Foster pouted. “We were planning to replace it with Craig’s couch when he moved in, but Malcolm is stalling about getting his own furniture out of storage.”
“Malcolm, who works for Shelton Security?” Cole asked. Malcolm had quit the FBI and gone to work for Jason’s company last fall.
We nodded, and Foster said, “He’s renting Craig’s house.”
“And totally couch-blocking us,” I added.
When everyone had finished ribbing Foster about the couch, Will started the interview I’d been expecting. “Can you tell us a little bit about what you’re looking for in a dog?”
Foster inclined his head toward me, so I answered. “Um, neither of us has pets right now. Foster was taking care of Malcolm’s cat for a while, and my dog, um, passed away a few years ago.” The three of them made sympathetic noises. Foster took my hand, and I gave him a grateful smile. “Thanks. I haven’t been ready to get another pet, but after I moved in with Foster, we talked about it. When you called last week, Will, it felt like a sign it was time.” I shrugged. “As far as what we’re looking for, we don’t have any preferences regarding size or breed. We just want a companion.”
They all nodded understandingly. “Frankly, Craig,” Jason said. “Outside of us knowing you’re both responsible people, your experience with dogs is a big plus for us.” More nodding. “I think Will told you how we ended up with her?”
“He said she’d been tied up outside your gate?”
Jason scowled. “Yep. We all pretty much alternate between being furious someone would do something like that and being grateful they didn’t dump her in the woods or worse.”
Will jumped in again. “We’re keeping two of the puppies, and we’ve had a ton of applications for the other three. But we’re most concerned about where Lily ends up. She’s a total sweetheart. She’s about two years old and we had her spayed a couple of weeks ago.”
Foster asked, “Why aren’t you keeping her? It seems like this would be a great place to have lots of dogs.”
Cole shook his head. “Lily—that’s what we’ve been calling her.” My heart twinged at how close the name was to Lucy’s. “She’s a terrific dog, and once she gets to know you, she’s really affectionate and loves to play. But she’s pretty timid. She’s gotten used to us, and to Arturo, our ranch manager. She likes our cat and the chickens, but she’s absolutely petrified of the bigger animals.”
Will added, “Even though she’s lived here since January, she still won’t go anywhere near the paddocks or the horse barn. She sticks to the house.” He made awhat-are-you-going-to-do?face and shrugged. “And now the puppies are weaned and she’s been spayed, so it’s time to find her the right home. We were hoping it might be yours.”
I looked at Foster. He smiled and nodded.
I said, “Let’s meet her and find out if she likes us.” I was trying for casual, but I knew this dog would be ours.
I was right. As soon as Cole brought Lily in, I was in love. She was dark brown all over, with fur like a Labrador but a smaller, stockier build. Probably a Lab mixed with pit bull and a little something else thrown in.
She was shy at first, not sure about the strangers in the room. I ended up sitting on the floor and soon I had a lapful of wiggly dog.
My throat tightened, and I could feel my eyes getting wet. Foster gave me a knowing smile. He slid down beside me so Lily could crawl onto his lap too. Between face licks, he said, “So, Lily, you want to come home with us?”
Lily froze for a second, then she leaped off his lap to do a couple of loops of zoomies around the room. Will, Jason, and Cole laughed delightedly.
When Lily returned to climb in our laps again, Foster put his arm over my shoulders. “Our family is growing by one,” he whispered to me.
Lily licked away my tears as Foster pressed a kiss to my head.
“I love you,” I told him.
He squeezed me tight. “I love you more.” Lily gave Foster’s face a few licks too.
“Let’s take our girl home.”
* * *
That night I dreamed Foster and I brought Lily to the park I used to take Lucy to. Foster and I were lying on a blanket while Lily wandered around nearby, checking out the grass and flowers.
It was the most natural thing in the world to see Lucy step out of the trees and then dash toward us. She came over for kisses from Foster and me before running up to Lily to play.
Dream-Foster turned to me and said, “I’m so glad they get along.”
I responded, “Me too,” and we put our arms around each other while we watched the dogs.
In the dream Lucy stopped running for a moment and looked over at me. She gave me a huge doggy grin to let me know how happy she was.
“You’ll be in my heart forever,” I told her.
She woofed and went back to playing with Lily.
She knew.
The End
