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A few moments later, a pair of hands hooked under my armpits.
Startled by the sudden contact, my limbs locked tight of their own accord as I was lifted clean off the ground.
Johnny set me down on my feet and then quickly pushed me behind him as the dogs lunged toward us.
“No!” he ordered. Keeping an arm around me, he held out the other in warning. “Bonnie,” he growled. “You’re a bad girl.” His eyes darted to the other dog who was creeping closer. “Cupcake, don’t even think about pulling that shite.”
Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a tennis ball and waved it in front of the dogs, capturing their attention instantly.
“Yeah, you see that, don’t you?” Johnny coaxed and then flung it across the yard. It landed somewhere out of sight and the two dogs bolted after it.
I took the opportunity of his momentary distraction to pull my hair tie out and drape my hair over my left shoulder, concealing the side of my face from his view.
“Sorry about them,” Johnny said once the dogs were out of sight. Turning to face me, he gave me a quick once-over and grimaced. “Jaysus, they destroyed you.”
I was so stunned by the sight of him, so completely unsure of what to do or say, that it took me a few moments to clear my head and register that he was speaking—to me. “Huh?”
“Your clothes,” he explained, gesturing up and down.
I looked down at myself and bit back a groan.
Yep, he was right. I was destroyed in a combination of mud, rain, clumps of hair, and dog slobber.
“Oh, ah, yep.” Mortified, I attempted to wipe my hands on my navy tracksuit pants, but the drool stuck to my fingers. “Yes, I am,” I offered, forcing a small laugh when all I wanted to do was dive into the back of Aoife’s car and vanish.
“Sorry about them,” Johnny apologized, looking a little embarrassed. “Those two are feral.”
Shaking my head, I exhaled a heavy sigh and said, “No, it’s okay. I didn’t mind. Bonnie and Cupcake are very cute.”
“Bonnie and Cupcake are very untrained,” Johnny corrected with a grimace. Shoving his hands into the pockets of the gray sweatpants he was wearing, he added, “They’re my mam’s dogs. She treats them like they’re human, so they believe they are.”
“Are your parents at home?” I asked, feeling incredibly nervous at the thought of my brother being in close confines with either one of his parents.
Joey shot from the hip and was partial to saying whatever was on his mind. It was quite possible that he would talk about the concussion incident.
“No, they’re above in Dublin,” Johnny told me. “My da’s working up there at the moment.”
My eyes widened. “You’re home alone?”
He smirked. “I’m not four.”
“I know that,” I replied, blushing.
“My folks travel for work,” he explained, taking mercy on me. “I’m usually alone.”
For whatever reason, those words bothered me.
“I’m usually alone.”
That was a sorrowful statement.
Frowning, Johnny reached over and cupped—yes, literally cupped—my chin in his hand.
“What the fuck is that?” he demanded, voice deathly quiet, as his blue eyes blazed with fire.
“What?” I squeezed out, panic-stricken.
Tipping my chin up, he brushed my hair off my shoulder and released a low growl.
