The skepticism in his voice made my jaw tighten. “I do farm calls, had to check on her uncle’s horse.”
“Must be a special client if she dragged you to the farmers’ market.”
I shot Evan a look. “She offered to help with adoptions.”
“Of course.” Evan's mouth twitched.
Before I could figure out what that meant, Nate crouched down beside Daisy. “These the dogs you're trying to place?”
“Yeah.” I watched Daisy immediately roll onto her back, offering her belly to Nate like they were old friends. “This is Daisy. Two years old, beagle-lab mix. Food motivated, friendly, zero personal boundaries.”
Nate scratched her belly, and Daisy's tail thumped against the ground. “She's adorable.”
“She is.” I cleared my throat. “The rescue takes in strays, dogs whose owners can't keep them. We try to find them good homes.”
“How many do you have?”
“Thirteen now.” The number sat heavy in my chest. “Including Pudding, the puppy we just took in.”
“That's a lot of dogs.” Nate looked up at me, still scratching Daisy's belly. “You run the rescue yourself?”
“Yeah.”
Nate's attention returned to Daisy, whose entire body wiggled with joy. “She's really sweet.”
I recognized that look. The soft expression, the way his hand lingered on Daisy's fur. I'd seen it a hundred times right before someone said they wanted to take a dog home.
“She's great with people,” I said carefully. “Needs regular exercise, puzzle feeders to slow her eating, and?—”
“Nathaniel Westbrook, don't even think about it.”
Emily appeared beside us, her expression the kind mothers wore when catching their kids eyeing candy before dinner.
Nate looked up, his hand still on Daisy's belly. “I wasn't?—”
“We're building a house.” Emily crossed her arms. “We don't have room for a dog.”
“We have acres of land.”
“But the house isn'tbuiltyet.” Emily gestured sharply. “We're living in my apartment and your cabin while construction happens. There is no room for a dog.”
Nate looked back at Daisy, his expression resigned but good-natured. “Worth a shot.”
Daisy, oblivious to her missed opportunity, continued wiggling under his hand.
“She'll find the right home,” Nate said, meeting my eyes with an easy smile. “Someone with a finished house and room for all that enthusiasm.”
The kindness in his voice caught me off guard. Like he understood the weight of wanting to help every single one and knowing you couldn't.
“Yeah.” I cleared my throat. “Hope so.”
“We should probably let you set up.” Emily turned to me. “Good luck with the adoptions.”
“Thanks.”
Evan gave me another chin lift. “Later.”
“Yeah.” I returned the gesture, still not entirely sure what I was doing but apparently doing it correctly.
