I'm a Good Person (Book 4)

Chapter 6

When Grayson, Robert and Laura returned to Old Bridge, spring had officially taken root. The trees, daffodils and assorted wildflowers were in bloom, which only added to the dreamlike state Laura felt she had been in ever since learning that her father had wanted Laura to live with Grayson and Robert instead of her aunt Gladys. They were going into day three of this new arrangement and Laura still couldn't seem to wrap her mind around it.

Upon arriving at the house, Laura was the first to enter, as Grayson and Robert pulled the bags out of the car and had told her to ahead, and as such was immediately greeted by Hawk, who sniffed her for just a moment before remembering her and jumping up on her, nearly knocking Laura to the floor.

"I'm glad to see you doing better," she said, noting that his leg seemed to have completely healed after he had fought to protect them during Larson's second attack and had come up injured. Once she recovered from his first excited assault, she began petting him, which only made the now fairly large dog that much more rambunctious, "settle down, Hawk. I'm not going anywhere!"

But Hawk was much too excited to listen and began cycling between licking her, nuzzling her legs, barking in delight and nearly knocking her over to lick her face.

"Hawk," Agnes exclaimed, before pulling him down, "I'm sorry. He always gets like this when Rob's been away. It's like he doesn't know what to do with himself. He sleeps on top of me all summer long when Rob's away. It's enough to drive me insane," she explained, then looked at Hawk, "you go sit and behave yourself."

That command lasted a whopping twenty seconds as Robert came into view and Hawk ran full throttle at him. Robert dropped the bag he was carrying and hugged Hawk tightly, managing to hold his own far better than Laura had. It didn't take long for Robert to begin roughhousing with Hawk right in the foyer.

As Grayson entered he saw what was unfolding right in front of the door and slowly stepped aside so as to avoid the crossfire and put his bags down by the stairs, "you might at least go outside if you're going to do that."

Robert paid his father no mind as he wrestled Hawk to the floor.

Grayson sighed loudly, "they do this a lot, with little regard for whose way they might get in" he explained to Laura, who was watching and trying to hide a smile, unsure if Grayson were genuinely irritated and not wanting to add to it if so, "and Rob knows if that dog manages to ruin a rug or a stick of furniture, he gets to replace it out of his mill salary," he said loud enough for Robert to hear over Hawk's playful barks.

"That's the last time you leave, Rob," Agnes scolded, "Hawk is absolutely intolerable without you. He chewed two of your father's good shoes and I caught him trying to chew a hole in a dish rag."

"I had to go," Robert replied, speaking to Hawk, "when will you ever learn that I come back, huh?

"Which shoes," Grayson asked?

"You don't want to know."

"Didn't you remember to shut your door, Dad," Robert asked?

"Of course I remembered to close my door!"

"Hawk's recently learned to open doors," Agnes replied.

Grayson threw up his hands, "of course he has. That dog is a menace to society! Particularly to me," Hawk seemed to know he was being discussed and scolded, so he went over to Grayson and began nuzzling at his leg, "you're not exactly a puppy anymore, you know? That trying to be cute to get out of trouble isn't going to work anymore!"

"I ordered replacements for the shoes already. They ought to be here by the end of the week," Agnes replied.

"Good, and you can send that bill right to Lee Warren," He retorted. Hawk had now begun licking Grayson's hand, "would you stop that? You're not getting thrown out. I only think about it a couple of times a day, alright?"