Page 11 of Puppy Kisses

Dawn paused long enough to praise Uncle for his obedience before heaving a sigh of her own. Although Lila had met Zeke several times before and knew Adam by reputation, she clearly underestimated the force of the latter.

“If I could have gotten her out the door without creating more trouble, I would have,” Dawn said. “But Adam wouldn’t hear of it. Believe me, when that man gets an idea into his head, it’s impossible to move him from it.”

Lila’s slightly arched brow captured her disbelief, but Dawn didn’t respond to it. Her sister had no idea just how far back her relationship with Adam Dearborn went, and she wasn’t about to enlighten her. There would be questions. And concerns. And utter disbelief. When it came to Dawn and men, six months was a world record.

“To be fair, I’m kind of glad the puppy stayed there,” Dawn added. “Marcia said that the less we move her around until those rocks pass, the better. Besides, Dearborn Ranch is the best place to store stolen goods. No one would think to confront Adam on his own turf. He’s intimidating.”

“Intimidating?” Lila echoed, blinking. “But you’re not intimidated by anyone.”

“Well, no,” Dawn admitted. “I’mnot, but I’ll bet No-Pants Shotgun would take one look at him and reform his way of life. He’d probably even start paying his taxes.”

“How do you know he doesn’t pay his taxes?”

Dawn laughed as she pictured all those coils of razor wire and the speed with which the man had threatened to shoot. “Call it an educated guess,” she said. “My highly developed intellect also tells me that Uncle will be a much better fit for Adam in the long run. Won’t you, Uncle?”

The enormous gray puppy sitting at her feet gave an obliging wag of his tail.

“That’s right,” Dawn cooed and dropped to the animal’s level. “We’ll woo him with your admirable work ethic, since that’s the only thing he cares about. Then Gigi can come with me where she belongs.”

“Gigi?”

Dawn peeked up at her sister to find that she was being carefully watched. “Yes. That’s what I’m naming the golden retriever.”

“And you want to keep her? As…a pet?”

Dawn nodded and buried her face in the nape of Uncle’s neck. His fur carried that distinct puppy smell—a mixture of the organic shampoo they used to bathe the animals every week and the grass that he loved to roll around in whenever the opportunity afforded itself. “I could use the company,” she said, her voice muffled.

“Because the eight puppies out here in the kennel aren’t company enough?” Lila asked.

Dawn knew what her sister was thinking. There was already more than enough to do around this place without adding recreational puppies into the mix, and Dawn was hardly the ideal candidate for long-term pet ownership. Of all the Vasquez sisters, she was the most unpredictable, the least reliable, and, yes, the one who would probably die at the barrel end of a shotgun.

But it wasn’t as if she’daskedfor any of this.

When she and Lila and Sophie had first purchased this house, it had been with the vision of the three of them enjoying a long spinsterhood together with the service puppies they trained and placed with those in need. Having the animals living in the kennel behind the house had been an ideal way to combine work and play, leaving them with plenty of time to see to the animals’ needs without infringing on their social lives.

It had been a great plan, but Dawn’s sisters had been a little more aggressive in the social life department than any of them had anticipated. Both Sophie, the baby of the family, and Lila had moved out to be with their One True Loves, leaving Dawn behind to do most of the work around the kennel. Dawn didn’t begrudge them their happiness, of course, but there was no denying the underlying message.

Sisters fell in love. Service puppies found homes. All around her, people and animals were pairing off like they were boarding the Ark, leaving her alone to face the floodwaters.

Which would have been fine and all, except no one had thought to ask if she wanted to go for a swim.

“It might be nice to come home to a friendly face sometimes, is all I’m saying.” Dawn kept her arms around Uncle, drawing comfort from his solid, massive form. “Someone who’ll be here longer than a few months at a time.”

“Yes, but—”

Dawn didn’t wait to hear it. “I’m doing the best I can, Lil,” she said, a hand up to stop her sister from saying something they’d both regret. “I know you think I can’t handle this place on my own, but everyone is still alive and accounted for. I think I should get some credit for that.”

“I’m here every afternoon,” Lila said, somewhat defensively.

“I know.”

“And Sophie takes the weekends.”

“Which I appreciate.”

Silence held for a moment before Lila sighed, her long limbs relaxing at her sides. “You’re right, of course. It’s not fair that you’ve had to take on the lion’s share of work around here. Especially since…”

Dawn’s smile held tight. There were countless ways to end that sentence, but all of them held to one common theme:You’re untrustworthy. You’re chaotic. You’ll run off with the first handsome face to offer something better.