Twenty-three
The new guardian dog was enormous, and full of fur, like a big off-white sheepdog. Every time he stopped to sniff at the fence, he easily dragged Mia to a stop like a rag doll.
Her boots crunched on dry grasses, gravel and red sand as she followed the fence line, while the dog’s paws were practically soundless.
Their shadows were so distinct, Mia with her wide-brimmed hat beside the dog that looked like a grizzly bear stalking across the red soils. Harper was right, these dogs were big bears.
And she had to name one.
No pressure.
‘What do you want to be called? Rover. Roger. Dog. Wolf. Wolfdog…’ She went through a list of names, looking to the sun for inspiration. It was blinding, but so deliciously warm, she closed her eyes and basked in the glow. It was a glorious dry season day, and here she was walking a dog as if on holidays while the group of twenty plus calves watched them.
Or should she say the dog walked her along the fence line, with his tail wagging, nose down, sniffing at everything, but not responding to any of the names she’d come up with, so far.
‘Grizzly. Polar. Bear. Panda. Pepper. Salt. Ginger…’
Again, the dog lurched to a standstill and peed.
How big was this dog’s bladder?
Then he trotted along to sniff at the ground, and Mia continued with the names. So far, nothing had stuck.
‘Fluffy. Titus. Brutus. Netflix. Sky. Breeze. Spirit. Star…’ It was like she was playing the childhood game of I Spy, but for a dog’s name.
Again, he lurched forward to something new, tugging the lead tight to sniff at a group of wildflowers.
‘Flowers? Wildflowers?’ Did she dare start listing out the plants’ Latin names?
The dog continued with a staggering swagger, nose to the ground, tail wagging.
She followed.
‘Blue? No. I can’t use that one. Cap has a dog called Blue. Cap also has a dog called Diesel, and the brothers called Spanner and Wrench. Do you want me to go through the toolbox to find you a masculine name?’
He lurched again.
‘You keep lurching like that, and I’ll have no arm left.’ She rubbed at her shoulder.
The dog stopped and looked at her, finally giving her his attention.
What did she say?
She narrowed her eyes at the dog. ‘Lurch?’
He sat down with his ears cocked, head tilting and tail sweeping across the dusty paddock’s floor.
Mia crouched down before the dog. ‘Do you want to be called Lurch?’
The dog licked at her. She barely ducked away in time. But the big dog nuzzled into her, knocking her onto her back in the dirt, leaving her with no choice but to hug his furry body. ‘Hello, Lurch. Nice to meet you.’ Her laugh echoed in the surrounding air.
‘I’m guessing you found a name?’ Cap looked so sexy leaning against that pole, arms crossed, with his stockman’s hat shading his eyes. Dayum.
‘I did.’ Covered in dirt, she could barely contain the excitement as she rushed up with the dog. ‘His name is Lurch.’
The dog stopped drinking from the trough to wag his tail at Mia.
‘Good name.’ Cap patted the dog. ‘Was that because he was pulling on your arm? Or you have a thing for the Addams Family?’
‘You saw, huh?’ Dumb question, because every time she’d peered over her shoulder, Cap had been watching her. Or maybe he was just watching the cattle, the way a surf lifesaver watched a public beach to keep everyone safe.
‘Here. Remember to keep hydrated.’ He passed her the cool water bottle, their fingers brushing, to send a scurry of electricity along her fingers, up her arm, to then tingle over her scalp.
Judging by the way his Adam’s apple shifted as he swallowed hard, she wasn’t the only one reacting.
His tan throat and dark stubble moved against the collar of his blue work shirt, inspiring another strike of electricity to rush through her body. She found herself wanting those strong hands of his to get handsy with her, but he pulled his fingers away, leaving her holding the bottle.
‘Um, thanks.’ She drank thirstily from the water bottle to not only fill that awkward void, but to push down her desire to touch his warm skin and hard lines, while hoping that maybe, just maybe, Cap was feeling the same way she was. Or was she reading the signals all wrong?
Cap cleared his throat, his attention on the guardian dog. ‘While you were walking Lurch—’ It made them mirror their grins at Lurch thumping his tail on the ground. ‘I found a name for the female.’
‘Please tell me you didn’t call her Cousin It, to go with the Addams Family theme?’
‘Mamma Bear.’ The dog groaned as she happily rolled over to get her tummy tickled by Cap.
Cap gave her the sweetest smile. Small, but genuine. But it lit Mia up from the inside to smile right back at this man.
‘Welcome to the family, Lurch and Mamma Bear.’ But the way he said that, as he looked at her, it was as if Cap had just welcomed Mia to the family, too.