“Thank you.”
“But I didn’t come here to talk to you just about the awful Jamie,” Scott said, smiling and taking a step toward her. “I also brought you this.” He placed a brochure on the desk in front of her.
“Guide dogs?” asked Kara, her brow creasing in confusion. She picked up the leaflet. “Why would I be interested in a seeing eye dog? Do they need help? I’d be happy to make a donation,” she added, looking up at Scott with a puzzled expression.
“Not a guide dog—a diabetes service dog,” he replied. “I’ve been researching them. They’re trained to detect sudden changes in someone’s sugar levels and alert them so they can correct it. A dog could alert you if anything was happening to Maeve. One of these dogs would help keep her safe, give her more independence, and give you peace of mind.”
Scott flipped the brochure over to show Kara the paragraph he was quoting from. She studied it for a moment, then looked up as Maeve opened the door and tumbled into the room, closely followed by an exasperated Mary.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Once she saw that Jamie had left and Scott was still here, I couldn’t stop her from bothering you. She insisted on coming back in here again.”
Scott laughed and reached over to scoop a giggling Maeve into his arms. While he cuddled the little girl, she snuggled into his chest and looked over at her mother with a delighted smile.
“Gott’s here,” she announced.
“He is,” her mother acknowledged, “and he’s trying to convince me to get us a dog. Crazy Gott!”
“A dog?” asked Maeve, her eyes rounding. She looked in astonishment from Scott to her mother and back again. “A real dog for us to keep? Can he sleep in my bed?”
“Maybe,” Kara replied with a smile.
Mary and Scott both laughed and exchanged a meaningful look, knowing that “maybe” probably meant that very soon Maeve was going to be getting a dog of her own.
Once everyone had left her office, Kara took another long look at the garden center’s financial records before putting her head in her hands and groaning. She didn’t want to sell the garden center, but when she looked at all the figures, she honestly didn’t feel like she had much of a choice—she had people depending on her for paychecks. And because of the huge plumbing bill she’d just paid, if anything happened that was unanticipated, she no longer had any cushion—there was nothing left to fall back on to keep the garden center solvent.
On the other hand, if Kara took the offer for the land, she could use some of the money to open another garden center in Larkin Bay, one with newer buildings and more up-to-date utilities. It would also ensure that everyone could keep their jobs. There was even the possibility that, if she was careful, there’d still be enough money left from the sale for her to buy their rental house and ensure she and Maeve had some financial security.
By selling, she might also be able to give Maeve everything she needed, even the diabetic alert dog Scott had found. Kara knew the dog’s training was probably subsidized, but she suspected she would still be responsible for paying for the rest of its care. When she considered the cost of vet appointments, dog food, and everything else it would need, she assumed having a dog could get very expensive.
Getting up from her chair, Kara left her office and walked through the garden center, stopping for a moment to hug Maeve, who was now busy coloring at her corner table with Rachel. Kara smiled at the older girl, who gave her a bright grin back. It was hard to believe this pretty and patient young teen was the same terror at home that her mother complained about from time to time. Kara shuddered as she remembered her own teenage years and briefly wondered what would happen when Maeve reached them.
Kara went and found Mary at the front of the garden center. “I was just thinking about how Maeve is going to be a teenager one day. She’s going to have to deal with being diabetic—she’s never going to be able to eat junk food whenever she wants or starve herself for a few days to fit into her prom dress better. She’s going to have to worry about her nutrition, needles, and glucose levels instead.” Kara’s voice was shaking, and she reached up to wipe a tear away as she looked at her friend.
Mary reached over and hugged her. “Yes, she will. But that’s a long way off, and medicine could change a lot between now and then. This diagnosis is new for both of you, so it just seems overwhelming right now. But by the time Maeve is a teenager, it won’t be. She won’t know any different, so all those worries you just rattled off won’t matter to her. It’ll all just be a part of who she is.”
Kara sniffled. “Do you really think so?”
Mary nodded. “I do. Besides that, she and you won’t be alone. You’ll have me to talk to, and Maeve will have Rachel, and we’ll both help. It’s scary, but it’ll be okay. Maeve will take it all in stride. You’ll see.”
Kara took another deep, steadying breath and gave her friend a shaky smile. “I know you’re right,” she replied. “But this whole diagnosis, along with taking care of the house and seeing the business here slow down, and all the bills for both, just seems too much to handle at times.”
“I know,” Mary replied, biting her lip as she studied Kara. “But you know that if you decided to sell the business, we would still all love you, right? And the town would adjust to any changes? Life in Larkin Bay would go on.”
Kara hung her head and didn’t reply.
Mary frowned. “Remember, Kara, you need to do what’s right for you and Maeve. Larkin Bay and the rest of the world will spin on even if you sell the garden center land to the developers.”
Kara nodded. “I know,” she whispered, looking back at her friend sadly. “At least I think I do.”
As Kara slowly walked back to her desk, she looked at everything she and her mother had built together and thought about how hard it would be to let it all go. Stopping for a moment, she admired the newest drawing Maeve had done before she returned to her office. Closing the door behind her, she reached for her phone to call Courtney.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Scott whistled happily as he left the pub. His baseball team had won their game tonight, and the celebration at Sullivan’s Place had been great. He really liked several of the people he was now regularly playing ball with and they, along with their significant others, were all becoming friends. He smiled.
As he got closer to his apartment, he pulled out his phone and texted Greg. Since he’d heard from his old friend after the audition in the city, they had exchanged several messages and were now even planning on getting together later in the summer. Scott was looking forward to seeing and reconnecting with him too.
I can’t wait to see Kara’s expression when I tell her she was right about the value of friendships.
As he looked down at the last text he’d received from Greg, another arrived in his inbox, and his brow puckered. The message was from Max and consisted only of a question mark.
Scott tapped his phone against his palm. His agent was wondering what he was going to do. The networks were waiting for an answer and Scott knew it was past time for him to give them one.
Sighing, he saw in his mind’s eye again the list of pros and cons he had made of continuing on the journey to becoming a baseball commentator. The columns were fairly even. He had considered flipping a coin, but instead he was going to do what Greg had suggested.
He was going to trust his gut.
He was going to stay here and enjoy the life he had been creating in Larkin Bay.
Lifting his phone, he pulled up Max’s contact information. His agent might not be happy with Scott’s response, but Scott was certain that it was the right thing for him—and for the future he wanted. And he wasn’t the least bit surprised to discover he was grinning as he placed the call.
Kara felt as if one enormous weight had been lifted off her shoulders only to be replaced by another. After she had negotiated Maeve into a weather-appropriate outfit, she made sure her daughter’s glucose levels were steady and double-checked to ensure the little girl had buckled herself correctly into her booster seat. Finally, climbing into the truck, Kara started in the direction of the garden center. As she drove through the back residential streets of Larkin Bay, she considered where she could build a new nursery. She wasn’t surprised to discover that instead of feeling excited about the possibilities, the idea of rebuilding somewhere else in town just left her feeling exhausted and sad.
Waiting at a red light, Kara glanced in her rearview mirror to check on Maeve. Some of the tension left her shoulders when she saw the healthy flush in her daughter’s cheeks.
I’m doing the right thing.
