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“Wake up, darlin’.”
“No.” I’m way too comfy. I roll away from Eli and snuggle under the covers, pushing back into the warmth of his body.
“It’s Christmas morning.” I hear the smile in his voice.
“Five more minutes.”
He moves and a weird sound greets me. I know that sound. It’s the snuffling of an animal.
And it’s not Luna.
I listen as I lie here, fully awake now, until whiskers hit my chin and a tongue swipes my jaw.
When the wiggling doesn’t stop, I open my eyes and stare into one of the sweetest faces I’ve ever seen.
“Meet Sola.”
“Sola?”
I whistle, and Luna pops her blond head up to rest it on the bed at my face. Her chocolate eyes smile, and her tail wags lazily.
“Now you have the moon and the sun.”
I sigh, deep and contented, from my bones, as I pet Luna, while Sola pounces on anything that moves under the covers. “You’re the perfect man, Elias Finchley. Everything I need. Everything I want.”
Before I have time to roll to face him, he spoons me from behind, wrapping an arm low on my belly and pulling me deep into his body.
He reaches over and strokes Luna’s nose and rubs up her nose to between her ears.
“All I need is you,” He whispers his promise to me as I stare at the tri-colored face of the little Bernese Mountain dog puppy. The giggle that escapes me cannot be contained. The sheer joy of my life with Eli is embodied in the wiggling pup in my arms.
Without warning, Luna jumps up and flanks my other side, resting her head on my pillow and yawns. She’s not allowed on the bed and she knows it, but just this once, I allow it.
My eyes close in contentment as Sola tries to bark, obviously not the type to snuggle and sleep. Luna reaches out a paw and places it on his head. The laugh that bursts from me is echoed in the one from Eli at my back.
“He’s in for it,” he says through his laughter
“Think he’ll be a good Jeep dog?”
“Only one way to find out.”
A little “ruff” sounds again as Sola tests his voice. “No sleeping in anymore, I guess.” I fake a huff when I say it.
“You never do anyway. Besides, it’s time to head to the ranch.”
“The sun’s barely risen.”
“You’re not planning on checking on the horses then?”
“Fine. Just a quick trip to the stables before breakfast.”
After a quick shower, we climb in the Jeep, with Eli in the driver’s seat, and head to the ranch.
“Where’d you find Sola?”
“A friend of mine, Lisette, had a litter dumped by her house. They were, to our best guess, Australian shepherds, but this one oddball was in the mix. He’s definitely a Berner, but I don’t know if he’s purebred.”
“I don’t care about that.” I take his hand and squeeze, looking into the mirror at Luna’s head hanging out the window. Sola is on my lap, fighting sleep.
