Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,25

it lit the room. “We’ll visit you, won’t we, Mommy?”

Danielle looked as if she were caught between a rock and a boulder, but she eventually said, “As long as Mr. Forester approves. We can talk about this later, honey. Right now, let’s see how Oscar and Mr. Forester gets along, alright?”

“Can I let him in?” Skyler said.

“Sure,” Danielle said, standing up with her daughter. “But I’ll be right behind you.”

Skyler and Danielle hurried to the back door. I noticed Calvin watching me, a bemused look on his face.

“What?”

“They seem like a sweet family,” he commented slyly.

“Yes, they do,” I agreed warily, eyeing him.

“And you and Danielle - you’re just, friends?” Calvin raised an eyebrow.

“We are. We met when I was looking for a dog for you.”

“I see the way you look at her, son,” he said with a little chuckle. “And she looks at you the same way.”

“What do you mean?”

Before I could get an answer from him, Oscar and Skyler came barrelling into the room together. Danielle was behind them. As soon as Oscar reached the living room, he sat down directly in front of where Skyler sat. His eyes looked at Calvin curiously, but he didn’t make a move or even a sound toward him. His tail was flopping around on the floor.

“Oh, what a beauty,” Calvin said, leaning forward. “May I pet him?”

“Of course,” Danielle said from nearby. “He’s a very friendly boy. He’ll come to you if you call him.”

“Oscar, come here,” Calvin said, patting his lap.

Oscar looked at Danielle for permission, then stood up and walked over to Calvin’s side. His tail was wagging even more than usual. He sat down and rested his head in the old man’s lap. Calvin stroked the dog’s fur gently, a relaxed smile on his face. He seemed to be at peace, something I hadn’t seen from him before.

Danielle grinned at me, and for a second, I forgot all the awkwardness between us. She seemed to as well as we watched Calvin and Oscar bond.

“I think we’ve found a match,” Danielle said, wiping away the tears from her eyes. She was smiling brightly, however, so I assumed they were happy tears. Or at least mixed with happiness at seeing one of her dogs comfort a person in need. It had to be a very rewarding job.

Calvin looked up, and for a moment, I thought I saw tears in the old man’s eyes too. He quickly wiped them away with his sleeve.

“He’s a special dog. I can see that,” Calvin said, his voice a bit hoarse.

“He is. I knew it from the moment I met him that he was special.” The two of them shared a smile, and Danielle cleared her throat. “So this seems like a good match, and if you’re interested, we can move forward with more specialized training. I can bring him over to your house, Mr. Forester, and we can work on exactly what you need.”

“Oh, I’m definitely interested,” the old man said. “I haven’t felt this relaxed or happy in years.”

“I’m glad to hear we’re able to help. This is why I do what I do,” Danielle said proudly.

“Are you sure you won’t accept payment?” Calvin asked.

Danielle shot me a look. We’d already talked about this. She bit her lip and said softly, “No, no, it’s all covered through non-profit donations.”

She averted her gaze. I hated making her lie; it was clear she wasn’t comfortable with it. But it was also the only way to get Calvin to accept the dog and to accept me paying for it. His fixed income was barely enough to live off of, much less pay for very specialized dog training like this.

“Well thank your donors for me, then.”

Danielle looked at me again, as if to make sure I got the message. Which I did.

“Alright, well, when should we get started?”

I let Danielle and Calvin work out the details of the training, and when it came time to leave, I pulled Danielle to the side.

“What?” she asked, as we stepped into the kitchen.

I handed her a wad of bills. She stared at it, a confused look on her face. “Payment for the training.”

“I usually only collect half up-front,” she said, looking through the pile of bills with wide eyes.

“I’m paying in advance. If it costs more than that, I’ll give you more. But for now, I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed.”

“No, it won’t cost more than this. I’m sure of it. It’ll probably cost less, so