Page 44 of Puppy Kisses

They’d reached a red light by then, so Dawn had nothing to distract her except the tap of her fingers on the steering wheel. “I go out,” she protested.

“I’m sure you do. What I mean is, you’re not going out with the kind of men who require your sister to come up with a last-minute emergency so you can make a safe escape.” Sophie sighed playfully. “I miss them. I was getting really good at coming up with new ones. The next one was going to be an outbreak of listeria. Harrison and I watched an exposé a few months ago. It’s scary, how often people get poisoned from restaurants that way. Most of the time, you don’t even know that’s what caused it.”

“Soph, it’s not like that. I—”

Sophie reached over and put a hand on Dawn’s leg. Her palm was warm from where it had been holding the pizza. It was weirdly comforting, that residual heat, a mixture of pepperoni and sisterly love. “It’s that Adam guy, isn’t it?”

Dawn stared at the red light, trying her best not to cause her sister unnecessary worry. Part of it was a lingering habit from childhood, when it had been their family’s sole mission to save Sophie from any and all pain. The leukemia Sophie had battled for most of her youth had been more than enough for her to bear already.

But it was more than that, too. The truth was, there was nothing to worryabout. Dawn was doing the same thing she’d always done—seeing a man she liked, sleeping with him when the mood struck, enjoying the fun and flirtation that came with it. This was no different than dating the cult leader or the quasi-FBI agent or any of the other men who’d caught her fancy over the years.

Except itwasdifferent. She didn’t know how or why, but this thing she had with Adam was unlike anything she’d experienced before—and had been from the start. There’d been no expensive dates or hours of clubbing. No drunken public sexcapades or late nights of partying. Not even a fake FBI job or a circus ring hiding in the background.

There’d been only him: Adam Dearborn, solid and stalwart, honest and real. He was the first man to offer her that—not some flashy lifestyle designed to charm her out of her panties, but just himself.

“He’s the one you can’t win over with a laugh and a smile, isn’t he?” Sophie prodded softly.

Dawn took Sophie’s hand and didn’t let go, clutching those fingers with a grip that felt strangely unlike her.

“Youreallycan’t tell Lila about this,” she said. “Promise me. I don’t care if you divulge every detail of the No-Pants road chase, but I need you to keep this one between you and me. Please.”

Sophie returned the press of her fingers. “Of course.”

And that was it. She didn’t ask any prying questions, the way Lila would have, and she didn’t crack any hot cowboy jokes, the way Dawn herself would have. The one thing Sophie had always been great at was her quiet, unassuming strength.

“Just remember that I’m here to talk if you ever need to, okay?”

“There’s nothing to talk about,” Dawn said with stark truthfulness. “It’s exactly the way you guessed. We’re sleeping together. It’s fun. That’s all there is to it—and it’s probably all there will ever be.”

Sophie must have sensed that Dawn had reached her limit of openhearted girl chat, because she released her hand and placed it reverentially on top of the pizza box. “If that’s the case, then we need to get somewhere where this pizza and I can get better acquainted. When Harrison’s out of the house, there’s no one to cook for me. I’m starving.”

That was all Dawn needed to hear to set her foot heavily on the gas pedal. She might not be any closer to deciding what she planned to do regarding No-Pants Shotgun or Adam Dearborn, but she was close to dinner.

For now, that had to be enough.

Chapter 10

“Today is harness training day,” Dawn announced as she entered the kitchen. She spoke with the air of one carrying an executioner’s ax over her shoulder and a golden retriever puppy in her arms. “You know what that means… It’s also Adam-has-to-go-with-me-into-town day.”

“I can’t. The irrigation system on the south field is having problems.” Adam held out the coffee mug he’d just finished filling, keeping it there until Dawn took it with a murmur of thanks. Like him, she took her coffee black. No muss, no fuss—all she asked was that it was hot. He reached for a second cup and began pouring himself one.

“No, it’s not.” Zeke took the coffee from his hand before Adam had a chance to finish pouring. “I took a look at it this morning. The pressure tank was off, but I added some air. It’s working just fine now. Ugh. Didn’t you use the flavored kind?”

“Of course not. I’m not a heathen.” Adam paused before filling a third cup of coffee. “And what do you mean, you took a look at it this morning? Itismorning.”

He knew before Phoebe plucked the last cup from his hand that there was no way he was going to be able to enjoy this pot of coffee in peace. His siblings were merciless. Didn’t they realize how little sleep he’d gotten last night, staying up well past his bedtime listening toAmerican Horror Story?

Dawn hadn’t been kidding about that show. It was terrifying. He was pretty sure there was a ghost inhisbasement now.

“He means that we were up before the sun, doing every possible chore that might be on your list today,” Phoebe said. “So there’s no excuse.”

“No excuse for what?” The pot in his hand sloshed with the tiny bit of coffee left. He’d have to make do with the dregs. “Harness training can’t possibly take all day.”

“It can and does take weeks, actually,” Dawn said. “But I think they’re referring to Zeke’s race.”

Oh.Oh.“Shit, Zeke. I forgot. The Trailblazer Tri, right?”

His brother shifted slightly, the rustle of his athletic pants carrying new meaning now that Adam remembered what day it was. His brother had been competing in the triathlon around nearby Medical Lake for years—and he usually won. It wasn’t a very big race, and it didn’t come with any prize money, but Zeke entering it had become something of a tradition.