Page 43 of A Love Like Candle Light

"I don't think you can promise that." Nic shakes her head. "I mean, yes, it started off shitty, but the way it ended..." She puts the tips of her fingers to her lips. "Chef's kiss. Couldn't have gone more perfectly."

"Yeah, I will need that story right now," I declare and take a sip of my hot chocolate.

“Sure.” Nic shrugs. “Once upon a time-“

Bang.

"Seriously? What else does ghostie not like?" I lean my head back and stare at the ceiling. Meanwhile the three burst into laughter.

Chapter 15

Kylie

“You’re really hitting the brunt of puberty now, aren’t you?” I look at Dick and he stares right back with the most innocent wide eyes a golden retriever can have.

He has one of Abby’s toys in his mouth. A fact my dog is not too happy about.

She’s been trying to get it back for the past ten minutes, but that little golden, adorable weasel is too quick and too stubborn for his own good. Combined with his puppy energy, he is impossible to catch, at least without a little bribery in the form of treats.

“I’m so sorry,” Kieran mutters and shakes his head, arms crossed in front of his chest. “Dick? Come here!”

Bless him, he’s doing his best, but his dog is downright ignoring him. He reaches for the golden retriever, but before he can catch the leash, Dick is already disappearing in the shrubbery of Wayward Hollow’s main square.

It’s cloudy today. The kind of heavy clouds that make an afternoon seem like the middle of the night, promising a rain so heavy you’ll want to drive a boat on the roads instead of a car.

“He’s about as stubborn as my mother insisting I’m going to hell, after telling her about my divorce.”

He winces. “Damn, I’m sorry you have to deal with that.” I shrug and wave him off. His wistful gaze returns to his dog and he lets out the deepest sight I’ve ever heard. “Man, let me tell you, we were doing so well. He learned so many tricks. I even got him to do a photo pose on command and then puberty hit and he became a little menace.”

“The joys of parenthood.” I pat his shoulder with an empathetic smile and hand him a treat. Bribery seems to be the only thing Dick can be somewhat controlled with. Which is why Kieran ran out of treats half an hour ago. “I’ll get him close. You grab his leash.”

His face sets with conviction and he rolls up his sleeves. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

His face is set, an expression as if he’s out on a life-or-death mission. For him and his nerves, this just might be. I crouch down and hold one of the treats out to Dick.

“Come here, little Dickie,” I coo and try to get him closer. Oh God, it’s taking everything in me not to burst into laughter. Kieran did not pick a good name for stern commands.

Said owner takes a few steps away, knowing his dog won’t approach if he hovers close by.

Dick stares at me with eyes full of suspicion, sensing our trap. However, within a second, all doubts are wiped from his brain, and he trots closer, dropping Abby’s toy a meter away from me and quickly lapping up the treat.

“Ha-ha!”

Kieran grabs the leash. As soon as Dick realizes, he tries to run off, but Kieran has a firm grip on it now.

“Maybe you need one of those dog leashes that go around your waist,” I propose, watching him fight with his four-legged mix of a toddler and mid-puberty teenager.

“Already ordered,” he confides with a smirk. “Along with a tracker, in case he runs off and decides to dig up some bones, I guess.”

I giggle and absentmindedly pat Abby’s head. “Let’s hope he doesn’t. It sure made for an adventure but I could have totally managed moving here without. I’m still not sure what to do with the giant hole in my backyard.”

“Embrace it and install a pool.”

“Seriously? We have a lake right in front of our houses, I don’t need a pool.”

We trudge around the park in Wayward Hollow’s main square. The wind is blowing my hair into my face, and every two seconds I wipe a strand, or a leaf, out of my eyes.

“Can’t we have some sunny, cozy fall weather?” I mumble, promptly getting hair in my mouth. Ugh.