Page 17 of Ruff and Tumble

“Did you see where he went?” She wasted no time in leaping to her feet and rushing over the kitchen gate. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with that creature.”

“He rolled away. What’s the matter with him?”

Hailey was too busy lifting the warm, squirming bundle to reply, which was just as well, since Cole had an answer ready. “Nothing’s wrong with him. He’s probably trying to find Ms. Lincoln—or at least something that smells as good as she does.”

“Don’t—” Hailey began.

“And who can blame him? Being near her is like traipsing through a field in springtime.”

“Oh dear.”

“Or taking a long, hot bubble bath with someone else’s grandmother.”

Hailey couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. She was leaning strongly toward the latter when Cole scooped up his niece and held her under his left arm like a football. He swung them both to face her. “Thank Ms. Lincoln for letting you see the puppies.”

“Aw, Uncle Cole.”

“Don’t even try it. I have to meet with my trainer in an hour, and if your nanny is to be believed, you have an appointment with a tub of finger paints this afternoon.”

“Please can I stay?” Mia tried wriggling out of his grip, but if there was one thing Cole Bennett knew how to do, it was protect that hold. “I can help.”

“I’m sure you could, but we’ve taken up too much of Ms. Lincoln’s time already.” He gave the girl a playful shake. “What do you say?”

Mia’s face scrunched up, but she smoothed it out before it had a chance to turn into a sob. “Thank you for the puppies.”

Hailey was tempted to screw her own face up into a sob, but she didn’t go through with it, either. “You’re very welcome. You did a good job watching them.”

“I can come back,” Mia offered.

“Oh, um. I don’t know—”

Cole laughed before she was forced to come up with an excuse that wouldn’t break the girl’s heart. “You’re too late. I’ve already lodged a request. We don’t want to flood her with demands until she knows us better.” His gaze caught Hailey’s and held it. “You’ll let me know what you decide? The timing is a little sensitive, so the sooner, the better.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that she’d already decided—that having his name even remotely attached to the Puppy Cup was something she couldn’t pass up, even with her personal reservations—but there was no opportunity. Cole hoisted his niece more firmly under his arm and made for the front door. He paused at the threshold, looking back over his shoulder with an unmistakably charming grin.

“Oh, and I’ll have my sister send over a new jersey this afternoon,” he said and winked. “To replace the one that was ruined yesterday. I wouldn’t want you to go without.”

Chapter 4

“It’s looking really good today, Cole! Amazing, actually! Never better!” Cole’s companion, an enthusiastic sports trainer who only spoke in exclamation points when she was lying, stood back and examined her handiwork. In this instance, her handiwork had involved a rotation through the hot and cold tubs, an intensive shoulder massage, and weight training that had lasted about an hour too long.To strengthen his ligaments, she’d said. “How does it feel to you?”

“Like I’ve just spent the afternoon in a torture chamber, thanks,” he said. “What’s the one where they tie your limbs to four different horses and drive them off?”

“Drawn and quartered.” Garrett Smith popped into the weight room just in time to witness the end of Cole’s agony. “There’s also the rack, which I’ve always found to be a much neater approach. Same limb-rending pain, much less mess. Horses are unpredictable bastards.”

“If it doesn’t hurt, I’m not doing my job right!” Aiko replied brightly. “Pain is gain! You can have results or excuses but not both!”

Considering that all three of these sayings were posted above Aiko’s head, neither man paid much heed to them. Like the exclamation points, motivational platitudes were another of her go-tos when she didn’t know what else to say.

“I’ll just, ah, write up my report and hand it off to Dr. Hampton, shall I?” she said as she bounced toward the door. From what Cole could gather, she arrived at work every day around five in the morning and didn’t leave until damn near midnight. Where her perkiness came from, he had no idea. “All good things, of course! I’ll leave you to it!”

“Leave us to what?” Garrett asked as Aiko’s form retreated in the distance.

“Hell if I know.” Cole gingerly tested his shoulder. Excruciating pain notwithstanding, there was no denying that Aiko knew what she was doing. His range of movement had already improved. “She probably thinks I’m going to curl up in the corner and cry.”

Garrett looked him over. “Are you?”

Cole didn’t answer right away. Garrett was in the peak of health, all six feet, four inches of him in perfect working order. As Hailey had oh-so-helpfully pointed out, he was also having the season of his life. The man was light on his feet, nimble as fuck, and rarely showed signs of being winded. He was also Cole’s best and oldest friend.