He held the picture out to Carly. She looked at it.
“My dad needs a break. My brother needs a break. We’ve been planning this a really long time and then Brant ruined everything for these two guys and they don’t even know him. I’ve tried to find a dog-sitter at such short notice, or even a kennel, but I can’t find anyone.”
She looked at the picture again.
Max stepped closer. “Jamie has already packed his bags. He has his dog books on the bed. He’s obsessed with dogs. Dogs are the only thing he really responds to, and that’s why I got Hazel in the first place, so he could have a dog around. How am I going to tell him he can’t go to a dog show because of a dog? How ironic is that?”
“Oh my God,” Carly whispered to the ceiling. “That’s ridiculously ironic.”
“My neighbor used Brant a couple of times and said everything worked out fine. I assumed it would for me, too.” Max shifted even closer. “Listen, Carly, were it not for my brother, I would never dream of asking you. Look at them,” he said, swinging around to the French doors again. “Baxter obviously loves Hazel and she loves him. Look at them.”
Carly turned her head and looked out. The dogs were romping like puppies.
“Come on,” Max said softly. “Have you ever seen Baxter so happy?”
“Unfair,” she said weakly. “You know I haven’t. But two dogs is a lot.”
“They will be a piece of cake. They will keep each other company and because they have each other, they will stay out of trouble. It will feel like they’re not even there.”
She looked dubious.
“It’s obvious you care about dogs, and you’ve been hanging out with Hazel for a couple of days now. You even took her to someone’s wedding.”
“I didn’t take her to a wedding—”
“Jamie loves dogs, and this means so much to him. He has a job at the Austin Canine Coalition now, did I mention that? It’s the first job he’s managed to hold on to. He doesn’t talk much, but in his job, he doesn’t have to because he gets dogs and they get him.”
She stared out the window at the dogs, her lips pressed together as she considered it.
“You would not believe how much progress my brother has made since he started working there. He’s so eager to get there that he started taking the bus by himself once a week. He didn’t have any social life before this job, but he’s actually gone for ice cream with some of the other workers. His entire world is home and the ACC, and he has been looking forward to this since I booked it. Every time I see him, he says dog show. Look.” He walked to the wall near the fireplace and lifted a canvas from a hook. He brought it back to show her. It was a painting of a floppy-eared dog. “Jamie painted this. He even paints dogs.”
“That’s a really good painting,” she said softly. She closed her eyes and drew a long breath. “Okay.” She opened them again. “How can I disappoint your brother? Or Baxter? Or Hazel? Oh my God,” she said with a dramatic, backward drop of her head.
Max understood, but he couldn’t help but sigh with relief. “Thank you so much, Carly. I will never be able to convey to you how much I appreciate this. I’ll be back before you know it, and I swear, I’ll return the favor. Anytime you need to get out of town, you let me know. A week, a month, whatever you need. Baxter always has a home here.”
She snorted. “You think I’m going to let Baxter stay here with you, eating mac and cheese and lounging on the couch? It’s going to take forever to undo that damage as it is.”
“I appreciate it so much. This has been weighing on me—I thought I was going to have to resort to drastic measures.”
“Well, news flash, Max—asking a total stranger to take your dog for a few days is a drastic measure.”
“Yeah . . . but there are worse options,” he said with a bitter laugh. “I mean . . . no offense.” He clasped his hands together in prayer pose. “You’re a good person, Carly . . . What is your last name?”
“Kennedy. Carly Kennedy Public Relations.”
“You’re a good person, Carly Kennedy Public Relations. I’ve got a few things,” he said, and walked