And the car wasn’t too bad either.
Rufus snorted his joy when Kai joined them and then whimpered when his hands sank into the special spot behind his ears. Flick was sure that she’d had the same doped-up expression on her face last night when Kai touched her sweet spot. Yanking her thoughts out of the bedroom, Flick suppressed the urge to find out what he was doing there and found her manners. “Moses, meet my favorite guy, Rufus, and his new friend Kai.”
After shaking Kai’s hand, Moses looked at her shaggy dog and shook his head. “Where did you find this one, Felicity?”
Moses always called her by her full name, and she loved that about him. “He was on the side of the road, injured from a hit and run. He had a fractured pelvis; I had to keep him caged for six weeks. After I freed him he’s taken every opportunity to run wild.”
Flick saw Melanie pull away from Moses to stare at Rufus with childlike amazement. She kept her voice low and gentle. “Hey, Melanie? My name is Flick but your Granddad calls me Felicity ?”
“Why?” Melanie whispered.
“Because it’s a pretty name,” Moses answered her, his hand on her head.
Flick kept her eyes connected to Melanie. Just like Kai, she had such sad, sad eyes. And she was so young.
“But you can call me Flick or Fee—my best friend calls me that. And this is Rufus, and he’d love you to shake his paw.”
Melanie’s eyes widened. “He can do that?”
“If he feels like it.” Gesturing to Rufus, Flick grinned when Ru raised his left foot and Melanie grabbed his paw with her much smaller hand. She giggled and then dropped it to bury her face in his neck. “Nice doggy.”
Rufus, because he was a slut for affection, sat on his haunches and allowed the little girl to hug him. Flick grinned and stood up to look at Moses, whose eyes were soft and suspiciously damp.
“Rufus loves company, so anytime you want to come and play with him, you tell your Granddad and he’ll bring you over to my house. I’m living in my grandma’s house now, Mo. Pip and I inherited the house and the bakery from her.”
“And it's right that you did,” Moses nodded before jamming his hands in the pockets of his faded, frayed jeans. His jacket was looking a little worse for wear too, and Melanie’s clothes looked a little tight. Keeping her voice light, Flick folded her arms and jerked her head. “So, the bakery is going really well. I can’t keep up with the orders and my bread isn’t nearly as good as yours.”
Moses stood up straighter and she saw the interest and excitement in his eyes. Thinking she was on the right track, she kept her tone light and casual. “Pippa and I are thinking of hiring a new baker. Do you have any ideas? I mean, I know you won’t want to come out of retirement, but maybe you know someone?”
Anticipation joined excitement in his eyes, and she saw a smile hover around his mouth. “Well, I sure do miss baking. Let me talk to the wife and see if I can help you out a bit.”
Gotcha, Flick thought, keeping her expression bland. “Oh, Mo, that would be great. Let me know, ok? It’ll be like old times.” Flick bent down to look at little Melanie, whose small arm was still around her dog’s neck. “And you, gorgeous girl, you come and visit me and Ru, ok?”
“‘Kay.” Melanie's nod was accompanied by a shy smile. They said their goodbyes and Flick watched them walk away, her hand on her chest.
“Well, don’t you just have the heart of a marshmallow?”
Flick turned at the teasing, warm voice and sent Kai a wry grin. “The little girl lost her mom, and playing with a dog is great therapy.”
Yeah, okay, she was in rescue mode again, but she wouldn’t tell Kai that. But helping out and doing for others was something she’d learned at a very young age. The need to make things right, or at least a little better for people she cared about, was deeply ingrained.
Flick smiled as Melanie turned back to look at them. “Isn’t she the cutest kid?”
Kai just shrugged and Flick frowned. “You don’t like kids?” she asked.
He lifted just one powerful shoulder this time and Flick wished she could see his eyes, hidden by dark, wraparound glasses. “I haven’t had anything to do with them. I don’t know how to relate to them.”
“You were a kid once. Talk to them the way you wanted adults to talk to you.”
“I was never a kid,” Kai’s voice was as cold as a mid-winter breeze. Dear God, what did that mean? Before she could ask, he changed the subject. “So why did you offer him a job?”
Flick shrugged. “He worked for my Gran for more than twenty years and he needs money. I had to offer him work.”
Kai’s thumb drifted across her cheekbone. “As I said, marshmallow heart,” Kai sent her a crooked grin. “So what are you going to do now?”
Flick frowned. “About what?”
“Well, I understand that you’re the—“ he looked up at the sign and squinted, “—Artsy Tartsy baker and you just hired someone else to do the job. So, what are you going to do?”