Chapter Nineteen
Wearing a bright blue cardigan because it would match her eyes on camera, Gramma Finnie came out to the training area where Jessie was working with Lola, adjusting the pearls around her neck. “They’re here,” she said. “The video people have arrived with more paraphernalia than a circus.”
Jessie smiled, sensing Gramma Finnie was nervous. “You’re going to be amazing, Gramma,” she assured the other woman. “I’ll go tell Garrett it’s time.”
Time for her big moment, and his. And almost time…to say goodbye.
It had taken several days to schedule the crew, and Jessie found herself wishing it had taken even longer. Every hour had become precious, and the nights with Garrett were a whole different kind of precious. A sexy, delicious, incredible, orgasmic, nonstop fun that made her dizzy and happy and satisfied.
And even closer to him.
They’d slipped into a simple, sweet, dangerously addictive routine of waking in each other’s arms, making love, then heading to Waterford to work with the dogs all morning. In the afternoon, Jessie sometimes joined Gramma Finnie on the patio with her own laptop, and while the older woman tapped out her blog posts about life on the dog farm, Jessie made notes about Lola.
Mac hadn’t given her any other assignments, so she decided to write about Lola as if she were a subject for an interview, crafting a fictional backstory and her own few emotional beats. Like the day she was left at a rest stop and the day she found her forever person.
But now she had to focus on a real story. What happened today was critical, she thought as she walked over to Garrett’s office, where he should have concluded his staff meeting by now. She would be on camera, of course, which was why she had clothes and makeup at the main house, ready to change while the crew set up.
The family was all involved, too, but none as much as Gramma Finnie, who was getting her own brief segment all about the history of the farm and how she and Seamus had brought the first setter here from Ireland.
No matter how many times the family told her it should be the short version, she’d start her story with, “It happened on a September afternoon, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-four…”
But Jessie wasn’t worried. She’d help edit the footage when she got back to New York, and Gramma Finnie would be fantastic color. Dr. K would get some sound bites, along with Shane and Molly. Liam refused, on the grounds that being in front of a camera gave him a headache, but his quiet, stoic personality probably wouldn’t translate well on the screen. And the dogs, of course, would be featured.
Lola would be front and center, Jessie thought with a smile. The two of them were rarely separated, the bond growing every day that the vet in Rhode Island had no news and no other leads came in.
She tapped Garrett’s office door and pushed it to peek in, getting him to look up from his computer screen and being rewarded with his dreamiest smile.
“Hey, gorgeous.” He sat up and looked over the desk at Lola. “And gorgeous number two.”
“You ready for your close-up? The crew is here.”
He looked skyward. “God help me.”
“You don’t need help,” she assured him. “Just come on and let’s get started.”
He stood and came around the desk, his blue eyes locked like lasers on her. “Guess what? Shane’s leaving after this video thing, which he’d die before he missed.”
She laughed. “He is not camera-shy.”
“And he’ll be gone for three days. And you”—he put his mouth against her ear to whisper—“will not leave my house for three days or three nights.” He inched back and looked at her. “Don’t make me beg.”
Instantly, Lola dropped to her backside and lifted both paws, cracking them up. “Yes, you can come, too, Lola.”
Did she even have three days and three nights? After today, raw footage would be sent up to New York, and she’d have to be there for editing. Today was Friday, so maybe she had until Monday. Maybe.
Her shoulders sank at the thought of leaving again, which would be even harder this time than last. She’d fallen for a dog…and this man.
“I’m not going to let Lola go, Jessie,” he said, misreading her reaction. “I promise she’ll stay at Waterford and be my dog.” He tipped her chin to make her face him. “I’ll need a lure to bring you back again and again.”
As if he weren’t enough of a lure.
“And I haven’t given up on finding her owner,” Garrett added.
“That’s not…I just…” She looked down at the dog. “I love her,” she said simply. “I don’t know how I can bear to let her go.”
“Well.” He slipped his arms around her and pulled her in. “I guess that makes two of us.”
Her heart folded at the words and the look in his eyes. Was he saying…
“It worked!”
They both spun at the sound of Daniel Kilcannon’s booming voice in the doorway. He grinned at them, a look of pure victory. “The video, I mean. We’re really doing this story. Aren’t you happy, Jessica? This is everything you wanted.”
Except, everything she wanted was the man still holding on to her.
“Of course I’m happy,” she said, as much to herself as the other men. “So, let’s do this right.”
A few minutes later, Jessie had to put all that confusion out of her brain and concentrate on a job she’d dreamed of but had never actually done that often. After college, she’d worked at a TV station, but rarely got any airtime. She’d made audition after audition, interviewed at small stations, and pursued a dream, but it had been out of reach. The world of TV reporting was cutthroat, and she always ended up bleeding.
Until now. But then her gaze drifted to Garrett, currently being situated in a wingback chair in front of the fireplace, looking handsome…and brutally uncomfortable.
“Garrett, can you test that mic one more time and move a few inches to the left?” the producer and director of the piece, a no-nonsense silver-haired professional named Katherine Wake, instructed.
He shifted from one side to the other, throwing a look at Jessie for help. Katherine beckoned her over. “I want you in the other chair, and we’ll do the three questions we have outlined. Garrett, your responses should be as close to the quotes in the story as possible, but if you veer off topic, that’s okay. Too far, and I’ll cut it.”
Another look of sheer misery. “I don’t remember what I said.”
“Just wing it,” Jessie assured him.
“We can shoot all the questions first, then all the answers,” Katherine said.
“’Cause that’s natural,” Garrett grumbled.
“Nothing about this is natural,” the woman volleyed back.
Jessie shared a long look with Garrett, seeing the agony in his eyes. She wasn’t sure what bothered him—worry he might say the wrong thing, maybe—but that look would come through to the camera. It would kill the vibe and negate her message about a man who was passionate about this work.
“Sound check,” the man with the camera, Russell, said.
“Garrett, state your name, birthday, marital status, and—”
“What?” he asked.
“Just some easy-to-remember facts,” Katherine said, her own frustration growing a little. “Your favorite color. Your first dog. Whatever. It’s a sound check. And, honestly, you need to relax. These aren’t going to be tough questions. Essentially, what this interview will do is underscore some of the work that Jessie’s already done.”
“Then I have a better idea,” Jessie said, stepping forward and getting both their attention. “Let’s go outside.”
Katherine balked. “The light will kill us.”
“But this will kill him and the interview,” Jessie insisted. “Walk with us. Have Russell follow with the camera. Let us have a conversation on the grounds, with dogs, along the path, in the kennels. Anywhere he’s at home.”
Instantly, Garrett’s expression changed. “I like that.”
“Then that’s what we’re going to do,” Jessie said.
Katherine’s gaze narrowed to a pinpoint. “Mac wants a talking head.”
“Well, I don’t.” Jessie gestured for Garrett to get up. “It’s my show and my subject. Let’s do it this way.”
Katherine looked at the videographer for help, but Russell shrugged. “I can make it work.”
“But can it be edited?”
“Just give it a chance,” Jessie said, already nudging them out of the house. “And the whole family should be out there. With dogs. That’s the spirit I want in this.”
It was as if she’d waved a magic wand over Garrett; he changed completely. In less than half an hour, they were gathered in the training area. Shane was teaching a gorgeous retriever to be a therapy dog, and they got great shots of that beautiful creature. And the dog.
Lola did her trick, and even Liam came out with two law enforcement K-9 shepherds who were as daunting as he was, letting the dogs, but not himself, get some airtime.
Jessie spent a few minutes with Dr. K as he described the morning he woke up and decided to plant the seed of an idea in his children’s hearts and how it bloomed and grew into one of the elite canine training facilities on the East Coast.
Finally, it was time to talk to Garrett, who’d watched his family and felt a hundred percent more comfortable.
Jessie sat next to him on a split-rail fence that didn’t enclose much but separated two of the facility buildings. Katherine and Russell followed, and finally, the camera started rolling on her subject.
“Comfortable now?” she asked quietly.
“On this fence? It’s my favorite seat in the house.”
“Why’s that?”
He put his head back and laughed, a beautiful sight she hoped Russell caught. “You would ask why,” he said, inching closer. “I spent hours here as a kid watching Shane and Liam train dogs. And that story my dad just told? I was sitting right here on this fence that morning. I looked up there.” He pointed to a large window on the second floor. “I saw him in the window, and even from this far away, I could see the…pain on his face.”
He turned to her, ignoring—or forgetting—the camera. “And when he came downstairs with his crazy idea that we take our home and turn it into a full-fledged facility, I had that feeling.”
“What feeling?” she urged.
“Same feeling when I had the idea for PetPic. That feeling that when something is right…” He paused and looked into her eyes for one, two, three heartbeats. Loud, slamming heartbeats. “It is right.”
“And this is, er, was, right?”
“In every way.”
Without thinking, she gripped the fence a little tighter, willing herself not to swoon on television. Wasn’t easy. “So tell me a little bit about what that feels like,” she asked, knowing the meat of the profile would be right here, when he talked about his passions and what drove him.
“Feels good.”
“Having that great idea?” she prodded when he didn’t elaborate.
“To know when something’s right.” His mouth kicked up a little. “Don’t you think?”
So he was comfortable enough to flirt on camera, which wasn’t what she wanted right now. “Go back to that day again,” she suggested. “Tell me what you thought when your father described his vision.”
Now that she knew the pain he’d been in that day—the pain of losing his mother on the heels of a woman he loved and a child he was prepared to accept as his own—his story sounded different to her ears. Richer. More real, somehow.
Katherine stepped a little closer, but still out of camera range. “Can I throw in a few questions, Garrett? We’ll just film the answers, kind of as B-roll to pepper throughout the interview.”
“Sure.” Then he looked at Jessie. “If that’s okay with you.”
Up to a point. “Go ahead.”
Katherine nodded. “Are you generally happier around dogs than people, Mr. Kilcannon?”
He considered that with a smile. “You might say that.”
“Do you find them to be more dependable and loyal than people?”
He threw a look at Jessie. “Why do I feel like this is a trick question?” Then he looked back at Katherine. “Let’s just say I respect both equally.”
“And would you—”
Jessie put her hand up. “This really isn’t the direction I want to go,” she said. “And I don’t want to subject Garrett to a barrage of questions. In fact, I think we can do the B-roll with dogs, and it’ll be much more colorful than him talking about them.”
Katherine angled her head as if she didn’t agree, then turned to Russell. “Let’s move into the kennels then, so bring the lights.”
When the two of them walked away and the camera was gone, Garrett turned to Jessie and put both hands on her face. “Tell me we’re done.”
“You are. I have to do more work with them, but you are completely off the hook.”
“I am not.” He leaned in. “I’m on your hook, and you know it.” Lost in the moment, the closeness, the promise of a kiss, everything felt perfect. Warm. Right.
“Get a room!” Garrett jerked hard when Shane smacked his back before they could kiss. “Better yet, I’m leaving in an hour, so you can go home.”
“Why wait an hour?” Garrett asked, still holding on to Jessie.
“Because it will come as no surprise to anyone, the producer lady thinks I need more airtime. I’m gonna steal your show, little brother.”
“Have at it,” he said, hopping down and reaching to help Jessie.
“What else does she want to talk to you about?” Jessie asked. “I thought we covered your time really well with the dogs.”
“She wants to know about the difference between living here and living in Seattle.”
Jessie shook her head. “Not necessary. You’re done, Shane.”
He laughed. “You’re both dying for me to leave.” He shrugged. “You blow her off for me, then, Jessie. I’m out.”
“How much longer will they be here?” Garrett asked when Shane left.
“A few more hours to get pickups and B-roll and do my open and close, which we’re shooting in your dad’s office. You go to work. I’ll manage the rest of this.”
He studied her for a long time. “You’re good at this,” he said, the compliment sounding more than a little reluctant.
“Thanks.”
“Wish you weren’t,” he added, thumbing her cheek lightly. “Wish you’d stay in North Carolina.”
The words, whispered so softly they were almost lost on the breeze, fluttered over her heart and settled there. “I’ll stay…for the weekend.”
Mac couldn’t make her come home until Monday, right?
He gave her a look that said that wasn’t enough, then kissed her lightly and headed off to his office. She watched him walk away, not able to breathe for how much she wished it could all be easier.