Ever since Riley had left his house the night of the cookout, she’d been on his mind. Blake couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so infatuated with a woman. Maybe never.
He was thankful that the pet therapy program gave him an excuse to contact her.
He dialed her number before he could lose his nerve.
She answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
“I need a favor,” he said.
Riley took a long pause. “Okay, what?”
“Could we get together and go over a few details for what happens once our therapy training is finished? I’d like to brainstorm what comes next.” He realized he was grasping at straws. Maybe he should have just straight up asked her to dinner. But he’d seen her on a date with Don, and he wasn’t certain what might be going on there. He didn’t want to be the kind of jerk who asked out a girl who was already seeing someone. Maybe he could find out tonight what was going on.
“Yeah, that will be fine. I’m glad to help.”
“I haven’t had dinner yet. If you haven’t either, maybe we could grab a bite. How about that Jukebox place?”
“Sure. I can meet you there in about an hour.”
“Don’t worry about it. I can swing by and pick you up.”
She hesitated. “Okay, if you’re sure you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. See you in an hour.” He hung up and looked at Journey. “That was pretty lame, I’ll admit.”
Two hours later, he stood at her door. Before he could knock, she opened it.
“Come in. I’ll be just a second.”
He stepped inside. “What’s that smell? It’s great.”
“I’m hooked on essential oils,” she said. “That is lavender. I have a dog out in the kennel who has been freaking out. I brought him in the house for a little while and put some lavender in my oil diffuser to see if it would help calm him down.”
“Did it work?”
She nodded. “It helped. I mean, it’s not a cure all that made him just totally chill out and forget that he was in a strange place, but it seemed to calm him enough that he could focus on eating and playing.” She smiled. “I know I sound like one of those people who sells oils, but I really am a fan.”
“That’s cool.”
They headed toward the Jukebox, a fifties-style diner. Once they were settled inside, Blake pulled out a notebook. He knew this wasn’t a date, so he wanted to be sure and take care of business. “This is a neat place. There was a place kind of like this in Charleston that had the best shakes.”
She smiled. “The shakes here are good, too.”
The waitress came and took their orders, then Blake looked through his notes again. “It seems like people are pleased with the dogs so far. I met with the administrator and he thinks it’s great.”
Riley nodded. “Definitely. Arcadia Valley has needed something like it for a long time. Do you think you’ll eventually train service dogs, too?”
Blake shrugged. “I’m keeping that open as an option. For now, I want to focus on school, but I do plan to talk to the man I worked for in Charleston and see if he has any tips. There are some places that train service dogs that are very hush hush about the process. He isn’t like that. I think his clients always appreciated his transparency, so that’s something I’d want to do, too.”
“That’s good.”
“As for the pet therapy program, I think once we’re finished everyone can just make their own schedules. I’d like to have more people and dogs go through the program if there’s interest, but I think that’s something we’ll just have to see about.”
“I think there will definitely be interest. You might look into getting some media coverage once the program is through and the dogs and owners are visiting on a regular basis. I think just getting the word out either through a local station or the newspaper would probably get some attention from other people who may be interested.”
“That’s a good idea.”
The waitress put a platter of food on the table and Riley sorted it out between them.
Blake said a quick prayer for the food, then closed his notebook. “There’s something bothering me.”
She stopped eating and looked up at him. “What?”
“I’m sorry I unloaded all that stuff on you the other night.”
“Why?”
Their conversation had weighed on his mind for the past several days. “All that stuff about my mom and Zach. . .I know a girl like you couldn’t understand that kind of life.”
“What do you mean a girl like me?”
“I don’t mean it in a negative way. But you have a doting family—parents, sisters, cousins. They adore you. Patti and Vera think you hung the moon. You just have a lot of support, that’s all. And I shouldn’t have unloaded my troubles on you like that.” After she’d gone home, he’d been embarrassed. He knew he was on the right path, but he’d come from a rocky place. Maybe it would be better to try and leave the past in the past.
Riley thoughtfully chewed on a French fry. Her silence was unnerving. Had he offended her? “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I just mean that you’ve had this perfect life. I shouldn’t have told you about the imperfections in my family because it’s not something most people understand.”
She put her fry down and took a sip of water, then looked up at him. “A hard lesson for me has been that I need to be careful not to judge based on appearances. I know that from the outside looking in, it probably appears that I have a perfect life. Believe me, I’m blessed with a wonderful family. But there’s a lot of things about me that you don’t know.”
**
Riley took a deep breath. She hadn’t shared much of her story with anyone through the years. Her sisters and Kate knew everything. She’d told her college roommate most of her secrets. But no one else.
For some reason, she knew Blake needed to know the truth. She wanted him to understand that he wasn’t the only one who’d dealt with difficulties.
“My parents were very young when I was born. They were right out of high school.”
Blake gave her a weird look and she realized he thought she meant the Jennings.
She smiled. “I mean my birthparents.”
His eyes widened. “Oh.”
“My mom, Sabrina, was pretty messed up. I guess she didn’t have much family and she made several bad decisions.”
“So she put you up for adoption?” Blake asked.
Riley shook her head. “She kept me.”
He widened his eyes but didn’t say anything.
“We drifted. She had lots of boyfriends and a hard time keeping a job. I don’t remember much, just bits and pieces. I do remember being in kindergarten. Midway through the year, my dad came to live with us. From what I can piece together, they’d broken up and reunited several times. But by the time I was five, they were together. I guess they were both on drugs by then. I was sort of an afterthought.”
He frowned. “I know how that feels.”
She nodded. “I had to get myself to school and there were times I’d be home alone. I can remember being hungry sometimes.”
Blake winced.
“I had a dog, Oscar. We were inseparable. Even if my mom or dad weren’t around, Oscar was there. He slept with me and he played with me.” She smiled. “I guess that was the beginning of my love of animals. Toward the end of my kindergarten year, my parents were making some kind of drug concoction in the kitchen. I didn’t know it because I was in my room asleep. There was an explosion. Oscar barked until I got up. Thankfully, the damage was only in the kitchen and Oscar and I were able to get out. My parents didn’t make it though.”
“Wow.” Blake shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“No, you didn’t. There’s no reason you should have. But it’s not fair for you to keep telling me that I can’t understand things you’ve gone through. The truth is, I can probably understand better than anyone.”
Blake didn’t say anything.
“I went into foster care and by the grace of God, the Jennings had decided that year that they wanted to adopt. It was an adjustment for me. I’d had to be pretty independent before I met them. Much more than any child should.” She shook her head remembering. “But you know what that’s like.”
Blake nodded. “What about your birth family? Was there no other family to take you in?”
She shook her head. “No. You’re right about one thing though. I grew up with a lot of support. That doesn’t change the beginning of my story, but at least I found a family pretty early on. I still deal with some things stemming from my early years, and I still have a lot of fears . . .but for the most part I understand that I grew up very blessed and very loved. Now I wouldn’t trade my family for anything.”
“I’m sorry for being quick to judge you as having always had a perfect life,” he said quietly. “But I’m glad your story has a happy ending.”
She smiled. “Me, too.”
“And I guess your love of animals goes back to Oscar.”
“Yep. I think strays and unwanted animals always make me think of myself. I needed a good home and someone helped me find it. Those dogs and cats that I help are kind of the same way. They are in need and can’t help themselves.”
“Makes sense.”
“It’s one reason I went into teaching. I thought I could do that for kids. I taught first grade. And let me tell you, first graders don’t have filters.” She smiled. “Some of them would come to me and tell me these stories that were horrible. Just enough to break your heart. I tried to help as much as I could, but it was just too much for me. I saw myself in every one of them and it was too hard.
“So you quit.” Blake reached across the table and took her hand.
She jerked back I surprise, then relaxed her hand in his.
“I don’t blame you,” he said softly. “But you came through it all and now you’re so strong. You have a family that loves you and you have a purpose in life.”
Riley looked down at their intertwined hands. Holding hands usually made her nervous. But holding Blake’s hand felt different. Just like he’d jumped to a conclusion about her and pegged her as someone who’d never dealt with anything difficult, it seemed like she was guilty of the same thing.
Maybe he wasn’t a bad guy after all.