An Unexpected Grace by Kristin von Kreisler Page B

Grace.”
    A gulp lodged in Lila’s throat. “I assumed somebody was going to pick her up tonight.”
    Adam’s eyes narrowed as if he were confused. “Cristina didn’t tell you?”
    â€œTell me what?”
    â€œI thought you agreed to keep Grace.”
    Lila gritted her teeth. She knew how General Custer felt, having a perfectly acceptable day and suddenly out of nowhere getting trapped.
    As her face clouded, Adam said, “We tried to find someone to take Grace. We called all our dog rescue friends, but nobody had any room.”
    â€œWhy can’t you take her?” Lila’s tone sounded like she was accusing him of mugging someone in a wheelchair.
    â€œI’m still living next door to the man I stole her from.”
    Do you rob banks in your spare time? “You stole her?”
    â€œWell, rescued. She was living with a sadist. He chained her to a tree.”
    As cruel as that sounded, it was no excuse to railroad Lila. She shook her head in disbelief that her dearest friend would manipulate her into keeping that dog. She, who Cristina knew was afraid of Grace, who had just one good hand to defend herself, who was trying to put her life back together and had no energy to waste. No wonder Cristina had stayed in the garage, out of the way when Adam sprang the news.
    On the other hand, though rushed to pack her own belongings, Cristina had persuaded Lila’s landlord to let her break her lease and had moved her apartment’s contents here. The hours of work had been one more example of Cristina’s eighteen years of kindness to Lila. For Cristina, she should have been willing to take on not only a potentially vicious golden retriever, but even a radioactive goat. Just as Lila had concluded when she’d agreed to house-sit, she owed Cristina.
    As Grace nosed Adam’s hand to ask for more petting, Lila shook her head and told herself not to be resentful. She needed to be as gracious and helpful as Cristina had been the last couple of weeks. Lila said, “You’ve taken me by surprise. Cristina never asked me if keeping that dog would be okay.”
    â€œShe must have forgotten. She’s bound to be distracted. She has a lot to do before she leaves tomorrow.” Adam looked maddeningly sincere. “I’m really sorry. I wish we had another solution. We’d never ask you to keep Grace if we had a choice, but we couldn’t help how things worked out.”
    â€œWell . . . So . . . ,” Lila said, apropos of nothing. She knew defeat when she was surrounded and there was no escape.
    â€œGoldens are quick to get adopted. Grace’ll only be here a few days.”
    â€œThat’s what Cristina said when I came here last week.”
    â€œYou can’t tell how people will respond to posters. Calls come in waves. Someone will be glad to have her.”
    Adam fixed Lila with his eyes, which she noted were intensely blue. He was the kind of man you had to rally strength to argue with, and she hadn’t gotten hers back.
    â€œI’ve looked after Cristina’s dogs here at least a dozen times. It’s easy,” he said.
    â€œI guess,” Lila said. But her enthusiasm would not have filled a gnat’s shirt pocket. Her few days of dog-sitting stretched before her like a road through a jungle with pythons and leeches.
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    In the kitchen Grace settled, drooling full blast, at Adam’s feet. He, apparently, thought nothing of dog drool. Lila shuddered to think what his Irish wolfhounds did to his floor. “Slimy” would be too charitable a word for it.
    â€œHow can anyone not love this wonderful girl,” Adam said.
    â€œEasy. Look at her teeth,” Lila said.
    â€œThey scare you?”
    â€œWell, yes, if you really want to know.”
    Even if he didn’t want to know, she felt compelled to justify her attitude. She told him about the dog who’d lunged at her when she was nine. “The fur on