Never Let Go of Hope

Chapter 1-2

Ellis was up early the next morning. Not unusual for him. Having Jive in his life made it de rigueur since the dog was a morning—well not person, but…

After getting ready to face the day, Ellis joined Jive on the gallery running around the second floor of the house. The dog seemed to be looking longingly at the river, even though he couldn’t get to it anymore. Right after Ellis had gotten him from the shelter five years ago, Jive tried to take a swim. It almost ended in disaster. Pincers like to patrol their property. They also like water and with the Mississippi practically at the foot of Ellis’s property, Jive had decided to dive in. Luckily Ellis had seen him from the gallery and raced to his rescue when the dog had gotten caught in a strong current. If the runabout hadn’t been at the dock the dog might have had a very short life. Ellis called in a contractor the next day to erect a wrought iron, gated fence around the side and back yards of the house. There were times since then when he saw Jive peering longingly between the bars. But never once had the dog tried to squeeze between them to further explore the rest of Ellis’s two acres of land, or the neighborhood, on his own.

Jive raced down the stairs, capering in anticipation of their walk, followed more sedately by Ellis. When they got to the bottom, Ellis snapped his fingers, bringing Jive to heel. Then they went around the house to the long front path leading to the street and their walk began. It ended half an hour later in the kitchen. Jive headed to his bowls to eat and drink, while Ellis helped Janice finish making breakfast. Today it was blueberry pancakes topped by sunny side up eggs and pure maple syrup.

When everything was ready, they went into the dining room to eat. The first thing Janice asked after they made inroads into their meal was, “What are your plans for the day?”

It was the same thing she asked every morning and he usually replied, “To paint.” Today he surprised her by saying, “I thought I might go into the city.”

With a grin, she reached over to feel his forehead. “Nope, no temperature.” Leaning back, she looked at him. “To the gallery and right back home?”

“I’ll stop at the galley, but afterward I think I’ll have lunch somewhere then take a stroll around the Quarter. See if maybe you’re right about my needing to recharge my batteries by getting away from here for a while.”

“It can’t hurt. Spend the night. Hit up a club or two.” She patted his arm. “It’s been a long time since you’ve had any companionship.”

If Janice hadn’t been almost ten years older than his fifty-three, Ellis might have taken umbrage at her suggestion. As it was, he was used to her mothering so he simply smiled, replying. “Three years at last count. Not that I’m looking, or even likely to find someone, at my age.”

“You never know. Some young men are looking for—”

“If you say a father figure,” he grumbled.

“No, I was going to say a man with experience.”

He snorted. “Uh-huh. Not sure I even have that anymore. I might take your suggestion though. Twenty-four hours of R&R.”

“And good s*x if you get lucky.”

“Janice…”

“It could happen.”

“I suppose,” he agreed, knowing full well that the chances of that were nil.