Love Is Kind by Joyce Livingston

Author:Joyce Livingston
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2012-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

Seven

“My parents are having a dinner party next weekend. I want you to come with me.”

Valene stared at him. He wants me to meet his parents? “I–I thought they lived in La Jolla.”

“They do. I thought we’d go for the weekend.”

“Oh, Jordan, I don’t know. Are you sure you want me to go along? I can probably handle Hero by myself by then. Why don’t you go on without me?”

He reached across the table and cupped her hand in his. “I want you to go with me. Please say yes. It’ll be fun.”

“I–I don’t know. I’m not very good at meeting people.”

He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “You’ll do fine. Hey, it’s only a dinner party. No big deal. Besides, I want you to see where I grew up. Meet a few of my friends. And we’ll take Hero with us. Come on. For me?”

She sucked in a deep breath. “Well, okay. If you insist. But are you sure your parents won’t mind if we bring Hero?”

“Why should they mind? It’s not like he’s going to be up running around through the house.”

“But you said they never allowed you to have a dog.”

He laughed. “We’re not moving Hero in with them. He’s only going for a visit! Are you looking for excuses so you won’t have to go with me?”

“No! I’m flattered that you’ve invited me. I just don’t want to be the cause of any trouble.”

“Take it from me. There won’t be any trouble.” He took the carton of slaw from her hand and placed a big spoonful of it on his plate. “We’ll plan to leave early Saturday morning. Okay?”

“O–okay, I guess.” What am I doing?

❧

The week went even better than either of them had hoped. Diane got along fine with Hero during the day, and during evenings, both Valene and Jordan cared for him. Nights, Jordan took over while Valene slept in his condo. Each day the dog showed improvement, and by Friday evening, he was beginning to stand, bearing his own weight with the help of the towel.

“I’m not so sure we should be taking Hero to your parents’ house tomorrow,” Valene said as she spread out a fresh layer of paper in the dog’s bed. “They may not appreciate his messes.”

“Don’t be silly. We’ll both be there to take care of him. I’ll toss a couple big bags of paper and a spray can of air freshener in the Avalanche. He’ll be fine.”

She stood, then fastened the twist tie around the top of the big bag. “You look cute sitting there on the sofa with Hero on your lap.”

He gave her a silly grin. “I know this sounds stupid, but I enjoy holding him like this. I can feel his heart beating against my arm. Remember how he struggled those first few times when I tried to lift him? He doesn’t do that anymore. I get the feeling he trusts me, and I like that feeling.”

She placed the bag in the closet and sat down beside him.

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