Page 21 of Tack’s Bounty

She had a break, so she walked over to Shield, who had been such a help. “Thank you so much for all you’re doing,” she praised.

Shield nodded. “I like animals, so it wasn’t any trouble,” he muttered.

“You’re really good, especially with the dogs. Do you live at the clubhouse?” she asked.

“Why do you ask?”

“The German Shepherd puppies we found can’t be adopted yet, but I need a foster home for them. The one healing from the wound still needs antibiotics, but they both have phenomenal personalities, even with what they’d been through. I heard one of the guys mention you were trying to figure out what to do for the club. You could foster the puppies and then train them as protection dogs or, if they have the right personality, as medical dogs. There are classes and training you can take. But you don’t have to decide that part yet. Would you be willing to foster them?” Sophia pleaded. She refrained from pouting, but she would if she needed to.

Shield tilted his head, gazing around the area. “Well…”

Tack walked up, slid his hand into her hair, tilting her head to the side, claiming her mouth—his tongue pressed at the seam of her mouth until she opened. Once he claimed her mouth and threw her completely off balance, he pulled away, winked, and walked off while she could barely think straight.

Shield laughed. “That’s like the sixteenth time he’s kissed you today but who’s counting? Is he making sure everyone knows you’re his?”

She blushed, her face heating. She was not telling Shield that it was part of the bargain Tack made with her.

“Hmm, when I find a woman, I’ll have to remember to use a bargain for kisses—very, very smart.”

Fuck-a-duck, she’d said that aloud again.

“To answer your question, I love animals, and I’ll consider the training part. For fostering, how many animals can be fostered together, because I’d love to foster the German Shepherd puppies, but I also wanted to ask about this guy here to foster,” Shield inquired, pointing at the little dog whose ear had been ripped off and was missing fur in a couple places.

“You can foster as many as you like. We’d need to put the animals together in a controlled setting and make sure they get along. Thank you. Knowing they’ll be with someone who cares about them makes me feel so much better,” she concluded.

He grinned. “Gotcha, Doc. No talking about my Sgt at Arms staking his claim all day,” he deadpanned, walking off.

Sophia headed over to the adoption area where Lake was working with families to find them their perfect companion. She had to admit the mix of people was interesting. Tack had put the call out to all his SWAT buddies and their friends. There were numerous first responders mixing with the Saint’s Outlaws MC.

“Everything going okay?” she asked.

“Oh yes, the eye candy today between the MC cuts and the uniforms of the first responders have made this day fly by,” Lake sighed.

“Umm, I was checking on the animal adoptions, not how you felt about the day,” Sophia teased.

“It’s going well, spoilsport. I mean, you already have your own man you can climb like a tree. What’s wrong with me viewing the manly merchandise and seeing if I can find my own man?” Lake whined.

“You get all your jobs done today, and maybe I’ll ask if one of the guys could give you a ride on his motorcycle,” Sophia suggested.

“Is ‘ride on his motorcycle’ a euphemism for ‘riding his dick’ because a motorcycle ride is all good and well, but I would like to be banged up against the wall until I’m screaming,” Lake questioned with a smile.

“Lake, we have kids. Keep it PG for a couple more hours,” Sophia ordered.

“Hey, pretty lady, if you’re just wanting a good time, come see me after the event,” Tack’s brother, Stinger, offered.

“Uh…” Lake stuttered.

“She’ll consider it,” Sophia replied, chuckling at the stunned look on her friend’s face. “While you’re recovering, I’m going to head up to the front of the drive and check in with Freedom.”

Sophia waited to see if Lake would reply, but Lake continued to stand there with her mouth hanging open until a family walked up and asked about one of the cats.

Sophia couldn’t quit chuckling as she walked around the house, smelling the barbecue that Pit’s restaurant would be setting up soon. As she walked toward where Freedom was working, Sophia realized that for the first time since she divorced Rufus, she was happy. The sense of peace she felt was all due to Tack. She stopped at the edge of the front porch, waiting for Freedom to finish with a couple.

“I’m going to call the police!” Jolene screamed from the edge of the street.

“Well, let me help you out,” Sophia countered, turning around and walking back to a large group of Tack’s friends. “Hey, my ex-mother-in-law said she’s going to call the police. Do any of you want to help her?”

Tack’s boss, whom Tack had introduced her to but Sophia couldn’t remember his name, walked over.