"Sherry," she said very quietly. So quietly Lyle almost didn't hear her.
But he did and his heart jolted. Sherry was Charlotte's mother's name. Emotions nearly slayed him. He cleared his throat, glanced at Heather, noted that her eyes were damp.
"Sherry it is," he said softly, stroking one finger against the soft yellow fur of the puppy. He imagined they were going to have a very difficult time convincing Charlotte to give up these fosters when they found their forever homes.
Especially the one named Sherry.
“We should probably get these babies home and settled before they get too overwhelmed,” Heather suggested, glancing back toward the shelter and noticing Janette was headed their way, her expression full of warmth and gratitude.
As they gathered up the remaining pups and tucked them safely into their crate, Lyle shifted closer to Heather, lowering his voice slightly. “I’m really glad you got Charlotte involved today.”
“She needed this.”
“Can I keep the Sherry puppy here, Uncle Lyle? She’s so tiny and she might need me and Pudge.”
The puppies were in a crate beside Charlotte on the back seat. Lyle braked behind Heather’s Jeep, wondering why she’d stopped in front of the main house rather than driving on around to her cabin. “It’s best to keep them all together, sweetheart.”
Heather got out of her Jeep and came around to open the back door of his truck.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“We’re unloading the dogs. Are you going to help?”
“Shouldn’t we drive around to your place?”
She smiled and glanced at Charlotte, gave a wink. “I think there’s a certain little girl who’d be perfect as a foster fur parent.”
“Me?” Charlotte exclaimed. “Yes!” She unbelted herself and scrambled down from the truck. “Uncle Mike will love it!”
“Now, wait just a minute!” Lyle shut off the truck and got out.
“Oh, thank you, Uncle Lyle! I’ll be the best foster mommy. This is the best day ever! Hurry! Bring them inside!”
Lyle glared at Heather. “You set me up.”
She shrugged and tried to suppress a smile.
Shaking his head, he gently lifted the crate from the back seat, even though his roiling gut made him want to snatch it. He didn’t have time for four baby dogs.
But he found himself setting up a make-shift playpen in the laundry room off the kitchen—to the delight of Charlotte and several of the ranch guests who were having coffee in the kitchen and stopped to fawn over their newest residents.
Charlotte was already in love and determined to introduce Pudge to the puppies. The little cat arched up and skittered sideways, but Charlotte advised her to be sweet and Pudge, crazy cat that she was, settled right down. He’d never seen anything like it.
“This is all your fault,” he admonished Heather, as he brought in puppy pads from his veterinary supply and spread them over the floor. “Training a puppy is one thing. Managing four at once is insanity. I demand back up!”
“As if you don’t have a houseful of cowboys as backup,” Heather said.
“You think they’re gonna put in the time? Nope. They’ll give a nod to the cuteness, then go on about their business as though they’re not even there. I need your word, here, Heather. You will not abandon me.”
“For crying out loud. You’d think you didn’t know a single thing about animals. You’re a veterinarian for heaven’s sake.”
“A busy veterinarian with a six-year-old and a damned ‘helper cat’!”
She laughed. “Fine. I’ll come first thing in the morning. That way I can get coffee out of the deal.”
“You can have all the coffee you want. And dinner. I’ll need help to get them settled for the night.”
“Now, Lyle, I don’t think?—”
