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A yawn catches me off guard. Lifting a hand to hide my exhaustion, I know I’ve instantly failed when Penny chuckles.
“Sorry. It’s been a long day.”
“Tell me about it.”
Nodding, I open my door. “Wait for me to come around.”
“Oh. I’m fine to—”
“Wait for me to come around,” I repeat, needing to make sure she gets inside the house safely. The snow has been falling for hours, and with the driveway and walkway not shoveled, I don’t want to risk her falling again.
When I receive a small nod, I jump out of the car and trudge around the hood. Snow seeps into my boots, and the chill makes me move faster. With careful hands, I guide her out of the car. Never taking my hands off her for support, I lead her up the snow-covered path to the front door.
More Christmas lights lead the way up my small walkway, lighting the dark night. I take Penny’s hand, moving slowly as I help her to the front door. There are dark bags under her eyes, and her sluggish movements show just how exhausted she is.
“I should warn you. Lola and Figgy are waiting inside. They’re a little judgy at first but will warm up to you in no time. They get jealous easily.”
“Are you kidding me right now, Carter? The last thing I can put up with tonight is having to be nice to your puck bunnies.” She sighs, clearly exasperated with me. There’s a sprinkle of jealousy in her words. I love seeing that emotion peeking out and have to fight back a smirk.
I don’t correct her immediately. Instead, I start entering the front door code into the pad. With the first quiet beep of the buttons, barking starts inside. Penny jumps beside me, surprised by the noise. Her tentative reaction vanishes in a blink when she realizes what’s making all the ruckus. Taking a step closer to the door and squeezing my forearm, she waits impatiently for me to unlock the door.
“You have a dog?”
“Dogs.”
The look on her face is one of mixed emotions. Joy and confusion. Excitement and trepidation.
“They’re gentle, but they will rush you for belly rubs.”
When she faces the door, I take that as my sign to open it. In seconds, we’re hit by two blurs of fur. Thewhack, whack, whackof tails hitting the wall and heavy panting are welcoming sounds.
“Hello, girls. Daddy’s home.”
Penny snorts at my words before completely ignoring me for the next five minutes. She bends down to greet them, and chaos ensues.I hover over all of them, making sure my girls don’t knock Penny on her ass.
“Oh my gosh! You’re both so pretty. What pretty girls. Hello! Hello, my loves,” she coos at them, laughing when they begin to bop her with their noses and circle her in excitement. Steadying her, I watch as Penny pets and dotes on the dogs as they continue to sniff and welcome her.
I was expecting some resistance from Lola and Figgy. In the past, it’s taken them some time to warm up to the women in my family. Yet with Penny, it’s like they’ve known her forever.
Maybe they understand her importance. What she’ll become to all of us if I finally take a chance.
One that I am definitely ready to shoot for.
“Sit,” I command, and instantly, the dogs obey, tails swishing across the floor. Finally having the room to shut the front door, I turn towards Penny. Her face is flush, partly due to the dogs, but there’s a shine to her eyes that has me worried. I seriously hope she’s not coming down with a fever.
“When did you get dogs?” she asks, body shaking. I don’t remember Gigi mentioning that.”
I chuckle. “They’ve been with me since the beginning of the season,” I tell her, giving Lola a scratch behind the ears. “The team did a charity event for a shelter in Vancouver, and these two hooligans were up for adoption as a bonded pair.”
“And you fell in love with them,” she states, a soft grin on her face.
“It was selfish of me, but I spent the whole day praying that no one else would adopt them. I got lucky. The next day, they flew back here with me, and I started getting everything in order. I got back here two days ago with them and mom was taking care of them today.”
Penny directs her gaze back to the dogs, both who are looking up at me with happy expressions. God, I love them so much. They’ve only been in my life for a few months, but I can’t imagine life without them now.
“The team has kind of adopted them, too. Last time we had a home game in Toronto, the girls traveled with me on the team bus. They loved the attention.”
“You have a big heart, Carter Canmore,” she whispers, emotion clogging her voice. She seems surprised by the sentiment because she immediately clears her throat and stands. Not looking at me, she begins to take off her winter jacket, taking care with her sling, and walks deeper into the house. “It’s almost as big as your ego.” She throws that comment over her shoulder as she disappears with the dogs trailing behind her.
