The Moment of Truth

“The quickest way to teach him to come when he’s called is to call him only by one name, and to say that name every single time you speak to him. When you feed him, say his name and then the word eat, and put his food down. He’ll learn what eat means, too.”

“You called him Little Guy.”

“Because he’s male and little and I specifically was not naming him as I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep him.”

“Did you want to?”

He was getting personal again. This wasn’t about her. Though...she kind of wanted it to be.

And while Dana was all about living her new life, about believing that she was just as good as everyone else, she wasn’t so far along on her journey that she was going to pursue the guy who had to be the hottest bachelor in town.

“I didn’t think I wanted another puppy, not anytime soon. I’ve got a kitten now. And my duplex is small. But after having Little Guy around for a couple of days...yeah, I’d like another puppy. A smaller one, though.”

“You should get one, then.”

Maybe. “Anyway, I recommend naming him. Soon.”

“I like Little Guy. It’s what he is.”

“He’s going to be huge.”

“So...all the more reason to remind him that no matter how big he gets, I’ll still be bigger, right?”

He grinned. She melted.

And got the hell out of there.

CHAPTER SEVEN

JOSH DIDN’T HAVE to wait until Monday to speak with Cassie Montford. His cell phone rang shortly after Dana Harris left Saturday, and he recognized the veterinarian’s number.

“Josh? This is Cassie Montford.”

Montford. Not Tate. She was on family business. He stiffened. “I assume you spoke with your husband?” he said, the Redmond in him coming out as he prepared to take control of the situation. To take control and not give off an iota of the emotion roiling around inside him. Getting his own way was all that mattered.

He didn’t want to leave town. Didn’t have any idea where he’d go.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you,” the older woman said. “I spoke with Sam last night but by the time we were alone and could talk it was too late to call you back. And I just got out of surgery now—a dog was hit by a car outside of town this morning....”

It had been less than twenty-four hours. Josh had expected their decision to take at least through the weekend. In Boston, it would have. The pros and cons of upholding a family secret would have been weighed very seriously.

“Sam and I will keep your secret for as long as we can without anyone being hurt,” Cassie said, her voice sounding even warmer than it had the day before at her office.

More personal.

“Sam has a request, though, Josh. He really wants to meet you.”

Ready to respond with an unequivocal no, until he was a little more certain he could trust himself, Josh didn’t get the chance.

“I’ve managed to rein him in for now, with a threat to tell his parents some things about his past that he doesn’t want them to know.”

It sounded like a stunt any number of wives in his Boston circle might have pulled. It was all about keeping up appearances.

“Not that I’d carry through with the threat, which he knows, but he got the point, anyway. Sometimes people need some space to work through their issues on their own.”

He swallowed. “I... Thank you,” he said.

He wanted to say more. To ask more. To find out more about Sam Montford’s life. About the secrets that he didn’t want his parents to know...the fodder that gave his wife some leverage.

But he was determined to stick with his promise.

He asked about Little Guy’s surgery, set a date for the week after Thanksgiving and started to ring off.

“Josh?”

He put the cell phone back to his ear. “Yes?”

“I can’t promise that Sam will wait forever,” she said. “My husband has a bit of a wild streak. When it gets ahold of him, he’s apt to do something off the wall.”

“Has he had run-ins with the law?” he asked. He couldn’t imagine his mother being gung ho about claiming her Arizona family if he had.

“Absolutely not. Sam’s never been in trouble with the law. Have you?”

Too late he saw what his question had implied. He quickly said, “No. I don’t have a criminal record.” It was the truth. He’d never even received a speeding ticket.

Hard to believe, when a woman had lost her life because of his carelessness. He’d walked away without paying any price at all.

“Sam’s just a bit of a social rogue,” Cassie said. “He says what he thinks, and when he believes in something he goes after it, regardless of what it costs him. He’s just found out he has a new cousin in town. And having grown up as the only son of the town’s founding family, he’s anxious to make your acquaintance. All I’m saying is don’t be surprised if you come home some night and find him drinking a beer on your back porch.”

Something Josh might have done if the situation were reversed...

Stop. He implored silently. This wasn’t going to work if he got in with the family. He’d fall back on his old ways. Become someone he hated.

“Also, just so you know, there’s another cousin here in town. Ben Sanders. He’s fairly new to the family, as well, but biologically, he’s a Montford. Ben’s married to Tory and they have two daughters.”

Did Cassie and Sam have children, too? There hadn’t been children in their family since he’d grown up...

And he didn’t want to know any of this.

“One other thing,” he said, realizing that he’d almost hung up without taking care of the thing he needed most from her. “Will you write to my mother? Let her know that all is well?”

He hated being beholden to anyone. For anything. To his way of thinking, if he needed something done, he paid someone to do it. Except he couldn’t afford that anymore.

“Is she on email?” Cassie asked.

“Yes.” He waited while Cassie retrieved a pen and took down his mother’s email address.

“So she knows you’re here already?”