Free Anna's Courage (Rose Island Book 1) by Kristin Noel Fischer

Makeup, receipts, a hairbrush, and several cough drops skittered across the wood floor.
    “Stop!” I shouted.
    Instantly, Yoda obeyed and dropped the purse. He fell to the floor and rolled onto his back in a submissive pose, staring up at me with big, innocent puppy eyes that held the power to melt away my anger. Although I wasn’t a dog person, I’d always thought Labrador retrievers were cute, and I guessed this dog was part Lab, part German Shepherd, part mutt, and one-hundred percent trouble.
    “Ah,” Travis said, rubbing Yoda’s belly. “He’s sorry, and he won’t do that again. Will you, boy?” Yoda jumped up and licked Travis’s glasses. Travis fell to the floor, laughing and rolling around with the puppy.
    I picked up my damaged purse. Bianca had paid a fortune for the handbag, and now it was ruined. This had been the exact reason why I’d refused to get a puppy in the first place. Keeping him would only mean more destruction.
    What in the world had Nick been thinking, buying my son a dog?
    The doorbell rang, and I marched down the stairs, expecting to find an apologetic Nick. Instead, Bianca stood on the porch holding two large bags of Chinese food. “Who’s ready for dinner?”

Chapter 8
    Nick
    A fter the long day, I was exhausted. I bathed Gabby, gave her a bottle, and rocked her to sleep. In the nursery, above the dresser hung an ornate mirror engraved with the words, “I am a child of God.” Something about that statement chipped off a piece of my heart. What about me? Was I a child of God?
    The question troubled me as I wanted to believe in a benevolent creator who cared about me, but in the darkness, I wasn’t so sure.
    Standing, I laid Gabby in the crib and gently patted her back. “Sleep tight, sweet pea.”
    Downstairs, I found Hailey, curled up in the laundry room with her three new puppies, all of them sound asleep. Smiling, I snapped a picture with my phone. Maybe buying an entire litter of puppies was overkill, but the happiness on Hailey’s face during the ride home had made it all worthwhile.
    Bending over, I scooped up my niece and carried her upstairs to tuck her into bed. I pulled the covers over her shoulders and gently kissed her forehead. “Sweet dreams, honey.”
    Hailey turned over in her sleep. “Love you, Uncle Nick.”
    My chest tightened. I hadn’t grown up saying I love you , but Ethan and Ivana had used the phrase liberally.
    “I love you, too,” I repeated, feeling vulnerable and exposed. Love had never served me well. I must’ve loved my mother as a baby, but I had no idea if she’d returned my love. I loved my father, of course, and I assumed Jack loved me in his own indifferent way, but that love had never made me feel safe.
    Love had consequences. Love hurt and could leave you weak and injured.
    And love, after all, was the reason I couldn’t leave the girls with Doug and Caroline Kempner. Instinctively, I believed their frenzied family wouldn’t be a good fit for Hailey and Gabby.
    My father thought I was acting ridiculous, wasting so much leave time, but I refused to be bullied, even by him.
    Recently, one of my friends from college had adopted two little boys. He’d used an agency in Houston and had given me the name and number. After meeting with the Kempners, I’d called and spoken with a lawyer named Lucy Jenkins. Lucy had been very sympathetic and encouraged me to make an appointment. Today, I’d driven past the address to check it out.
    From the outside, the business looked legitimate and professional. But could I really leave Hailey and Gabby with strangers who weren’t even related to them? And if I did, would I later regret it? Would my father care that his only grandchildren wouldn’t be raised by relatives? And how would that affect my relationship with the girls?
    I wanted to do the right thing for my nieces, but what did that mean?
    Back downstairs, I took the puppies outside to use the bathroom, changed their newspaper in the laundry