Page 24 of Puppy Kisses

Sophie shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, it wasn’t anorder, exactly…”

Dawn’s laugh was much more natural this time. Nothing Lila said was an order, exactly. It was usually a reasonably couched argument that was impossible to deny. “Don’t worry—Gigi isn’t mine yet. I have to earn her first.”

“Earn her?” Sophie echoed.

“Yeah. I’m starting to get the feeling that Dearborn Ranch is the sort of place where you have to prove yourself the hard way before anyone takes you seriously.” She toyed with the long feather of one of her dangling earrings. “Unfortunately for them, I plan on doing just that. They obviously have no idea what kind of beast they awakened when they issued me a challenge. I’ve done a lot of regrettable things in my life, but giving up easily isn’t one of them.”

Sophie smiled and dropped to the couch. Despite the fact that she was covered in paint and Dawn had mud clinging to her shoes, she patted for her sister to take the seat next to her. Doing that at Lila’s house was unthinkable, but this farmhouse had such a warm, lived-in air that a few extra specks of dirt wouldn’t bother anyone.

“Is this about that friend of yours who lives at the ranch?” Sophie asked. “Zeke, right?”

Dawn nodded, allowing the fall of her hair to cover her face so Sophie wouldn’t be able to tell she was hiding something. She wasn’t sure yet what had driven her to keep Adam a secret from her sisters, since they knew about almost all her sexual exploits and had never once judged her for them, but she’d never mentioned him—not even in passing. Which was weird, because if anyone would get a kick out of Dawn knocking cowboy boots with a tall, handsome rancher, it would be her sisters. The only other time she’d gone anywhere near cowboy boots was when she went through a line-dancing phase a few years ago.

“Partly, yeah. His brother’s the one I’m training the Great Dane for.” Whether because she liked living dangerously or because she simply wanted to say his name out loud, she added, “Adam Dearborn. He runs the ranch for the family.”

Dawn couldn’t decide whether she was relieved or disappointed when Sophie didn’t react. “The name is familiar, but I’m not sure why. Zeke’s the younger of the two?”

Dawn nodded.

“And he’s the one with the abs?”

Dawn nodded again, this time with a soft laugh. “Yeah, he’s a competitive triathlete—and it shows. But it’s not like that between us, unfortunately. No attraction.”

Thatgot Sophie’s attention. The sidelong look she cast Dawn was one of pure disbelief. “You spend an awful lot of time with him for a man with no attraction.”

Dawn dipped her head again and pretended to pick at a clump of dirt on the knee of her jeans. “He has plenty of attraction, don’t get me wrong,” she said. “He just doesn’t have any forme.”

“Oh, Dawn.” Sophie’s hand shot out and gripped hers, giving it a meaningful squeeze. “I thought something like that must be in the air. You’ve been weirdly subdued lately. Do you want to talk about it?”

Dawn didn’t contradict her. Sophie might have grabbed the wrong end of the Dearborn stick, but at least she had her hands on it.

“There’s not much to talk about. I was never meant to settle down for life on a ranch.” She shrugged. “It’s for the best, really. Could you see me living it up with all those cows and chickens? I mean, Idolike to start my day at the sound of a cock rising, but…”

Sophie chuckled obligingly, but Dawn could tell that her heart wasn’t in it.

So she put a little more cheer in her voice and tried again. “Don’t worry, Soph. I won’t break because I found the one man in the world I can’t win over with a laugh and a smile. It’ll be good for me in the end. My self-confidence was starting to get out of control, anyway.”

It didn’t work. “Will it be okay, training out there all day every day with him?” Sophie asked.

“So far, so good,” Dawn promised. “In fact, if I can convince them to let me keep Gigi, then I’ll be more than okay. I’ll be like Aunt Nessa, traveling the world and keeping cats in my old age. Except I’ll keep dogs instead. Speaking of…do you mind if I hop in the shower now? It’s getting kind of late, and I wasn’t kidding about those poor dears back at the kennel. By eight o’clock, they start howling.”

“Of course. I did a load of laundry about an hour ago, so there should be plenty of hot water by now.” Sophie unfolded herself from the couch and readjusted her bandanna. “And stay as long as you want—today, tomorrow, or anytime. We can even trade, and I’ll do a few sleepovers at the kennel. I don’t mind.”

“You’re a love.” Dawn also rose, pausing to press a kiss on her sister’s paint-speckled cheek. “But don’t worry about it. You’re busy enough around this place as it is. It’s starting to shape up really nicely, by the way.”

Sophie perked up, her pride in her restoration efforts clear. “You think? I’ve been trying to keep it as historically accurate as possible, but…” She glanced around as her voice trailed off, glancing at the newly finished fireplace with the same adoration she lavished on their puppies.

“It’s perfect,” Dawn said, though her knowledge of interior design was slight. “And instead of you offering to come help me around the kennel, I should be offering to help you paint. I can, you know. I’m no good with a spatula, but a paintbrush I can do.”

“You’re going to add home renovations on top of everything else?” Sophie asked. “Between the kennel, your puppy training, and the demands of your social life, I wouldn’t know where you’d find the time.”

Dawn laughed, grateful to find herself on familiar ground. “You know what they say—there’s no rest for the wicked.” She offered Sophie a liberal wink. “And I have yet to meet anyone quite as wicked as me.”

Chapter 6

“Good morning, Zeke. Hello, Phoebe. What a good boy you are, Uncle.” Dawn walked through the front door of Dearborn Ranch the following Monday without knocking. With a sweeping glance, she took in the bustle of early morning in a place like this one—Zeke and Phoebe in various states of readiness, Uncle eating his breakfast, and the scent of coffee percolating in the distance. “Where’s Gigi?”

“You mean, where’s Adam?” Phoebe laughed and finished whipping her waist-length brown hair into a ponytail. “Don’t worry. He hasn’t run off with her just yet. They’re working together out in the barn. I think he’s hoping you’ll see what amazing leaps and bounds she’s made and have no choice but to give her up.”