in algebra. Despite the hours they shared in the library, she had fallen for his roommate when the twerp serenaded her like in some cheesy romantic movie.
Zoe’s engagement to Kyle the same weekend he and Kyle had graduated had nearly ruined him, so he dropped all contact with her on purpose. Marrying Valerie on the rebound hadn’t done either of them any favors. Focused on his law-enforcement career and his family, he’d lost touch with his college buddies as well.
That seemed like a lifetime ago, but seeing Zoe again stirred up a lot of memories, particularly the ones he had created with her, such as walking her back to the dorm after tutoring, celebrating her exam success with ice cream, and that night at the go-kart track after Kyle ditched her to go out with someone else behind Zoe’s back.
Maybe he’d be able to get to know her all over again.
As friends.
Being new in town, he could use a friend.
Riley ran to Caleb, pulling him out of the past, and stared at him with eager eyes. Caleb reached down and lifted him, rubbing his furry head. “Good boy.”
They went back into the house. Caleb snapped off the light and locked the door. He reached into a bag of dog treats and tossed one to Riley, who caught it and scurried under the coffee table to devour his snack.
Even though his eyes burned, he probably wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. He hadn’t slept a full night in the past year. Nightmares or unexpected shooting pain often woke him out of a deep slumber.
Caleb headed for the couch and reached for his laptop, only to have the power cord come up short. He stared at the chewed cord, then at the pup whose muddy-brown eyes were the picture of innocence.
“Dude, really? I bought you a pile of chew toys. Why my cord?”
Riley rested his chin on his paws and whined.
“I get it, man. I do. You’re lonely, too.” Caleb set the laptop on the floor and lifted the little bundle of fur out from under the table. “It stinks, doesn’t it?”
Riley trembled in his arms and clawed at his T-shirt as he tried to crawl up his chest.
Why hadn’t he waited until they were more settled to get a dog?
The delight on his daughters’ faces as they played with the puppies at the Canine Companions booth had sealed the deal. After Valerie walked out on them, Ava had clammed up, refusing to speak. He missed her chirpy, chatty voice.
He’d lasso the moon out of the sky and serve it to her on a platter if it would help her speak again.
That’s how he’d ended up with a puppy on his chest.
Caleb stretched out on the couch and readjusted the dog. Riley settled into the hollow of Caleb’s neck, warming his neck with his puppy breath.
As he curled an arm around the little body, warmth flowed to Caleb’s heart.
For a moment, the loneliness that was his constant shadow evaporated.
Why hadn’t he been enough for Val? He had been committed to making their marriage work, even after he realized her dependency on alcohol came first in her life.
Maybe he should have tried harder to get her more help to stay sober.
She’d checked out of their marriage long before he ended up in the hospital, recovering from surgery after one bullet shattered his femur and another took out his partner during a drug raid gone bad. Valerie, the one who promised eight years ago to stay by his side in sickness and in health, deserted him and the girls for some idiot she’d met online.
He’d do whatever it took to create a stable home again, and help his daughters heal from their mother’s abandonment. He’d make sure they knew they were enough.
The good news was the past disastrous year hadn’t kept him from still wanting the Hallmark version of marriage and family.
Someday.
But right now he lay on the couch in a half-unpacked house with little girls who cried out for their mom in their sleep and a puppy that whined and chewed everything in sight.
He needed help.
It took a lot for him to admit that, but a twelve-pound fur ball had him licked.
Once daylight broke, he’d call Canine Companions and request Zoe’s dog-training services, which he had read about in the adoption packet he received with Riley. The girls needed to know how to handle their new pup safely and with care. After all, how hard could it be?
And the thought of seeing Zoe rekindled a spark he thought had burned out. As he closed his eyes, memories tumbled through his thoughts. The way Zoe’s eyes lit up when she laughed. The way she hid behind her chestnut-brown hair when she was embarrassed. The butterfly-shaped birthmark on the inside of her right wrist was another way she stood out from the other girls he knew.
His crush on her was so long ago. Besides, she probably had her life together and didn’t need a train wreck like him crashing into it.
Riley scampered down the hall, his nails clicking on the laminate flooring. He ran back into the living room with one of Caleb’s ties in his mouth. Of course it had to be an expensive silk one.
Caleb grabbed it out of his mouth, traded it for a rubber chew toy and carried the tie back to his closet. Halfway down the hall, he stepped in a warm puddle. “Riley!”
He made it to his room and fell forward on the bed, burying his head under the pillow.
He needed a hot shower, a heavy dose of caffeine, then he’d put in a call to Canine Companions.
Too bad there wasn’t a service for broken single dads to help them come back to life after they’d lost everything.
Working with animals reminded Zoe she wasn’t a total failure.
“Fetch it back, Winston.” She tossed the tennis ball over the German shepherd’s head.
The dog bounded after it, his tags jingling on his collar, and returned with the ball in his firm jaws. She held out her hand. “Release.”
Winston dropped it on her open palm.
“Good dog.” She wrapped her arms around his solid neck and patted his fur. “You’re such a good boy.”
He barked, then licked her cheek with his coarse tongue.
For as long as she could remember, Zoe had preferred stuffed animals to dolls. As a child, she’d set up animal clinics and offer free checkups to her assorted teddy bears, unicorns and puppies.
She understood animals, especially dogs, and they understood her. They could look deep in her heart and see she was sorry for her actions. And they didn’t continue to cast blame on her.
Working at Canine Companions gave her a sense of fulfillment. Not only was she able to use her skills, but also she was getting paid to do something she truly enjoyed.
Canine Companions owner Leona Billings believed dogs were an important part of a family, and her center reflected her values. The bright, leash-free, doggie-daycare play area, with its tiled floor, climber cubes with steps and comfy cots, offered their canine friends plenty of socialization and free play as well as structured walks and exercise.
In addition to the doggie daycare, Canine Companions offered training, grooming and shelter for rescued stray or surrendered dogs, which were housed in the other building until they could be placed in their forever homes.
Today they cared for six dogs in the daycare—Winston, the German shepherd; Maisy, an aging cocker spaniel; a tiny Maltese named Emma, who arrived dressed in a pink dress covered in daisies; Penny, a black Chihuahua-dachshund mix, snoozing on one of the cots; Max, a black-and-white poodle mix and Earl, a Tennessee Brindle, who sprawled in front