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I dialed the number and let the ringtone fill the cab.
“Gray here.”
“Hey, how are you?” I could hear his daughter, Amelia, in the background, asking to be picked up.
Natalie smiled over at me.
“Good. Someone’s climbing me like I’m a tree.” Gray’s voice went in and out as he presumably moved the phone around his daughter.
Suddenly, the cab filled with Amelia’s giggles. He must have picked her up.
“You want to go out?” he asked, his voice louder.
“Not right now. Maybe soon, though.” I hadn’t gone out with the guys in a while, and I liked Gray. “I want to get a puppy, and I’m hoping you know somewhere we can get one on a Saturday night.”
I wanted to get one eventually. But when I returned to Natalie’s apartment, the thought of working alone and then heading back to my empty house wasn’t appealing. I wanted to fill it with something. And if the puppy drew Delaney and Natalie over to my place, even better.
“I’ll text you some options. What are you looking for?”
The background was quiet now, and I wondered if Elle took Amelia into another room. “I want a nice family dog. Lab or golden retriever. I don’t care which.”
From the backseat, Delaney called, “Golden retriever. They’re rainbows, sunshine, and cotton candy.”
“I’m not sure about that,” I said to Delaney, amusement tinging my voice, and then to Gray, “I’m getting a request for a golden.”
“I think we have some things to catch up on,” Gray said, clearly having heard her.
“I’m with Natalie and her daughter, Delaney. She’s the one fixing up the old Victorian into a B&B.”
“Yeah, I heard something about that. She’s friends with Alice.”
“That’s right.”
“Give me a minute, and I’ll send you the information on a farm that has goldens. It’s not a mill. They have a nice breeding operation going on there. You can’t go wrong. The mom and dad have great dispositions.”
“Great. Thanks.” I knew Gray would know where to go.
“They have a wait list but always reserve a few for local buyers. They want to keep the puppies close so they can keep an eye on them.”
“That’s nice,” Natalie murmured from next to me.
“Listen, I have to go. Someone wants me to play horsey.” Gray’s tone was irritated but full of affection. He loved his daughter more than anything, and I knew it was because, like me, he didn’t think he’d ever have a family because of his past.
Handing the phone to Natalie, I said, “Direct us to the farm when Gray sends the info.”
Natalie cradled the phone in her hands. “I don’t know Gray.”
“He moved to town a few years ago and took over Telluride Animal Clinic.” Gray had an interesting backstory. When he was eighteen, their home was raided, and his father was arrested. He was currently serving time in federal prison for his money-laundering crimes. Gray moved here, hoping to escape his past, but it eventually followed him. Thankfully, the townspeople only cared that he was a good man and an even better vet. “He married Elle, Alice’s sister. She owns the barbershop in town.”
“That’s right. Alice said something about that. It sounds like a nice place.”
“It was Elle who introduced Alice to Sam. She knew he needed a nanny and told her about the position.”
Natalie relaxed into the seat. “Sounds like fate.”
I wanted to say I didn’t believe in that, but Delaney was listening intently to our conversation. “What should we name the dog?”
She tapped her chin. “Princess?”
