Page 66 of Puppy Kisses

She’d done it yesterday, offering him the sole use and glory of her body for no reason other than that she wanted to. She was doing it again today, bursting in the front door with the ringing, musical tones of her laugh.

“Is that Marcia’s van I see out in the drive?” she called.

Her answer was the full-force skitter of Gigi’s nails on the hardwood as the puppy shot out to greet her preceptress. Witnessing how happy the golden retriever was to see Dawn was a consolation, but Adam’s heart still hung like a wrecking ball in his chest.

“It sure is,” Marcia replied. She squeezed Adam’s shoulder one more time, making him think that shedidknow more about this situation than she let on. That, too, was only half a consolation. “I’ve just been telling Adam the good news. Methuselah—Gigi—whatever it is you’re calling her these days—has the all clear from me. You guys have done wonders in terms of her recovery.”

“The all clear?” Dawn asked. “All clear for what?”

Adam had hoped to make his capitulation in private, but that didn’t seem to be in the cards. Making the most of the situation, he shrugged and said the words he’d been practicing for days. “You win.”

“I win? Like…a prize? A million dollars? An all-expenses-paid trip to Cabo?” She heaved a playful sigh. “I hope it’s that last one. I could use a vacation.”

“You and me both,” Marcia said. “I can’t remember the last time I saw the bottom of a margarita glass.”

“Then don’t be surprised to find me standing on your front porch one of these days with a pitcher of Don Julio’s finest. You’ve laid the challenge on me. I won’t rest until you’ve seen the bottom of at least a dozen.”

A lot of people would have made an offer like that purely for form’s sake, but Dawn meant it. Even on such a short acquaintance, Marcia could tell. All Dawn had to do was bring a bottle of tequila, and her presence became a party.

“You’re an absolute darling. Anytime this week would be great—just make it after six. My husband’s been dying to meet you.”

Adam was tempted to ask her to make it right now instead, whisking Dawn and Gigi out of here before he lost his resolution, but Marcia made her excuses and bid farewell to the puppy.

“Make sure you bring Gigi when you come, yeah?” she added before she stepped out the front door. “Our home is open to both people and dogs.”

“That’s nice, but how do you feel about rogue cows?”

“Rogue cows?” Marcia laughed. “If you mean that beast that’s been running all over this county since the day Adam birthed her, the answer is no. My kids would take one look at her and beg her to stay forever.”

The women’s voices trailed off out the door and onto the front porch, then down the front porch and to the driveway. There the conversation continued for quite a few minutes, the two of them chatting as though they’d been friends for years instead of weeks. Adam used the time to get a grip on himself, marshaling the two puppies into a semblance of order and stationing himself behind the sink in the kitchen. He’d already done the breakfast dishes, but that stainless-steel barrier was better than nothing.

At least that was what he thought until Dawn walked in.

“You bastard.”

Adam picked up the sponge he kept stored at the back of the sink and began randomly scrubbing the counter. “Zeke is still in his room, and Phoebe has been coming and going all morning, so you might want to watch what you say.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Yourat-facedbastard.”

He scrubbed harder. “I think maybe you misunderstood me earlier. I said you win, Dawn. As in, you’re the victor. You get the spoils—or in this case, Gigi.”

“Yes, I gathered as much, thank you.” She paused. “Would you please stop trying to wear a hole in your kitchen counter? I’m trying to insult you and your underhanded tactics, and it would be a lot more satisfying if you were paying attention to me while I did it.”

He couldn’t help but chuckle. Only Dawn would continue to do and say exactly what was in her heart at a moment like this one. Tossing the sponge negligently aside—a thing he almost never did—he braced both hands on the edge of the sink, hunched and facing straight ahead.

“I thought you’d be pleased,” he said, striving for nonchalance. It was difficult when every muscle in his body was tense enough to snap, when he was so close to falling to his knees and begging Dawn and Gigi to stay with him forever, but he managed it. Somehow. “I’m giving you Gigi. No more jumping through hoops, no more searching for mislaid legal documents, no more selling yourself out as a drudge to Bea Benson. She’s yours, free and clear.”

“Too bad. I don’t want her.”

Adam felt an absurd urge to take this conversation somewhere else—somewhere the puppy wouldn’t overhear—but the sound of Gigi’s happy chewing indicated that she wasn’t paying them the least bit of attention.

“Well, I don’t want her either,” he retorted. “I’ve decided to keep Uncle instead.”

When Dawn didn’t reply right away, he felt a nervous qualm. There was no saying what she was doing right now—what she was thinking. For all he knew, she was getting ready to throw something at him.

Which, to be fair, he fully deserved.

“I’m telling you that you’re right, Dawn. You’ve been right since the start of this thing.” He released his death grip on the sink and pushed himself to a standing position. “She’s not suited for life on a ranch. She’ll never be much of a guide dog—not compared to Uncle—and it’s selfish of me to keep her just because it seemed like fun to see how far you’d take it. I’m only sorry it took me this long to admit it.”