She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Really? You’ll stay here as long as it takes for me to learn how to handle him? Why would you do that? You don’t know me. You told Nick you share his concerns.”
“It’s difficult for me to admit that somebody else might be better for him than me. Trevor decided Maverick should be with you, and I’ll honor his decision. He was a brother to me. So, I’ll stay as long as I need to.”
She didn’t know what to say. She felt gut-punched with the loyalty he obviously felt toward Trevor. Funny. They’d both loved Trevor. They both experienced the profound loss. She looked into his eyes, searching them. “Does it ever get any easier?” Her voice was low, and it was all she could do not to let it crack.
He threw his arm around her and pulled her to his side before shrugging. “Not that I can tell. At least not yet.” He touched the side of her face with his calloused thumb. “We’d better go inside or they’ll worry.”
She nodded and turned to open the door, surprised to see the dog lying just inside, intently watching them.
***
Maverick scrambled to his feet as Rob followed Mary Jane through the door. “Va bene,” he told the dog, and Maverick immediately dropped his head. It almost seemed like he’d been anxious about their absence. He probably sensed the tension between him and Mary Jane. Rob had learned that he needed to keep his own emotions calm around the dog. Much as he wanted to grieve, whenever he’d cried or showed how much he missed Trevor, the dog had whined, panted, and seemed completely swept away by his own doggy emotions. He suspected Maverick had post-traumatic stress disorder, and he didn’t want to do anything to make it worse. That meant that most of the time, his own emotions took a backseat to providing stability for his canine companion.
He didn’t know how he would explain Maverick’s PTSD to Mary Jane. Just what Maverick needed—a new grief-stricken owner. Well, both he and the dog would figure it out somehow. The two of them followed Mary Jane into the kitchen. She slid into a seat at her mother’s right, and he took the seat next to her, across from the still-scowling brother, Nick. Rob gestured for Maverick to lie at his feet.
Mrs. Van Buren smiled at him. “Here, Rob, have some pasta.”
He helped himself from the large bowl, ladling the spaghetti sauce and two large meatballs onto his plate, before passing it to Mary Jane. “Want me to hold it while you serve yourself?” he asked. “It’s heavy.”
“Thanks.” She shot him a grateful look, before noticing the expression on her brother’s face. “Nick, what’s your problem?”
“Nothing.” He glared at her.
“Then stop being so rude to our guest. If you continue to look at Rob that way, Maverick is likely to take off your leg.”
Nick looked under the table at the dog. “He’d better not.”
“Actually, he’s very protective. He showed it this morning.” Rob told the story of their experience in the park.
“I know who you’re talking about,” Mrs. Van Buren broke in after he’d described the mother and child. “Rosalind and Angela Barnard, and that horrible man she married, Kent.” She shuddered. “It’s hard to believe that a man would sexually abuse a baby like that!”
“I hadn’t heard about that, Mom.” Nick grimaced. “That’s disgusting. Why isn’t he in prison?”
“I don’t think he’s been to court yet. I’d heard he was out on bail.”
“My mom works at the IGA as a cashier and hears all the gossip in Ridgeview,” Mary Jane turned to Rob and explained.
“Yes, I’m afraid that’s true. We’re a gossipy little town.” Mrs. Van Buren shrugged. “I guess many small towns are.”
“I’m glad you and Maverick were there,” Mary Jane spoke up. “I can’t imagine what he might have done.”
“Maverick spotted Kent before I did.” The dog raised his head when he heard his name. “Good boy.” He reached down and patted the furry head.
“I love that he’s so protective.” Mary Jane peered under the table. “He looks sad, though.”
Rob had no idea what to say to that.
Mary Jane shot him a raised eyebrow. “Is he?”
“Probably.”
“Oh. I guess that makes sense.” She looked stricken.
“Yeah. They get depressed, feel abandoned, and feel loss the same way humans do. They get attached to each other and to humans. A lot of times they don’t understand what happened.”
“Does Maverick understand what happened to Trevor?”
“I think so. He was there. Maverick was hurt, but he crawled over and put his head on Trevor’s shoulder, as if Maverick wanted to comfort him.”
He heard a whine from under the table. “We’d better drop the subject. He seems to know when we’re talking about it. It makes him anxious.”
Nick had been watching both his sister and Rob and finally spoke up. “Is Maverick going to be safe? I mean MJ isn’t experienced, and he’s a big dog. He looks strong, too.”
“He is strong. He weighs about eighty pounds, and it’s mostly muscle. She’s got to be consistent and a leader with him. Plus, he’ll need daily exercise because this breed is high energy. But they’re loyal, smart, observant, and very protective.” He paused for a moment, unsure whether to make his next point. “He’s a working dog. He’s been trained to screen for explosives. He
