Page 45 of Puppy Kisses

“What time are you supposed to check in?”

“Eleven, which means I need to get moving if I want to make it on time.” His brother gulped his coffee. With an anxious inflection, he added, “It’s okay, yeah? Since I got the irrigation system up and running again, you don’t mind if Phoebe and I lope off for the rest of the day? Michael’s out of town, so she has to be my whole support crew.”

“I’ve got water bottles, salt packs, and the first aid kit ready to go,” Phoebe said. “He’s going to need them. It’s supposed to reach a hundred degrees today.”

Adam felt a pang of mingled remorse and regret. Zeke and Phoebe didn’t ask for a lot in terms of time away from the ranch—not compared to the number of days off included in a more traditional job—and he did his best to accommodate them when he could. But there was no denying that it was a strain. Days off required coordination and planning and a lot of extra work picked up late into the night.

That was something most people would never understand. Ranching wasn’t a job; it was a way of life. It was an existence, and one that included a lot of hard work and sacrifices. In fact, now that he was thinking about it, it was kind of like being a service dog. Since the moment he’d woken up this morning, Uncle had been at his feet—never in the way, of course, but on the job. He was ready to come the moment Adam called, to sniff out his boots or accompany him across the yard or even to entertain Gigi, who was both at Adam’s feetandin the way. Uncle didn’t complain, of course, and Adam liked to think that the animal was starting to feel happy and settled in his new home, but there was no denying that Uncle’s life was one of restriction and duty—would, from here on out, be one of continued restriction and duty.

“Of course you guys can go,” he said, waving them off and almost spilling coffee all over himself in the process. “I’m only sorry I didn’t remember before. I would have been up early to fix the irrigation system with you.”

Now that his blessing had been bestowed, both of his siblings showed themselves eager to get out the door.

“Nah, I thought it’d be nice you to sleep in for a change,” Zeke said. “Besides—you know I can never sleep before a race.”

Actually, Adam hadn’t known that. Between all the training and the manual labor he did around here, Zeke almost always slept like the dead.

“Make sure he behaves himself, okay?” Phoebe asked before dropping a quick kiss on Adam’s cheek. He thought for a moment that she was telling him to make sureUnclewas being good, but Dawn laughed and promised to do her best. “You laugh now,” Phoebe added, “but just wait until Adam starts talking to the grocery clerk about crossbreeding and the latest in artificial insemination methods. It’s mortifying. He sometimes forgets how to act around normal, noncattle people.”

“Ooh, that sounds right up my alley.” Uncle shifted at Adam’s feet as Dawn drew closer. He hadn’t realizedhowclose she was until Gigi’s wet nose pressed against his forearm. “What do I need to know about the latest in artificial insemination? Please tell me it involves giant turkey basters and bulls masturbating in dark corners, or I’m going to be disappointed.”

“You’re bound for disappointment, I’m afraid,” Phoebe replied with a giggle. “It’s all very straightforward and clinical.”

“Just like me,” Adam said. It was mostly an attempt to move the conversation along, but he was afraid it came off sounding much more pathetic than he’d anticipated.

“Well, good luck to you both,” Dawn said brightly. “I promise not to sully your family name by letting Adam discuss anything buthumaninsemination in public. You have my word on that.”

That remark, as well as a few others about wishing Zeke well on the upcoming race, had Adam’s family leaving the ranch in one of the best moods they’d been in for a long time.

“How do you do that?” he asked as Dawn shut the front door behind his siblings and returned to the kitchen. He’d already started a new pot of coffee, which was bubbling to life in the background.

“Do what? Get rid of your brother and sister as fast as possible?” Her voice dropped to a lower, coy note. “It’s not that tough when there’s such strong motivation standing here making me coffee.”

As easy—and as fun—as it would have been to let her divert the subject, Adam shook his head. “No, not that. I mean that no matter who you’re talking to or who you’re with, you always leave them in a better mood than before you arrived. Zeke. Phoebe. Marcia. Bea Benson.” He hesitated. “Me.”

The silence that greeted this filled Adam with a worrying amount of foreboding. One of the unspoken rules of their relationship was that they never veered into any kind of territory where real human emotions lived. Flirtation was fine, and insults were basically foreplay, but actual compliments weren’t something they dealt in very often.

He busied himself by brushing a hand over Uncle’s head, taking comfort in the strong, silent bulk of him.

“I think that might be the nicest compliment anyone has ever given me,” Dawn eventually said. Her voice was distant, but he knew she was standing close because he could feel the air moving around her. “Thank you.”

The sincerity in her voice unsettled him. “Does that mean you’re not going to tell me how you do it?”

“You’ve seen me in action. You probably know better than I do.”

“Not really. From what I’ve been able to glean, most of it is sex jokes.”

That made her laugh. “Never overlook the power of a well-timed and well-hung pun.” She paused. “You’re not wrong, though. People like jokes, and they like sex. If they like me, too, it’s mostly because I give them an excuse to enjoy both themselves.”

Considering how much he laughed with Dawn, Adam wasn’t in much of a position to argue this fact. Her open and honest approach to sex was, in fact, one of his favorite things about her, but that wasn’t confined to the bedroom. She was open and honest regarding just abouteverything.

“You do more than that,” he said, trying—and failing—to share some of what he was feeling.

“Yeah, I also remind them of a time when they were as fun-loving and carefree as I am—back in their wayward and regrettable youth.” She changed directions before he could contradict her. “Well, where do you want to go today?”

“Uh…to the south field?”

She dropped a hand to his forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Sorry. I should have been clearer. Where do you want to go that will give the puppies an opportunity to work in a public setting? Uncle has had some basic harness training, but he’ll need to learn your specific needs. Things like where the elevators are in a store or how to find a person to help when you’re somewhere new. Gigi, well…it might be too late for her either way. We’ll have to see.”