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  “And besides, sooner or later, you’ll get through to Alex.” Naomi patted her on the back. “I think he simply isn’t aware of what the situation is. He’ll come through for you, Abby, as soon as he knows the truth. Sooner or later, I just know he will.”

  “Better hope it’s sooner”—Abby smiled wistfully—“or it could be a very long, cold winter.”

  18

  “Oh, my stars, Naomi,” Belle exclaimed. “What in the name of God’s heaven is that?”

  “It’s a dog, Miz Matthews.” Naomi scooped up the small, dark, furry bundle with one hand.

  “A dog, you say?” Belle peered at the squirming critter suspiciously. “Not like any dog I ever saw. My stars, Naomi, are those barrettes I see in that dog’s hair?”

  “It’s a Lhasa apso,” Naomi announced, “and the barrettes are to keep the hair out of her eyes.”

  “Lasso whatso?” Belle inquired, eyebrows raised.

  “Lhasa apso. They’re from Tibet.”

  “Oh my. That little dog came all the way from Tibet?”

  “Well, not this one, but her ancestors sure did.” Naomi stroked the back of the tiny dog. “Cute, isn’t she?”

  “Hmmm.” Belle inspected the animal as Naomi set it back on the floor. The dog turned her head to one side, inspecting Belle in precisely the same fashion. The long dark hair, parted exactly in the middle of her head, was indeed held back by tiny red barrettes, while the fur on her back, parted evenly all the way to her tail, swept the floor like a ball gown.

  “Her name’s Meri Puppins,” Naomi offered.

  “Meri Puppins, you say?”

  At the sound of her name, the little dog began to wag her tail. She looked up at Belle winsomely.

  “I declare, Naomi, that dog is smiling at me,” Belle noted with no small pleasure.

  “Why, Miz Matthews, I do believe she is.”

  Meri Puppins took small, tentative steps in Belle’s direction, her tail wagging more slowly, as if unsure of her reception.

  “Aren’t you just the sweetest thing?” Belle cooed, and the wagging resumed in earnest.

  “She is a good little dog, Miz Matthews. My sister brought her over for the kids on Christmas—you know that Sharon works over at the small animal shelter three days a week?—but Sam’s allergic, and I have to return her. I thought maybe I could leave her here until I can get her back to the shelter. I had Sam to the doctor’s this morning, and he said to get the dog out of the house as soon as I could, Sam’s wheezing so badly. I was hoping to catch Abby before she left for the store this morning so I could ask her. ’Course, I hate to take the little thing back.” Naomi knelt and petted Meri behind the ears. “No tellin’ where she’ll end up. Only had one owner, Sharon says.”

  “Oh?” Belle sat on one of the chairs in the hallway. The little dog came to her and stood on her hind legs, her front paws resting on Belle’s knees. The two seemed to study each other quite seriously. “One owner, you say?”

  “Sharon says a lady from out at Edenton who raised these dogs had a heart attack two weeks ago. Her daughter, who lives out on the other side of the interstate, found homes for all the others—her mother had all show dogs—but no one wanted Meri Puppins. Something about her tail not being quite right. In any case, we can’t keep her, either.”

  “Poor little girl,” Belle whispered, and the tail wagging began again. “Is she housebroken, Naomi?”

  “She most certainly is, Miz Matthews. She goes out first thing in the morning, a few times during the day—she will tell you when, incidentally—then after dinner, one more time before you lock up at night. Since we’ve had her, we’ve just opened the back door when she’s told us to, let her out, and let her back in when she asks us to. She is a smart little dog, that’s for sure. And judging from her appearance, I’d say she was quite pampered.”

  “Hmmmm.” Belle stood up. “Perhaps Miss Puppins would like to watch a game show or two this morning.” Meri danced around happily at Belle’s feet, as if she knew that if she played her cards right, she’d not have to worry about returning to the shelter, that night or any other night. She lifted her head and sashayed into the morning room, close on Belle’s heels, without so much as a backward glance at the woman who’d brought her to Belle.

  Naomi chuckled and let herself out the back door.

  “Belle, Mr. Everett down at the pharmacy told me to tell you he was asking for you.” Abby shook the remains of cold late-December rain from her hat as she came into the morning room. “I told him you were… Belle, what is that thing on your lap?”

  “Abigail, meet Meri Puppins.” Belle smiled happily. “Our new pet.”

  “Our what?”

  “Actually, she’s a dog. From Tibet. A Lahaso mopso. Or some such. Ask Naomi.” Belle explained Meri’s presence in the house, then lifted her chin and announced, “She is the loveliest dog, Abigail. I would like very much to keep her.”

  “Oh, Belle, I don’t know. I’ve never had a dog. I’ve never even wanted a dog.”

  “She’s not so doglike, Abigail. Truly. She’s just like a sweet, small person. She’s been just the most delightful company.” Belle looked Abby full in the face and repeated, “I would like very much to keep her, Abigail.”

  Abby and the little dog sized each other up. Meri Puppins turned on the charm.

  “Belle, the dog looks like she’s smiling.” Abby peered more closely for a better look. “I never saw a dog smile before.”

  “Good. Meri likes you. Then it’s settled.” Belle patted the dog on the head, as if it had been Meri’s decision to make and she was being complimented for having made the right one.

  “I guess I should call Naomi and find out what it eats.” Abby sighed. There was no point in denying Belle her newfound friend.

  “Meri is a ‘she,’ not an ‘it,’ ” Belle told her pointedly.

  “I’ll try to remember that.”

  “And Naomi left her bowl and dog food in the kitchen.”

  Abby placed her wet scarf on the radiator and smoothed it out. The dog jumped from Belle’s lap and followed Abby into the hallway. Abby knelt down and held her hand out for the dog to sniff.

  “It’s not that I don’t like you,” Abby whispered. “You’re actually very pretty—love the barrettes, by the way—and you seem like a nice enough dog. It’s just that, well, you’re just one more thing that it will hurt Belle to give up. Or leave behind when she goes… well, when she goes to wherever it is that she ends up going. So don’t get too comfortable here, okay? And try not to get too attached. For both your sakes.”

  Meri promptly turned tail and fled to the morning room and the warmth and comfort of Belle’s lap.

  “Do you mind so much?” Naomi asked as she and Abby rounded the corner onto Cove Road. “I mean, she hasn’t been any trouble, has she?”

  “No,” Abby admitted, “she’s no trouble at all. And Belle is so delighted with her, I couldn’t ask her to part with her even if I was the one with the allergy. I’m just afraid it will be hard for Belle if she has to give her up.”

  “Not a good enough reason to deprive her of all that puppy love now.” Naomi slowed her pace, then leaned over and rubbed the side of her left knee.

  “You okay?” Abby asked with concern. “Want to sit on the bench?” She motioned toward the bus stop across the street.

  “It’s okay.” Naomi grimaced. “The cold is bothering it a little. We’ll just walk a little slower, that’s all.”

  “Let me know if you want to rest, and we’ll stop. Or, if you want, I’ll run home and get the car.”

  “No, I’ll be fine. Really, Ab, it’s okay. I’m used to it.”

  “I’m sorry,” Abby told her. “That you’ve had to get used to it. I’m sorry it happened to you.”

  “Well, you know, for a time, I was sorry for me, too.” Naomi leaned on Abby’s shoulder as they walked along. “But, you know, Abby, everything I hold most dear in this life was a result—directly or indirectly—of that accident.
Colin, and, because of Colin, my children. Shucks, even the money we bought the house with came from the insurance settlement.”

  “What did Colin have to do with it?”

  “Didn’t I tell you that story?” Naomi frowned, then laughed. “It’s my worst news/best news story. I was in school in D.C.—coming back to the dorm from the library one afternoon. Crossing the street, daydreaming, sauntering along. Then pow!—out of nowhere—and I do mean nowhere—came the car. I literally never knew what hit me. I mean, I’ve read accounts of people being bitten by sharks, and they describe the same sensation—just pow! When I woke up in the hospital, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know where, and I didn’t know why. The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Colin’s face. I didn’t know it was Colin, of course, I just opened my eyes, and this handsome blond man was sitting there, watching me with these dreamy brown eyes.” In spite of the pain, Naomi smiled at the memory.

  “You mean you had amnesia, so you didn’t recognize him?”

  “No, I mean I didn’t know him. Never seen him before in my life.”

  “What was he doing in your hospital room?”

  “Waiting for me to wake up.” Naomi’s eyes began to dance. “Colin was the police officer who brought down the man who hit me. I mean, people who witnessed the accident told me later that Colin—he’d been in a patrol car two lanes over when I got hit—got out of his car and chased this guy on foot until he caught up with him three blocks down, stopped at a red light. Pulled him right out of the car, they told me, then slid in, pulled the keys out of the ignition, and left the car there while he walked this drunk back to the patrol car. He came every day to the hospital, Colin did. Every day for ten days, till I woke up. Said he wanted to be the first person I saw, and he was.” Naomi increased her weight on Abby’s shoulder. “Do you believe in miracles, Abby?”

  “Well, I don’t know that the age of miracles hasn’t passed,” Abby told her.

  “Sometimes, in my dreams, I think I hear Colin prayin’ for me. Prayin’ for me to wake up.” Naomi slowed to a stop. “And every time, I do wake up, and I take that man in my arms and love him like there’s no tomorrow. Because I know he brought me back, Abby. Colin’s prayers brought me back. That’s miracle enough for me.”

  They walked slowly, in deep silence.

  “Know what he said, Ab? Colin said he came to the hospital to see if I could give a report on the accident. And when he saw me lying in that white bed, he said all he could think of was Sleeping Beauty, waiting to be brought back with a kiss. Can you believe that? Me? Sleeping Beauty?” She laughed.

  “That is absolutely the most beautiful love story I’ve ever heard.”

  “Every story of true love is beautiful.” Naomi smiled.

  “And he followed you back to Primrose?”

  “Yes, ma’am, he did. Quit the police force in D.C. and came down here and asked me to marry him. My daddy did put in a good word for him at the police station, but it probably wasn’t necessary. I mean, by that time, everyone in Primrose had heard the story of what a hero Colin was, chasing after that car, nabbing the suspect, then waiting day after day for me to wake up. Chief Kennedy was real glad to have an officer like Colin on his force, to be sure.” Naomi nodded. “I’d never have met Colin if it hadn’t been for that drunk driver. I’d never have had Meredy or Sam.”

  They’d come to Naomi’s driveway, and she bent to pick up the errant piece of newspaper that had blown onto her lawn.

  “You are a most remarkable woman, Naomi,” Abby said with sincere admiration.

  “Well, now, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that what I’ve got is more important than what I lost.” She smiled wryly. “Thanks for the use of your shoulder.”

  “Anytime, my friend,” Abby told her as she crossed the street. “Anytime.”

  19

  Meri Puppins was a very smart dog, indeed. Smart enough to wake Abby, rather than Belle, early in the morning when she wanted to go out.

  “Oh, Meri, please, can’t you wait?” Abby groaned. “It’s not even six.”

  The little dog continued to dance around the side of Abby’s bed with increasing impatience.

  “Okay, okay. Damn, and it’s cold, too. Cold and early,” Abby whined and reached for her robe. “If you’re as smart as Belle says you are, why don’t you teach yourself to tell time? See, then you’ll know not to wake me up until the big hand is on the twelve and the little hand is on the seven.”

  Abby slid her feet into her slippers and followed the dog to the steps, turning on the light at the wall switch before descending. She yawned as she made her way to the kitchen. She had not slept well again. She had thought that a noise somewhere in the house awakened her, but she had not been able to tell where it came from. It had happened before, this vague noise-in-the-house sensation, and she did not like it. It was creepy. The house was too big, and there were too many places where someone could sneak in.

  Maybe she should get a dog. They say that burglars avoid houses that have dogs.

  Oh. Of course. She had a dog.

  She was, in fact, following it to the back door right at this very minute. Not bothering to turn on the kitchen light, she felt for the back-door key on the wall and fitted it into the lock. As Abby pushed open the back door, Meri froze on the back step and barked with the zeal of a Doberman. In that second, Abby saw a dark form rise from the top step. She slammed the back door, frantically fumbling with the lock. “Abby! Abby, it’s me, Alex.”

  Alex?

  “You scared the crap out of me,” she grumbled as she unlatched the door. “What are you doing sitting on the back steps at six a.m.?”

  “Drinking coffee and waiting for you to get up.” He held up an empty cardboard cup from the local convenience store. “Can I come in? It’s pretty damn cold out here.” Abby stepped aside to let him in as Meri sniffed at his pants leg suspiciously. Satisfied that he posed no threat, the little dog brushed past him and continued her path to the backyard.

  “Abby, what was that little furry banshee thing?”

  “That was Meri Puppins. And there’ll be hell to pay if your grandmother hears you call her a thing.”

  “What’s a… what did you call it?” He peered through the curtains at the back door.

  “Meri Puppins. She’s your grandmother’s dog. A gift from Naomi. Belle adores her, so unless you want to incite Belle’s wrath, you’ll refer to Meri as ‘she’ rather than ‘that thing’ or ‘it.’ ”

  “I’ll try to remember that.” He grinned as he took his jacket off and slung it onto the back of a nearby chair.

  “So.” She leaned back against the cold enamel of the stove, as if finding a man on her back porch at the crack of dawn was an everyday event. In truth, she was struggling for something to say. After several weeks of calling him with no response, having him there in the dimly lit kitchen, with the morning sky not yet aglow with the new day, disconcerted her.

  “So,” he replied as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I guess I’m a little early.”

  “I’m sorry you had to wait outside,” she offered.

  “I didn’t mind,” he told her. “It was sort of pleasant, just me and the stars and the new day. I actually enjoyed it. At least I did until the cold set in.”

  “How long were you sitting out there?”

  “Maybe forty minutes or so.”

  “Why so early?”

  “I came right from the airport. I was in Dallas all week for depositions. When I called into the office yesterday, my secretary told me that you’d called. I thought I’d just as well come here on my way home, just in case something was wrong.”

  Meri Puppins announced her presence at the back door by lightly scratching on it. Abby turned the key, let Meri in, then relocked the door.

  “Was there?” he asked.

  “Was there what?”

  “Something wrong?”

  “Not exactly wrong,” she told him, “but there are some things we need
to talk about.”

  “No time like the present.” He shrugged.

  “Right.” She nodded. “Let me just run upstairs and get dressed.”

  “Well, if you’ll tell me where you hide the coffee, I’ll put a pot on while you’re changing.”

  She directed him to the cupboard and fled quietly up the steps. Rummaging for a pair of clean jeans and a sweater, she tried to shake the sleep from her brain.

  This is it, she told herself. This is my chance. Unless he left Melissa in the car, I have him all to myself. I can tell him everything. And we will find a solution. And I can start making plans to get on with my life. Yes!

  She pulled long woolly socks up to her knees, then danced into her soft, near-threadbare jeans. She was almost whistling as she drew the gray-and-white-flecked sweater over her head and tied her sneakers. A stop in the hall bath to dash water onto her face and tame her hair as best she could, and she was on her way down the steps. She was rehearsing what she’d say as she swung open the kitchen door.

  “Look, Ab,” he said softly from the back door, where he stood looking out the glass panels toward the Sound.

  He moved slightly to his right to make room for her without turning.

  She shared his silence as the sun poked its first light through the skeletal trees that rimmed the waking waters just beyond the carriage house.

  “It never changes,” she heard him say. “All these years later, it looks exactly the same. The water still turns the same shades of orange and gold, and Leila’s carriage house still looks like it’s on fire when that first light hits it. I can remember when I was a kid, waking up early and looking out the window to this house, and seeing it all, the house and the carriage house and the trees, all wrapped in the early-morning mist. Some days, it would be so thick, I couldn’t see the house at all, as if it had floated down to the river and drifted on out into the Sound while we slept. I’d watch until the sun came up and burned away the fog, so that I could see that the house was still here, and that you were safe.”