Page 71 of Puppy Kisses

“I’ll make sure you get whatever price you want for it,” Dawn promised. “And this way, no one can argue that it wasn’t fair or that you played favorites in deciding who the property goes to. Adam, Charlie, and I can play for it. Winner takes all—with or without the cheating this time.”

That was all Bea needed to hear to set her cackle roaring. “Say no more. I don’t want to be an accessory before the fact. You tell me when and where, and I’ll make sure the deed and agreement are in hand.”

Dawn trotted up the stairs and threw her arms around the older woman. Bea was much smaller and thinner than she’d expected, her frame hidden underneath the oversized clothes and dingy layers she always seemed to wear. This hidden frailty, unnoticed for too long, made Dawn hold the hug longer than she might have otherwise. She also dropped a kiss on Bea’s cheek. Her skin felt soft and papery under her lips, and would probably bear the bright crimson mark of her affection for the rest of the day.

Neither woman cared.

“Bea Benson, you are a treasure,” Dawn announced.

“Dawn Vasquez, you are a pain in my ass,” Bea replied. “But damn if that isn’t exactly what this entire sorry neighborhood needs.”

Chapter 15

“I hereby call this family meeting to order,” Dawn announced.

Lila’s brows rose, but she pursed her lips and folded her hands primly on top of the table, ready and willing to listen. Sophie was also ready and willing, but since she held a squirming Gigi in her lap, her attention wasn’t quite as focused.

“This is the worst-behaved service puppy I’ve ever seen,” Sophie said as Gigi started snuffling her way inevitably to the floor. That was where the shoes were, which meant that was precisely where she intended to go. “What exactly are you training her to do?”

“To sit still for five minutes and not get us kicked out of our favorite restaurant,” Dawn replied. Even though Gigi bore the vest proclaiming her service training status, they’d already received the side-eye from several of the waitresses. Fortunately, they were such regular patrons—and often with a puppy-in-training or two on hand—that no one had asked them to leave.

Yet.

Gigi finally latched on to Sophie’s shoelace and pounced to the floor, eager to celebrate her victory by chewing it to pieces.

“These laces should give us about ten minutes,” Sophie announced with a chuckle. Like everyone else who’d ever held Gigi for longer than two seconds, her gaze was one of adoration and indulgence. “So you’d better talk fast. Either that, or we need to get one of Lila’s pumps ready.”

Lila promptly tucked her feet under the red vinyl booth. “Are you kidding? I love these shoes. I don’t see why you can’t just train her to behave. You’re more than capable of it. You once transformed an entire litter of hyperactive Jack Russell terriers into docile little lambs.”

“Because I don’t want to,” Dawn replied. She could have left it at that, but she needed to tell them this. She needed to tell them everything. “She bounced back from her trauma like a trouper and acts as though all she has to do is bat her eyes to have the whole world eating out of her hand, but it’s not like that.”

Last night had been a clear example. Adam had warned her that Gigi didn’t much care for the dark, but not to what extent. As soon as the lights had gone out for the night, that little puppy had jumped into Dawn’s lap and refused to move. Not even the promise of a leather-thonged flip-flop had been enough.

“Her spirit isn’t unbreakable,” Dawn said, stealing a glance under the table at her protégé. In addition to Sophie’s shoelaces, she seemed to have found a stray crust worth snuffling out. “She puts on a good show, I know, but that’s only because it’s what’s expected of her. Happy, playful, energetic puppies are what people prefer, so that’s the facade she’s learned to wear. She chases anything that moves and refuses to listen to commands and then makes up for it by licking your face until you can’t breathe. In other words, she’s charming as all hell. But deep inside, she’s a neurotic, chaotic mess.”

She glanced back up again and held her sisters’ stares—first Sophie’s, and then Lila’s.

“A lot like me.”

To her sisters’ credit, neither one of them burst out with protests or exclamations that she was no such thing. They knew her well enough to recognize the truth.

“I’m struggling, you guys,” Dawn said with a quick dash at her suddenly moist eyes. Her winged eyeliner was perfectly on point today. There was no way she was ruining it. “I should have said something earlier, but I didn’t want to infringe on your happiness. The truth is, I don’t like living in the house without you, but I don’t like losing all responsibility for the kennel and puppies, either.”

“Oh, Dawn.” Lila reached across the table, holding her hand in place until Dawn took it. “Of course you’re not infringing on our happiness.”

“I am, and you know it. How many times have you had to abandon Ford and Emily to bring me food and flowers?”

“It’s not like that—”

“It’s exactly like that. Emily once offered to come stay with me for a few weeks so she could teach me how to make my own peanut-butter sandwiches. When a seven-year-old is offering you life-skills training—and you actually consider it for a few minutes before declining—something is wrong.”

Dawn turned to Sophie before she could interrupt. “And how many hours have you wasted on the road, driving to and from Deer Park to make sure I’m not moping around and feeling sorry for myself?”

“Excuse you. My time on the road is never wasted. I love those murdery podcasts.” Sophie smiled and took Dawn’s other hand. It was an awkward position, and made it difficult for Dawn to protect her eyeliner, but her sisters held fast. “In fact, I listened to one the whole way here. They just found three more bodies.”

Dawn refused to let herself be distracted. That was supposed to beherjob, not theirs—cracking jokes, bringing smiles.

But Sophie beat her to the next line. “It’s a few minutes on the road, Dawn, not a lifetime of jury duty. I visit you because I want to, not because I feel like I have to.”