Chapter Three
Emily
“Luke! No! Stop it!” Chris yelled as Luke mounted Rufus. “Goddammit! You stupid idiot!”
Hudson’s eyes went wide. Chris rarely lost his cool, and even more rare was his use of profanity in front of Hudson.
Chris yanked Luke off Rufus.
“Why’s Dad so mad?” Hudson asked me.
The innocence of Hudson’s voice brought Chris back to us. One look and he realized he’d made a mountain out of a molehill.
“Sorry, guys,” he said, aiming another glare at Luke, who looked at his master as all dogs do when they’ve been seriously reprimanded. “Go!” he said sternly to Luke as he snapped his fingers and pointed to the corner.
Luke, shamed and morose, padded to his bed and climbed in. Big brown, soulful eyes looked at us.
“You made him sad,” Hudson said.
“I know, buddy. But he shouldn’t be doing that. It’s not natural.”
“Why?” Hudson asked, his big brown, inquisitive eyes wondering what the big deal was.
“He’s just acting out.” Chris shook his head. “He wants to play, I guess.”
I had to control my snort of laughter. It was hilarious watching Chris battle the inner debate of whether or not to explain what Luke was doing.
“You want to help me out?” he mumbled.
At his request, I remained nonchalant and explained, “Luke’s just trying to assert his dominance. It’s what males in the wild do.”
“But Rufus is older. Isn’t he in charge?”
I chewed on my lip. “That is true and a very good point. But sometimes, male dogs don’t take that into consideration. They were playing, and I suppose Luke just wanted to send the message that he’s in charge tonight.”
Hudson considered my words. I knew the look on his face well enough by now to know that he was digesting new information and trying to make sense of it. There was no point in lying to him or making something up. That usually led to more questions, so I chose to go with the most innocent explanation I could think of at the moment.
After careful deliberation, Hudson’s lips curled up into a smile, and he simply said, “Okay.”
“If you see him do that again, do your best to get his attention and tell him no.”
“I can pull him off like Dad did.”
“Yes,” I said, considering his height, weight, and age. He was big enough to handle the situation. “Just be very careful.”
“I will,” he said.
Chris looked at me and winked, telling me I had done a successful job stepping in where he wasn’t quite sure how to maneuver. “He’s too rambunctious,” he said with a sigh.
I snorted before suggesting, “Maybe you should have gotten a cat.”
“I’m allergic.”
“You are? I didn’t know that.” Chris nodded. We were still in that glorious stage of learning new things about one another every now and again. “You could have gotten a hairless cat. They’re hypoallergenic.”
“They’re ugly,” Chris said.
“Even ugly animals need love,” I said.
“Hy-po-al-ler-gen-ic,” Hudson repeated the word using all six syllables.
“It means they’re less likely to affect you if you have allergies, like your dad.”
“His are bad!” Hudson said.
“What about a fish?” I suggested.
“We’ve already tried that,” Chris said. “Three times.”
“Dad always kills them.”
“I don’t kill them on purpose,” Chris said, making a slicing movement across his throat. “They just die.”
“Well, hmm,” I considered for a moment before suggesting, “A tortoise?”
“A tortoise can live for 100 years!” Hudson said.
“That’s right,” I said, high-fiving him. “You’re such a smart boy.”
He grinned, extremely pleased with his factoid.
“And they’re very calm,” I said.
“We don’t need another animal,” Chris said. “We already have three dogs between the two of us. And mine is a hellion.”
We all looked at Luke who was still sulking in his dog bed.
“It’s your own fault,” Chris said to him.
Hudson looked up at Chris and asked, “How long is he going to be in time-out?”
Chris and I laughed at the adorable connection he made.
“You can call him out,” Chris said.
And with that, boy and dog were reunited.
“I don’t want to cut off his boys,” Chris said, cupping himself like he was the one being sent to get neutered.
“Most dogs calm down afterward.”
“ Most? ” He scrunched up his forehead. “That doesn’t instill much confidence.”
“It’s not a guarantee, but getting a dog fixed can have a positive effect.”
“Knowing my luck with Luke, it wouldn’t fix a damn thing.”
I chuckled, then sighed. “What’s the other reason you don’t want to take him in?”
“Honestly?” Chris considered for a moment. “I don’t want to have the talk with Hudson yet. You know, the birds and the bees? If we get Luke neutered, I’m going to have to explain why we’re cutting his nuts off. I’m just not ready yet.”
I knew without him having to say so that he wanted to keep Hudson sweet and innocent for as long as he could.
“Plus, you know, he’s a thoroughbred. When we got him, Roger told me that breeding him could result in some serious cash flow.”
“There are too many dogs at the shelters. People leave them and . . . I don’t like to think of the ones who aren’t saved.”
Chris sighed and pulled me against him. “I know, baby. I hear you. I never meant to get Luke. I always thought that Hudson and I would rescue a dog together. But . . . well, you know the rest of that story.”
“He’s a great dog. He’s Hudson’s best friend.”
“He’s better,” Chris said with a chuckle. “Thanks to you.”
“You and Hudson played a big role in his training. Don’t sell yourselves short. I gave you the tools to help him. You both put in a lot of hard work.”
“I just wish he’d get to the level of Moose and Rufus.”
“He will . . . someday.”
Chris chuckled and climbed into bed.
“I’m going to be watching GiGi for six weeks,” I said, squirting toothpaste onto my toothbrush. “Celine has to go to Paris to take care of her sister after her surgery.”
“Six weeks?” Chris said, the surprise evident in his voice.
“Is that a problem?” I asked, wondering if I’d agreed too soon.
“No. No,” Chris said. “What’s one more dog?”
I chuckled. “I guess we’ll find out.”
He kissed the side of my head. “Gigi is a hell of a lot less trouble than Luke. I’m sure we’ll barely notice her.”
We brushed our teeth and cleaned up the sinks.
“The money’s really good too. Celine pays me more than she should. It will be nice to have a little extra for Christmas this year,” I said as we pulled back the covers on the bed.
“She’ll be back before then, right?” His tone told me he was genuinely worried.
“Yes, she’ll be back before Christmas. She’s hoping to come back sooner, but it all depends on how her sister heals.”
“What kind of surgery?” he asked, immediately adding, “If it’s okay to ask. I don’t want to pry into her business.”
“Foot. She’s having double bunion surgery,” I said.
“Ouch.”
“Yeah,” I added, laying halfway on him after crawling into bed with him.
It started with little circles and swirls of his finger on my back. His hand moved lower and lower. When he slipped under the soft fabric of my nightie, electric zings zipped through me, and my body tingled.
Featherlight tickles against my skin woke me up.
When I glanced up, he had that look in his eyes that let me know I could say no if I wanted.
But I didn’t want to.
I wanted him.
All over again.
All over me.
“Em,” he whispered my name. And as quiet as it was, it was husky and sexy as shit.
I pulled him to me, so now he was half on top of me.
Our mouths met.
The kiss was slow, deep, almost worshipful.
Even though we had to be quiet because Hudson was down the hall sleeping, we could take our time tonight.
There was no timetable to meet. No one-hour time limit.
We didn’t have to hurry.
So, we didn’t.