Chapter Six
“Thanks for coming with me.” Jack glanced at Logan. “I have this irrational fear of adopting ten instead of one.”
“That’s the thing. It’s not an entirely irrational fear.” Logan chuckled with the wisdom of lessons learned the hard way. “Because they all deserve it.”
“Then I’m doubly glad you’re with me.” Because as much as he might like to take them all home, he had limited space and not a whole lot of yard.
“For the record, sometimes two are genuinely better. They can keep each other company while you’re at work.”
Jack narrowed his eyes, losing confidence Logan would be able to maintain her Voice of Reason role. “You’re supposed to talk me out of that sort of thing.”
Logan wagged a finger, looking every part their parents’ octogenarian neighbor. “No, I’m supposed to make sure you don’t leave with more than you can handle. That’s not the same thing.”
Those were the words he’d used. Only now did he realize lack of specificity had the potential to get him into trouble. “You damn well better hold me to at least that.”
Inside, a single woman worked the reception desk. Other than a few chairs and a box for donations, the waiting room sat empty. “Good afternoon,” the woman said. “How can I help you today?”
“My brother here is looking to add a new member to his family,” Logan said before Jack could decide on the right phrasing.
“Well, you’re in the right place.” The woman—her name tag said Susan—beamed and shifted her attention to Jack. “Have you looked at our website? Is there someone in mind you’d like to meet?”
Jack cringed. He totally should have done that beforehand. “No, actually. I, um, just thought I’d show up. It’s my first time.”
Susan’s eyes narrowed slightly. “First time at this shelter or first time adopting a pet?”
He froze, gripped with the sort of performance anxiety that used to come with having to give presentations in school. Was there a test? Should he have studied?
“First time adopting solo. We grew up with animals and he’s spent more time with my senior poodle mix than I have over the last couple of months.
” Logan gave a casual flick of the wrist. “He’s realized what an empty nest he has now that she’s back with me full-time, so he’s finally going to bite the bullet and become a daddy.
And since he looks tough but is really a tender heart, I’m here to make sure he doesn’t take everyone home. ”
“I’m standing right here,” he said, exasperation chasing away the misgivings.
Susan offered him a sympathetic smile. “We actually wouldn’t let you take them all home.”
Jack cleared his throat. “Thank you. I promise I wouldn’t actually try.”
“Oh, good.”
Between Susan’s reassuring tone and Logan’s playful elbow to his ribs, Jack relaxed. “So, yes. Looking to adopt. Probably older and on the smaller side since that’s what I’m used to, and I don’t have a huge yard or hiking habit.”
Susan nodded. “It’s good to know what you offer and not just what you want. Let’s go take a look at our small dog space.”
He expected something cold and sterile, all concrete and chain-link fence. That’s what the tear-jerker commercials had planted in his mind. This area had the requisite concrete floors, but soothing paint colors and plexiglass partitions made it feel at least a little homey.
“We’ve only got five in our under-forty suite right now, including a bonded pair that came in last week when their owner passed away unexpectedly.
Their bios are on each door, but I’m also happy to share what I know.
Take some time to look around and let me know who you might want to do a meet and greet with.
” Susan stepped off to the side, sending the message that she wouldn’t hover but had no intention of leaving them with the animals unattended.
Jack, as overwhelmed as he expected to be, turned his attention to the dogs.
A quick survey assured him they were all cute and deserving of infinite treats and belly rubs.
He read each bio, chuckling at how cleverly they conveyed shyness, a penchant for underwear stealing, and a variety of other traits.
When he got to the bonded pair, he tried to skim the sheet since falling in love with one meant committing to both.
It worked for about fifteen seconds. Dorothy, the beagle mix, had soulful eyes and floppy ears.
Sophia was—best guess—a terrier of some kind mixed with a pug.
She had a curly tail, ears that stuck out to the side, and wiry brown and black fur that stuck out at jaunty angles.
They sat curled together on the platform bed in their room and regarded him with what he could only describe as a world-weary curiosity. “Hi, you two.”
“Uh-oh,” Logan said, looking from Jack to the dogs and back.
“They seem so sad.” Jack clicked his tongue. Their ears perked, but they didn’t get up.
“They’re both ten. Their owner had them since they were puppies.” Logan let out a sigh. “They must be so confused.”
He knew this sort of thing happened all the time. And really, it wasn’t the saddest of the circumstances that landed animals in shelters. Still. Something about this pair spoke to him. “You did say two could be better.”
“I did.” Logan nodded slowly. “I could warn you about the challenges of caring for a senior, but I feel like you already know.”
He did. He adored Kiwi, even as her sight and hearing started to fade and her accidents in the house grew more common. More than anything, he loved the mellow way she showed affection and made her way in the world. “I think my mind is made up.”
Logan clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Congratulations, Pops.”
An hour and a crap ton of paperwork later, the four of them emerged with all the eagerness and speed of a toddler in a snowsuit.
After a lengthy stop at the pet store—during which Dot and Sophia rode in the cart like the princesses they were—they headed home.
Back at Jack’s, Logan offered to unload while Jack took the dogs for a walk.
They made it to the stop sign, but he resisted taking them around the block since the temps remained well below freezing. “We’ll work up to it, girls. Spring and summer are for nice long walks.”
He explained this, and a number of other things, as they made their way up the short brick path from the sidewalk to the house.
He also inquired about whether they liked their new coats and if they might be interested in trying booties to keep the salt from their paws.
He was so focused on the two of them, he didn’t notice Rhett and Ellie until they both let out gasps.
“Well, who do we have here?” Rhett asked.
Jack did introductions, both canine and human, since neither Ellie nor Rhett had met Logan.
It made him realize that perhaps the one downside of getting dogs was the increased likelihood people would want to talk to him when they were out and about.
Rhett bent and extended a hand for inspection—clearly practiced in the ways of dogs.
Ellie, on the other hand, was on the ground, beyond enamored.
She didn’t cross any of the lines that people sometimes did, which would have really bugged him, but she did talk to them like they were the cutest and most remarkable creatures she’d ever encountered.
The whole thing left Logan grinning and him standing there awkwardly, wishing for a graceful exit strategy.
Fortunately, Rhett came to the rescue, reminding Ellie they had somewhere to be and venturing that Jack and his new pups might like to go inside and start settling in. Ellie blushed and apologized, and Jack pretended hardcore that her blushing didn’t affect him. Everyone went their separate ways.
But of course, that couldn’t be the end of it. He’d no sooner closed the door behind them and unhooked the leashes when Logan started in.
“You didn’t tell me the artist you have the hots for is friends with the potter who’s your new tenant,” Logan said as she set down the bags of food, treats, and other supplies they’d picked up.
“I don’t have the hots for her, which makes who her friends are irrelevant.
” He contemplated washing the new beds before setting them out, but since he wanted to give the dogs a nice bath after they’d rested from the day’s adventure, he figured all that could be done together.
He set them on the floor next to the fireplace.
Dorothy climbed into one and Sophia promptly joined her.
Jack smiled at them before grabbing the bag of food and heading to the kitchen.
Logan followed. “You don’t have to like having the hots for her, but don’t pretend you don’t. It insults my intelligence.”
Jack dumped kibble into the bin he’d used for Kiwi’s food. “Maybe I like insulting your intelligence.”
“Weak.”
It was, and he knew it. “They’re best friends from college, apparently.”
“Oh, that’s fun. Where did they go?”
Jack rolled his eyes. “Smith.”
Logan laughed. “Of course they did.”
The queer world was a small one. As was New England.
Put the two together and it felt like a novelty to meet someone who wasn’t connected somehow.
One of the reasons he didn’t fling himself into the dating pool very often.
One of many, but one. “So, yes. Even if I’d been inclined to have—or act on having—the hots for Ellie, now that I know she’s all up in my worlds, I’m not going to touch that with a ten-foot pole. ”
Logan lifted her chin. “You keep talking about her like that and I don’t think she’d have you.”
He preferred avoiding to alienating women, but Logan would consider that splitting hairs. “If that’s the case, then maybe I will.”
“You’re the worst sometimes. You know that, right?”
Instead of arguing, Jack turned his attention to the dogs, who remained settled together on one of the two beds. They looked perfectly content and about two seconds from falling asleep. He smiled at their uncomplicated approach to life. These were the women he understood.
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