Chapter 7 #2
“This is all your fault,” he admonished Heather, as he brought in puppy pads from his veterinary supply and spread them over the floor. “Training a puppy is one thing. Managing four at once is insanity. I demand back up!”
“As if you don’t have a houseful of cowboys as backup,” Heather said.
“You think they’re gonna put in the time? Nope. They’ll give a nod to the cuteness, then go on about their business as though they’re not even there. I need your word, here, Heather. You will not abandon me.”
“For crying out loud. You’d think you didn’t know a single thing about animals. You’re a veterinarian for heaven’s sake.”
“A busy veterinarian with a six-year-old and a damned ‘helper cat’!”
She laughed. “Fine. I’ll come first thing in the morning. That way I can get coffee out of the deal.”
“You can have all the coffee you want. And dinner. I’ll need help to get them settled for the night.”
“Now, Lyle, I don’t think—”
“That’s right. Don’t think. No, wait. Scratch that. Think about Charlotte. And my beauty sleep. I bet you know tons of tricks to settle puppies to sleep.”
“I bet you know those same tricks.”
“Dinner, too, Heather. Non-negotiable.”
He did appear a bit overwhelmed, which she found a little suspicious, but she simply couldn’t resist him.
“I can’t believe it’s already 9:00,” Heather said softly.
“I should get going.” They’d had a delicious pot roast dinner prepared by Mike and shared with one of the couples staying at the dude ranch.
Lyle had redesigned the playpen area so they could actually sit inside it with the puppies who were piled together on a warm towel in a smaller crated area, their little bellies full of puppy formula.
There had been some crying, but they seemed mostly settled.
“Charlotte’s out,” she noted. The little girl was fast asleep in Lyle’s arms.
“Stay for a minute. I’m just going to put her to bed.”
Heather nodded and stroked little Sherry’s soft fur as the puppy once again started to whimper.
Worried the rest of the puppies would wake, she lifted the tiny yellow pup and held it against her skin, humming softly in order to soothe.
She wondered if it had been such a good idea to name this small pup after Charlotte’s mom.
When it came time to re-home her, how would Charlotte react?
Lord knows Heather had a hard-enough time letting go of the fosters she cared for.
She just didn’t know how a six-year-old was going to handle it.
Lyle came back into the kitchen. The light over the professional stove Mike was so in love with cast a soft glow over Heather.
Her chestnut hair fell like a curtain around her shoulders, nearly obscuring the tiny puppy she cradled against her neck.
The other three were on top of each other in the corner of the playpen.
She glanced up, smiling sheepishly. “She was crying.”
“No need to explain. Puppy cuddling is tough to resist.” He eased down on the floor next to her.
“This one’s so small.”
“She is. But, we’ll make sure she stays warm. She’ll be okay,” Lyle assured.
“Maybe I should bring Holly over. She’s the most gentle and motherly of my pack.” The babies could probably burrow right under the retriever’s fur.
“Firefly, if you intended to bring me more animals to babysit, it seems it would have been a lot less work to just have these little ones at your place.”
“Ah, but think of the joy Charlotte would be missing. And what a great perk for your ranch guests.” She gave him a saucy smile. “Nope. I think these puppies are right where they need to be.”
Although she’d expressed her intention to head home, Heather found herself reluctant to do so. In the quiet kitchen, with just the two of them and a warm puppy cuddled against her neck, she felt a contentment she hadn’t known in a very long time.
It suddenly hit her that she’d been lonely and hadn’t realized it.
Then again, it could be the man. He was the perfect combination of rugged and tender. Six-foot-three with sun-kissed skin, piercing blue eyes, a smile that disarmed and a laugh that could charm the dew off a honeysuckle. He was the whole package.
And when he cradled a child in his arms or eased the nerves of a skittish horse, or simply stroked his fingers over the fur of a tiny puppy, he made her realize what was missing in her life, what she’d told herself she could do without.
A family of her own.
She’d once wanted that more than she’d wanted air to breathe. But she didn’t want to dredge those memories. Not now.
“What made you want to go to Montana?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I was restless when I got out of the service, couldn’t seem to settle.”
“Even though your family’s here?”
“Maybe because of that. I always struggled a little with the expectations of being a preacher’s kid.
I tended to second-guess everything I did or said around my dad.
Especially after Afghanistan. I’ve come to realize those expectations were all mine, my own moral code.
My dad never judged me. I judged myself. ”
“Afghanistan was tough on you?”
“Tougher on Kenny than the rest of us, I think. He was special ops. There are things he doesn’t even talk about with me or Joe or Mike.”
“I hate that you had to go through that.”
“We all signed up.”