All the Sheenans came, not completely a surprise since Trey had married his sister, but it meant a lot to Quinn to have five of the six brothers in his house, with their wives and children. The Carrigan sisters came, too, as they had been close neighbors and Beverly Carrigan had always been kind to Quinn’s mother. Sage brought chocolates which pleased Charity to no end. The MacCreadies attended, as well as bull rider Chase Garrett, who’d bought the Douglas ranch from Rory a year ago. There were a dozen other prominent ranching families in attendance and Quinn made time to greet every single one of them.
He was beyond grateful as the Flint brothers arrived, and then the Scott brothers arrived, and the Vaughns from the Bar V5 Ranch. Charity’s sister, Amanda, and her husband Tyler were one of the first to come and last to leave. At one point there were so many people in his house that it reminded him of a nightclub at midnight, but Quinn loved it.
He looked for Charity and she was leaning against the kitchen island talking animatedly with his sister and Sage and several other women from Marietta. She was wearing a simple sweater dress and boots and yet she glowed as she laughed with the others. She was never more beautiful than when she was happy, and he’d do everything in his power to make her happy.
His gaze shifted to the big hearth which crackled and popped with a log fire. To the right of the fire was Rusty Noel dozing in his new red plaid dog bed, his eye opening now and then to keep watch, before going back to sleep.
Quinn felt a rush of gratitude as he took it all in. His neighbors and friends. His family. His love and their good-boy dog.
He loved how his house could hold everyone, and with the holiday decorations up, it looked amazing. Best of all, it felt amazing. His big sprawling house had finally become his home.
*
Charity saw Quinn step out the back door at one point during the party to take a call. When he returned he had an odd look on his face, one she couldn’t quite decipher. She made her way through the crowd to go to his side. “Is everything all right?” she asked, putting a hand on his back.
He nodded and wrapped his arm around her. “Everything is good,” he answered, giving her a hug.
“I’m glad.”
And yet as the afternoon continued, she thought Quinn seemed preoccupied in a way he hadn’t been earlier.
What had the call been about? Was it Alice phoning? Or was it something else?
There was still so much about Quinn that she didn’t know. She had strong feelings for him, and this sizzling physical attraction, but they were still two people with separate lives. Separate lives weren’t necessarily a bad thing, but she wondered how they would navigate their relationship once he returned to Seattle. From what she’d heard others say, baseball went on for months. When Quinn left for spring training, he wouldn’t be back until September or October. The idea of being apart for nine months was beyond daunting. It was too long. She didn’t want to do it, and yet how could she go to Seattle on her own?
Finally at seven, the house was empty. Charity had stood next to Quinn at the door while he thanked the last of his guests for coming today and wishing them merry Christmas as they left. Now she sat on the couch and watched Quinn move around the room and check on candles that had burned low and add another log to the fire.
“That was a lovely party,” she said, reaching for the soft cashmere blanket draped artfully over the arm of the leather couch. “And you, Mr. Douglas, were an excellent host.”
“Can I get you anything to drink?” he asked.
“No, I’m perfect. Thank you. Grab something for yourself if you want.”
“I’m good, too,” he said, sitting next to her, his arm going around her shoulders. He kissed her on her forehead. “Thank you for being here.”
“My pleasure. I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere but here with you.” She hesitated a moment, wondering how to mention what had been on her mind ever since he’d taken that call earlier. “I am a little worried about something, and since we’re teammates, I’m going to just ask.”
“Sounds like a smart plan.”
“You had a call during the party, right about halfway through, and you stepped outside the kitchen door, but when you returned, you seemed upset. You said everything was good but something in that call changed your mood.”
Quinn didn’t answer right away. He stared across the room to the big tree covered in vintage glass ornaments. “It was terrible timing,” he said at length. “It still is.”
“What happened?”
He drew a slow breath. “Rusty Noel’s owners have decided they want him back.”
“What?” She scrambled into a taller sitting position, and shifted to better see his face.
“They say their son is heartbroken. They tried to get him a puppy but he doesn’t want the puppy. He wants his dog back—”
“But that family doesn’t take care of Noel! They haven’t even tried to see him all this time.”
“That was the parents’ decision, not the boy’s, and they’ve realized they made a mistake.”
“Too bad. Too late. You can’t just abandon a dog and then take him back.”
“They’re coming tonight to pick Rusty up.”
“No! No. Quinn, no. Tell me you’re not going to let them do that.”
“Rusty is legally their dog.”
“Call Dr. Sullivan. He can vouch for us. He knows the situation. He was the one who told us those owners have given up.”
“I talked to Noah, today, when he was at the party. He’d talked to the owners already. That’s how they had my number. He passed it on to them.”
“And Dr. Sullivan thinks they should just get Noel back?” She turned to look at Noel who was watching them, head cocked, clearly paying attention, because that was the kind of dog he was. Loyal and loving and attentive. Her eyes watered and she sniffled. “His owners are terrible people. They don’t deserve him. Noel is the best dog I’ve ever met. He deserves a home where he’s going to be cherished, and loved. Quinn, he belongs with us.”
“But, sweetheart, he’s not ours.”
She jumped off the couch, and crossed to the fire to sit down next to Noel. She buried her face in his silky coat and fought tears, but it was a losing battle. Quinn let her cry, too. When she lifted her head long minutes later, she looked at him, tears streaking her face. “When are they coming?”
“They’ll be here in an hour.”
*
They arrived in less than an hour. Charity didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing that they arrived so quickly. She was just so upset. She hadn’t seen this coming.
When the family pulled up, she’d expected to dislike them on sight, and she tried to dislike them, but when their little boy, an eight-year-old with shaggy blond hair and a huge smile, tumbled from the car and ran straight to Rusty to throw his arms around the dog, Charity felt the sting of tears in her eyes.
The boy was so happy to see his dog, and it wasn’t a one-sided affection. Rusty whined and smothered the boy with licks and kisses, his tail wagging frantically. He practically crawled into the boy’s lap and they rolled around on the floor, delighted to be together. It was a love affair, she thought, and as much as she wanted to be mad at his family, she couldn’t be upset with the little boy who clearly loved his dog.
Thankfully, it was Quinn who made polite conversation with the parents. The mother and father looked awkward as they spoke with him, but then they turned to Charity and thanked her for taking such good care of Rusty. “We know you were the one that rescued him. Thank you. We appreciate it. We do as we know from Dr. Sullivan that you’ve grown attached to him.”
Charity struggled to smile. It was incredibly difficult. “I’m just glad your son will have his dog for Christmas.”
A few more minutes of awkward conversation followed and then they excused themselves, taking Rusty. Rusty only hesitated once, standing on the doorstep glancing from Quinn to Charity and back again before following the boy out into the car where he lay d
own in the back seat, his head on the boy’s leg.
Blinking back tears, Charity scooped up Rusty Noel’s new Christmas plaid dog bed and the pottery water bowl she’d bought him that featured dogs wearing garlands and jaunty red bows, and carried it all out to the car. “These are his,” she said. “He should have them.”
It had begun to snow earlier, Charity didn’t even know the moment it began, but as they loaded up the car, the fat snowflakes fell thickly, quickly covering the roof of the car and the trees and the front yard. The father brushed the white flakes from the red plaid bed, emptied the water bowl, and put both in the trunk. Quinn gave Rusty a scratch goodbye, and then Charity reached into the car and gave Rusty Noel one last pat, before stepping back.
Quinn put his arm around her and together they watched the car go, disappearing into the falling snow.
Inside the house she cried against his chest, absolutely worn out. The last few weeks had been hectic, filled with activity and so many emotions, and it all hit her hard. The tears fell for a little bit and then Charity pulled herself together and reached for a tissue to wipe her cheeks and blow her nose. “Okay, that was hard,” she said. “I didn’t dream when I woke up this morning that I’d be saying goodbye to Noel tonight.”
“It was hard, and unexpected,” Quinn agreed.
She nodded sadly and scrubbed her face dry with one more tissue. “I really didn’t see it coming.”
“It’s not the way today was supposed to end.”