CHAPTERONE
"I'm gettin'a dog."
The words hung in the air like feed dust while I stood in the dog food aisle of Lancaster Feed & Supply, starin' down rows and rows of bags stacked higher than my head.
Beef.
Chicken.
Salmon.
Grain-free.
Ancient grains.
Dog food was dog food. WTF?
I squatted to read another label, the funky-sweet smell of grain and fertilizer that lived in this store the way my family did—forever—invadin' my senses.
"Why do you have so many goddamn options?" I muttered.
From behind the scarred oak counter, Luke didn't even look up from his stack of ones. The cash register dinged, metal drawer slammin' with a thud.
"You can't keep a fuckin' cactus alive," he said flatly. "You don't need a dog."
At six-foot-three, you could hardly call my little brotherlittle. Two-hundred-twenty pounds of farm-bred stubbornness with one facial expression he wore year-round. For fuck's sake, he made me feel small at six-one and a buck ninety.
"Hey, I take care of animals every damn day."
"Horses are different than dogs, Bro. But I'm sure you'll be great at clippin' its nails. Just don't forget to feed it, water it, walk it."
"Fuck off, Lu. I can take care of a dog."
Right? I totally can.
I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans, boots scuffin' over the dusty floor, eyeing a bag with a golden retriever grinnin' like his life was perfect. A pet was probably the only logical solution to my current loneliness.
"You boys fightin' out here?" Mom stepped out of the office, gray-blond hair yanked into a ponytail. She had on her light-wash mom jeans and Dad's old Larkspur, Montana sweatshirt—the same one he'd sold to half the town over the years.
"Just keepin' your eldest humble." Luke bent to kiss the top of her head and, for a second, I saw the shadow of what we'd lost cast across them both.
I shook it off, plastering on the shit-eatin' grin everyone was used to seein' on my face. Last thing Mom needed was to worry 'bout me.
Wouldn't stop her, though.
"He doesn't think I need a dog." I spread my arms for Mom to walk straight into before I squeezed her in a hug that lifted her clear off her feet.
"How does Sassy feel about a dog?"
I sighed as I set my meddling mother down. "Mom…"
"What?" Her feigned confusion was so utterly transparent, I laughed. Couldn't help it.
My laugh made her laugh, which had Luke crackin' a smile and shakin' his head. For him, that was practically a ROFL moment.
When we'd all calmed our shit down, Mom fixed me with a more serious expression.
"She's coming home tomorrow."
