I donât think...â Eve started.
âYes,â Andy said. âI think I would like that.â Anything to delay meeting the gazes and sympathy of the others. She was still shaken, still trembling slightly within if not outside. âI think Joseph would, too.â
Nickâs face lit up like a sudden burst of fireworks. He reached for her hand and led her through a hall to a closed door. There was trust in that hand, trust she didnât have for herself. Joseph stayed at her side as the boy led her to a bedroom and opened the door. Four dogs looked up, two from dog beds on the floor and two on the bed. Two raced over to her, and the other two regarded her warily.
âThis is Lulu,â Nick said of the young dog who jumped on her. âSheâs pretty new. But sheâs learning. And the beagle is Miss Marple. Sheâs a thief. The two shyer ones are Captain Hook, the Chihuahua, and Fancy.â
She was enchanted by the names as well as the obviously odd collection of dogs. Fancy was...the homeliest dog sheâd ever seen. Yet her happiness at meeting someone was endearing. Joseph sniffed each dog, then returned to her side, apparently convinced she was in no danger. She stooped and petted each of the dogs and was rewarded with licks.
âMom calls them her motley crew, but I donât think theyâre motley at all. When I asked what it meant, she told me to look it up in the dictionary,â Nick said.
âAnd what did it say?â she asked, completely enchanted.
âComposed of diverse, often incongruous elements,â he recited like a small scholar.
âAnd what does incongruous mean?â
âI looked that up, too.â
âAnd?â
âI didnât understand completely. Different , kinda.â
âWell, your dogs are different, and in a good way,â she said. âTheyâre different in the way they look, but theyâre alike in that they love you.â
He beamed. âI like your dog, too.â
âHeâs my first one. You might have to give me some advice.â
âIs he a military dog like Joshâs?â
âNo, but heâs been trained to help me.â It was the first time sheâd admitted to anyone other than Dr. Payne that she needed help.
âJosh has nightmares,â Nick confided. âIâve heard him. Amos helps him, too.â
That didnât seem right. Josh had appeared so confident, so in control. He was starting a new business, had taken a wife and gained a child...a rather precocious one, at that.
They were interrupted by a knock. âDinnerâs ready,â Stephanie said.
Andy nodded. She concentrated on controlling the tremors that sometimes continued after a PTSD incident. That was what she called it: an incident.
She was self-conscious, embarrassed, unsteady, even nauseous, but she darn well wasnât going to show it. She stood. âI think I should wash first. I have dog all over me.â
âThat happens around here,â Stephanie said.
Andy went into the bathroom, washed her face and looked at herself.
She looked washed-out. She walked unsteadily into the dining room. Joseph stuck so close to her she almost tripped against him.
Then she was at a table loaded with food. The steaks had been cut into individual pieces and looked a bit charred. But no one said anything. Instead, they dug into a huge salad and baked potatoes.
She listened as Nate and Josh talked about the new inn. âSusan, our manager, is not that excited about the name. Sheâs great at marketing and thinks we should look at something more...descriptive than Covenant Falls Inn.â
âI like Covenant Falls Inn,â Eve said.
âWe havenât finalized the sign yet,â Josh said. âAny suggestions are welcome.â
He turned to Andy. âI heard youâve been delving into some of our newspapers. Find anything interesting?â
She tried to think of