Chapter 22 #2
“You’ve seen she’s a little skittish around strangers, but she warms up fairly quickly.
” Carter continued to stroke Rosebud. “She doesn’t startle at loud noises, and thunder’s not an issue.
She used to live in a condo, so she’s probably familiar with what communal living can be like.
She doesn’t bark at door knocks.” He met Rosebud’s gaze.
“Unlike our favorite miss who likes to let the world know when the delivery driver has arrived.”
Rosebud blinked innocently.
“She’s good with other dogs. Just take time to do proper introductions.”
Something else Torah had warned me about. We had a session scheduled for the twenty-ninth up at the ranch so she could assess Mei and determine if additional training might be warranted. “Yes, we’ll be careful.”
He smiled. “She’s got a cast-iron stomach. Unlike that precious one.” He pointed to Sheffield. “Any slight deviation for him and, well, it’s unpleasant.”
“Ah.” Lorcan eyed the pooch who was now curled into my side. Little guy always was a suck-up.
“Four hot chocolates.” Bryon entered the room with a tray.
“Obviously none for the dogs.” Carter took his mug. “Thanks, sweetheart.”
Lorcan took his and then I snagged mine. “Yes, Torah gave me an exhaustive list. But she’s allowed baby carrots and broccoli, right?”
Rosebud yipped and Sheffield stirred.
Byron rolled his eyes. “I’ll be right back.” He eyed his pooches. “Stay.” He left.
“Did I say the wrong thing?” I sipped my hot chocolate.
Carter shrugged. “Depends on your perspective. To them, you uttered two of the best words ever. To Byron who is now going to get three little, uh, things? He might not be your biggest fan.” He grinned.
“Oh.”
“Like the T-word, right?” Lorcan met Carter’s gaze.
“Exactly. Although these three believe vegetables are the equivalents of those, so it’s all relative.”
“All right, my pretties.” Byron entered the room with a bit of a flourish.
All three dogs sat straighter.
He pointed to the spot before him.
Three dogs planted themselves before him.
One by one, he rolled a baby carrot off his fingers for each dog.
Serious crunching took place.
Byron met my gaze. “Try to watch what you say. They would’ve been fine without something, but we want to keep things quiet.”
“And now we know.” Lorcan smiled. “I’m so excited.” His words were barely above a whisper.
Mei, clearly realizing Byron wasn’t going to produce any other treats, headed back to Lorcan. Again, she leaned against him and gazed into his eyes.
He blinked. Repeatedly.
In that moment, many of my concerns slipped away. Yes, things were still going to be rough. Yes, like wasn’t always going to be this easy. Tonight, though, on this special eve, we could celebrate what our new family was going to look like.
We chatted amiably as we drank our hot chocolates and the dogs settled.
The snow was going to start up again soon, but I was hesitant to break the spell.
Still, I offered a broad grin. “We should be going.”
Carter pressed a finger to his lips, but nodded.
We all rose and headed to the front door. Lorcan and I put our coats back on while Carter put Mei’s on her.
I glanced at the men. “Torah suggested we just attach her leash and leave quietly.”
“No big goodbye. Yeah, she said that to us as well.” Carter linked his arm through Byron’s. “I just didn’t think it would be so hard.”
Byron kissed his husband’s temple. “We always agreed the goal was to get her into a good home.”
“I know.” Another sniff.
“This is the best home.”
“Oh yes.” Lorcan enthused the words even as his eyes shone brightly. “She’ll never want for anything again.”
Byron eased away from Carter and grasped the leash from the rack. “I’ll walk her with you to your vehicle and help her into the back.” He eyed Lorcan. “Will you sit in the back with her and give her nibbles?”
“Yes. That sounds perfect.”
Slowly, Carter picked up a huge bag. “Just a few of her things. We’ll bring the rest around in a day or so.”
My eyes widened. “Exactly how much stuff does she come with? I bought her a few things as well. Gallia, at the pet store, was very helpful.”
Lorcan eyed me. “You went to the pet store without me?”
“Your Christmas surprise,” I reminded him. “But we’ll go to the Boxing Day sale and you can pick out all the toys you want for her.”
“Oh. Yeah. Okay.” His face morphed from hurt back to a huge grin. “Best Christmas present ever.”
Carter handed me the bag. “She came with a bunch of stuff. We added a few other things. Nothing wrong with spoiling a dog who’s gone through such upheaval in the last six weeks.”
Lorcan continued to stroke her fur.
I met Carter’s gaze. “No. Nothing at all. Puppies deserve spoiling.”
My puppy shot me a gaze.
I gave nothing away. What happened in our home was between the two of us—no one else needed to know and, as I gestured to Mei, no one would’ve guessed.
He scratched her ears. “How old is she? Not a puppy anymore…”
“She’s six. Middle-aged.” Byron smiled. “Got a lot of life left in her. Dr. Zephyra says she’s in perfect health. Her paperwork is in the bag. She’s due for her shots in June.”
“We’ll probably take her in before then.” I gazed fondly as Lorcan continued to give Mei attention. For her part, she was giving him lots of kisses all over his face.
I might’ve thought that wasn’t particularly hygienic—but I didn’t care. Clearly, they were enamored of each other.
“Whatever you think is best.” Carter wrapped an arm around Byron. “We are going to miss her. As we discussed, I’ll take the dogs into the other room, and you can simply leave. No big goodbye to stress her out. Just like you’re taking her for a walk.”
“I need five minutes to hook up the harness system.”
Byron nodded—clearly approving. “Well done. So responsible.”
I laughed as I opened the door. “You sound surprised.”
His, “Well, now—” was all I heard as I closed the door.
The snow had begun to fall again. I hustled to the SUV and pulled out the restraint system.
I’d actually opened the box because, honestly, I hadn’t envisioned a scenario where Lorcan might object.
He’d casually mentioned Mei three times now—even though we’d only met her the once.
He would muse about how she was doing. Point out she was lucky to have Carter and Byron.
Smile sadly and say he hoped she wound up in a good home.
I had my doubts that he’d been dropping hints—that wasn’t like him. Just he’d been clearly taken with the foster. The dog in need of rescue.
Like he’d been.
Restraint system secure, I headed back to the house.
Lorcan opened the door and handed me Mei’s bag.
Then Byron guided the dog out to the front walkway.
“Mei? I know it’s snowing. Do you want to go peepee before we go home? Then we won’t have to come out again.” Lorcan gave her his most beseeching grin.
Bedtime was fast approaching, so his words held logic.
She offered what could almost be considered a nod, then found a bit of level snow. She squatted and within a few moments, was back to trotting toward our SUV, Byron in tow. Almost like she knew.
“She, uh, did the rest of her business this morning. Generally, she goes once a day in the morning. She’s very regular that way.” Byron shrugged. “This is what all pet parents discuss.”
I opened the back door. I was about to help her in when she leapt into the back seat and sat next to the harness.
Byron handed Lorcan her leash. “Best of luck.” Without a backward glance, he headed back inside.
Lorcan slid into the seat next to Mei and grabbed something from his coat pocket. “You’re such a good girl, Mei. Looking forward to a car ride?” Nice, pleasant, and easygoing.
“Uh, okay.” I leaned in to secure her into the harness system.
She licked my face.
Lorcan laughed as I secured her bag in the hatch with everything else. “Do you think she knows?”
I closed the hatch, secured the backdoor, and slid into the driver’s seat. “Knows?”
“That we’re rescuing her?”
“I…I don’t know.” I met Lorcan’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
She put her paws on the back end of the center console—which was as far as she could reach.
I moved my hand for her to sniff. She did. And then she licked.
“I think, in time, she’ll settle in. Hopefully, she’ll see we love her.” I offered her another grin. “You’re a very good girl.”
“I can take her out before I go to work. Will she be okay during the day? I’m home before you most nights.”
“We can leave a pee pad in the bathroom. Her former owner worked all day outside the house. She’s been spoiled with Carter working from home.”
“Well, she’s got me for a week.”
Theoretically I had the week before Christmas and New Year’s off, but I was on call on the twenty-eighth, should any emergencies arise.
“She’s going to be spoiled rotten.” I turned onto the larger street that would lead us home. “Can you think of anything we need?”
“I did the grocery shopping three days ago.” He grinned. “Before the last-minute chaos. I have your gift—although it’s not nearly as good as this one.” He sighed.
“You didn’t have to get me anything.” I wanted to admonish him. He’d received a couple more paychecks from Riley, but he was still woefully lacking any kind of savings. He was making noises about helping me with the mortgage. I was deflecting. After all, he’d just bought food for both of us.
“It’s just a little token.”
I turned left onto our street and, within moments, was opening the garage door. “I take it you’re otherwise ready for Christmas?”
He tapped his thigh. “I snuck up to the Christmas Market while Maddie was installing my winter tires.”
“Oh?” I backed into my spot since I wasn’t going to be charging the SUV.
“I bought something for your aunt.”
I shut the engine, then placed my hand on his thigh. “She’ll love it—I promise.”
“How can you know?”
“Because it came from your heart.”
He arched an eyebrow.
“You get Mei settled and I’ll grab her stuff.”
“Do you need a hand?”
I considered. “We should be able to carry everything. If not, I can do two trips.” I had a wagon I used for when I stocked up on groceries. I didn’t care how silly I looked—the fewer trips the better.
“You know I can do it.”
I shook my head. “You’ll be settling Mei in her new home. I think you should be with her all the time for the first little while.”
“And you.” His eyes went wide in panic. “I’ve never had a dog.”
“Well, it just so happens I bought a book about rescuing dogs. She’s well-trained. We just need to keep up with that. Carter wrote it all out for us.”
He blinked. “You thought of everything.”
“No, that was Carter the writer.” I grinned. “We’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, I think we will.”
With an exchange of smiles, we got out of the car with our dog trotting alongside and headed upstairs for our first Christmas as a couple.