CHAPTER 5
It was as if time shifted, moving slower and slower until it froze for a full heartbeat as recognition crashed into Mackenzie’s chest. The familiar voice, smooth and husky, filled the room.
Mackenzie felt her balance falter, tasted the panic as it wrapped around her throat, suffocating her. The fear was even worse. It felt like leaded bullets lodged in her chest, and each pump of her heart shot a fresh dose of panic throughout her body.
“Is dat for me, Uncle Hunter?” Caroline asked, and every single one of Mackenzie’s fears was muted, shoved to the furthest corner of her brain, until she had only a single focus.
Escape.
“Maybe you should open the lid and tell me,” he said with that easygoing amusement in his voice that charmed women into doing stupid things. Thankfully, Mackenzie was too busy searching for her shoes to be charmed. Because she knew the power of that voice—and was convinced it should be outlawed.
She patted the floor with her palm, her heart doing some serious patting of its own, the thumps so loud it was impossible to decipherwhere Caroline had run to. But from the sound of the rustling taffeta and wet kisses, wherever she’d gone had landed her right in Hunter’s arms.
Mackenzie slipped one shoe on, but with the other nowhere to be found, her panic began to rebuild. Then a wet nose nudged her hand toward the coffee table and—
Thank God—her shoe.
“You’re getting a steak for supper,” Mackenzie whispered to Muttley, who licked her hand.
An ear-piercing squeal lit through the room, so loud Mackenzie could feel the vibrations in her sternum. It was followed by a sound even sweeter.
A tiny littleyip.
“It’s a puppy! You gots me a puppy!” Caroline was jumping up and down, her feet and dress slapping with each movement.
Muttley, on the other hand, chose now to act like a working dog. He sat completely still, his ears perked but his body relaxed, almost bored. As if he couldn’t be bothered by the addition of another dog.
“She’s a pomapoo, so she’ll look like a fluffy slipper with a wagging tail. And she’ll never lose that cute little yip,” Hunter said proudly.
“Ever?” Caroline asked in wonder.
Yipyipyip!
“See, isn’t that cute? A powder puff that prances. Brody is going to love walking her downtown.” Hunter sounded way too pleased with himself, which meant he was up to no good. Not that Mackenzie cared—she was too busy grabbing her own dog.
“Can I keep her?”
Hunter chuckled. “It wouldn’t be a present if you had to give her back.”
The commotion stopped, and the energy in the room shifted, became uncertain. Mackenzie strained to hear Caroline’s voice. “But Mommy and Daddy said I has to wait until I this many.”
“Good thing it’s your birthday tomorrow, because you’ll officially be older.”
“I will!” Caroline swished back and forth, and then she was on the move again. The rustling of taffeta andyipsbecame louder and louder until she squealed, “Snuggles, Miss Mack! We wants snuggles.”
The air shifted as Caroline leaped up into Mackenzie’s lap, securing her to the chair and eliminating any hope of a stealthy exit. A wet nose and hot doggy breath greeted Mackenzie’s hand, then her arm, until she felt the puppy stretch to reach her face.
“Miss Mack, I gots a pomapoo,” Caroline repeated.
“I can feel.” Mackenzie made a conscious effort to bury her fear, push it down until she was alone. A talent she’d spent a lifetime mastering.
“It’s just like the one I wanted. See.” Caroline took Mackenzie’s hand in her much smaller one and ran it over the puppy’s body, showing Mackenzie what her new puppy looked like. The little thing’s entire body trembled with nervous excitement. Not all that far off from what Mackenzie’s heart was doing. “She’s cream wif a brown spot around her nose, and her eyes are black. And she gots a glittery collar and little booties on her feet. And feel right here, her tail’s curly.”
Mackenzie loved the way Caroline always included her. If she wasn’t describing the colors blooming in the garden, she was guiding Mackenzie’s hands over some object, making sure Mackenzie saw what everyone else did.
Mackenzie squeezed the toddler a little tighter. “What are you going to name her?”
Mackenzie could almost hear Caroline considering all the options. With an excited gasp, she said, “Duchess.”
