Page 7 of Puppy Love

She nodded and took another sip of the bourbon. It burned just as much as the first time, but it gave her the courage she needed to keep going. “I think he was afraid that he’d, um,squishBubbles. That was the impression I got anyway. He wanted the biggest, baddest dog we had, and when I told him that wasn’t an option, he sort of got this panicked look in his eye.”

“You saw all that?”

Sophie shrugged. It sounded ridiculous, she knew, but how else could she explain it? “From the way he reacted, it was like I’d asked him to carry around a cracked egg for the rest of his life.”

“No, he wouldn’t like that.” Oscar chuckled. “He wouldn’t like that at all.”

“That was where the baby talk came in. Just some cute names I have for Bubbles, you know? I was trying to get him to say a few of them, which was when he started yelling. It wasn’trealyelling, but Lila walked in right in the middle of it and couldn’t tell the difference. Do you know no one has ever yelled at me before?”

Oscar tugged one end of his mustache. “Is that so?”

“Not once. Not even a little.” She sighed, remembering. “It was nice.”

“Nice?”

“I think you should yell at me for screwing everything up. It might help. Go ahead. I don’t mind.”

Oscar only shook his head, which just went to show how right she was. In the entirety of her childhood and adult memories, she couldn’t even remember anyone sitting her down and giving her a stern talking-to.

“Anyway, that’s why I’d like to try again,” she said. “If you can convince him to work with me, that is. I’m, um, not sure he’ll want to.”

For the first time since she’d walked into this office, Oscar allowed a frown to appear. “Oh, he’ll work with you, all right. I don’t care what tactics you have to resort to—baby talk, speaking in tongues, making him carry a dozen cracked eggs. After what happened last week…”

Sophie didn’t say anything, content to let Oscar lapse into thought for as long as he needed. From the report she’d read, it sounded as though Harrison Parks was lucky to be alive. He’d slipped into a diabetic coma after his continuous glucose monitor malfunctioned during a routine wildfire training exercise. Had he been out on a call somewhere remote or inaccessible by road—both common during the height of the wildfire season—they may not have been able to get him to a hospital in time.

As if following the exact thread of her thoughts, Oscar’s mouth firmed in a hard line. “If he wants to see any action on the ground this summer, he’ll do it. And he’lllikeit, by God. I’m not putting him through that again without some kind of protection in place.”

“No, of course not,” Sophie said meekly.

“A puppy’s the only recourse I have left, short of putting him behind a desk.”

“He doesn’t seem like the sort to appreciate that,” Sophie agreed.

Oscar sighed and scrubbed a hand over his mouth. His glance, when it met hers, was pointed. “He won’t make this easy on you, Sophie, not for one minute. I’ve never known anyone so wrapped up in barbed wire. Are you sure you’re up for it?”

“Absolutely,” she said the word automatically.

It wasn’t automatic enough.

“You’re saving my skin to take his case at the last minute like this, but I won’t hold it against you if you pass. Especially now that you’ve met him. And Lila wasn’t sure if this dog of yours would be up to the task, so…”

At the mention of her sister’s name, Sophie’s chin lifted a good inch. “I know what you’re thinking, but it’s not like that. Bubbles had a rocky start in life, yes, but she can do the job. I know she can.” She hesitated before bringing her chin up even more. “And so can I.”

His expression softened. “Of course you can, kiddo. Lila’s just looking out for you, that’s all. We both are.”

Any desire she might have had to abandon this project died at once. It was thekiddothat did it, the reminder that the history she and Oscar shared was forged in blood a long time ago.

Literally. Once upon a time, this man had leeched the marrow from his bones for her. Once upon a time, he’d undergone extreme pain and hospitalization so she could have another chance at life. It had been eleven years since the bone marrow transplant took successfully and her leukemia went into remission, but that didn’t mean Sophie had forgotten.

She’dneverforget. She couldn’t. No one in her life—family, friend, or foe—would let her.

“Bubbles is a lot tougher than she looks,” she said as she raised her eyes to Oscar’s. “Please let me do this for you, Oscar. For you and for Harrison.”

And, she didn’t need to add,for me.

“I don’t know…” Oscar began.

“I’ll find a way to make it work,” she said. “That’s a promise. Even if I have to beg him to come back on my knees. Even if I have to make him yell at me every day for six weeks to do it.”