chapter Nine
Tyler was rarely a man at a loss for words. At that moment, however, he found his extensive vocabulary had completely escaped him. Andrew held Mikey as they all stood outside watching Adam with the puppy. The puppy, which Adam had already named Harley, sniffed around in a few tufts of grass outside the RV.
Strike one.
“So what are you going to do, son?” Andrew asked Tyler.
Tyler shook his head. “I don’t have a bloody clue,” he whispered. They would have to move the RV, because the park manager said they were booked up with reservations, and Tyler had only booked them there for one night.
Strike two.
And they couldn’t very well just dump the puppy. That would be inhumane. Not to mention Adam was already attached to him, and Tyler couldn’t bring himself to get rid of the cute little bugger. A tricolored terrier mix with a lot of white on his head and body, and no more than three pounds, it was obvious from the puppy’s fine-boned frame and small paws that he, indeed, wouldn’t get very big. That Adam had managed to keep him hidden for two days was proof of the pup’s quiet nature.
And that Adam had managed to care for the puppy, and properly dispose of its waste, was further proof that Adam was dedicated, even at such a young age, to properly caring for him. None of them had thought anything of Adam spending so much time around his drawer, because that’s where he kept his personal things and toys. And Adam had apparently carried the puppy in his backpack when they left the RV for any length of time.