Chapter 4
CROW
I was shocked when the woman I’d been thinking of for the last month and secretly referred to as Sleeping Beauty appeared behind the counter, but not nearly as surprised as she seemed to be.
Of course, that could have something to do with the fact that I was in her place of business without a shirt, but that didn’t really bother me.
Unfortunately, she hadn’t gotten the memo that clothes sucked, because she was covered from neck to wrist. She was even wearing pants even though it was blazing hot outside.
Clothing choices aside, she was even more beautiful than I remembered.
Her long dark hair was pulled back from her face in a clip, giving me a perfect view of her heart-shaped face.
Paired with her high cheekbones and pouty lips, she reminded me of Snow White rather than Sleeping Beauty.
I wouldn’t have been the slightest bit surprised if chirping birds started flying around her while chubby little rabbits hopped behind her.
The look on her face when Griffin popped his head up over the counter was almost comical. I wondered why until the shock was replaced with confusion as Griff explained his new term for my position in his life and how that came to be in detail. Of course he would lead with that, wouldn’t he?
It wasn’t anyone’s business, but it also wasn’t something we were ashamed of.
We never wanted Griffin to feel that way either.
Once the dust settled after our explanation of how and why I had stepped up and become his father, he had been able to work his genius mind around things and come up with a new title for both me and Hawk.
Luckily, my new title wasn’t quite as funny as Hawk’s, which Griffin shouted from the rooftops every chance he got.
I could tell by the way her face fell when she took the bundle out of my arms that she understood the severity of the situation, so I was torn when she glanced at Griffin and suggested he stay out here.
On the drive over, I’d tried to explain the likelihood that one or more of the puppies would probably not live long .
. . maybe not even long enough to get to the help we were seeking.
Griffin insisted that he understood the situation, but I had my doubts.
Griffin was a genius, although Brighten hated for people to call him that.
She preferred that he consider himself a regular boy, but calling him that was like saying those young Olympic gymnasts were just practicing their weekend hobby.
They were the best, just like Griffin was the smartest, and I’d argue with anyone who said otherwise.
The problem was that Griffin was still just a seven-year-old kid.
Even though his brain held more information than I’d ever known or probably ever would, he still had the maturity and understanding of a child his age.
It was hard to remember he was just a kid when he was schooling you on whatever subject had caught his interest.
“Is the rest of the litter with their mother?” the woman asked as she walked through yet another doorway.
I glanced back and saw the excited dogs had sidetracked Griffin before I followed her into the room and explained the situation.
It didn’t surprise me when tears filled her eyes, but it did when she said, “I hope the son of a bitch who did this gets fucked in the ass with a cactus, and the only available lube is tainted with crushed habaneros.”
I barked out a laugh as she gently laid the bundle on a towel she’d pulled off a nearby tray and grimaced as I watched her pick up a limp ball of fur and sigh.
“I don’t know that there’s much I can do for them. We should find a vet, but even then, they might not . . . Shit.”
“I’m not expecting a miracle, and I’ve tried to explain to Griff that he shouldn’t either. Just do what you can.”
She blew out a breath before she yelled, “Tansy! I need you in here now!”
I peeked around the doorframe to check on Griffin and found him lying face down on the floor with puppies crawling all over him as he giggled uncontrollably.
A woman who looked almost like an exact replica of the one behind me rushed into the large room and stopped short when she saw Griff on the floor but then hurried toward us.
“What’s up?” she asked as she took in the sight of me. She burst out laughing and asked, “Who hired you? It was Fallon, wasn’t it?”
I realized she thought I was a male stripper just as the other woman informed her, “He’s the guy Nichole called about. I need your help.”
The second woman quickly made her way past me and moaned when she saw the puppies on the table. She burst into action. She picked the other two puppies up and handed them to me before she ordered, “Hold them against your chest to get them warm while I gather supplies.”
The first woman settled the third puppy against my chest as she explained, “I’m going to get a warming box together. I’ll be right back.”
Both women disappeared, leaving me there alone, but I knew it wouldn’t last for long. Even if it did, this was one way for me to help because God knew I wouldn’t be useful for anything else.
A few minutes later, the women reappeared with Griffin trailing behind them.
“Okay, buddy, if you’re going to help, I need you to step up on that stool and stay there while we get everything situated,” Snow White ordered. “Duncle, if you’ll bring them over, we’ll see what we can do.”
“His name isn’t really Duncle; it’s Crow,” Griffin corrected.
Snow White looked up and said, “I’m Darcy, and this is my sister Tansy.”
“It’s nice to meet you again,” Griffin said cordially.
Tansy looked toward the front door when she heard it chime and then glanced at her sister. “Do you have this?”
“Got it,” Darcy assured her. “Tansy is going to have to go up front, so the two of you can help me out in here, okay?” Darcy asked.
“Of course. What can I do?” I asked.
She shook the contents of a small bottle and then poured it into a cup before she shook another one and added it too.
Then she swirled the mixture around and filled three droppers.
She set the droppers on the tray beside the cup, then took a puppy from my arms, and said, “I’m going to show you how to hold it so you can start the first feeding.
Don’t squeeze the dropper. Just let the liquid slowly leak out as the puppy licks the end, okay? ”
“Yes, ma’am,” Griffin said seriously as he watched her adjust the dog in her palm and then nudge its mouth with the end of the dropper. Griffin’s eyes lit up when its little tongue came out and started licking, and he held his hands out so she could hand the dog over.
Once she had the puppy settled, we watched Griffin follow her directions.
When she was satisfied he was doing it right, she took a puppy out of my hands and then handed me a dropper.
I followed her lead and made sure to do everything as she’d demonstrated, but when I nudged the tiny mouth, the puppy didn’t react.
I did it again and again, but he never once stuck his tongue out.
“Come on, fighter, just try a little. It probably tastes like shit, but I’m sure it’s good for you. Drink it up now, and when you get bigger, I’ll get you a big ass steak, okay? Come on, buddy, you can do it.”
When the puppy’s tongue came out, it took everything in me not to shout with joy, but I managed to hold still so he could keep licking. When I looked up to check on Griffin’s progress, I saw that he had tears streaming down his cheeks as he watched the puppy try valiantly to get some nourishment.
“Don’t cry, little man. You’re doing everything you can, and that’s all you can do, okay?”
Through his tears ,Griffin asked, “Crow, will you do me a favor?”
“I’m not gonna say yes until I know what it is,” I told him, just like he’d repeatedly said to me over the years.
“Will you find whoever threw those puppies out?”
“I’m not sure that’s possible, bud.”
“I want you to try, okay?”
“Okay. I’ll see what I can do,” I said, knowing that there wasn’t a chance in hell of ever catching the culprits.
“And when you find them, I want you to make sure that the only way they can eat is through a dropper.”
The woman next to me gasped and then started coughing, but it was mixed with laughter.
I couldn’t help but chuckle before I mused, “You know, Griff, most of the time, I’m positive there was a mix-up in the nursery and they gave us the wrong kid.
I’ve always thought there are probably two rocket scientists out there in the world wondering why their little boy is gnawing on the leg of the coffee table, but then you say something like that, and I realize that the Forrester is strong in you. Really, really strong.”
“I don’t know what the Forrester is, but I can already tell you I like it.”
“We’re Forresters,” Griffin told her.
“That’s your last name?” Darcy asked. When I nodded, she asked, “Do you know a woman named Rylee?”
“That’s our cousin.”
“She’s terrific,” Darcy said as she checked on the progress of the puppy in my hand. She looked back up at me and said, “We’ve got some shirts in the back for employees. I’m pretty sure they’ll be too small for you, but I can ask Tansy to grab one for you to try on.”
“I’m good,” I told her with a shrug.
“He doesn’t like clothes. It makes Brighten nuts, but Summer says he’s been that way his whole life.”
“Oh, really?” Darcy asked.
“Yeah. Bird said he’s always been a little off. So were Hawk and Phoenix, but now they all use the bathroom inside instead of writing their names on the fence, so it’s all good,” Griffin assured her.
“Oh.”
I looked over at Darcy and saw that her lips were pulled between her teeth.
My guess is that she was trying not to laugh in the face of Griffin’s serious explanation, but she sniffed and then whimpered when Griffin added, “Crow’s been house-trained as long as I’ve known him, so you don’t have to worry about the plants out front. ”
“I’m . . .” Darcy coughed and then cleared her throat before she tried again. “I’m glad. I really like those begonias.”
“They are very pretty.”
I shook my head as I looked back down at the puppy in my hand and wondered how many people could say they’d been cockblocked by a seven-year-old genius.
Good grief.
◆◆◆
“Put a shirt on, weirdo,” Phoenix said as he thrust a T-shirt toward me. As I pulled it on, he peered into the box on the table and asked, “Now, where are the fuckers that would do such a thing, and how long do I have with them before we let Hank and Kale tag in?”
“Griffin asked me to find them and make sure that they could only eat their food from droppers like those,” I said as I gestured toward the tray Darcy had moved off to the side.
Phoenix chuckled before I explained where we’d found them and then frowned when he realized there was really no way to get justice.
“Are they gonna make it?” Phoenix asked as he ran his fingertip down the back of the smallest puppy.
“I’m more hopeful now than I was when we got here. Darcy set a timer, and we have to try to feed them every fifteen minutes until they start to perk up. Then we can move the timeframe out accordingly.”
“Holy shit,” Phoenix whispered as he touched another puppy. “How the hell are you going to manage that?”
“I know it’s been a while, and I was walking around in a brain fog for the first year or so, but it seems like that’s how often Griff woke up and started screaming when he was born.”
“I remember those days,” Phoenix said with a smile. “I’ll help you as much as I can, brother. We can find someone else to take the third and —”
“Darcy called Nichole earlier. She said they’ll do better if they’re together.”
“Well, shit.”
“I know, right? I was thinking along the same lines you were and figured we could parcel the third one out to Hawk or someone and just carry them around with us while we were working or whatever, but if they have to stay together, that’s not going to work.”
“Maybe we could take shifts,” Phoenix offered.
“I’m scheduled for vacation time through next week, so I guess I’ll just spend it feeding puppies.”
“That’s right. You and Griff were driving to the lake.”
“Yeah, but we never quite made it. Found these guys . . . Hold on. Are they guys or girls?” I asked.
“I was wondering the same thing, but they looked so comfortable that I didn’t want to move them around to check.”
“It doesn’t matter. Anyway, Griff spotted them, so I pulled over, and then we turned around and came back to town.”
“That sucks.”
“The situation does, but it has its perks.”
“How so?”
“Darcy - the one wearing the purple shirt?” Phoenix nodded, so I continued. “She’s Sleeping Beauty.”
“No shit?” Phoenix whispered. When I nodded, he asked, “Does she remember you?”
“I think so, but I’m not sure. We’ve been a little too busy to discuss it, and besides, I wouldn’t want to bring that up with Griff and his big ears within range.”
“Brighten called and asked me to take Griff home when I leave. I’ve gotta pick Lyric up in a few minutes, so he’ll stay with me until Brighten or Hawk get off.”
“That’s good. He’s done really great up here so far, but he’s asked at least a million questions. I bet Darcy and Tansy are ready for some peace and quiet.”
“I guess I’ll tag in then,” Phoenix said before he took a step back and then turned toward the door. “Speaking of tagging in, let me know when you want me to take a shift so you can get some sleep.”
“Will do. I’m sure Griff will want to be part of the rotation, so Hawk and Brighten will get in on it too.”
“Call me,” Phoenix said before he walked out of the room.
The timer dinged, so I pushed the button to restart it before I gave the liquid in the cup a swirl and then filled a dropper to start another round. Obviously, I’d rather be at the lake with a fishing pole in my hand, but I knew this would be much more rewarding if it worked out in the end.
Besides, if we were at the lake right now, I wouldn’t have run into my very own Disney princess.