The deal was struck.
Because of Declan’s busy workload, arrangements for her next riding lesson were set for the same time the following week. Her schedule was no less hectic, but Josie intended to take the man’s niece to the animal shelter much sooner than that.
For one thing, she didn’t think that either Declan or Shannon could last another week in each other’s company without this sort of diversion for the girl. It was obvious to Josie that something was needed to defuse the situation and get Shannon involved in something where she could put her energy to good use and actually feel as if she was being useful.
Everyone needed to feel useful, she thought.
All in all, Josie was in good spirits when she returned to her brother’s house. Instead of going to the tiny apartment that had been set up for her above the garage, she walked into the main house.
The first person she ran into was Rebekah. With the twins appearing to be mercifully asleep for a short duration of time, her sister-in-law was attempting to catch up on housework.
Everywhere she looked, Josie could tell that something needed doing. Twins generated a huge amount of housework—more laundry, more garbage, more stuff everywhere, ranging from changing tables to toys to diaper pails, cluttering up the house and getting in the way, making it hard to keep things tidy. It never really felt like they were fully caught up.
Rebekah brightened just a little when she saw her sister-in-law come in.
“How did it go?” she wanted to know.
“Very well. I didn’t fall off the horse once,” Josie answered cheerfully. She looked around. There was just the two of them in the kitchen. “Are the babies asleep?” she asked.
Rebekah nodded. Josie thought that the young woman really looked beyond tired.
“Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus,” Rebekah said, smiling wearily.
“I’ve got an idea. Why don’t you take advantage of the downtime, Bekah?” Josie gestured toward the doorway leading to the stairs. “Go and take a nap. I know it’s been a rough couple of days with that cold you and the twins all got.”
“I can’t. There’s just too much to do,” Rebekah lamented, looking at the mess surrounding them.
Rather than argue with her sister-in-law, Josie took the dish towel out of Rebekah’s hands. The latter didn’t try very hard to hold on to it.
“I’ll take care of it all,” Josie promised. “All I want you to do is get some sleep before you officially become a zombie.”
“But—” It sounded like a halfhearted protest at best.
“Don’t argue with me,” Josie told the young woman. “I’m here to help, remember? So let me help.”
Unable to muster the energy to offer a proper protest, Rebekah gave in. “I just need five minutes,” she said as she began to walk toward the family room sofa.
“Forget about five minutes,” she told her sister-in-law. “Take as much time as you need,” Josie ordered as she continued to wash the dishes that Rebekah had just turned her attention away from.
The latter stopped in the doorway for a moment to smile her thanks. “You’re a saint, Josie.”
Josie nodded solemnly. “There’s been some talk about canonizing me,” she quipped before a smile cracked her straight face.
“I’ll be the first one in line to sign the petition,” Rebekah promised just as she left the room.
Josie chuckled to herself.
With quick, efficient movements, she went from one outstanding chore to the next, deftly finishing each. She was more than happy to be able to do this for her brother and sister-in-law. Not only because she really liked them, but because it allowed her to relive and remember her own time that had been spent trying to work and take care of her house while also attempting to raise her daughter at the same time.
She also remembered that it had always felt as if she’d had to let something go. Usually, that meant not taking care of her daughter herself because she could always find friends who were willing to pitch in, young mothers who would take Hannah with them while caring for their own kids.
The recollection pained her. With any luck, Josie thought, Rebekah wouldn’t have to feel that way.
Working quickly, Josie managed to get a great deal done before the plaintive cries of one of the twins—Lily if she didn’t miss her guess—floated through the air, signaling that her nap was over.
Drying her hands, Josie went to the nursery to see to the needs of at least one of the twins before it became both of them.
The following morning was one of her days to volunteer at the shelter. Before going, Josie decided to call Shannon to see if the teenager wanted to go with her. Who knew, maybe she was busy or had changed her mind about coming along.
“Yeah, I want to go,” Shannon instantly blurted out in answer to the question. Josie could almost see the girl beaming as she talked to her on the phone.
“You’re going to have to check with your uncle,” Josie reminded the teenager. “To make sure it’s all right with him and that he doesn’t have anything for you to do before you go.”
“He doesn’t care what I do,” Shannon insisted, but Josie could hear the tension in her voice.
She was afraid of being told no, Josie thought. “Shannon, you still need to check with him. Your uncle is responsible for you,” she reminded the girl. “At the very least, you need to tell your uncle Declan that you’re going to the shelter with me.”
Josie heard a huge, impatient sigh on the other end of the line.
“All right, all right,” Shannon answered. “You are coming for me, right?” the teenager asked her uncertainly.
“I’m leaving right now,” Josie told the girl. She picked up her purse by the door then hurried down the stairs of her over-the-garage apartment.
“Great. I’ll be ready. And yes,” Shannon added quickly, anticipating what the woman was going to tell her, “don’t worry, I’ll let Uncle Declan know.”
“Very good,” Josie said.
She knew that if she praised the girl at all, she needed to be very careful how she voiced her approval. As much as Shannon probably needed affirmation, Josie appreciated that teenagers like Shannon could be very touchy. One sentiment incorrectly stated and everything could very easily fall apart.
Feeling extremely good about this whole endeavor with Shannon that she was undertaking, Josie turned up the music as she drove to her destination.
Reaching the farmhouse, Josie didn’t even have time to park her car. It was obvious that Shannon had been watching and waiting for her, peering through the front window. The moment that Josie had pulled up, Shannon threw open the door and came flying down the front steps.
Opening up the passenger’s-side door, Shannon hopped into her seat.
“Okay, let’s go!” she declared, hardly able to contain herself.
Josie definitely wanted to get on the girl’s good side. However, she couldn’t help being a bit suspicious about the display of anxious readiness to take off like this.
Rather than pull out, Josie turned off her engine.
“Why aren’t we going?” Shannon demanded in an accusing voice.
Josie shifted in her seat to face the girl. “Did you tell your uncle that you were going?” she asked Shannon.
“I said I would, didn’t I?” the girl challenged Josie.
“Yes. Yes, you did,” Josie acknowledged. However she wasn’t all that certain that she could take the teenager’s word for it.
“Then let’s go,” the girl urged.
Keeping her voice as friendly as possible, Josie asked, “If you don’t mind my asking, why are you in such a hurry to leave?”
Shannon made no bones about pouting as she answered. “Because I’m afraid Uncle Declan will change his mind and find something for me to do instead.”
“And that’s the only reason?” Josie asked, carefully looking at the teenager’s face.
“Yes,” Shannon all but bit off.
Josie weighed the teenager’s expression against her gut instinct. “Okay then, let’s go,” she said, starting up the engine again.
“Wait, you believe me?” the teenager asked, obviously surprised.
“Well,” Josie answered, choosing her words carefully, “you said you told your uncle you were coming with me to the animal shelter, and I know that he thinks that’s a good idea, so yes, I believe you.”
The girl pressed her lips together, as if debating whether or not to say something.
The internal argument she was having was short-lived and she decided to be completely honest about the situation.
“Wait. I didn’t say anything—exactly,” Shannon admitted.
“Oh? What did you do? ‘Exactly,’” Josie questioned, emphasizing the single word.
“I wrote him a note saying I was going with you to the animal shelter. I left it on the kitchen table,” she said, each word dribbling from her lips almost in slow motion. She slanted her eyes toward Josie. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Is the note where he can see it?” Josie asked.
“Yeah, I said it was on the kitchen table.” Shannon’s voice was almost defensive.
Josie wanted to give Declan a quick call just to be certain that the girl had left the note out in plain sight, but she knew that if she did that, it would be a blunt statement that she didn’t trust Shannon. This trip to the shelter was the very first step in their brand-new friendship.
She didn’t want to risk blowing it all up before the relationship had a chance to even get started.
“Yes, you did,” Josie replied. “I just wanted to make sure that your uncle knew where you had gone so he wouldn’t worry about you.”
The familiar unappreciative scowl was back on Shannon’s face. She shrugged her shoulders, dismissing what Josie had just said. “I did all the chores he gave me, so he’s not going to worry about where I am.”
Her heart went out to the teenager. It was awful if she really believed what she was saying. “Oh, honey, you’re all wrong about your uncle. He might sound gruff, but he loves you and he does worry.”
It was obvious by her expression that Shannon didn’t believe her. “I’m not a little girl. You don’t have to make things up on my account.”
“I know that you’re not a little girl and I’m not making anything up. I really don’t think you give your uncle enough credit. If he was as uncaring as you seem to think he is, he would have had Children’s Services come and pick you up instead of taking you in.”
Shannon felt she had an explanation for that. “That’s just because my mom’s in rehab and there was nowhere else for me to go. My grandma and grandpa used to take me in when my mother had one of her sprees. But then Grandpa died and Grandma moved in with Uncle Declan, so now we’re stuck with each other,” Shannon grumbled.
“Yes, but that didn’t mean that he automatically had to take you in, too,” she noted gently.
“Sure he did,” Shannon insisted. “Grandma would have given him hell if he hadn’t.”
She looked at the teenager, certain that the girl knew better than that. “If your uncle was as uncaring as you seem to believe, upsetting his mother wouldn’t matter to him. C’mon, Shannon. Give the poor man a break. After all, he’s obviously trying to give you one,” Josie pointed out.
In Josie’s opinion, Shannon looked as if she were wavering. The teenager sighed. “Yeah, okay. Maybe I should call him,” she said.
Josie reached over and took her cell phone out from the container she had for it on her dashboard. Handing the phone to the girl, she said, “Go ahead, be my guest. Call your uncle.”
Shannon looked at her, appearing a little uneasy, then gazed back at the phone. “Yeah, right,” she murmured. “My uncle.” She raised her eyes, looking at Josie. “I did leave that note for him, you know,” she said defensively.
“I know. I just thought that you might want to tell him where you were going in person, but if you’d rather just go with the note you left, that’s fine,” Josie told her. “As long as he knows where you are, that’s all that matters. I just didn’t want anything to be on your mind and interfering with you enjoying all those cuddly puppies and kittens at the shelter.”
Shannon frowned, as if registering her displeasure. But nonetheless, she began dialing her uncle’s phone number.
The phone on the other end rang and she counted off the number of rings. When his voice mail picked up, the teenager confided to Josie, “His voice mail sounds just as grumpy as Uncle Declan in real life.” Removing her hand, the teenager went on to talking into the phone. “Uncle Declan, this is Shannon. Josie stopped by the house and I’m going with her to the animal shelter. I left you a note, but Josie thought you might miss the note, so I’m calling to let you know.” Glancing at Josie, she added, “In case you get worried.”
With that, she peeked at Josie quizzically, the look in her eyes silently asking the woman if there was anything else she needed to add.
Josie gave her a thumbs-up, letting her know that she had done fine.
Shannon terminated the call and handed the phone back to Josie.
“Next stop, the animal shelter,” Josie announced. There was a touch of anticipation in her voice.
Josie saw that the girl was shifting in her seat, as if she couldn’t bring herself to sit still. Shannon was obviously excited about going to the animal shelter, she thought. Josie was tickled by the girl’s anticipation of the event.
“Is there anything I should know or, you know, do when we get to the shelter?” Shannon wanted to know. She was eager not to make any mistakes right off the bat.
“Well...” She thought for a moment. “Just don’t let all those dogs overwhelm you,” Josie warned. “Some of the dogs are a little rough and others are overly eager. Last time I was there, I saw that a couple of the new dogs were big enough to knock you over, but you can definitely see them coming and brace yourself. Most of the dogs are just eager for affection.”
“Affection,” Shannon repeated. The expression on her face said that she knew what that was like. “I can handle that,” she told Josie.
“I’m sure you can,” Josie assured her. And then she smiled. “This is going to be fun,” Josie promised.