Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A little over an hour later, Mina was sitting between Jackson and Slater on the bench seat of Jackson’s old pickup truck as it rocked and bounced down a gravel road.
Sir Dogsworth, as Mina had named the dog, was riding on her lap. He was tall, but unfortunately, didn’t weigh very much. That would change soon, Mina silently vowed. But even if he had been at a proper weight, the invasion of her personal space wouldn’t have bothered her. She kept her arms wrapped around him, giving him kisses as the truck drove along.
The vet’s office was on his property, and there were plenty of animals around, a fact that Mina loved. By the time the visit was over, she’d been able to pet goats, other doggies, and even a giant Maine Coon cat.
Now Sir Dogsworth was current on his shots, on heartworm preventive, and had been given a clean bill of health along with a big bag of food. Mina had told the other animals goodbye and then got back in the truck with Slater, Jackson, and their new furry friend.
“Will Sir Dogsworth live at my place or your place?” Mina asked as they drove away from the vet’s farm.
“Oh, he can stay with you,” Jackson said.
“But you paid for his exam and medicine,” she pointed out.
It was Slater who responded. “Sure. But we aren’t heartless. We couldn’t tear that doggy away from you, seeing how much you love him.”
She giggled and kissed Sir Dogsworth again. “I do love him. Already. He’s the best boy in the whole wide world!”
“And you’re the cutest Little in the whole wide world,” Jackson said from behind the wheel. He sighed. “You know, I sure like the idea of Sir Dogsworth living at our place. But, well, he wants to be with you and you want to be with him and… like Slater said, we aren’t heartless. I guess one solution is you just live at our place, too.”
Mina looked at him in shock, just in time to see him shift his eyes from the road for a second to give her a wink and a smile.
She giggled.
The idea didn’t sound half bad. True, she’d just met them. But already they were her Uncles. Could they be her Daddies, too?
And she already loved Sir Dogsworth after knowing him even less time.
So, it was feasible she could love the two men she currently rode with. Right? Or at least have strong feelings that were developing quickly.
Things just seemed right when she was around them.
Was that a joke Jackson had just made, though? About her living at their place?
She wasn’t sure how she felt about it. On one hand, she’d love to! Too many sleepless nights had been spent fantasizing about having a Daddy. Now, the idea of having two? Whoa. Yes, please. Plus, and most importantly, she felt safe around Jackson and Slater. Completely accepted and protected.
It wasn’t just about fun she wanted to have or kinky adventures, though those did sound wonderful.
She could see herself actually building a life with them. A wonderful life. The kind she’d always longed for. She’d just never dreamed it could be with two Daddies instead of one.
Yet here she was, contemplating it all.
A clap of thunder tore her from her thoughts. She’d noticed it was clouding up earlier, but hadn’t realized it was going to rain. Now, as big drops of water splattered on the windshield, she realized how scared Sir Dogsworth was.
“He doesn’t like the thunder,” she announced. “Poor thing is shaking bad.”
Slater reached over and rubbed the top of the dog’s head at the same time Jackson did. Their hands stayed there, on top of each other, neither seemingly in a hurry to move.
Mina smiled and wondered again just how close the two cowboys were.
The rain picked up. Driving on those roads could be slow going anyway, thanks to the mountainous curves, but the thunderstorm slowed them down even more.
“Maybe we best just pull into our place,” Slater suggested.
“Are we close?” Mina asked.
“That’s us up ahead,” he replied.
She looked out the windshield and could make out a mailbox on the side of the road that marked the entrance to a gravel drive.
“You okay with that, honey?” Jackson asked. “I can keep going and get you back to the newspaper office if you’d like.”
“I think we need to just get out of this rain,” she said.
“Smart girl.”
The truck’s tires crunched atop the wet gravel below as they followed the winding drive up to a two-story wood-frame, white farmhouse. The place looked like it was at least a hundred years old but maybe even older.
“I’m going to get as close to the porch as I can,” Jackson told them as he angled the truck near the front steps. “Make a mad dash! I’ll be right behind you.”
Lightning illuminated the area, followed a second later by the loudest thunder Mina had ever heard. The atmosphere itself seemed to be supercharged.
“Come on!” Slater yelled over the blowing rain and howling winds. “Stay with me and let’s move fast!”
But more thunder boomed. Flashes of brilliant light had a dizzying effect, and Mina felt a tad disoriented as she stepped out of the truck.
Sir Dogsworth got away.
“Come back!” she yelled.
The animal was clearly in a panic. It made sense, she figured. He’d most likely survived some pretty scary storms as a stray, and without a proper home to take refuge in, he must have been terrified. That trauma remained and he didn’t realize that he was safe now. Had he simply stayed in her arms, they’d most likely already be inside the house by now.
“Get on the porch!” Slater yelled. “I’ll get him!”
But Mina disobeyed, instead chasing after the golden retriever just as fast as her legs would carry her. He tore through the grassy yard, curved around the house, and headed straight for an old gray barn in the distance. The only problem was, between him and that barn was a patch of dirt that had turned into a pit of mud in the sudden monsoon-like rains.
Mina and Slater were right behind him.
A few seconds later, Mina felt someone else coming up and looked over her shoulder to see Jackson giving chase, too.
She slipped and fell hard into the mud.
“Honey!” Slater called, turning to help her.
“Get the dog!” Jackson called, though it was barely audible thanks to another roar of vicious thunder that sounded at the same time. “I’ll get her!”
No sooner had Jackson uttered the command than his feet flew out from under him and he went down on his butt, mud splatting around him, some of it landing on Mina.
She started laughing despite their less-than-desirable circumstances.
She returned her gaze back ahead, hoping to see Slater had caught Sir Dogsworth.
“Come here, boy. Right here,” he said with a whistle.
The dog stopped for a moment, turned around, but then ran again just as Slater was closing in.
Slater couldn’t keep his balance and face-planted into the mud. Mina continued watching as he tried to stand, only to lose traction again and go right back down with another wet, messy splat.
And just like that, the rain tapered off before stopping altogether mere seconds later. The blowing, blinding storm had just moved on through, disappearing as quickly as it had come.
Sir Dogsworth trotted up and licked Mina’s face before moving onto Jackson and Slater.
“Oh boy,” Mina said with a laugh.
The men remained silent for a moment before laughing, too. Slater used his index finger to rake the brown, sticky mask off his face before saying, “Well, we best wash this off.”
Mina couldn’t help but giggle.
Now that, she thought, sounded like a lot of fun.