right word. Anyone masochistic enough to adopt four puppies at once deserved a medal.
When Trent jabbed at the doorbell, the house erupted in tiny, high-pitched yaps. A second later, the front door swung open and Jace stood there, surrounded by black furballs.
“Hey, come in.” He held the door open. Today Jace was wearing a T-shirt with a drawing from one of his comics—Big Adventures, Little Dogs—on the front. “Don’t mind the furry army.”
One of the little black cockapoo puppies slapped her paws up onto Trent’s legs. He bent down to scoop up the little thing, which was a mistake. Because the rest of them descended, yipping and licking and begging for attention. They were all females, named after the romantic leads in the nineties rom-coms that Jace’s wife loved—Drew, Meg, Alicia, and Sandra, Sandy for short.
“Four dogs, bro. Really?”
Jace laughed. “Are you going to say that every time you come to visit? We’ve had them more than six months now.”
“And I still cannot believe my brother, Mr. Routine, adopted four bloody dogs.” Trent stood and followed his brother farther into the house, the pups trailing behind them like ducklings.
Jace’s house was neat as a pin, as usual. He was the kind of guy who had a place for everything and hated to see things out of order. Even with the furry army.
“Hey, Trent.” Angie came out from the kitchen and pulled him in for a hug. She was still in her uniform from the Patterson’s Bluff nursing home where she worked as a day manager and event planner. “So nice to see you. Are you staying for dinner?”
“No, I just came to drop off my laptop. Jace said he’d take a look at it again for me.”
Jace rolled his eyes. “What I said was you need to replace this hunk of crap because it’s old and I can’t do much for it now.”
“Ah, but not being able to do much implies you can do something.” Trent stuck his finger into the air. “Right?”
“I’ll take a look at it.” Jace grumbled as he took the silver beast from Trent’s hands and stashed it on the coffee table. “But no promises.”
“How’s work?” Trent asked Angie.
“Good, busy.” She planted a hand on her hip. “I swear the residents there keep me on my toes. We’re getting ready to run our second phase of the learning program, and I’ve been getting suggestions left, right, and center for what type of classes they want to see.”
Angie’s program was something she’d created while volunteering at the retirement home when she’d first come to live in Patterson’s Bluff. Back then she was in the country on a working holiday visa and had been looking for the perfect place to set down roots. She’d rented the granny flat—a little studio unit—behind Jace’s house and while he was her landlord, they’d fallen head over heels for each other. Now she was a permanent part of their community.
“What are they asking for?”
“Everything.” She laughed. “Meredith is still intent on getting a pole dancing class for seniors, but we’ve had some pushback with that.”
“Too sexy?”
“Too physical. I think management is worried about the insurance.” She rolled her eyes. “At this stage we’re sticking with burlesque, because chairs seem a bit more manageable than poles. I’ve also been in touch with Kellen from the gym about running some strength and muscle conditioning workshops, and the owner of House of Cake has offered a decorating class. I hear you might be in the market to teach a class on scrapbooking, too.”
Angie’s eyes twinkled, and Trent let out a groan. “Is everyone talking about that?”
“Well, if you show up to a construction site with glitter in your hair, there are going to be questions.” She laughed. “And it’s such a great story.”
“I’m still finding glitter on me. I swear, I was in the shower this morning and I found some in my armpit.”
Jace snorted. “Maybe you should leave the creative work to the rest of us.”
“You want to take over the scrapbooking project, be my guest.” Trent raked a hand through his hair and sure enough, a little silver fleck stuck to his palm. “I am not built for this shit.”
“How is the book coming along?” Angie asked.
“Slowly. After the glitter incident, we’ve been taking a careful and steady approach to things.” Trent’s lips quirked. “But we’ve been working together most nights, and it’s been…fun.”
Things had been a little strange between him and Cora. The night they spent together had been so explosive and