“See you then,” I said.
“See ya,” Taylor replied before ending the call.
I stuck my phone back into my pocket and moved their leashes to my free hand, though a sudden jerk from Taz had me almost lose my grip on it.
“Taz, my man, pardon my language, but what the fuck? There’s nothing even over there,” I said as I cast a glance in the direction he was pulling. “I think your dads need to look into getting you on some CBD.”
He barked, which I took as wholehearted support for my idea. And to punctuate his point, he gave another hard tug.
I looked down at Jetson and Bamm-Bamm. “You guys just let him get away with this?” They had to trot like stallions just to keep up with their unruly brother. It was no way to enjoy a walk.
“When we get home, they’re getting two treats and you’re only getting one,” I told Taz.
He turned to look at me, and I could’ve sworn I saw a challenge in his eyes.
Harry’s house came into view, and I nearly wept with relief. I was a sweaty mess. Thank God I’d been smart enough to take the dogs out before my shower. I’d get the boys a snack before getting them set up in the sun-room so I could get ready and get to school.
Justin had explained that Jetson and Bamm-Bamm could be trusted to roam the house while no one was home, but Taz definitely could not. Since they—and by they, I was pretty sure he meant everyone except Harry—didn’t want to crate one dog while the others were free, they’d transformed their sun-room into a doggy oasis, with comfy beds and hardy toys. The room even had a Dutch door so the dogs could be contained when necessary but not cut off from the goings-on in the rest of the house.
As we approached Harry’s house, Taz started to whine and pull harder—a feat I didn’t think was possible. I figured he was just happy to be home, but then I noticed a car in the driveway.
Who could that be?
Maybe the dog sitter had made time for them after all. We crossed the lawn, and that was when I saw an adult and a child standing on the porch.
“Can I help you?” I asked.
The woman whirled around and looked at me quizzically. “Ransom?”
It took me a second to place her because I’d never seen her outside Safe Haven, and the change in geography took me a moment to overcome.
“Taryn, hi.” Then I looked down beside her. “And Cinnabon! What are you guys doing here?”
Taryn smiled. “I was wondering the same about you.”
I held up my hands holding the dog leashes. “Helping out Harry with the dogs.”
“Oh.” Her brow furrowed. “And where is Uncle Harry?”
Uncle?
“Justin’s dad had a heart attack. They all drove upstate to be with him.”
Her hand flew to her chest. “Oh no, how horrible. I’ll have to call him and check in.”
I watched as Cindy slid her hand into her mother’s, and Taryn jolted as if she’d forgotten the young girl was there.
Taryn gave her daughter a small smile. “Guess we’re out of luck, baby girl.”
Cindy didn’t smile back.
“Did you need something?” I asked.
“No, no, it’s no big deal. I was just going to ask Uncle Harry if he could watch Cindy for the weekend. A job opportunity came up, and I can’t really afford not to take it. But it’s okay, Cindy can stay with her grandmom.”
The way Cindy whined and pulled on her mom’s hand told me that plan might not be okay with Cindy.
“I don’t have any other choice,” Taryn told her.
Cindy’s eyes welled with tears.
“We’ll talk about it in the car, okay?” Taryn said to Cindy before turning back to me. “Good luck with the dogs. I’m sure I’ll see you next week when I pick up Cindy.”
“I’ll be there.”
Taryn gave me a quick smile that seemed forced before leading a sad-looking Cindy off the porch.
This whole situation was weird. Who just showed up randomly to see if an uncle could watch their kid? Wasn’t that a call-first kind of scenario? And what kind of job did Taryn do? And who was Cindy’s grandmother? Miss Hannigan from Annie?
Those questions, combined with the gloomy way Cindy was walking to the car, were the only excuses I had for what came out of my mouth next.
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
Chapter Twenty-One
T A Y L O R
I jogged from my bedroom to the living room, where I’d left my phone after talking to Ransom a while ago. I grabbed it off the table and looked down at it, a little worried at who I’d see was calling. But it was Ransom again.
“Hey.”
“Hey. Remember when you asked me if I needed help, and I said no?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve changed my mind. Or rather, my circumstances have drastically changed, resulting in me now needing help. Like a lot of help. And possibly an intervention, because seriously, who even winds up babysitting a pack of dogs and a little girl within the same twenty-four hours? A helping junkie, that’s who.”
I tried to let Ransom’s words percolate in my mind for a second to see if they’d wind up making sense, but no dice.
“You’re harder to follow than IKEA directions right now. Start at the beginning. What little girl? And what the hell’s a helping junkie?”
“I came home from walking the dogs and found Taryn and Cindy on Harry’s doorstep. Turns out Harry is Taryn’s uncle, but he never told anyone because he pulled a lot of strings to get Cindy in the program and didn’t want anyone to accuse him of nepotism or whatever it is when it’s your niece. Anyway,
