CHAPTER 85
DAKOTA
Aggie doesn’t freak out like I thought she would at the thought of someone wanting the puppies.
I tell her what I know of the situation from Thess, and her eyes get soft when she hears Jonah needs a guide dog.
“I don’t know how to train for that,” she admits.
“And Stella’s kinda dumb. I love her, but she’s about as observant as a brick. ”
“I think Thess said that he’d be able to teach it some commands, and whatever he can do is better than nothing.”
She nods, thinking. “I’d have to meet him. I’m not giving my babies to just anyone.”
“Of course not.”
“Did that shitty-ass nomad show back up at the fort? Is that why they’re asking after my dogs?” She scowls. “Is that what this is about?”
I shake my head, then take the box from Murr and set it down.
“No, I think Thess is close to the family. She remembered that we have dogs and wanted to come and talk to us about it first. I told her I’d run the idea past you but I couldn’t guarantee anything.
No discussion of money or goods. And she didn’t mention a nomad. ”
Aggie glances at Murr. “You think your buddy could have made it back to the fort by now?”
He huffs as if the idea is ridiculous. “Tiny legs. No go far.”
“I do like the idea of him having tiny legs,” Aggie admits.
“And okay, we’ll assume everything is on the up and up.
I still want to meet him before I decide anything, and they’re far too small to leave Mama just yet.
” She pulls the lid off the box and frowns at the mess of old newspapers and fabric in the box. “What the fuck is all this?”
“A couple of teacups from an antique store. We looked for the most gilded, ridiculous ones.”
She puts the lid back on and her eyes look suspiciously misty. “That’s perfect. We’ll have to hide this so she doesn’t find them ahead of time. What about ingredients for a cake? Party hats?”
I grimace. “We didn’t get that far, but we might be able to trade for foodstuffs at the fort. Thess suggested it. That might be easier than having to hunt down ingredients that haven’t been picked over a dozen times already.”
Aggie makes a face. “Sounds like we need to visit the fort. I hate forts.”
“I do, too.” So much. In my experience, the people that usually run the forts get power-hungry and start lording over everyone.
They tend to treat women like they’re commodities, and I’ve heard of forts where they kicked out the elderly because they were considered a drain on resources.
It’s like they’re the worst versions of humanity, all clustered into one spot.
“But I can’t deny that they have a lot of stuff that we don’t.
Thess assures us that we’d be able to come and go without being bothered, and I have to trust her. ”
“You might have to, but I don’t,” Aggie grumbles.
Murr puts a big hand on my shoulder, then steps forward and puts a hand on Aggie’s shoulder, too. “Murr no leave Aggie fort. Murr keep safe.”
“I trust you, Big Meat.” She pats his hand. “Maybe it won’t be so bad. We don’t have to stay overnight if we can just fly away. It’ll be like an afternoon visit to the store or something. A store in a shit part of town.”
Which brings me to the other thing we need to discuss. “And speaking of forts…there’s a doctor there. Thess knows him well and says that he’s skilled. I think he should take a look at Dottie.”
Aggie just arches one brow, her forehead crinkling up. “Dottie ain’t gonna like that.”
“Is she okay?” I ask. “She’s lying down again. I’m worried.”
“She always says she’s fine. It’s not like I’m gonna waterboard the truth out of her. If she says she’s fine, she’s fine.”
Saying that you’re fine and actually being fine are two very different things.
“Do you know if she has any ongoing medical issues? Anything we should be aware of?” When Aggie shrugs, I try a different suggestion.
“What if we all go to the fort to meet the boy, and the doctor just happens to be there to look her over? What do you think?”
The look on her face is disgusted. “I think she’ll hate you for tricking her.”
She might. But is that better than watching an elderly woman slowly die in front of me because she doesn’t want to speak up, for whatever reason? Or is this my anxiety running away with things again? I can’t tell. “Should we ask her to see the doctor, then?”
“You know her answer as well as I do.”
Ugh. I do. “Then I might have to be the bad guy. Let’s watch her for the next day or two and see if she seems better. If she’s back to her old self, we’ll table it and forget we ever brought it up. We’re supposed to meet Thess again in two days to talk about coordinating things.”
Aggie nods. “I’ll keep an eye on the puppies and see if I can tell which one is the smartest. Just in case. I ain’t promising shit, though!”
“Of course not.”
She pats her wig. “Maybe I’ll break Shakira out for our visit to the fort. She’s my fancy wig for when we have visitors.”
God help us. “Sounds great.”
“Even if we do decide to go to the fort, how’s Big Meat here going to carry us all?” She thumbs a gesture at Murr, who’s still resting a hand on her shoulder.
That’s a great question, and one I haven’t figured out the answer to just yet.