She smiled to herself, still lost in her thoughts of letting the world know that she and Jay were a couple. Bringing herself back to reality, she looked up at Jay. “How’s Barney adjusting to living with you?”
“He’s doing fine.”
“Bet he misses Mrs. Gleason. He was used to someone being home almost all day.”
“I’m glad I could take him in when she couldn’t have Barney at her retirement place. I actually like having him around.” Jay opened the door to his house.
Barney walked past them out into the yard. They stood on the porch, but she was dying to peek inside and see what havoc Barney had wreaked on Jay’s house while he’d been gone. When she’d kept Barney a few weeks ago for Mrs. Gleason, he had destroyed anything and everything he could reach. Jay was going to find out soon enough that Barney equaled disaster.
Barney trotted back up the steps and they followed him inside. She looked around in amazement. No pillows from the couch on the floor. No chewed up shoes or books. She turned to Jay. “How come he’s not destroying everything at your house?”
Jay grinned. “We had a talk. I told him not to.”
“Ah, a dog whisperer. Who knew?”
“I’ve got beer in the fridge. Want one? We could sit out on the deck for a bit, then I’ll walk you home.”
“Sounds good.” They grabbed beers and settled on a loveseat on the deck overlooking the bay. Jay had a great view and she was a bit jealous. Her porch looked out on some common ground at the group of bungalows. They had access to the bay down a walkway, but no view from her bungalow.
She kicked off her shoes and curled her legs under her, taking a sip of the ice-cold beer. “Ah, that’s good.”
Jay’s lips curved into a smile that sent her pulse racing. “It is good.”
“You haven’t tasted yours yet.” She cocked her head.
“Maybe I wasn’t talking about the beer. Maybe I was talking about being here with you.” He leaned down and kissed her slowly, leisurely, as if he were enjoying every single slow-moving moment.
She let out a sigh as he pulled away. “Ah, that was good, too.”
He laughed. “It was.”
He draped his arm around her shoulder and they sat in the moonlight, silent. And everything was right with her world.
Until she looked around for Barney. “Hey, where did Barney go?”
Jay glanced around. “I left the slider open. He must have gone inside.”
“Oh, no…” She looked down at where she’d slipped off her shoes. One lone shoe rested there. “Barney…” She jumped up and rushed inside.
Barney rested on the couch, looking innocent. But her other shoe sat on the floor, a chewed up, ruined mess.
“Barney!” She leaned down and snatched her shoe, waving it toward Jay. “See, that dog has it out for me.”
“Barney, we talked about that. No chewing on anything but your toys,” Jay spoke sternly to the dog.
Robin swore the dog rolled his eyes at Jay…
Chapter 6
The next day Betty Gleason looked around the lunchroom of the retirement center. She’d been eating in her apartment since she moved in, but it was time to wander out and meet people. She suddenly felt like a young girl in high school, waiting to be invited to sit with someone. She stood still, holding her tray of food, looking for a place to sit, a group that looked friendly to join.
“Betty Gleason, is that you? I didn’t know you were moving here.”
She looked into the friendly face of Ida, an acquaintance from Belle Island. “Ida, so good to see someone I know.”
“Come, sit with George and me. We’re just over there by the window.”
Betty followed Ida over to the table and took an empty seat, grateful to feel less like an outsider.
“Betty, good to see you. Did you just move in?” George smiled.
“I did. Still trying to get settled. It’s… it’s quite an adjustment. But my daughter… well, she wanted me to move here. And I’m closer to her, so it will make things easier on her. I—I had a little car accident and I wasn’t driving anymore. It was hard on my daughter to come over from the mainland to the island to bring me to appointments and things. But I’ve lived on the island my whole life. My momma grew up there, too. We’ve been there for generations, but I was the last one.” She let out a long sigh. “It’s very hard to live anywhere but Belle Island.”
“We’re closer to our kids and grandkids now, too.” George nodded. “And, I admit, it was getting hard to keep up with Magnolia House. It was just so… big. Way too big for just the two of us.”
“I did love that house, though.” Ida sighed.
“I had moved to those cute little bungalows on the bay. Do you know them?”
“Oh, I do. I think Robin and Charlotte live there, too. Don’t they?”
“They do. They lived right next door. They were such sweet neighbors.” Betty reached for some cream to put in her coffee. Her daughter insisted it wasn’t good for her, but she loved cream in her coffee and she might as well indulge a bit. “And you know Jay, the chef from Charming Inn?”
“We do. A fine young man,” George said.
“I couldn’t bring my dog Barney, and I couldn’t find him a home. I was going to have to give him to the beagle rescue group. It was breaking my heart. I was so worried about where he’d end up. But Jay offered to take Barney. I was so relieved.”
“I bet you miss him though.” Ida’s voice was filled with sympathy.
“So much. It was the main reason I kept resisting coming here. But Jay said he’d bring Barney to visit. I can’t wait. And look, he’s already sent a picture of Barney.” Betty took out her phone and showed them a photo of Barney sitting on Jay’s deck.
“I’m sorry you couldn’t have him here, but at least you found
