Luke smiled warmly at Nina’s mom, and then chuckled when he heard the little girls running around inside. “Sounds like you have your hands full. I hope Ava was no trouble.” He said politely.
“Please, I wish all twelve of them were as good as Ava.” She turned when she heard little footsteps bound down the steps behind her.
Ava gave Nina a quick hug and then turned around to greet her dad, but her eyes connected with Cara’s first. Her blue eyes widened and she grinned happily and ran straight for her. “Cara! You’re back!” She said as she wrapped her little arms around Cara’s waist.
Cara was taken back for a moment from the forceful hug Ava gave her. She leaned down and wrapped her arms around her. She didn’t know why, but her eyes filled with unshed tears as she realized she couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Ava.
“Hi baby girl.” She said hoarsely and closed her eyes relishing in the embrace. When her eyes opened, she felt Luke’s eyes watching the two of them closely. She glanced in his direction and met his gaze, offering him a small smile.
Luke cleared his throat and turned to Nina’s mother. “Thanks again for having her, Jennifer.”
“Anytime, bye Ava.”
Ava pulled away from Cara and turned to Jennifer and gave her a small wave goodbye before she turned to her dad. “Hi, Daddy.” She said with a big smile.
He kneeled down and pointed to his cheek and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his cheek. He took the opportunity to lift her into his arms and started to walk down the walkway towards his truck carrying her.
“Hey Princess, did you have a good time?”
“Yes, can we give Cara her surprise now?” Ava asked excitedly.
“Surprise?” Cara asked as she walked next to them. Ava pulled back from Luke and looked down at Cara with a smile.
“Me and Daddy got you a surprise! It’s at Grandma’s.” She said enthusiastically.
Cara’s eyes moved from Ava to Luke, but he gave nothing away with his expression. He opened the back door and deposited Ava into the seat before glancing back at Cara.
“You got me a surprise?” She asked quietly.
He shrugged his shoulders sheepishly. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
*
Nick and Sam opened the door to her parent’s home and were greeted by her parents shouting.
“I can’t believe you let that son of yours leave that demon creature in this house!” Joe bellowed.
“Joe, if I remember correctly, you were the one who begged me for years to get the kids a dog!” Deb shouted back.
“Mom? Dad?” Sam called.
“Do you honestly think they can hear you?” Nick asked her as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
Sam bit down on her lip as her father started shouting again. “I’m afraid to go inside.”
“Why don’t we sneak back out, squeeze in a quickie and come back.” Nick offered.
“A quickie is why we are late to begin with.” She reminded him with a smile.
“That’s it! Lock it up! Throw it out! I don’t care what you do with it, but I draw the line!!” Joe yelled.
“What is it now?! You do realize he’s just a puppy.” Deb said exasperated.
“He ate my salami!”
Nick burst out laughing and then before Sam could say anything a cute little beagle sniffed her feet, wearing a T-shirt that read “If you think I’m cute, you should see my master.” Her eyes widened as she knelt down to pet the puppy.
“Oh my god! Where did you come from?” She asked the puppy as she scooped him up and the puppy showered her with kisses.
Nick grunted. “Get your paws off her.”
Sam laughed as she buried her nose into the puppy’s fur.
“Great! Now you lost the dog, Joe!” Deb said frazzled. She started making cute noises trying to lure the puppy back as she walked through the house trying to find him. “Come here puppy… come to Grandma. Grandpa didn’t mean it, but you can’t eat his salami. That’s a no-no.”
Nick raised an eyebrow as he listened to Deb. “No one would believe this…”
Deb walked into the entryway and sighed in relief when she saw Nick and Sam holding the puppy. “Oh, thank god.”
Nick walked over and wrapped an arm around Deb’s shoulders as he planted a kiss onto her cheek. “Rough day, Deb?”
“You have no idea! I’m glad you kids are here. Can you watch the dog so I can finish cooking?”
Sam looked over at her mom. “Sure, but care to explain why there’s a dog here in the first place?”
“Luke dropped him off this morning at the crack of dawn before he went to pick up Cara.” She paused for a moment and looked at the puppy trying to figure him out. “I don’t think he likes your father very much. He ate your father’s favorite pair of loafers, two of his Patsy Cline vinyl records and now his salami.” She frowned.
“Luke got a dog?” Nick asked absurdly.
“He bought it for Cara.” Deb said with a faint smile.
Nick’s eyes widened as he rubbed his hand over his head. Oh shit, he thought. Luke was far more gone than he thought.