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The whole firstweek after Blake moved into Morgan’s house, he and Ciara teased her repeatedly about the dog biscuits she gave him.
So Blake decided to get him back by saying, “Why don’t we get a dog? I bet Ciara would love one.”
That shut Morgan up. But Ciara quickly picked up on it and ran to him saying, “Please, Daddy, pleeeeese. A dog would be sooooo awesome.”
“Dogs are not toys, Ciara. They are a responsibility and need daily care, and that work would fall on you and Blake, because my schedule is too full right now.”
“I know, Daddy, but Blake will help me.” The girl turned to her. “You’ll help me, won’t you, Blake? You said you wanted a dog so you must know how to take care of one.”
“Yes,” Blake said. “I could teach you what to do.”
Morgan gave her a “thanks a lot” look and then gestured to his daughter. “Come here, Ciara, and listen. This cannot be the kind of thing where you have fun with the dog for a while and then go on to something else. The dog would be a permanent part of the family, so there is no going back once he comes here to live. And I don’t want you leaving all his care on Blake. Go upstairs now and go to your computer and look up how to care for a dog. Think a little while about the things you would need to do each day. Then come back and tell me if you still want a dog, and I’ll make a final decision.”
“All right,” Ciara said, sounding dejected, as if she already knew he would say no. When she shuffled to the stairs she looked so forlorn that Blake almost followed her.
But Morgan said, “Blake, a word?”
Uh-oh. Was this where he turned into macho king of the castle?
She went to sit on a hassock by the recliner that he favored in the living room. Bad choice because he was such a big man and she already felt kind of small next to him. “You don’t want her to have a dog?”
“I didn’t say that.” His voice was soft, no doubt in case Ciara was listening at the top of the stairs. “In the past she has gotten hot on some things and then dropped them. Gymnastic lessons, a tree house, a sewing machine. But aside from the fact that the pet’s care would fall on you—and if you leave town, on me—it would be unkind to the dog. And maybe it is unrealistic to expect a nine-year-old to grasp this and make a commitment—or choose not to—but I think my daughter is up to it.”
Blake was impressed with how seriously he took his job of parenting. And she couldn’t argue the point about the dog, although in the short time since she’d met Ciara, she would bet the girl could handle this. “She is really bright and has an emotional intelligence that sometimes surprises me. I respect how you are dealing with this, and if she decides she wants a dog, I’ll definitely do my best to help her come through with its care.”
“Thanks,” he said, and they both seemed to realize how close they were sitting to each other. All of a sudden Blake felt awkward. The atmosphere in the room changed and neither of them seemed to know what to say next. Did that mean Morgan was as attracted to her as she was to him?
To break the tension, Blake stood and grabbed his empty Yankees mug that he’d left on the side table next to him and started toward the kitchen.
“Wait. Put that back.” He sat forward, reaching for her.
“I was going to put it in the dishwasher.” Blake was trying to do her part keeping things up in between the housecleaner’s visits.
“Not that mug. It stays here.”
“But it had coffee in it.”
“I know. I’ll rinse it out later, but I keep it here all the time.”
She handed it back to him and he put it on the table in exactly the same spot where it had been. “All the time?” she asked, wondering if she was dealing with an OCD case here. Except he was pretty loose about everything else in the house.
“Yes. Please don’t remove it from this table.”
“Why?”
“Never mind.” He looked away as if the discussion was over.
“Oh no, you are not getting off that easily. Why does this coffee mug have to stay on this table?”
“Because it’s a lucky place and I need it there now.”
She tried not to grin. “Lucky? In what way?”
He blew out a sigh. “I bet a friend I work with that the Yankees would win by at least two runs over the Red Sox this weekend. He’s from Boston.”
“And somehow your coffee mug being on this table is related to that.”
“Every time I’ve watched a game with that mug on that spot, the Yankees have won.”
