The dog removed himself from her chest and sat next to her, tail wagging at a record-setting pace while Riley sat up, reeling from the shock.
“What the hell?” she grumbled.
“Ms. Maxwell, you’re here,” Bernard said with some surprise. “I wasn’t expecting you. I could have picked you up.”
Lifting herself off the ground, Riley glared at the dog. “I guess this is my new dog, huh?” she said, brushing the dirt off.
Bernard laughed. “Why yes, this is Scrappy. He’s very excited to meet you.”
Well, that makes one of us.
“Uh huh. Is that what that is?” she replied sarcastically.
Bernard stepped closer and picked up Riley’s suitcase. “Let me get that for you.”
“Thanks,” she said.
“Follow me and we’ll get you settled,” Bernard offered as he took her bag into the house.
Walking behind him, she glared at the dog again, who appeared to be doing everything in his power to sit still, awaiting permission to move.
“Scrappy, get in the house,” Bernard addressed the monstrous beast, who hopped up and pranced into the house ahead of them. For such a huge dog, he was light on his feet when he wasn’t toppling you over.
“Scrappy?” Riley asked, a hint of derision still in her voice.
Bernard laughed again. “Mr. Prescott had a sense of humor, as you know. And, I mean Scrappy was kinda small as a puppy. Although, he’s still technically a puppy.”
“You mean to tell me that brute isn’t full-grown?” Riley couldn't believe the dog still had growing to do.
“No, not yet. He still has about another twenty pounds or so he’ll probably put on. His energy level is all puppy though.” Bernard placed Riley’s suitcase at the bottom of a beautiful staircase that spiraled halfway to the second floor before straightening out alongside the wall the rest of the way up. “Your room is upstairs, but I thought you might want some refreshment?”
“That would be great,” Riley replied haphazardly as she gazed about the parts of the house she could see. As she’d expected from the outside, the inside was gorgeous. She could see couches across the back end of the house where more floor-to-ceiling glass looked out over the water.
“Why don’t you have a seat out on the back porch and I’ll grab us a drink. I’m sure you have a lot of questions you’d like answered.” He waved his hand toward the area she’d been peering at from afar. “I would have made arrangements to come and get you,” he said again.
“That’s okay, Bernard. I needed to spend a little time, walking and acclimating.”
“Understood.” He walked off to the right where the kitchen seemed to be, and Riley followed him until she reached the back door, which was almost entirely glass.
Scrappy had settled himself onto a large dog bed until she opened the back door, at which point he trotted over to her. “Oh, you want to go outside too?”
Before she let him follow her, she looked out to the deck to see if it was safe. Beautiful teak lounge chairs were placed around the area in what created little seating areas for small groups of people to congregate. She spotted a dog bed next to one of the chaise lounges, indicating to her that Scrappy could join her outside.
“Don’t run away or jump on me again, got it?” she said to him before letting him lead the way to his favorite spot, which turned out to be the chaise lounge next to the dog bed, not the dog bed itself. “Whatever, just be chill.” Riley rolled her eyes at the dog, who had stretched himself out, so much so that his back and front paws were both hanging off the edges. He let out a very l
oud sigh and stared at her.
“Dude, I don’t know what to tell you. I don’t know what I’m doing here,” she explained to him.
“Well, this is your home,” Bernard interrupted her conversation with Scrappy, setting down two lemonades and a bottle of vodka on the matching table between them. “If you want it to be.” He handed her a glass. “I thought you might want a real drink after the long trip, and what with the craziness of the day I assume you have had.”
“You assume correctly, Bernard.” She smiled as she replied before taking a long sip of the cool lemonade. No need to mention the shots of tequila I had before.
Bernard settled himself in the chair across from her and glanced over at the dog. “Damn dog loves to lay on the furniture. Thinks he’s a human.”
“So, about this dog…” Riley decided to use that as her segway to not keeping the dog.
“He’s a good dog, but he’s huge. And clumsy.” Bernard chuckled. “Mr. Prescott put all the glass away when Scrappy here was a puppy because that tail of his kept knocking everything onto the floor.”