Page 77 of Wag More Bark Less

“Ellie?”

Forever Dad is laughing.

Wag, wag, wag.

“I thought it was past your bedtime.”

Yours too, Forever Dad.

What are you doing?

Looks boring.

“Okay, okay. You caught me.”

It’s bedtime, Forever Dad.

“I was just checking on the reports⁠—”

Paw whap!

“You’re right. I’m not supposed to be working.”

Pet, pet, pet.

“Let’s get you back to your mom.”

Wait.

Take the sock, Forever Dad.

It’s my favoritest one.

“Thanks, Ellie Belly.”

Wag, wag, wag.

TWENTY-EIGHT

LUKE

“Whose dog is that?” Kira asked, eyebrows understandably drawn in confusion as I stepped into Brenda’s Book Nook, leash in hand. Ellie pitched quite the fit when I first tried to clip the leash to her collar back at the Legion Hall, but after I promised to get her another yogurt-dipped bone from Mountain Creamery, her resistance miraculously waned. As though she were a toddler who understood the bribery.

“This is Ellie.”

“Did you . . . adopt a dog?” my sister guessed, leaning over the counter to get a better look at the pup, her eyes lighting up. “I knew this time off would be good for you, but I didn’t expect you to get a dog!”

“I didn’t adopt a dog.” I set a carrier of drinks on the counter. “Ellie belongs to⁠—”

“Wait. This is Maggie’s dog.” She retrieved a homemade dog biscuit from the canister decorated with colorful dog bones, moving around the counter to give the pup a treat. Kira looked up at me after Ellie accepted the offering. “Why do you have Maggie’s dog?”

The only reason my sister even knew who Maggie was, was because of family dinner last weekend when Connor and Opal ratted me out in front of everyone. Not that it was exactly a secret that I nearly ran into Glimmerstone Lake fully clothed to save my new tenant from drowning in shallow water. This town didn’t do secrets, and everyone was getting a kick out of that story. But my brother and niece painted such a colorful picture of my botched and unnecessary rescue attempt that Kira announced she was putting it in her next book.

I ignored her question about Ellie, mostly because my lovestruck sister was likely to jump to conclusions.

She wouldn’t be wrong.

“Hey Luke, great to see you,” I said mockingly. “Thanks for the iced pumpkin latte. You’re the best brother ever.”