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“See ya later, Mr. Edwards.” Neveah shoved three more fries into her mouth, then ran after Dylan.
Gen leapt to her feet to follow, then settled back down when Abby didn’t move.
“You’d never be able to keep up, pup.” Scott scratched under her chin, earning a sigh of contentment from the dog.
Abby slid a slice of apple off a fruit skewer and handed it to him. “Here. Ask her to ‘Tell you a secret’.”
Scott leaned his head close to Gen and repeated the command. She poked her nose close to his ear and wuffled gently, then play growled, then wuffled some more. When she finished, she licked his cheek, and Scott gave up the bit of apple.
“What’d she say?”
He waggled his eyebrows at her and pressed a finger to his lips. “Shh, it’s a secret. I’ll tell you when it comes true.”
Abby frowned. “It’s a secret, not a wish.”
“Why can’t it be both?”
Gen huffed, head tipping between them as they talked. She wuffled again, probably hoping for more apple, then flopped down into the grass.
“See, that’s that.” Scott brushed his hands together as if finishing a job. “You heard her: I can’t tell.”
Abby rolled her eyes, then smiled. “Don’t worry, she’ll tell me later.”
She missed his reply as Dylan returned, dragging his teacher behind him to coordinate a classroom visit, but Abby would swear Scott had muttered, “I hope so.”
Ten
“SO, HOW ARE... things?”
Abby rolled her eyes at Cara. “Subtle.”
“What?” Cara’s eyebrows rose and she gave the slightest shake of her head, the picture of innocence. “I’m just asking about...stuff.”
“Is Scott things? Does that make Dylan stuff?” Abby leaned back in the flimsy plastic chair and crossed her arms while Gen lifted her head from the linoleum floor at her favorite human’s name, checking the small hospital café for her friend.
Cara pressed a hand to her chest, all affronted dignity now. “You said it, girl, not me.”
“We both know you were asking.”
“And if I was?”
Abby considered for a long moment. “I don’t know.”
Cara waited.
“I suppose... I suppose I’d tell you there’s a beautiful bouquet of roses on my kitchen counter with a note from Dylan thanking me and Gen for visiting his class last week.” She reached down and scratched the dog’s ears, remembering the way Dylan’s eyes had shown with pride when he’d introduced them to his class. Abby had even let him show off a few of the tricks she’d been teaching him.
“Ooh, red roses?” Cara’s eyes rolled back in her head as she mocked a swoon, one hand to her forehead.
“Yellow.”
Cara’s hand fell to her lap. “He’s a smart one, isn’t he?”
Abby nodded, having come to the same conclusion, herself. What she wouldn’t accept from him, he gave from his son.
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” she repeated. Abby picked at the leftover chocolate banana breadcrumbs on her plate as she picked her way through the thoughts whirling inside her head. “When it’s all three of us, it’s...easy. Fun. I like spending time with them. And there’s no... pressure, I guess. We go to the park, or for ice cream, or I go over to their place for dinner, and we all watch a movie together. It’s... nice.”