Page 53 of Puppy Kisses

“You know it’s not like that.”

“I know youthinkit’s not like that.”

Zeke tucked the clipboard under one arm and glared down at her, but Dawn wasn’t put off. He’d already done the worst he could—said the words that always made her feel like someone was trying to cut out the best pieces of her and replace them with something else. Something, well,less.

“I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with him lately, and I think he’ll understand better than you realize,” Dawn added, softer this time. “Look, my older sister is the same way. Supersmart and always on top of things. Keeps everything running without a word of complaint. Kind of makes you feel like she has more value in the tip of her pinkie finger than you have in your whole body.”

Zeke continued holding himself tense, but Dawn could tell that he was listening.For a change.

“Tell him what you want,” she urged. “Feel him out. Who knows? Maybe he’ll be relieved not to have to worry about all that stuff with Bea. He can just go back to focusing on his cows.”

Zeke’s laugh carried no mirth. “Your sister might understand you, but I promise Adam doesn’t understand anything but the ranch.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to point out that Zeke was totally wrong. Adam was dedicated to his work, yes, but he was also warm. Funny. Caring. He drank like a sorority girl at a bar for the first time, couldn’t resist a dare once it had been laid before him, and had fallen so much in love with a golden retriever puppy that he literally carried her around like a baby. He was goal-driven to the point of being obsessed, but she hadn’t been lying about how much he’d enjoyed Zeke’s race. The look of pride on his face as the announcer gave a play-by-play of the final moments had been nothing short of breathtaking.

He’d been so happy for Zeke. So glad to be there sharing it with him.

“I can’t take it away from him, Dawn,” Zeke said. His voice was softer—pleading. “The ranch is literally all he has. It’s all he is. How could he manage it without me there to help?”

An anger unlike any Dawn had ever felt took over. The idea that a person could be boiled down to one thing—a job, a passion, acondition—wasn’t just stupid; it was cruel.

“I don’t know,” she retorted. “What does everyone else out there do when someone leaves? Buy them out? Hire a few ranch hands? Work a little bit harder until a more practical solution presents itself? Jesus, Zeke—it’s not prison. It’s a family business.”

“That shows how little you know,” Zeke muttered.

Dawn opened her mouth to say more, but Zeke lifted a hand and shook his head. “Don’t. I know you mean well. Youalwaysmean well. But you have no idea what you do, whirling in and taking over like this without thinking things through. In the past month, you’ve committed larceny, been chased by a man with a gun—not just once, but multiple times—and turned the entire fucking neighborhood upside down. You convinced Adam to come to my race, yes, but to what end? He’ll feel guilty about the time away from the ranch for at least a week, which means I’ll have to suffer through twelve-hour days to make up for it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Oh, I know it. I’ve lived with the man for twenty-eight years, and you’ve known him—what—all of five minutes? Yet here you stand, dressed like Old MacDonald, pretending like you know what’s best for us. Well, surprise. You don’t.” Zeke tightened his jaw. “And don’t you dare mention anything to him about this, or I’ll tell him where Gigi really came from.”

She held herself perfectly still, not trusting herself to move or speak or even breathe. Nothing Zeke had just said wasn’t true—or wasn’t something she’d heard dozens of times before—but he was supposed to be her ally, her friend.

“Don’t look at me like that, Dawn. I’m only telling the truth.” He crooked a smile. “And you’re acuteOld MacDonald, if that helps.”

She managed to start breathing again, but only because it was obvious that was what Zeke expected.

He slung an arm over her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “You don’t mind, do you?” he asked. “Me being honest? I wouldn’t say it to anyone else, but you’re not like other girls. You don’t mind hearing the truth with no sugar added.”

Everything Zeke just said rankled, but Dawn knew what was expected of her. “I mean, I could use alittlesugar.”

He laughed, taking this remark as the joke she’d intended. It was obvious what he wanted—for everything to be nice and clean and easy again—but she wasn’t sure it was possible after this. Zeke obviously enjoyed her company because she introduced no deep, troubling thoughts into his life. She was always happy, always fun, and never expected anything of him that he wasn’t willing to give.

In other words, she was like one of the puppies currently scampering about in anticipation of dinner. Simple and adorable—and, yes, exasperating sometimes, but that was all part of the package.

“I think we’d better get these puppies fed and hit the road soon,” Zeke said. As far as he was concerned, the conversation was over, the waters settled flat again. “I can feel the Gatorade starting to wear off. I need carbohydrates—and fast—or I’m going to start getting mean.”

“Start?” Dawn echoed.

Zeke took this as a joke, too. With a hearty laugh, he pulled the clipboard out from under his arm and resumed his feeding duties. “Either that or I’m going to eat your miracle canine hangover cure. I’m not going to lie—the longer we stand here talking, the better it’s starting to smell. You might be onto something with this after all.”

Chapter 12

“Three hours.” Dawn walked through the front door to the ranch without knocking or ringing the doorbell or announcing her presence in any way. Despite the lack of ceremony, not one of the Dearborn siblings expressed the mildest surprise to find her there.

Since it was late in the afternoon and there was no puppy training on the schedule for the day, Adam should have been surprised. He had no right to expect her to stop by on her day off.

But she had, and he was glad.