The Troublesome Angel (15 page)

Gray hovered over her, his brow wrinkled in a worried scowl. “What do you plan to do?”

“Carry him,” she said without hesitation.

His resounding, “Hah!” had so much force everyone else jumped. In the background, Missy started sniffling.

Gray reached out a helping hand to Stacy. “You haven’t even tried to walk yourself yet. Can you get up?”

“Of course, I can.” Rather than show how shaky she still was, she chose to accept his assistance.

He pulled her to her feet effortlessly, then quickly released his hold. “Okay. Prove it. Show me.”

Determined to do just that, Stacy stood straight, set aside her temporary discomfort and took a step. The first one was fine. The second told her that the prior break in her thigh bone was acting up. In spite of her efforts to hide her distress, she favored that side. Judging by the way Gray was looking at her, he’d noticed.

“I’m fine. Really,” Stacy insisted. “I limp sometimes because of an old injury. That has nothing to do with the fall I just took.”

“Missy told me about your leg. How badly does it hurt?”

“It’s just a little stiff, that’s all.”

“Right.”

Clearly, he doubted her ability to handle Lewis by herself. Truth to tell, Stacy agreed with him.
The strained muscles in her leg were killing her. And Lewis was no lap dog. He weighed at least sixty pounds. He was also in misery, which meant she’d have to take care not to jostle him too much. It was going to be a long walk back to camp unless she could persuade Gray to do things her way.

“I’ll stay here with Lewis while you and Missy go on,” Stacy said firmly. “When you get back to the camp, you can send help. It isn’t far. I’ll draw you a map. I know for sure where we are now.”

Gray wasn’t convinced. “What if Missy and I got lost? Or weren’t able to find you again? What would you do then?”

“Probably give up and pray, which is what I should have done already,” she said cynically.

“Not a bad idea. However, I happen to believe that God also expects us to make sensible choices in the first place. I don’t assume He’ll bail me out of every stupid predicament I get myself into. Neither should you.”

Stacy was incredulous. “You think that’s what I do? Okay. Like what?”

“Oh, like refusing to admit when you were lost. Or leaving the camp without arranging for radio contact first.” He half smiled. “Or getting steamed at me for falling asleep in the cave last night, even though I behaved myself.”

He would have to rub it in, and with a know-it-all smile, to boot. Stacy was at the end of her rope. “Listen, mister. My favorite dog is hurt, my leg is killing me and I’m stuck in the wilderness with
you and the cause of all this. The only mistake I made was coming here in the first place. I’ve already warned Missy and now I’m telling you. Don’t call me anymore. I won’t be available and neither will Lewis. Period. Got that?”

“Got it,” he said, feigning indifference. “Now, if you’re through lecturing me, splint the dog’s leg and let’s all get going. I’m not about to spend another night here.”

“Well, at least I have
that
to be thankful for,” she muttered under her breath. Choosing a straight, sturdy stick she bound it to Lewis’s leg with gauze from the first-aid kit in her pack.

As soon as the doctoring was done, Missy caressed the old dog’s head and leaned close to whisper in his ear. “Don’t worry, Lewis. I’ll get you a special treat.” She grinned. “I know. Ice cream! Would you like that? I’ll bet you would, ’cause I know we both love the same stuff.”

Giggling, she peeked up at Stacy, then looked from her to the man who was standing close by. “You should be nice to Uncle Gray, too, you know. He’s my bestest friend.” She quickly added, “Besides you, Lewis. I love you bunches.”

Gray was fighting the strong urge to scoop Stacy up in his arms and carry her all the way back to camp, regardless of the indignation he knew he’d face if he dared suggest it. It distressed him greatly to see her favoring her leg and trying to cover up the obvious pain. If she tried to tote that monster of a dog, the way she’d vowed she would, he knew
she’d never make it. And she’d hurt herself trying because she’d be too hardheaded to admit defeat.

That conclusion left him no choice. As soon as Stacy hefted her pack, he said, “You carry that. I’ll bring the dog.”

Wide-eyed, she stared at him. “You’re kidding.”

“Not about something as serious as that. I’m the logical one, remember? I insist.”

“Why? Because you think I can’t do it?”

“No. Because Missy’s too small and you’re needed to lead us out of here. Besides, the dog deserves somebody who can carry him with the least amount of suffering. Me.”

“Oh? Well, what if he decides to bite you when you pick him up?”

“Believe me, I’ve thought of that. I have the feeling he’ll accept my help. He’s quit growling at me every time I go near you or Missy, so he must have mellowed some.”

“He’s also hurt,” Stacy reminded him. “That will make him less predictable.”

Like his mistress, Gray mused. “Well, we won’t know unless we try, will we?” Moving slowly, purposefully, he approached the place where his niece comforted the dog.

“It’s okay, Uncle Gray,” the girl said. “I told Lewis to like you.”

“Oh, good. Did he listen?”

“Uh-huh. He’s a good boy.” She leaned down
to plant a wet kiss on his furry, golden cheek. “Aren’t you, Lewis?”

Gray was encouraged to see the dog’s tail thump the ground. He spoke aside to Stacy. “I think it’ll be best if you help me lift him so he knows it’s okay with you. If we’re going to have any trouble, it’ll probably be when we first move him.”

“I agree.”

Approaching, she edged Missy out of the way and took her place, speaking in sugary tones. “Okay, Lewis, now be good. Mr. Payne is going to pick you up and I don’t want you to take a piece out of him. At least not until we’re back in civilization. Okay?”

“Oh, that was sweet,” he remarked. “Thanks a heap.”

“You’re welcome.” If Stacy hadn’t been so worried about the dog, she’d have chuckled. “I’ll lift his head and neck,” she said. “You slide your arms under his body. It’ll be easier to carry him if you support the middle and let both ends hang loose.”

Gray did as he was told. Coordinating his efforts with Stacy’s, he straightened while she continued to murmur calm reassurances to Lewis. The animal obviously trusted her completely. Hopefully, some of that trust had rubbed off on him. There was only one way to find out.

“Okay. Let go,” Gray ordered. “Back off. Let’s see what he does.”

Nodding, Stacy released her hold. Lewis im
mediately swiveled his head to look up at the man who still held him. Before Stacy could intervene, the dog’s broad tongue shot out to give Gray’s face an amiable slurp! Missy giggled.

Gray realized he’d been holding his breath. “Whew! He had me worried when he looked at me like that. I was already planning what I’d tell the emergency room doctor.”

Temporarily speechless and trying to recover from Lewis’s surprising change of heart, Stacy just stared. Since she and Gray had been at odds so often, she’d assumed the dog’s attitude would reflect that mood. It was a real shock to find that it didn’t.

She pulled a face as she shouldered her pack. What a disgusting development.

Clearly, Lewis had defected.

G
ray’d had trouble negotiating the thick forest without jostling Lewis’s injured leg. Now that they were on flatter ground he was starting to feel more confident, even though his arms were about to give out. “I told James to give us till noon today before he called for a full search. Think we might get there in time to stop him?”

Stacy looked at her watch, then at him. “Almost. How are you holding up?”

“I’m hanging in there. I wouldn’t have believed this dog was so heavy by looking at him.”

“He’s solid muscle, even at his age. I keep all my dogs in top condition.” Her smile was demure but condescending. “Maybe you should start working out with them.”

Gray refused to take the bait. “Not if I have to eat kibble and sleep outside on the ground. I’ve
had enough roughing it to last me a lifetime, thank you.”

He plodded past her, noting how refreshed she looked compared to the way he felt. There must be some way to get a little relief. Maybe it would be easier if he carried Lewis on his back. It wouldn’t hurt to ask if that was feasible. “Have you ever considered making a sling for injured dogs so you could lug them like a backpack?”

“No. But that’s a good idea.” Stacy studied man and dog. “We can try draping him over your shoulders, if you like. I can’t see why it wouldn’t be as good as the way you’re carrying him now, as long as you didn’t have to hold on to his sore leg to balance him.”

“And we might make better time that way.”

“Yes.” Her voice was devoid of emotion, reflecting the numbness she was feeling. Helping him reposition the injured dog for ease of transportation, she bit back tears of regret. Above all, Gray must never suspect how much she cared for him, or how desperately she’d miss him when they no longer had reason to see each other.

Sorry for the way she’d had to intimidate the child to make her promise to behave, Stacy salved her conscience by asking, “What do you think about my giving Missy a puppy? Would Candace and Mark permit it?”

“You’d have to ask them.”

“Oh,
that
should be fun,” Stacy retorted. “Almost as much fun as being thrown out of your
father’s house as soon as he didn’t need me anymore.” She immediately realized she was being overly defensive and added, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Dad didn’t throw you out.”

“Oh, no? He sure didn’t invite me to stay for tea!”

Gray had to admit that was true. Unfortunate, but true. He was so used to the way his family behaved he’d laughed off the incident. Obviously, Stacy hadn’t. “My father’s not the friendliest guy in the world but he’s good to my mother. And he supports several charities very generously.”

“How nice.” What a shame that the Paynes considered their conduct normal, she thought. Why couldn’t they see how much happier they’d be if they expressed a little Christian love and compassion once in a while and stopped being so judgmental toward anyone who was different from them?

That line of reasoning brought Stacy up short.
Oh, boy!
It took one to know one, didn’t it? Her pace slowed. Her conscience twisted. All the family counselors in the world wouldn’t do a bit of good unless a person sincerely wanted to change for the better. She had Christ in her heart, yet she was still judging people negatively. If she couldn’t be as loving as she should be, with all that divine help, what chance of genuine reform did a family like Gray’s have?

Her heart sank as she accepted the truth and
sought a remedy. If she could pray for the Paynes—and really mean it—maybe she could finally relinquish the animosity in her own heart. That change could make all the difference in the world when she approached them about Missy’s puppy. She might not be able to put
all
of her old resentment aside, but it was worth a try.

She owed it to a lonely little girl to do her best.

James and a team of other able-bodied men met Stacy’s party a quarter mile from the camp border. Lewis didn’t object when Gray handed him off to two of them.

“Whew! I’ve never been so glad to see anybody in my life,” Gray told James. Together, they watched Stacy and Missy go on ahead, flanking the men who now carried Lewis. “That dog weighs a ton.”

James clapped him on the back. “Glad to see you, too, buddy. You had me worried.”

“Yeah. Me, too.” Gray motioned his friend aside and plopped down on a fallen log to rest and catch his breath. Finally, he said, “Missy found us a cave just before the storm hit. She’s quite a kid. I just wish I could be sure she was eventually going to settle down.”

“Which reminds me,” James said. “Your brother called while you were gone.”

Gray stiffened. “You didn’t tell him Missy had taken off again, did you?”

“No. But he did leave you a message.”

The look on James’s face made the hair at the back of Gray’s neck prickle. “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“I doubt it. Candace is pregnant. Mark said to tell you he’s calling off the adoption.”

“No! He can’t. It’ll destroy Missy.” Not to mention what would happen to his own emotional state, he added silently. “And Stacy will be livid. She’s identified so closely with Missy she’ll be sure to blame my whole family.”

“What can
you
do about it?”

“I don’t know.” Gray got to his feet and began pacing. “There has to be something. I can’t let her be hurt.”

“Who are we talking about here?” James asked wisely. “Missy or Stacy?”

That question brought Gray up short. He stared at his old friend for long seconds. If he were to be honest about his feelings, he’d have to say he loved them both. Huffing in self-derision, he started to smile wryly. “I think I’m in big trouble, here.

“I’d say so.” James chuckled. “Of course, there is a logical solution. Marriage.”

“Logical? Hah! You don’t know the half of it. Stacy Lucas and I have absolutely nothing in common. It would never work.”

“Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?”

“I don’t have to convince anybody. It’s a simple fact. She has her life-style and I have mine. She’s made it perfectly clear that we’re worlds apart.”

“Okay.” James shrugged nonchalantly. “What’s stopping you from spending a little time in her world? I’ve been telling you for years that you should hire some eager college grads and let them take over some of your management accounts so you’d have more free time. Of course, if you’re not really attracted to Stacy it would be foolish to marry her just to get a mother for Missy.”

Gray didn’t know what to say. Stacy was funny and fun, bright and sensitive, and her soul spoke to his like no one else’s ever had. But there was more to it than that. He’d had a lifetime to come to understand what happened when people married for the wrong reasons.

“I have to tell you something,” Gray said soberly. “I don’t know who my real father was. It wasn’t Nathan Payne.” He was amazed to see that James didn’t seem very surprised.

“I suppose that explains why you and Mark have such different coloring and features. And also why Nathan was always so ironhanded with you, while your little brother could get away with anything.”

“How can you be so matter-of-fact about this? You know what news like that makes me.”

“Who your father was, or wasn’t, doesn’t make a bit of difference,” James said. “In case you haven’t noticed, nobody on this earth is perfect. We’ll never be worthy of God’s love, any more than we’re worthy of the love of a good woman like Stacy.”

“She deserves better,” Gray said quietly. “Somebody who knows his true background and can assure her there are no genetic risks or hidden pitfalls.”

“If you’re going to deny yourself a chance at happiness because you honestly believe that’s what’s best for Stacy, then I’m even more positive you’re the right man for her. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t have a clue. I guess the most important thing is to call my attorney and find out how hard it will be for me to adopt Missy.”

“As a single man?” James probed. “Or a married one?”

Gray muttered under his breath. “Single. Unless God convinces me otherwise. Come on. I’ve got my second wind. Let’s get started back.” He noticed that his old friend kept his distance so he said, “I hope that doesn’t upset you.”

“Nope,” James answered with a wry grin. “I just don’t want to be standing too close when the Good Lord decides to reach down and zap some sense into you.”

Stacy was getting into her truck when Gray reached the place where they’d left it the day before. The sight of her tied his gut in a knot of wishful longing. He couldn’t just let her drive away without at least saying goodbye.

Her heart began to race when she saw him wave
and jog toward her. Maybe he was finally going to tell her what she wanted to hear; that he loved her and wanted to keep seeing her in spite of their differences. She held her breath. Hoping. Praying. Imagining how wonderful it would be if he took her in his arms and kissed her, again.

A broad grin lit her face as she greeted him. “Hi! I’m glad to see you’ve recovered.” When he didn’t return her smile, it waned. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Not in the way you mean, he thought. He looked around. “Where’s Missy?”

“The others took her back to the main camp to get her cleaned up and find her something warm to eat.”

“I’m surprised she went with them, considering how fond she is of you and Lewis.” He glanced into the truck where the dog was resting comfortably. “Is he all right?”

“He will be,” Stacy said. She laid her hand on his arm to offer comfort. “But I’m not so sure about you? Are you okay?”

Gray sighed deeply. There was no easy way to tell her what Mark had decided. And his own thoughts were in such a muddle that even
he
didn’t understand them, so how could he hope to explain anything to Stacy? Placing his hand over hers, he simply said, “Mark is calling off the adoption.”

She jerked away. “What? He can’t do that!”

“He’s doing it. Candace is expecting a baby. That’s the family they wanted in the first place.”

“Terrific! How nice for them. What’s going to happen to Missy? Or hadn’t they thought about that?”

“I haven’t talked to Mark about it yet,” Gray said. “But Missy will be fine.” He looked deeply into Stacy’s eyes, waiting for her reaction when he said, “I’m going to adopt her myself.”

“You’re what? When did you decide that?”

“A few minutes ago.” Gray raked his fingers through his hair, roughly combing it back. “I also thought—”

Stacy stared up at him. “What? You also thought what?”

“Never mind. It was a stupid idea. It would never work out.” Part of him urged that he go ahead and tell her. Another part kept insisting it wasn’t fair. He wished he was in a boardroom somewhere, making a professional proposal to a room full of hard-nosed executives. That would be
much
easier than talking one-on-one to Stacy.

“Suppose you let me decide if it was stupid,” she said.

In a business situation he’d have had a prepared list of pros and cons to cite. In this case, he knew he cared too much for everyone involved to be nearly that lucid, so he decided to just plunge in. “Well, James thought maybe, since you and I both love Missy, we could get married and make a reg
ular home for her.” He saw a look of pure astonishment come over Stacy.

“
James
thought?” She couldn’t keep her soul-deep disappointment from making her sound defensive. “But
you
think it’s a stupid idea, right?”

“I have my reasons.”

“I’ll bet you do.” Heartbroken, she turned away. Gray reached for her. She evaded his touch. Climbing into her truck she looked back at him only once before driving away.

He was standing there, mutely watching her go.

The break in Lewis’s leg was a simple fracture, easily set with a lightweight cast. Stacy had waited at the vet’s until the dog was ready to travel, then driven the rest of the way home slowly, so forlorn she hadn’t even been tempted to eat the candy bar she’d found in the glove compartment.

When she’d run across the candy again it had reminded her of the last time she’d seen Gray. Of course, everything else did, too. She’d imagined she’d spotted him in her favorite grocery store. And driving down the street in neighboring Batesville. And even in church one Sunday. Each time she’d been wrong, and her usually sunny disposition had suffered terribly.

Onyx and Lewis’s puppies were getting bigger by the day. Three of them were already sold and three more were going to experienced rescue personnel for training soon. That left only one. The
one she’d chosen for Missy. It was a golden-colored female with big, beautiful brown eyes and the even temperament of its daddy. It also had an inquisitive nature that had been providing Stacy with hilarious diversion ever since she’d moved the pup into the house to be socialized and housebroken. Now it was time to deliver it. The only problem was, Stacy knew she’d probably have to face Graydon Payne to do it.

She hadn’t been able to reach him at any of the places she’d tried, including both his homes. Finally, she’d had to give up long enough to drive into Little Rock to conduct a scheduled training seminar. Physically, she was there. Emotionally, she continued to agonize over not knowing for sure that Missy had found a real, permanent family.

Stacy’s class was full, as usual. The students had been instructed to leave their dogs at home for the first session so there would be less distraction. She’d brought Lewis to illustrate the preliminaries because he was the most laid-back of her dogs, and because she was afraid he sensed that his working days were nearly over.

“Or maybe he’s just picking up on
my
dumpy mood,” she grumbled as she sorted through her notes and prepared to take roll. It was bad enough that she missed Gray so much her life had lost all its joy. It was even worse to know she was going to have to deal with him one more time before she
was through. Add to that her ongoing concern for Missy’s emotional well-being after Mark sent her away like an unwanted stray, and she had plenty of good reasons for being depressed. How could anybody do that to a child?