“If you think you’re going to get a moment alone with Greer this weekend, you can forget it,” my father added. “Those two have clearly called dibs.”
Kyle chuckled. “Has your sister been in Greenland for very long?”
“She has, yes,” I said. “She was there as part of a research team for two years. She hasn’t been home since she left.”
“Wow. What got her interested in that career?”
I smiled. “She’s always been interested in the weather, how it works, why it changes. When the winters up here in New Hampshire started to shift warmer, she really took an interest in it and the impact climate change was having on the area. I honestly thought she was going to follow in my father’s footsteps and become a photographer. She’s got an eye for it and has taken some amazing pictures. Sold a few to National Geographic, as a matter of fact. She loves to travel, but her love for science won out. She’s also done research in Alaska.”
I watched as Kyle studied her. It wasn’t hard to notice how the two of them had looked at each other when they’d first met. My sister was beautiful; a mini version of my mother. She had always turned heads—and it was obvious to me that Kyle’s head was spinning.
“She’s married to her job,” I went on. “Lives, eats, breathes it.”
“Kyle’s like that too,” Greer said. We both turned to look at her. I hadn’t even realized she’d tuned into our conversation, but then I noticed my mother and Everly walking to the restroom.
“I’m not married to my job,” Kyle insisted.
Greer laughed. “You are, and just wait until you get your K9. You’ll be married to him—or her—as well.”
“You’re getting a K9 partner?” I asked.
Kyle smiled from ear to ear. “I am. Went and picked her out yesterday. She’s a Belgian Malinois.”
Greer let out a gasp. “What? It’s a girl? Why didn’t you tell me?”
With a slight chuckle, Kyle replied, “I haven’t had a chance. Yes, she’s a girl. She’s going to be great for when we need to find missing hikers and such. Plus, she’ll be trained to detect drugs.”
“Wow, that’s awesome. How does the training work?” I asked.
“Well, the department already has one K9: Jack, Hunter’s partner. He’s been such a great addition to the force, but the State Police would like to have one of the dogs available to them when we need to do search and rescues. Now that we’ve picked out the dog, she’ll get additional training before she comes to me, and then we start our own training program together where we learn to work as a team.”
“That’s right; Greer mentioned you’re part of the search-and-rescue team.”
“Search and rescues?” asked my sister, now back at the table with my mother. The intrigue in her voice wasn’t lost on me.
“Yes, I’m part of a search-and-rescue team to recover missing hikers and such,” Kyle said.
Everly gave him a soft smile. “Sounds like that could be dangerous.”
“It’s all part of the job, and it’s something I enjoy doing.” He clearly didn’t let her comment go to his head or boost his ego, which was nice to see.
“Well, if I haven’t said it yet,” Dad said, “thank you, son, for your service.”
With a nod and an embarrassed smile, Kyle replied, “Thank you, sir.” He cleared his throat. “If you guys want to get a good seat for the band tonight, we should probably head on over to Brew’s Place.”
Greer’s eyes lit up. “I can’t even remember when I last went dancing.”
Everly laughed. “Neither can I. Probably college.”
“Same!” Greer added as they huddled together and followed Kyle out the door.
“I knew they’d get along wonderfully,” my mother said as she took my arm in hers.
“Nice surprise to have Everly show up,” I said. “Is that why Dad invited Kyle, so she wouldn’t feel left out?”
My mother grinned. “I believe so. He’s a nice young man, isn’t he?”
I glanced toward the front of our small group. My father and Kyle were talking about something. I nodded. “He is. Greer’s whole family is nice. I was hoping you might be able to meet her parents this weekend.”
She stopped walking and looked up at me. “Hudson, is this serious?”
My gaze drifted to Greer, and I smiled before I focused my attention back on my mother. “Yeah, Mom. It’s serious.”
“This soon?” she asked with a hint of surprise in her voice.
“I’m not going to ask her to marry me, Mom.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, I wasn’t thinking you would. It just seems to be moving rather fast, don’t you think?”
“We’re dating, that’s all.”
“And you don’t live here,” she added in a low voice as we got closer to Greer.
With a wink, I replied, “That might be changing soon.”
Before Mom had a chance to say anything else, we caught up with everyone, leaving the conversation to be finished later.