Page 72 of Puppy Kisses

“And Emily only offered to come live with you because she likes you better than the rest of us,” Lila added. “Everyonelikes you better than the rest of us, but you always find a way to do this.”

“Do what?”

In tandem, both Sophie and Lila squeezed her hands. They also released their grips and sat back against the booth cushion. Dawn thought for a moment that their food had arrived, but the waitress bustled by carrying someone else’s plates.

“It’s true. Do you remember the time she broke up with that quarterback in high school?” Sophie’s question was directed at Lila, who nodded in reply. “He was—what?—six foot two and had more muscles than an entire beach-body competition. I remember because I was in for my second round of chemo, so she kept sneaking photos of his abs to help pass the time.”

“But then he dumped her, so she had to steal photos from the internet and pretend they were him.” Lila laughed. “I’ll never know where she found so many pictures of half-naked men.”

“His name was Chad,” Dawn said carefully. Like Lila and Sophie, she had very clear memories of this incident—few of them good. “And naked pictures are everywhere, Lil. Do you even know how the internet works?”

They ignored her, and this time, it was Lila’s turn to traipse down memory lane.

“Or there was the time I was finishing my master’s thesis, and she broke her ribs in that skiing accident. Remember, Soph? She didn’t want to distract me when I was up against such a tight deadline, so she pretended she’d fallen in love with her ski instructor and hid at her friend Malia’s house until she was healed.”

Dawn sat up straight in her seat. “Wait—youknewabout that? Sophie, you told her?”

Sophie blinked innocently at her. “Of course not. You don’t have to tell Lila things. She already knows.”

“It’s true,” Lila agreed, her expression softening. That was almost worse, since Dawn could guess what was coming next. “I know everything—including the fact that you’ll do or say anything rather than reveal what’s really in your heart. Especially if it might cause anyone else the least bit of discomfort. You loved that overly chiseled quarterback… Admit it.”

“Please. I could never love a man named Chad.”

“Dawn,” Lila admonished.

Dawn felt heat flush to her cheeks. “At the time, yes, I thought he was the hottest thing since popped collars. In retrospect, however, I think I would have gotten tired of him within the year. He never stopped talking about his passing yards. You did me a favor, Soph, getting chemo when you did. Searching the internet for PG-13 porn got me through a real tough spot in my life.”

Sophie didn’t accept the thanks. Like Lila, her expression grew misty around the edges, her soft, lilting voice even softer and more lilting than before. “And you would have much rather convalesced at home instead of your friend’s house,” she said. “I remember because Malia had that boyfriend who was always trying to get you to sleep with him while she was at work. You must have hated being stuck there.”

Dawn pulled a face, remembering. Ithadbeen hard to stave off an ardent cheater when her ribs were cracked in three places, but she’d managed it. Of course, it had required her not bathing the entire time she was there. There had been things growing on her bandages that no woman should have to face alone.

“It was my own fault for trying that jump in the first place. My skiing skills have never been quite as high as my confidence.”

“Dawn,” Lila said.

“Dawn,” Sophie echoed.

A feeling of profound discomfort settled onto Dawn’s shoulders, holding her in place and making it difficult to protest her sisters’ gentle treatment of her. All the things they were saying about her were true, but they were wrong about the motivations behind them. From the way they were looking at her, as though she was some kind of saintly being dedicated to their life’s happiness, anyone would think she’d acted from motives of pure self-disinterest.

But that wasn’t it. That wasn’t it at all. It wasn’t self-disinterest that caused her to act the way she did—it was self-preservation.

“You guys don’t understand,” she said. Pled, really, her voice taking on a wheedling tone that caused even Gigi to sit up and take notice. Although Dawn doubted she would ever be the puppy’s favorite, the animal was perceptive—and generous—enough to lift her head and place it on Dawn’s knee.

She dropped a hand to the puppy’s head and ran her fingers over her silken ears.

“Then tell us,” Lila said. “Please.”

If that one word wasn’t persuasive enough, Sophie only added fuel to the fire. “I can’t think of a single time in my life when you didn’t give up everything to come running to my aid. No matter what you had going on in your life, no matter what you had going on in here.” She leaned across the table and tapped her temple. “Won’t you tell us what’s going on? Just this once?”

There were lots of ways Dawn could have fulfilled Sophie’s request. Adam Dearborn was one of the things going on, taking up way more room in her heart than she appeared to be taking in his. Bea Benson was there, too, all her grumbling and cackling intended to hide how lonely she was. Then there was Zeke and his inability to talk to his brother about how much he hated the ranch; Gigi and the fact that it was wrong to take her away from Uncle, even if Adam didn’t want her anymore; even the puppies at the kennel, who would soon find much more joy in the company of a little girl than they’d ever found with her.

But of all those things, the person who loomed largest and took up the most space was herself.

“It’s easier to deal with other people’s problems than it is to deal with my own,” she said.There.It was out now—the dark truth, the deep secret behind it all. “A smile, a laugh, a party, a mad plan to steal a puppy—I know how to fix things. I’m good at fixing things. Sometimes it’s pictures of a quarterback’s abs; sometimes it’s a flourless chocolate cake and a case of wine. In fact, when Sophie needed help figuring out how to break down Harrison’s walls, I knew just what to do. Remember?”

Sophie tilted her head thoughtfully, the sway of one dangling earring touching her shoulder. “Show a little skin, drive him a little crazy. Of course I remember.”

Dawn’s lips lifted in a slight smile. That had been a fun problem to fix. Sophie had been able to get that man eating out of the palm of her hand within days. “And when Lila was trying to figure out what to do about Ford, it was easy for me to jump in and help with that, too,” she added.