Mel and I supplied to Billy Bob whenever we were out of town.
“Sure,” I said. “That works.”
“Thanks for the grub, Beau,” Sam said. “I thank you, and so does Billy Bob.”
As Lucy and I headed across Clay, they were already on their way back down the stairs. When I first met Sam, I felt sorry for him. Now I understand that how he lives is his choice, and he’s not looking for sympathy. He’s looking for live and let live.
We rode up in the elevator. I finished working my day’s worth of neglected crossword puzzles and then set about getting ready for bed. Lucy usually hits the sack before I do. When it was time for lights-out, I looked at Lucy’s bed, fully expecting to find her there, but she was nowhere in sight. I went through the whole apartment, hunting for her. Finally there was only one room left to search—the guest room. Alan had left his bedside table lamp lit, and the door was slightly ajar—a telltale Lucy-size width ajar. I eased it open wide enough to see inside, and there she was, curled up into a tight ball on the floor underneath Athena’s bassinet-style travel crib.
Lucy’s message was clear: Any bad guy with evil intentions who might try to get close to Athena Dale was in for a big surprise. Remembering that other fabled Irish wolfhound—the one from the poem “Beth Gelert,” set in the North Wales town of Beddgelert—I knew that Lucy was living up to her ancient bloodlines and heritage by doing exactly what nature had always intended her to do—protect those most in need of protection.
So did I make her leave her self-imposed duty station and come to bed? I did not. I believe I’ve already told you that when it comes to disciplining kids or dogs, I’m hopeless.
Chapter 10
SOMETIME IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING, I was wishing my first wife, Karen Beaumont Livingston, was still around so I could have had the pleasure of telling her how very wrong she was. She had always insisted that I was stone deaf when it came to hearing babies cry overnight. Maybe years spent shooting on gun ranges have given me a kind of situational hearing loss that always used to block out the sounds made by our babies. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have the same effect on other people’s babies.
That night, every time Athena let out the smallest cry, I came wide awake and wasn’t able to fall back asleep afterward. The next morning, when Lucy cold-nosed me awake because it was time for her walk, I was short on shut-eye. It was all I could to do stumble out of bed and pull on my clothes. How Alan Dale had managed to live for close to six weeks on minimal amounts of sleep was more than I could imagine. Staggering out of the bedroom, I found Lucy had her leash in her mouth and was waiting by the front door. Alan, with Athena tucked in the crook of his arm, was standing in front of the microwave warming a bottle filled with baby formula.
“Morning,” he said. “Care for some coffee? Marge taught me how to use the machine.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Go ahead and press the buttons. I need to walk Lucy, but it won’t take long. It’ll be nice to have coffee ready and waiting by the time I get back.”
We made quick work of it. Lucy and I were down to P-1, across the street, and back in the elevator in a flash. It would have been a lengthier excursion had Sam and Billy Bob been in residence, but his grocery cart had already broken camp. No doubt they were off in search of someplace that offered free breakfasts.
Once back in the unit, I fed Lucy before grabbing my coffee mug and joining Alan in the living room. He was seated sideways on the window seat, feeding Athena and staring out the window. “I’ll bet you never get tired of this view,” he said, nodding toward the water.
On this unexpectedly sunny day, the view was especially gorgeous, with the blue expanse of Elliott Bay fringed by the rugged snowcapped peaks of the Olympics in the distance.
“Not so far,” I told him.
When Lucy finished eating, she came into the living room and walked past me without a glance, settling at Alan’s feet and lying down with a heartfelt sigh. Alan had evidently passed some kind of doggy security test and