Chapter Seven

The best Maple could do was get on standby for a two o'clock flight out of Austin. She'd checked all the major airlines, and there wasn't an empty seat to be found, much to the dismay of her mother. And her father.

Once again, the Leightons had joined forces as soon as they'd found out that Maple had missed her morning flight. She'd done her best to assure her mother she still had every intention of returning to New York as soon as humanly possible. But no sooner had she admitted to missing her rideshare than her father had jumped on the line.

What was happening? Who knew the only way to get her parents back on speaking terms was for her to go rogue, flee to Texas, and accidentally discover she'd been adopted.

Surely, Maple could get a standby seat on one of the five flights scheduled to leave between afternoon and midnight. What were the odds she'd get stuck here...again?

"Not going to happen," she said out loud as she folded her cupcake pajamas and placed them in her suitcase.

Lady Bird lifted her head from her paws, where she was resting on the dog bed in the corner of Percy's bedroom. She tilted her gold head in the irresistible way that dogs had been doing since the dawn of time, and a fresh wave of guilt washed over Maple. How was she going to leave this sweet dog behind? Lady Bird was the only remaining tie she had to the father she'd never known. Was she seriously going to get on a plane and let someone else take care of her when Percy had specifically left the dog in her care?

You never knew him, she reminded herself. Things would be different if she'd known she'd been adopted before Percy passed away. It was too late to get to know her birth father, and it was definitely too late to build a life in a place like Bluebonnet. She'd spent a full year as an intern for her cardiology specialty. Small towns didn't need veterinary cardiologists. Even if she wanted to stay and follow in Percy's footsteps at his charming little pet clinic—which she didn't—doing so would mean wasting a large chunk of her education.

And then there was the matter of Dr. Grover Hayes. If she stayed, he would be her partner. Maple didn't know which one of them would find that prospect more horrifying. It would be a disaster, full stop.

"Why am I even thinking about any of this? I'm not staying." She slammed her suitcase closed and zipped it shut. Then her gaze fell to Percy's bedroom slippers sitting neatly beside the bed, where Maple had returned them to their proper place.

Her eyes immediately filled with unshed tears, and she squeezed them closed tight, determined not to get weepy about a total stranger who just so happened to share her DNA. What was wrong with her? She never let her emotions get the best of her like this. No wonder her parents were concerned.

Maple sniffed and squared her shoulders. Then she opened her eyes and found Lady Bird sitting at her feet, holding Percy's slippers in her mouth.

You've got to be kidding me, dog.

Maple stared as her throat squeezed closed.

"Fine." She gently snatched the shoes from the retriever's jaws. "I'm taking these with me. Happy now?"

Lady Bird's mouth stretched into a wide doggy grin as her tail swished back and forth on the bedroom's smooth wood floor.

"You're really something, you know that?" Maple whispered. She shook her head, unzipped her bag, and carefully placed the slippers inside.

The vintage rotary phone in the kitchen trilled, causing her to jump. It was a good thing she wasn't staying, because she'd never grow accustomed to that sound.

"We're not answering that," she said, but before the words left her mouth, Lady Bird was already trotting toward the source of the noise.

Maple followed, keenly aware of which party seemed to be in charge in this relationship. Spoiler alert: it wasn't Maple. But that was fine for now. So long as the dog was bossing Maple around, she didn't have much time to think about a certain pediatrician who seemed to possess a warm and wonderful center that was as soft and gooey and perfect as a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven.

He healed sick children. He frequented his sister's pie shop. He pretended his grandmother's robot dog was real. Was Ford even a real human being?

She eyed Lady Bird while the phone continued to ring. "I already told you we're not answering that."

But what if it was County General again? What if something had happened to sweet little Oliver?

Maple plucked the receiver from its hook, all the while telling herself that answering the call had nothing whatsoever to do with Ford Bishop, even though a teeny tiny part of her heart did a backflip at the thought of seeing him one more time before she left Bluebonnet for good. "Hello?"

"Oh, good morning! So happy you picked up. Is this Maple Walker?"

Maple's entire body gave a jolt. Walker. Percy's last name, not hers.

Was there a single soul in all of Bluebonnet who hadn't heard that Maple was his long-lost daughter? Apparently not—yet another reason to get back to Manhattan, where the details of her birth certificate weren't front-page news.

Maple "Um. Yes, but—"

"Thank heavens," the caller said before Maple could point out that her last name was actually Leighton, despite whatever she might have heard via the town rumor mill. "Technically, I'm calling for Lady Bird, but she's yours now, right?"

Once again, Maple had no idea what to say. This time, she didn't even try to come up with a response. She just kept her mouth shut and frowned down at Lady Bird.

I told you we shouldn't answer the phone.

The dog's plumed tail wagged even harder.

"This is Virginia Roberts over at Bluebonnet Senior Living. We were expecting Lady Bird fifteen minutes ago for her regular weekly visit. Can you let me know when she might arrive?"

"Oh." Maple's stomach churned. She couldn't allow herself to get roped into another pet-therapy visit. No way, no how. "Well..."

"We have about a dozen residents gathered in the lobby, ready and waiting. I'd hate to have to disappoint them." Virginia cleared her throat.

Maple gritted her teeth and counted to ten, steadying herself to say no. Granted, she technically had time to squeeze in a pet visit since her ride wasn't coming for another three hours.

But still...

No.

Just say it, she told herself. Sorry, but no.

Then she made the mistake of glancing back down at Lady Bird. She blinked up at Maple with such trust and devotion in her soft brown eyes that Maple's resistance crumbled on the spot.

"We'll be there as soon as we can."

Luckily, the senior center was located just off the town square, a short two-block walk from Percy's house. Maple followed the walking directions on her iPhone's GPS, but she could've simply allowed Lady Bird to guide her there, because the golden clearly knew where they were headed. She tugged gently at the end of her leash, making the left at the town square, followed by an immediate right, without any guidance whatsoever from Maple. The closer they came, the harder Lady Bird's tail wagged. When the sign for Bluebonnet Senior Living came into view, Maple could barely keep up.

It was a blessing, really. Maple's social anxiety didn't have time to kick in before Lady Bird dragged her through the door.

The young man who worked at the front desk lit up like a Christmas tree the instant they crossed the threshold. "Lady Bird! It's so good to see you! We've got a big crowd waiting for you, as usual."

The dog's tail swung back and forth, but her overall demeanor instantly changed. A steady calmness came over her, as if she knew she was here to work, just like it had at the hospital.

Maple couldn't help but swell with pride, even though she had nothing whatsoever to do with Lady Bird's training. That had been Percy's doing. Was it strange that she felt connected to them both, somehow?

"Hi, I'm Maple." She lifted a hand to wave at the young man stationed at the reception desk while he pulled a box of dog biscuits out of his bottom desk drawer. "Sorry we're late. I didn't realize Lady Bird had a visit scheduled for today."

"No worries," he said as Lady Bird rose up onto her hind legs and planted her front paws on the desk to politely take the treat he offered her. "We're just glad you were able to make it. Her visit is every Tuesday morning at eleven, just so you know. We always have it listed on the social calendar."

He tipped his head toward a wall calendar covered with colorful stickers and handwritten activities like bingo and movie night listed in bright magic marker. A paw print featured prominently on every Tuesday square beside Lady Bird's name.

Now would be the time to mention that Lady Bird's future visits were up in the air, but when Maple glanced beyond the reception desk and saw a large group of residents sitting in wheelchairs and peering toward her and Lady Bird in anticipation, she just couldn't do it.

She took a deep breath as the first tingle of nerves skittered down her spine. This wasn't like the calm, quiet visit with Oliver. This was an entire group of people who would all be focused on Maple and the dog.

More the dog, she reminded herself.

They could do this. She could do this, so long as Lady Bird was on the other end of the leash.

Finished with her biscuit, the dog licked her chops and hopped back down to all fours. She dropped into a perfect sit position and gazed up at Maple expectantly.

Maple stared back, unsure what the dog was waiting for.

"Go visit," a deep voice rumbled from just beyond the reception desk.

"Excuse me?" Maple leaned to the left, and that's when she spotted him. Again.

Maple's heart did a rebellious little flutter.

She swallowed hard. "You."

"You," Ford echoed, narrowing his gaze at Maple.

He hadn't expected to see her again, well...ever. Once she'd ended her call earlier at Cherry on Top and come back inside the bakery, she'd been all business. She'd been in such a hurry to get back to Percy's house so she could pack and make new travel arrangements that, much to Adaline's consternation, she hadn't even finished her pie.

Their goodbye had been strained and awkward, and all the while, Ford had told himself it was for the best. Life could go back to normal around here.

Never mind that the prospect of normal suddenly felt a little dull. A little predictable.

A little lonely.

Ford gritted his teeth and reminded himself he didn't have any romantic interest in this woman. She was going to leave skid marks in her wake when she finally left town.

"What are you doing here? I thought you had a plane to catch," he said bluntly.

"I did." She blinked her wide doe eyes, a deer caught in headlights. "I mean I do. It's not until later this afternoon."

Ford dropped his gaze to the dog sitting at her feet, wagging her little gold heart out. A pang of...something hit him dead in the center of his chest. As much as he wanted to believe it was pity for the poor animal, it felt more like empathy. "If Lady Bird and I didn't know better, we might think you didn't really want to go."

"Good thing you both know better, then," Maple said, but she suddenly couldn't seem to meet his gaze. She seemed to be staring intently at his forearms, visible below the rolled-up sleeves of his denim shirt. Then she gave her head a little shake and aimed those wary eyes of hers back on his face. "What are you doing here? You're a pediatrician. Shouldn't you be passing out lollipops somewhere?"

Ah, there she was—the mouthy outsider that seemed to love nothing more than getting under his skin.

The joke was on Maple, though. Ford could see right through the arrogant little act of hers. It was simply a way of keeping people at arm's length, like the armored shell on an armadillo.

"I'm off today. Once a week I do an overnight at County General, and my office is always closed the following day. I was here to play bingo with my gram." He gave the pocket of his denim shirt a pat. "But if you have a hankering for a lollipop, I might have one on me."

"Thanks, but I'm good." She held up her hand to stop him, which was just as well since he was only teasing. "What did you say a minute ago, though? I'm not sure I caught it."

"The part about you having a plane to catch?"

"No." Her forehead puckered. "It was something about a visit."

"Ah. ‘Go visit.'" Ford cast a glance at the dog. "That's what Lady Bird is waiting for you to say. Percy always gave her that command at the start of a therapy-dog visit."

Maple's gaze flitted toward the golden. "Go visit, Lady Bird."

The dog immediately stood and started trotting toward her senior fan club, already assembled in the living room area of the lobby.

Maple flashed Ford a grin over her shoulder. "It worked! Thank you."

"You've got this, Maple," he said with a wink.

"Wait." She stumbled to a halt. "You're not leaving, are you?"

He'd planned on it. Visiting Gram had provided him with a welcome distraction from work, but Ford had other things to do on his day off. Bingo had ended a good twenty minutes ago, yet here he stood.

"Why? Do you want me to stay?" Ford shifted his weight from one booted foot to the other. The words had fallen out of his mouth before he could stop them. Of course, that's not what Maple wanted.

"Yes." She nodded vigorously, eyes pleading with him. "I mean, if you don't mind, that would be great. I really don't know what I'm doing, and you've clearly been around Lady Bird and Percy on their visits."

"There's really not much to it. That dog is a natural." He had no business staying and spending more time with her. Hadn't he just promised his sister earlier that he wasn't getting emotionally involved?

Good luck with that.A bitter taste rose up the back of his throat. Ford's emotions had been running roughshod over him for months now. What he needed to do now was lock the horse back in the barn.

"You're right. Sorry, it was just a thought." Maple cast a panicked glance toward the senior citizens, and Ford did his best to pretend he wasn't intrigued.

The woman was a study in contradictions. Why was she here when she so clearly wanted to be anyplace else?

"I'll stay," he said, telling himself he was simply doing her a favor, just like he would anyone else in town.

Her pretty mouth curved into a smile. "You will?" Ford ignored the telltale thump of his heart as relief flooded her features. Tried to, anyway.

He tipped his head toward the common area. "Yep, but you should probably go ahead and get started. Gram and her friends don't like to be kept waiting. They're going to eat you two alive."

Maple's face fell.

"I'm kidding, Doc." He leaned closer and gave her nose a playful tap. "Relax. Everyone's just happy you and Lady Bird are here. Trust me, you've got nothing to worry about."

"Except that I'm not certified to be doing this and everyone here has most likely been gossiping about me nonstop for the past twenty-four hours," she said with a wince.

She wasn't wrong, but dwelling on either of those things wasn't going to get her through the next half hour.

"Get through this visit, and I'll feed you more pie." Ford held up a finger. "Or better yet, barbecue. You can't leave Texas without a visit to Smokin' Joes."

Her nose wrinkled. "Why do I feel like now isn't the right time to admit that I don't like barbecue?"

That was downright blasphemous, but Ford had to cut her some slack. She'd obviously never had proper barbecue before. "That settles it. It would be a crime for you to leave Texas without giving our brisket a fair try. If you don't like it, fine. But you at least have to taste it."

She blew out a breath. "Okay, but only because you're saying."

"It's a d—" Ford swallowed the word date just in the nick of time "Deal."

"It's a deal," she repeated. Then she took a deep inhale and turned her attention toward Lady Bird. "Come on, Lady Bird. Let's go visit."