Page 73 of Puppy Love

“Harrison, I only meant—”

“There you are.” Instead of his usual overalls, Wallace was dressed in thick black canvas pants and a checked shirt that fit him tighter than his usual garb. “I’ve been sitting around this house all damn day, waiting for you kids to get back.”

Harrison swiveled to stare at his dad. “When have you ever cared about my whereabouts?”

Wallace’s laugh was a cackle. “Never—and I still don’t, so you can get down off your holy steed. I was talking to Sophie. Do you have a few minutes before you head home?”

“Actually, I—” she began.

“Dad, I invited Sophie to stay with us for a little while.” Harrison’s voice was equal parts defiance and trepidation. “I told you early on that she might need to stay overnight for some of the training, remember?”

Wallace’s face lifted, and he snapped his fingers. “That’s perfect! She can stay in the bedroom at the top of the stairs. It’s probably dusty as all hell, but I’m sure the pair of you can set it to rights in no time.”

Sophie felt more relief than she cared to admit at that invitation. As much as she would have loved to stay in Harrison’s room—and in his arms—to do so would push the bounds of what she could reasonably sell to her family. What happened at the campground on her weekend off stayed at the campground on her weekend off, but she was technically earning a salary during the week. Having her own room would make it impossible for her family to storm the Parks lands in hopes of retrieving their lost damsel.

“Thank you, Wallace. That would be perfect. Since it’s across from Harrison’s room, we won’t disturb you for the puppy’s night training.”

“Then it’s done.” Wallace clapped. “The room is yours.”

“Wait—what?” Harrison glanced back and forth between them. Sophie had thought he’d be pleased to find his father such a willing convert to their cause, but he looked more hurt than anything else. “Are you serious? You’re giving her your old room?Mom’sold room? Just like that?”

A sinking feeling took over Sophie’s gut. She’d known that bedroom was weirdly shrine-like, untouched by cleaning products or time, but she’d assumed it had occasionally been used by the beloved Aunt Caroline.

Not a mother and father. Not a husband and wife.

“It doesn’t have to be that one,” she said quickly, eager to keep the peace. “I’ll be just as happy on the couch, I promise. Besides, it’ll only be for a few nights, so it doesn’t really matter where I stay.”

She might as well have not been there for all the attention the two Parks men paid her.

“Why not?” Wallace asked as he crossed his arms and squared to meet his son. “It’s been sitting there empty for twenty goddamn years.”

“Twenty-twogoddamn years, you mean,” Harrison replied. “But who’s counting?”

“You, apparently.”

“Oh, right. Because I’m the weird one here. I’m the one who forbade anyone to touch anything in that room after she left.”

“I never said that.”

“Yes, you did. You said it all the time.” Harrison lifted the puppy in a protective curl against his chest. He didn’t even seem to notice that Bubbles took an equally protective pose, her eyes appraising Wallace as if trying to decide whether or not he was about to disturb her beloved master. “You said it on birthdays. You said it on holidays. You said it when I graduated. In fact, you said it anytime I showed the least desire to move on with my life.”

“I don’t remember—”

“Leave it, you said.Leave it all. I like it this way.”

The older man looked uncomfortably away. “Well, you should have known better than to listen to me.”

“I was a kid! Listening to you wasn’t really optional.”

It seemed prudent for Sophie to intervene. Whatever her family’s problems, they paled in comparison to the emotion pulsing between these two hard, stubborn men. “I didn’t mean to start anything, you two. Honestly. Why don’t I head home, and we’ll revisit this plan later? You guys can probably use the space.”

“You’re staying here,” Harrison said, turning his attention to her. His eyes were hard, but they softened as they landed on her. “You can’t abandon me yet, Sophie. Please.”

“Yeah, you’re staying here.” Wallace sounded just as determined, though without the intensity that was exuding off Harrison in waves. “It’s my house, and I’ll invite whoever I damn well please to stay in it.”

Sophie looked back and forth between them, a smile playing at her lips despite the gravity of the conversation. They were literally fighting for the same thing, and neither one of them seemed to notice the irony of it.

“With such polite offers from you both, how can I refuse?” she said sweetly. “I’ll call my sisters and have one of them bring me a bag. But I’ll be staying on the couch until you can work something better out between you. I’m not about to sleep in a room that hasn’t been touched in over two decades. I didn’t want to have to admit it to two such robust outdoorsmen as yourselves, but I’m scared of ghosts.”