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“Baby doll, finish opening the present,” Mike said.
She gave him a glare that wasn’t as powerful as the one she’d given Boone and looked back into the box. “This is just a bridle. I have—” She cut off when she saw the bright orange sticky note that Boone had put on the name plate.
Her eyes once again blitzed back to his. “Daddy, where is the horse this belongs to?”
Boone wished he’d timed things better with his son. He couldn’t know how long it would take Gerty to go through each present, and Walter had slipped away right after Gerty had opened his gift. Amy had given it to her first, and that had been about twenty minutes ago.
“Right here,” Walt said, and everyone spun, Gerty the very fastest.
The equine Boone had bought for his daughter stood next to Walt, the two of them looking like the gangly pair they were.
“Daddy.” Gerty didn’t even look at him as she gasped out his name. “This horse is not okay.”
“He’s fine,” Boone drawled as he got to his feet too. “We rescued him a week ago is all. He’s still recovering.” He followed her the handful of paces to the animal, where she was already stroking both of her hands down the side of his neck. “I figured there wasn’t anyone better on this planet to fix ‘im up than you.”
“And Gloria,” Gerty said. “And you, Daddy.”
“He’s yours,” Daddy said. “You’ll have to pay the boarding fee here, but only after the first six months. Cosette and I took care of that.”
She turned back to him then, her blue eyes shining with love. ‘Thank you, Daddy.” She threw herself into his arms and held on tight. He loved how strong she was, physically and mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He loved how tightly she held him, as if she’d truly missed him while she was off in Texas, Montana, Utah, and Canada.
Of course she had. He knew she had. Sometimes, though, he felt like she’d forgotten him, or that he annoyed her too much, or that she’d tire of his dad jokes, how he laughed too loud, or asked her boyfriends all the hard questions.
She stepped back. “Now. Where is this dog?”
“Right here,” Amy said with a giggle.
A collective “aw” rose up from the crowd as they turned to see the puppy, who’d magically appeared on the picnic table. He tried to lick one of the empty plates with a smear of pink frosting on the edge, and Mike rescued it quickly.
“Oh, my stars.” Gerty flew back to the table. “That is the cutest dog on the planet.” She picked the German shepherd right up and cradled him in her arms. “Daddy, he’s a black and silver German shepherd.”
“I’m aware,” he said calmly.
She let the puppy lick her face, pure joy radiating from her.
“Gross,” Mike said good-naturedly, and Boone nodded at him.
“Agreed.”
Gerty ignored them both and asked, “Where’d you get him?”
“Had a friend in Albuquerque with them,” Boone said casually. “He shipped him up here with his son a few days ago.”
Gerty met his eyes, challenge in hers. “A few days ago? Where has he been all this time?”
“At our house!” Amy nearly yelled. “Isn’t he so cute, Gerty? Look at what his sweatshirt says.”
She turned the dog over and read the dark gray sweatshirt. She grinned at her sister, passed her the wiggling dog, and embraced Boone again. “You’re the best dad in the whole world,” she said.
“Yeah, and an hour ago, you wanted to shoot lasers at me from your eyes.”
She laughed, but she didn’t deny it. As she stepped back, she surveyed her new horse and then her dog as it ran over to the horse. “I think my days just got longer.”
“Sorry,” Boone said, but he wasn’t really apologizing.
“What should I name them?” she asked, and he turned, thinking he’d give his opinion if she really wanted it.
But she’d melted into Mike’s side, and he said, “Whatever you want, baby doll.”
