sound and slumped down on his forepaws.
“Was that a groan? Don’t tell me that was a groan.” Kai snapped the seat belt around her. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe this whole scene.” She reversed, a tad quickly, out of the drive. Following the meandering streets out of the area, she considered her next move, realizing at the same time that her plans for the rest of the day were now in serious need of amendment.
She checked on the dog one last time before heading for Brooklyn. Amigo was already asleep, completely oblivious to his narrow escape from the pound.
How the heck did I end up with a dog?
* * *
IT WAS THE slam of a door that grabbed his attention, dragging him from the apathy that his therapist warned could become his “new normal.” Luca had grimaced at the phrase. Not that he would mind being normal. Growing up as an only child in a family that demanded exceptionality had instilled a strong urge in his adolescence to be, simply, average. Any normal would be new to him.
He stretched his neck, just making out through the bare branches of the oak tree next to his bedroom window the rooftop of a black SUV reversing out of the drive. Something about the way the vehicle swerved as it gained momentum made him wonder about the driver’s mood. His mother had been doing guard duty since his arrival home from the hospital a week ago. And there was no more diligent sentry, he knew, than Isabel Rossi. Though to be fair, he himself had mumbled through his post-anesthetic haze that he wanted no visitors. None at all, he’d had to repeat. Meaning no bridge or tennis club friends of his mother’s. And no family, either. Especially the legion of cousins, aunts and uncles who’d been phoning nonstop since they’d heard he was home.
The effort of leaning forward exhausted him. He lay back against the pillows and closed his eyes, waiting for the dizziness to subside. His doctor had told him it would take a few weeks before he felt like his “old self,” but Luca guessed he’d never see that old self again. One of many thoughts that kept rolling around in his brain the past few weeks was that maybe losing his old self wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Lately he’d been asking himself if he even wanted that Luca Rossi back. He hated to let down his friends—both in the military and out—along with family members who not only expected that former self back but encouraged its return. Yet if he wanted to be whole again—and he knew in his heart that he did—he would have to nurture this new self. That was at the top of the list of things to do. His goals, the therapist had explained.
There was a light tap on his bedroom door before it swung gently open. Luca kept his eyes shut, hoping either his mother or Becky would think he was asleep.
“Luca?” came the faintest of whispers.
Of all the luck. Becky.
“Luca?”
There was no point. Persistence was her second name.
“Hmm?” He opened his eyes.
“Can I get you anything?”
An hour ago she’d posed the same question. “No, thanks. But I appreciate the support you’re giving my mother, Becky.”
“It’s the least I can do.” She shrugged.
“But I’m sure you must have work things to get back to,” he began, irritated by the shrug. He knew very well that his mother hadn’t asked for help, and Becky was the last person he himself would have contacted. “We won’t mind if you need to return to your other life.”
She frowned.
“I mean your life outside playing nursemaid,” he quipped.
The frown deepened. “Are you telling me you don’t want me around anymore?”
Luca closed his eyes. Right-to-the-point Becky. Her other middle name. Now or never, he told himself. Her presence has been bugging you for a week now, so get to it. Finish what you started.
“I hope my message wasn’t quite so blunt,” he said.
“But still.”
“I think it might be best for both of us if we went back to where we were before.”
“Before you got injured? You mean last summer?”
“Yeah.” He was surprised at the huskiness in his voice. Perhaps some part of him hadn’t recovered from their breakup after all.
Becky pursed her lips. “I thought maybe we could—you know—start over again. Put all of that behind us.”
It was tempting, he thought, looking at her blond, slender beauty. Remembering how she’d been able to drive him mad with her smile. Until last July, when he learned she’d been seeing his best friend behind his back. He felt that small hardness inside again.
“What’s done is done, Becky. I think it’s best if we both moved on.”
She flushed. “Have it your way,” she said. She turned and walked out the door.
Luca waited for the adrenaline surge to ease, followed by a wave of relief. The first step, Rossi, in finding your new self.
* * *
KAI WAS EXHAUSTED by the time she finally got her shower, poured a glass of wine and sat down to her mail. She glanced across her small living room to see the dog snoozing contentedly on the area rug beneath the glass coffee table. They’d both been through a lot in the past forty-eight hours, and Kai was hard-pressed to decide which of them had handled the stress better. She refused to believe dogs—especially this particular mongrel—were intuitive. Yet there had been times, particularly in the hours since leaving the Rossi home, when Kai was certain from Amigo’s mournful stare that she’d been judged and found wanting.
Moving slowly through rush hour traffic, she’d had the opportunity to make some plans for Amigo. Step one would be to try to contact Corporal McDougall, though she hated to admit her failure to deliver the dog. Step two could be her contact at the American Embassy in Kuwait City; she was tempted to let him handle the problem, but their light flirtation was now one of those embarrassing life moments that people strive to put behind them. Definitely not for resurrection, she decided. Step three was to search out an animal shelter here in the city. Perhaps the best option, she figured, if she could be reassured that a good foster home would be found.
* * *
THE NEXT MORNING, all Kai’s plans were put on hold. The phone woke her before the dog had a chance to.
“Mom? Is everything okay? I called you when I got in late yesterday. Did you get my voice mail?”
“Yes, dear, but not until after midnight. I thought best to wait till this morning.”
Kai gripped her cell phone. “What’s happened?”
“It’s your father. He’s had a stroke, but he’s going to be okay. The doctor here says it’s a warning, though.”
“Tell me what happened.” And while her mother recounted the events of the past twenty-four hours, Kai sensed her life was not going to be normal for quite some time.
“How’s Thomas taking it?” she asked when her mother stopped to take a deep breath.
“I really can’t say. Janet’s looking after him for now, but she has to go back to work the day after tomorrow, so...”
Kai closed her eyes, knowing what her mother wanted to say. “I’ll come as soon as I can get a rental car,” she said.
There was a short silence followed by a whisper of a sigh. “Thanks, dear. I was hoping you’d be able to.”
“Bye, Mom. Give Dad and Thomas a kiss for me. I’ll call you as soon as I hit town.”
“Bye, dear. Drive carefully.”
Kai switched off her phone and immediately burst into tears. Her father, only in his early seventies, had always been so robust. Much too healthy for strokes or any other life-threatening