“You.” Salinger turns on me.
“Don’t be mad at him. He had to pay off Faulkner,” Isaac explains.
“Pay him off for what?”
“Don’t ask questions. Felonies were committed.” Faulkner waves him away.
“Guess you better get Jenna back,” Hawthorne jokes. “Sounds like Salinger’s going to kill both of you, which is going to be a huge PR nightmare.”
My shoulders fall.
After coaxing the lazy corgi to wake up, Salinger prods her, grumbling, to herd the buffalo.
“I don’t know if she’s going to do it,” Fitz says, waving zucchini at the yawning corgi.
“She’s a corgi; she’s bred for herding.”
Faulkner’s opening up all the cages, and the dog digs deep into her breeding and remembers that maybe she is supposed to herd livestock after all.
“Not up there,” Salinger bellows as the corgi starts to steer them in the direction of his house and pristine lawn.
“Shhh! You’ll create a stampede.” Hawthorne grabs him.
“Can’t they go to a petting zoo?” Fitz suggests.
“Can we eat one of them?” I ask.
“They’re pets.”
Buddy barks at the buffalo, helping to turn them away from the house.
We follow along at a distance as my brothers, chirping mildly, watch the two dogs coax the massive animals down the beach. It’s everything I love all in one place.
Well, almost.
“So, she really didn’t take you back, huh?” Salinger matches my pace.
“I just have to keep trying.” I press my lips together. “She’ll cave eventually.”
“Sounds healthy.”
“What am I supposed to do, give up?” I argue.
“I thought you didn’t even like her?”
“I don’t. I can’t stand her. Except all I want to do is be around her. I love her. She’s snarky and funny and doesn’t take my shit. Well, not most of the time, anyways. Maybe she did get tired of me.”
“You’re a lot to handle.” Salinger nudges me. “Maybe now that you have your dog back, you’ll calm down.”
“Maybe.”
Buddy loops back to me, a spring in his step like he’s a puppy again.
I bend down to let him kiss my face and reassure him that I’m still here. Then he lopes back to keep the buffalo moving to the far side of the island.
“You actually love her.”
It’s not a question.
