---

---

What in the world had I been thinking? Moving away to clear my head and get Harry off my mind was one thing, but all the way to New York City? I seriously had a screw loose and knew exactly where it was. In my brain! After living my entire forty—ouch, it hurt to say that—years in suburbia, and enjoying all the conveniences it offered, I was now schlepping all over the place, running errands, and dragging groceries home in one of those silly looking carts.

My arms were loaded down with an impossibly huge number of items when my phone rang.

“Shit, shit.” I dug into my pocket, fingers clutching onto my lifeline.

“Hello,” I huffed.

Good Lord, Mills. Are you having sex?”

“Shut up. I just walked off the elevator carrying a million things such as groceries and I’m trying to get to my apartment door, which is approximately three hundred thousand miles away.”

My sister cackled into the phone.

“This is not funny, Ellerie. Why did you let me do a harebrained thing like move up here? Not to mention I’m freezing my ancient, underused vagina off. It’s colder than hell in New York.”

“Hell is hot, not cold.”

“Whatever.”

“And hey, moving there was your idea. I was the one who tried to talk you out of it. Remember? I was the one who moved back to Atlanta from Manhattan.”

“Shut up. I don’t need reminding.”

“Besides, your vagina isn’t ancient. You’re only forty. You’ve got a good forty years of use left in that thing.”

“Yeah, well, at this rate, it’ll be frozen solid and put out to pasture before I hit forty-five.”

“Ahh, come on, baby sis. It’s not that bad.”

“You only say that because your husband didn’t walk away from you after almost twenty years of marriage.”

Suddenly, the load I’d managed to juggle came crashing to the floor, my apples rolling all over the place, followed by lemons, tomatoes, and the rest of everything I’d purchased.

“What the heck was that?” Ellerie asked.

“Ugh. I just lost all my shit.” Kneeling down, I gathered up my runaway items and began stuffing them back into one of the bags.

“At least it wasn’t eggs. That could’ve been a catastrophe.”

“True.” I was just pushing the last of the escapees in when I noticed a pair of feet in my vision. Large feet. I was positive they belonged to someone so I glanced up and had to crane my neck to see exactly who owned them.

“Ugh, Ellerie, let me call you back.” Shoving myself up, I stared at the owner of said feet as he held out a huge box of tampons.

“I believe these belong to you.”

Eyes that reminded me of a frosty blue sky on a cold winter day gazed at me with undue curiosity. But these eyes weren’t the least bit icy. They were warm. No, make that scorching. In fact, I slid a finger under the neck of my sweater because it had gotten way too hot in here. Was that sweat on my upper lip? Oh for Pete’s sake, that was all I needed—to have a hot flash in front of this sexy guy. Wait—I didn’t have hot flashes. Was this just a heated moment of lust flaring in my deprived loins?

“Oh, thanks.” I grabbed the jumbo box of tampons from him and stared. It was more like ogled the man. He wore jeans that hugged his sexy hips and stood with his feet slightly parted in a stance that imparted complete confidence. Then the skies parted, the heavens opened, and the sun’s rays beamed down right in the dim apartment hallway as the man smiled. Oh, God. His perfect teeth sparkled and I was speechless as I gaped at him. Who was this perfectly formed human male with this arresting face? Was it possible he lived on this floor?

“Are you okay?”

His voice was like a choir of angels—hot and muscular manly angels—not the pudgy cherubic kind. I was certain his body was honed to perfection by hours and hours of gym workouts. He was probably a famous body builder. Or maybe even one of those popular underwear models I fantasize over while using my favorite vibrator.

“Sure. I’m fine. Yeah. Good here.” I swallowed the desire that had overtaken my sensibilities. “You? How are you? Because you appear to be, um, really fine.” What the hell was I saying?

He smiled again. I may have had a teeny tiny orgasm. Maybe. “I’m great.”

You certainly are.

“Well, have a nice day.” He nodded and walked by. I inhaled as much air as I possibly could because he smelled delicious. Like … soap. Manly man soap. The kind that only an extremely sexy guy would use.

The elevator dinged and as soon as the doors closed I fell to my knees. It took a couple of minutes to collect myself. Oh, my, gawdddd. I needed to get a hold of myself. That brief encounter with the underwear sex god model had completely incapacitated me.

After I grabbed my groceries, I stumbled into my apartment, dizzy from my post erotic event, and unpacked everything. And then I realized what he’d handed me—a jumbo box of tampons. Shit. Shit. Shit. Why couldn’t I have been one of those cool girls who only bought cool things, like super expensive wine? Or imported cheese? Or even liver pâté, although the thought of liver made me shudder. But, no, I had a jumbo box of tampons.

I called Ellerie back. “You won’t believe what just happened.”

I didn’t need have the phone in my hand to hear her laugh. I could’ve heard it all the way from Atlanta without it.

“At least it wasn’t poop medicine or something for hemorrhoids.”

I sucked my breath in. “Stop! That’s a positively horrid thought. And I don’t even have hemorrhoids. ”

“Right? But what if you did? And you just stood there staring at him like an idiot?”

“Well, yeah. He’d hypnotized me. Spelled me. I couldn’t help myself.”

“You didn’t bother to introduce yourself?”

“Of course not. You said it. I’m an idiot. Why on earth would I do something as intelligent as that?”

“Well, if he’s your neighbor, you’ll have more opportunities.”

That made me think of something. “Then that means I have to be prepared at all times. No going out looking like a slob. Ever. Oh my God. I’m going to have to dress up to do my laundry.”

“Oh, Milly, you can’t worry about it. And when do you ever look like a slob.”

“All the time. But especially after one of my gigantic cry sessions.”

Ellerie was quiet a second. “I wish I was there for you.”

“You are. All I have to do is pick up the phone.”

“No, I mean really there. So when you have those moments, I can hug you and tell you it’s going to be fine.”

I sucked back a sob. “Am I so bad, Ellerie? I mean, I know I can be hard-headed and bossy sometimes. But I did try. I honestly did.”

“I know you did. For years. I didn’t live with the two of you so I can’t really say, but something happened to Harry when his best friend died. Mills, I don’t think there was anything more you could’ve done. John and I talked about how much he had changed. You even tried therapy but I think he needed it alone. And you can’t make someone do it.”

“I have this book—”

“Mills, how many books have you bought?”

“I can’t say. A bunch.”

“How many did he buy?”

“I don’t know. I never asked.”

“My guess would be a handful compared to the several dozen you own. Look, all I’m saying is you can look at yourself in the mirror and know you did everything you could. But in the end, if both people don’t work at it, a marriage can’t survive.”

“You’re right. I guess he didn’t want me anymore.” A sniffle escaped.

“Hey, but isn’t it better to move on than to stagnate in that?”

“Yeah, but it still hurts my heart.”

“So, here’s want I want you to do. Be on the lookout for hot and sexy. Then think of things you’d like to do to him.”

“Ellerie, I don’t have to think. My body does that for me.”

She giggled and I went along with her.

“I gotta run, baby sis. My pups are barking and they need a walk.”

“Ooh, you make me miss my Dick.”

She cracked up. “You know I could take that a couple of ways.”

“I told that idiot not to name him that.”

“So, why don’t you just get another dog?”

“I don’t know. Training a puppy is a lot of work.”

“Think about it. Call me tomorrow. Love you.”

“Back at you.”

I finished the task of putting the rest of the groceries away and thought about getting a dog. But Dick was special. I fought for him but in the end, I let Harry keep him. He had the big yard that Dick loved and needed.

Saying goodbye had nearly broken me. It was bad enough with the divorce, but the dog … ugh, I can’t even imagine how hard it is for parents with kids in a custody battle.

It was early February and I was getting cabin fever with this cold weather. Maybe I’d take a walk in the park this afternoon. I’d purchased a Canada goose coat because I wasn’t very tolerant of the freezing temperatures. Surely I could do it wearing that thing.

I peeked out the window to see bright sunshine and about that time, my buzzer rang. It was odd because I hadn’t been here long enough to make many friends and only knew a couple of people from work. My friend Ava was busy so I know it wasn’t her. Pressing the button, I asked, “Yes?”

“Ms. Fremont, you have a delivery. May I send him up?”

“Uh, oh. I guess that would be okay. Does he look safe? I mean he doesn’t look like a serial killer or anything?”

The security man chuckled. “No ma’am. He looks fine.”

“Yes, then, send him up.”

I’d chosen this building for that very reason. Not being familiar with Manhattan, I didn’t want to move here without some assurances of safety. Soon my doorbell rang and I looked out the peephole, only to see the back of a man’s head.

I opened the door and got the shock of my life.

“Surprise.”

Then I was knocked on my back by a slobbering one hundred and forty pound furry mastiff.

“Dick, mind your manners,” Harry said.

When I was able to move the gigantic pooch aside, and only after he had completely covered my face and head in his greeting of slobbery kisses, I stood up and asked, “What the hell are you doing here, Harry?”

“Yeah, I know. I should’ve called. But Mills, I’m in a huge bind. I need your help and I know you love Dick as much as I do.”

“What does this have to do with Dick?”

“I’ve accepted a job in London and I’m leaving today.” He was smiling like I hadn’t seen in years. Harry was … happy. And I was … crushed.

“Oh … that’s fantastic.” My artificial grin didn’t reach my eyes.

“Yeah, it is but I can’t take Dick.”

“No Dick?”

“No Dick.”

Dick stared at me with his soulful eyes.

“This is where you come in.”

“Me? Harry, look at my apartment. You were right. Dick needs a yard. Room to expand.” Room to expand?

“Yes, well, at this particular time, that’s something I can’t worry about. I know you love him and will care for him. I just can’t put him in the shelter. God forbid no one would want him.”

Dick’s eyes begged me to take him in. “Oh, my sweet Dick. Come here.”

Harry let his leash go and Dick galloped into my apartment, knocking everything down in his path. His tail whipped all the items off my coffee table in seconds and all I could do was hug the gigantic hound.

“I’ve missed my sweet boy.” Then I sniffed. “What’s that odor?”

“Well, he rolled in something in the yard, right as we were leaving. Sorry.”

“Ugh. It’s offensive.”

“Yes, I know. I just drove fourteen hours in the car with him.”

“You drove?”

“Yes. I was going to ask—do you want the car?”

“Harry! When are you leaving?”

He checked his watch and said, “Five hours so I don’t have much time.”

“And you waited until now to tell me this?”

“It just sort fell into place.”

I massaged the place between my eyes. “Let me call the guy downstairs to see if you can leave the car.”

“No. Mills I’m not coming back.”

“You—you’re leaving for good?”

“Yeah. I, uh, this is a new beginning for me. Just sell it if you don’t want it. I’ll sign the title over to you now.” He waved it in his hand. “You have my number and can reach me with any other legal stuff. My lawyer knows how to get in touch with you too.”

“Harry, are you sure you want to do this?”

He smiled again. “Never been more sure. Now that I know my Dick’s in good hands, I’m good.”

“It always was,” I mumbled.

He signed the title over and turned to leave. Then he stopped. “Mills, I’m sorry … for the way things turned out. It was all me.” He dipped his head and left. And I’d never been more stunned in my life. Then I broke down in tears. My ex was gone for good. But the good news was he’d left me with his Dick.

---

The sexy woman on her knees brought all sorts of dirty thoughts to mind. Like how that pretty pink mouth of hers would feel wrapped around my cock. It had been too long since that had happened. She was adorable as she looked up and gazed at me. Her flushed skin didn’t hurt either. For a moment, my feet were rooted to the floor. If only I didn’t have to pick up Wiley, I would’ve helped her take her things into her apartment, maybe found out if there was a Mister Adorable, or even invited her over for a glass of wine. All I needed was thirty minutes … but then, the last thing I wanted was a woman who knew where I lived. The next thing I’d be dealing with would be her bringing over a casserole or, worse, setting up a coffee station in my place. Soon she’d be expecting me to take her to dinner. Or even lattes every morning. Shit, now that I think about it, that’s exactly how I met Lydia. I shuddered at the idea, then rubbed the ache in my chest.

Good thing I was running late and hadn’t thought to introduce myself. At least I knew which apartment was hers. Or did I? Come to think of it, she’d dropped her things in the hall so it could’ve been any number of them. That had worked in my favor too. Apparently the love gods had been watching over me today.

Pulling my thoughts back to the present, I watched my son as he skipped along with the dogs. At least that conniving bitch hadn’t taken him when she’d left me. God knows she took everything else. How had I been so fucking stupid not to notice the missing money in our accounts? She burned every last ounce of trust I’d ever have for the opposite sex.

My son, Wiley, and I were just coming back in from walking our dogs, Scooter, Roscoe, and Flimsy, when the elevator door opened and out pranced an English Mastiff … alone.

Thinking fast, I grabbed the dog’s leash, because it wasn’t just any day you saw a lone dog bound off of an elevator, and a gigantic mastiff at that. He was quite proud of himself, too, as he looked and sniffed around the lobby of the building.

“Daddy, why’d that dog take the ewevator all by itself?” Wiley asked.

“I don’t know kiddo. It’s kind of weird.”

“Is he wost?”

“Probably so.” Wiley had difficulty pronouncing his L’s. They were all W’s to him.

The huge fellow started barking at my dogs, and in turn, mine started barking back. It was hard not to react to the deep baritone of a mastiff. I wasn’t concerned though, because his tail was wagging fifty miles an hour.

“Daddy, why’s he got so much spit?”

Laughing, I said, “That’s the nature of the breed.”

“Ew.”

Suddenly, someone burst out the other elevator, yelling, “Dick! Dick, where are you? Where’s my Dick?”

She came to a screeching halt when she saw me standing there with her pooch.

“I take it this is yours?” I asked.

“Oh, thank God, you found my Dick.” She was panting like she’d just run a marathon and didn’t have any idea of what she’d just said. I wanted to howl but didn’t dare. “I was leaving and realized I’d forgotten his baggie thingies so I turned round to grab them when he bolted down the hall. He went straight into the elevator and the doors closed before I could hop on with him.”

Handing her his leash, I said, “He’s safe and sound.” Then I took a good look at her and realized she was the same woman in the hall I’d seen earlier.

“Hey, aren’t you—”

“Yeah, jumbo tampon box.” Then her eyes bulged as she clamped her hand over her mouth. “Shit. I mean, shoot.” Her eyes darted to Wiley.

I shrugged. “He’s heard worse. I’m Hudson West and this is my son, Wiley.”

“Hi, I’m …” she blinked, then stared.

“Yeah?” I prompted.

“Right. I’m Milly. Milly Fremont.”

I held out my hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Yes, yes it is.” She shook her head, and added, “Oh, this is Dick.”

My brows lifted and I said, “Yes, I already surmised that. Interesting name. And he’s quite a large one at that.”

Her cheeks bloomed bright pink. “He is indeed. And robust too. My ex named him. I wanted to call him Chester. But I was outvoted.”

“Oh? Who was voting?”

“My ex and me.”

“Hmm. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?”

“No, and that’s what I said.”

Suddenly, the object of our attention began to bark again, which started a bark fest in the lobby.

“Ooops. Dick’s somewhat of a hell raiser.”

“Is that a fact?”

“It is. You wouldn’t believe what he does.”

My son became impatient to get upstairs and said, “Daddy, can I pway with Dick?”

“Oh. I’m sorry I’ve taken up too much of your time. And Dick needs a walk. He’s not one to be denied.”

“I’d imagine not.”

“Come on, Dick.” She glanced over her shoulder and gave me a slight wiggle of her fingers as she left. I chuckled to myself over our conversation. A dog named Dick. And a mastiff no less. I wonder if he behaved. The thing had to weigh at least one twenty. God, I hope it was well trained. If not, she was going to have a time of it.

“Daddy, that was the biggest dog in the world, wasn’t it?”

“Just about, son.”

“Was it as big as a pony?”

“Some ponies, I imagine.”

“I want a pony dog Daddy.” Wiley’s eyes were about as big as a pony.

“We have three dogs already and we’re helping Aunt Marin with her therapy dog too.”

“Yeah, but I wiked Dick’s face. It was kinda funny.”

“I know. He was cute.”

“Too bad he spits so much.”

I wondered if Milly had a large apartment. I couldn’t imagine having a mastiff in one of the smaller ones. Wiley and I had a three bedroom. I got the large apartment because at one point, we’d had an au pair that lived with us. But she’d moved back to Norway and now we had a nanny that sometimes spent the night.

Wiley chattered non-stop in the elevator about Dick. Dick this and Dick that. I bet Dick can do this. I bet Dick is big enough to eat his dinner at the dining room table. Blah, blah, blah.

“Wiley, do you remember we have dogs of our own?”

“Yeah, but they’re wittle. I want a big Dick of my own.”

I had a bad feeling about the new Dick in town.

And then I switched gears to the new Dick’s owner. She was quite attractive and I would’ve loved to have seen her without the bulky coat she had on. She was covered in a Canada goose coat and looked like she was going on an expedition in Antarctica. It was still winter and chilly here, but not that chilly. She had been dressed for sub-zero weather. Maybe she’d been naked underneath. I was going to have to find a way to get to know her a little. But only as a friend with benefits. Anything more than that was out of the question.

“Daddy, do you think Dick can come over for a pway date?” I really needed to work on those L’s.

“We’ll have to see.” I was thinking more of his owner coming over for a play date myself, but I couldn’t share that with my son. “But not today because we’re supposed to meet Aunt Marin and Kinsley in a while at the therapy dog training place. Remember?”

“Oh yeah.”

Marin was my brother, Grey’s, wife and Kinsley was their seven, soon to be eight-year-old, daughter.

“Is Aaron coming too?”

Aaron was their son twenty-month-old son.

“No, buddy. He’s staying home with Uncle Grey.”

“Is Kinswey gonna make me dance with her?”

My niece had this obsession with Irish step dancing and was always forcing the boys to dance.

“I think today she’ll be more interested in the dog.” I ruffled the top of his head, which reminded me of how much the boy needed a hair cut. He looked like one of our dogs. “Bud, we need to take you to get a hair cut soon. You remind me of Scooter.”

A burst of giggles bubbled out of him. “No, I don’t. Scooter dwags his butt on the fwoor.”

Shit, I was supposed to get him groomed today. “Wiley, we were supposed to take him to Miss Kitty today.”

“Oh no. She’s gonna be real mad at you, Daddy. Maybe Miss Kitty can give me a hair cut.”

A loud laugh left me. “Wylie, do you want to look like Scooter?”

He scrunched his mouth to the side as he pondered my question. “I wike Scooter.”

“Yeah, but do you want to look like him?”

His head batted back and forth. “Nah. That’s siwwy.”

“I’d have to give you flea medicine and a heart worm pill.”

“Yucky.” And then a giggle bubbled out of him.

“Come on, pal, let’s go.” I stretched out my free arm and he latched onto my hand. We walked off the elevator, three dogs and a four-year-old. When we entered our apartment, a cacophony of barking ensued, as the canines were ready for their treats.

“Guys, guys, stop that.” I used my deep voice to get their attention. They immediately looked at me and I said, “Sit.” Three dog butts hit the deck. “Good boys. Now let me get your treats.” I gathered up their usual dog cookies and handed them out.

“Wiley, make sure you haven’t left any pillows laying around. You know how Flimsy likes to eat them.”

He ran toward the living room and did a quick check. Of course, I followed him to be sure. The last thing I wanted was to deal with that. Flimsy was a great dog but had an affinity for pillows and blankets.

All the pillows were up and I closed all the bedroom doors. Then I called Kitty and did some major sucking up. She rescheduled Scooter as we got ready to meet Marin.

I had found a puppy for her that was getting trained to be a therapy dog. Marin wanted to volunteer at the hospital using the new puppy in the pediatric and geriatric departments. It had taken several months to find the best dog, because she didn’t want one that was too large and she wanted one that didn’t shed much. We finally settled on a miniature golden doodle. But this one was a third generation so the shedding characteristics of the golden retriever had been bred out.

When we arrived at the training center, Marin and Kinsley were already there playing with their new puppy, Marshmallow. Kinsley saw us and called out Wiley’s name.

Puppies have short attention spans and the session lasted only thirty minutes with ten of them dedicated to training. The other twenty was working on leashing her and walking. Marshmallow was smart and great with the kids. She was going to be the perfect addition to their household. I could see how this dog would make the kids in the hospital smile and I thought maybe I could get Flimsy trained as well.

After we were done, the trainer wanted the kids to play with Marshmallow so Marin and I sat and talked.

“So what’s new in your life? We’ve been kind of crazy and you haven’t been out to see us lately,” she said.

“Yeah, I need to get out there. Mom and Dad have been on me about that. And how’re you and the old man doing?” I was referring to my brother. There was about a fifteen year age difference between them and when they first met, she called him an old geezer. I had joked about it and given him a hard time over that.

“Aw, come on. You know he’s not anywhere close to being an old man.”

“That’s not what you used to think.”

“Yeah, well, that was when he acted like an asshole too.”

“We don’t need to go into that, do we?” she asked.

“No, we don’t.”

My sister-in-law had done a great deal for my brother and I would forever be grateful to her. She had helped him get through a difficult time in his life after his first wife died and put up with his bullshit. In the end, it had all worked out, but for a while, I’d had my doubts.

My son suddenly yelled, “Hey Daddy, can Kinswey and Aunt Marwin come over so we can play with that lady’s big Dick?”

Marin tilted her head and her brows shot to the ceiling. “This should be good.”

“I don’t know if she’s home today, son.”

“But can we go and see.”

“Maybe some other time.”

“Care to explain this?” Marin asked as she bit down on the corner of her lip.

“Uh, he’s talking about one of the women who lives in our building.”

“Yeah, and she has a big dick?”

“Dick is her dog.”

“I see.”

“I’m not sure you do. Dick is an English mastiff that weighs at least a hundred and twenty pounds. Hence, big Dick. She even calls him her big Dick.”

“Hmm. And tell me more about her.”

“It’s sort of funny, actually. I first met her in the hall right outside of my apartment. Her groceries had spilled all over the place so I helped her. And I didn’t think anything of it. But Wiley and I were coming in from walking the dogs and as we got to the lobby, the elevator doors opened and out walked this giant mastiff … alone.”

“Wait. The dog was by itself?”

“Yes! It was pretty damn funny. Then the other elevator opened and the woman comes tearing out yelling, ‘Have you seen my big Dick?’”

“Hudson, are you making this up?”

“I swear, it’s the truth.”

“Oh, God. Were there any other people around?”

“Yes, and they all looked at her like she was batshit crazy.”

“She sounds like she is. Who runs around staying stuff like that?”

“Someone with a mastiff on the loose.”

Marin glanced toward the kids and then back at me. “What does she look like?”

“Attractive, dark brown reddish hair. Tall, sort of curvy. Large brownish hazel eyes.”

She leaned back and said, “Wow. You really paid attention to her.”

“Of course I did. I pay attention to most women. Don’t you remember that day I met you.”

She squinted. “Oh, yeah. When I came back after I changed my hair color. And Grey kissed me.”

“That’s right. I practically had to pour a bucket of water on you two.”

Her cheeks turned pink, as they usually did when this subject popped up. Marin always did embarrass easily.

“I want to hear about the girl.”

“Honestly, there’s not much to tell other than Wiley wants a big Dick now too.”

Marin cracked up. “Oh, God, I can’t wait to tell Grey. He’ll die.”

“He’ll be glad Aaron wasn’t here.”

Marin was still laughing when the kids walked over. “Whatcha laughing at Uncle Hudson.”

“Nothing, sweets. You two done playing with Marshmallow?”

“Yep. Can we go play with the lady’s big Dick now?”

“Wiley, we can’t just barge into her home and do that. We have to arrange that in advance.”

“Can you call her and ask?” His big blue eyes begged me to call.

“Maybe some other time, son.”

Marin stepped in to save the day. “I have an idea. How about we head to Serendipity 3 for a frozen hot chocolate?”

Both kids clapped their hands. “Can we Daddy?” Wiley asked.

“I don’t see why not. Let me talk to the trainer first, though.”

Marin and I scheduled our next visit and then the four of us went to get our frozen hot chocolates. While we sat there, Marin tried to pull information out of me. I had no intention of sharing much more with her as there wasn’t much else to add.

“You should invite her out for a family dinner.”

“Are you crazy?” I asked. “I don’t even know her and you know how Mom is. She’ll assume we’re engaged already. That would be a gigantic shit show.”

“Uncle Hudson said a bad word,” Kinsley reminded me.

“Daddy, what’s a shit show.”

“It’s nothing. Forget you heard that.” God, I needed to do a better job of controlling my vocabulary around the little ears.

Marin tried to hold back her laugh by covering up her mouth with a hand. Her body shook anyway. I tried to give her an angry stare, but it was a miserable fail.

“Hey, did I ever tell you about the time the dishwasher broke and I couldn’t shut it off?” Marin asked.

“No, but my brother did. He thought it was quite humorous that you didn’t know what a breaker box was.”

“Oh, did he?”

“Yeah. And he thought it was also funny that he was scolded by you-know-who for his language.”

“That was funny. But she had repeated my use of the f-bomb several times.”

It was a funny story. Grey got reprimanded by Kinsley for saying shit, but she had parroted Marin’s use of fuck. We both laughed at that.

“You two trouble-makers about finished?” I asked.

“I’m not a trouble-maker, Uncle Hudson. I got two gold stars and a Coco sticker today in school.”

“Oh, I didn’t really mean you were a trouble-maker.”

“Then why’d you say that?”

“I was only kidding.”

Kinsley stared at me and for a second, she looked exactly like her dad, with two tiny creases between her eyes as she thought about what I said. “Oh. Okay.” Then she went back to chatting with Wiley.

“Man, she’s intense like Grey.”

“Tell me about it. And I can only imagine the two of them tangling when she gets older.”

“We’d better get going,” I suggested. As we neared the garage where Marin had parked her car, she cornered me.

“I have an assignment for you.”

“An assignment?”

“Yes. I want you to get to know big Dick’s owner. Anyone with a dog like that has to have a good sense of humor and I believe that’s exactly the type of woman you need in your life.”

“I don’t think—”

“It’s not an option, Hudson. If you don’t, I’m going to tell your mother.”

“What?”

“Yep, I’m going to tell Paige you’re dating someone and you need to bring her to Sunday dinner.”

“Marin, are you blackmailing me?”

“Not at all. I just want my lonely brother-in-law to go out with the woman. That’s it.”

“Who said anything about me being lonely?”

“I did. I’m a woman and can sense these things.”

I was saved by the dinging of her phone. “That’s my hubby. He’s wrapping up at the hospital and should be home in forty-five. I guess that’s my cue.”

Thank God. I didn’t want to say it, but she was getting a bit intrusive on my love life. “How is the cardiology business these days?” My brothers was one of those kinds of doctors.

“Robust. They need another doctor in his practice and he’s been on the hunt. If you know anyone?”

“Sorry, I’m in the furry patient end of the business.”

“Well, if you hear of anyone, let him know. And remember, ask big Dick’s owner out. Or else.” She wagged a finger at me. I only laughed. I loved my sister-in-law. I truly did.

We parted ways and Wiley and I headed home.

But I had to admit, my curiosity over Dick’s owner was growing. She did seem to be the kind of woman who like to have a good time. I wondered if that extended to the between the sheets kind of fun.

To sign up for a FROM ICE TO FLAMES LIVE ALERT .