Stepping back into the cabin at 1847 Thornfield Way truly felt like coming home.
“I made some changes while you were gone,” Shane said as he hobbled in after her. “Not as many as I’d like, though. Knees kept slowing me down.”
Lauren glanced around the living room, which still looked much the same to her. “Is there something I can help with?”
“Yes. Tomorrow, though. I barely slept the last two nights, and considering how exhausted I am, we’re lucky I managed to get us back in one piece.”
She stepped deeper into the room and noticed the carpet had been vacuumed, maybe even washed. Turning back toward Shane with a goofy smile on her face, she said, “Didn’t sleep, huh? Does that mean you missed me?”
He crossed his arms over the crutches. “Haven’t I opened up enough for one night?”
She raised an eyebrow at him, and he laughed.
“You know I did. That’s why I came to get you back,” he said through a smile.
She gave him a quick hug. “It’s just nice to hear, is all.”
Shane let out a monster-sized yawn, trying and failing to speak through it. “I… very… know.”
“Fine, fine. Go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
As much as Lauren looked forward to seeing the dogs again, she, too, craved a good night’s rest after two nights tossing and turning on Scarlett’s sofa. Back at home now, she slept like a rock or a log or something else that doesn’t move very much, snoozing straight through to morning when the smell of freshly fried bacon wafted into her room.
“Rise and shine!” Shane crowed from the doorway, where he stood with a precariously balanced tray of eggs, bacon, and orange juice, waiting for her permission to enter.
“What’s all this?” she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes while hoping he couldn’t smell her morning breath from where he stood.
“Me making an effort to be a better friend, especially since I have a pretty big favor to ask you.”
“That favor must be huge,” she mused. “Are you going to have some breakfast, too?”
“Believe me, I already did. There was at least four times this amount of bacon when I got started.”
“Well, have a seat.” Lauren pulled her legs into a crossed position and invited him to sit at the foot of the bed, then took a huge gulp of orange juice to hopefully sweeten her breath. “What can I do you for?”
Shane took a dramatic sigh. So she was getting breakfast and a show. Not a bad way to start the morning.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed this,” he whispered as if confiding a secret. “But the house is kind of messy.”
“No! Really?” She rolled her eyes before taking a huge bite of scrambled eggs.
“Always so funny, even first thing in the morning,” he said with a sarcastic chuckle. “The fire in the shed was kind of a wakeup call. By the way, the fire marshal told me it was an electrical fire. Turns out I left the space heater on and it caught the curtains.”
“I figured that out, but good to hear you admit it.”
“Nothing gets by you, does it?”
“Nope,” she said before biting clean into a crispy strip of bacon.
“You know how sorry I am about that, but it’s actually good it happened.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, the wakeup call,” he reminded her. “But not a nice one like a good-looking friend serving you breakfast in bed.”
She rolled her eyes again. “What kind of wakeup call, then?”
“The kind where I realized all this stuff isn’t just a fire hazard, but an emotional one, too. If I can’t clear out the clutter of the past, I’ll never be able to move forward into the future.”
This was the first time she’d heard him talk of a future outside of the context of mushing. Did this new future include her?
“You sound a bit like a fortune cookie, but I think I understand. You want me to help you clear out this mess, right?”
“If you wouldn’t mind?” His voice cracked, which she found hysterical coming from her burly and bearded friend.
“Of course I’ll help. On one condition.” She stopped laughing and took another thoughtful bite from her eggs. “Actually, make that two.” She sucked down the rest of her orange juice, knowing the waiting was driving him crazy—and liking that fact very much.
“Well? You going to make me wait until we both grow old?”
Now he made jokes about them growing old together? Interesting.
Lauren wagged her fork at him as she detailed her side of the deal. “The first condition is that you bring Briar Rose back inside. She’s a pet, and she belongs in the house.”
He nodded, briefly glancing toward the window as if he could see the kennels from here. “And the other?”
“Promise you’ll help me find her.”
“Briar Rose?”
Lauren sighed. “You know who I mean, Mr. Wise Guy.”
“What if we can’t?”
“We can.”
“What if we—?”
“We will.”
Shane stole her last piece of bacon, but she decided to let that slide. “How can you feel so confident?” he said.
“Because now you’re not alone in this anymore. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I tend to dig my heels in when there’s something I want.”
Shane raised a hand to his chest in mock surprise. “No!” he cried.
“Yes, Mr. Wise Guy, and I want this as much as I want to learn the truth about my father. Maybe even more, because there’s still time to make things right for the two of you.”
She linked her fingers through his for a quick squeeze, but when she tried to pull away, he held tight.
“So,” Shane said after a few charged moments, finally letting her hand go. “Is Mr. Wise Guy my new nickname, then?”
Lauren laughed. “That okay with you, Mr. Wise Guy?”
“I’ve got to admit, I’ll miss you calling me Mr. Grump, but I’ll take it. I’m just glad you’re home.”