Page 11 of The Bitterroot Inn (Jamison Valley 5)
“Chill out, dude. Just one more minute.” I squeezed his hand but kept focused on my brother. “Michael?”
“Can we go inside?”
“Nope.” If Michael had already promised Coby the dog, taking it away would be brutal. I stood a chance at not breaking my boy’s heart if the dog never entered our home. The second that animal was inside? I’d never get it out. “You’d better talk fast.”
Michael sighed and raked a hand through his dark hair. “Did you hear that Dr. Kelly is retiring?”
I nodded. Everyone in town knew Jamison County’s only veterinarian was retiring. “What does that have to do with me getting a puppy?”
“He’s selling his practice to his granddaughter. She just moved back to Prescott last month.”
“Alana?” I remembered her from school but she was a couple years younger than Michael, who was two years younger than me. I hadn’t seen her since before I’d graduated and gone off to college.
“Yeah, Alana. She’s back in Prescott. Anyway, she was getting lunch at the deli today, and Dad and I happened to be in line behind her and overheard that she had these puppies dropped off at the clinic. Some breeder was looking to sell a few in town.”
“Mommy!” Coby yelled, still yanking on my arm.
“One more second.” I hoisted him up on my hip, hoping that holding him would buy Michael and I a few more minutes to talk. “Keep going,” I ordered Michael.
“I had a big crush on her in high school but she had a boyfriend. I was telling Dad about her at lunch and he said I should stop by the clinic. Welcome her back to town and ask her out. Dad thought that if I took Coby and told her I was buying my nephew a puppy, she’d definitely say yes to a date.”
“So you bought me a dog because you were trying to impress a girl?”
He looked at me like my question was ridiculous. “Well, yeah. She’s not just a girl. She’s the girl.”
I stared at him for a moment, unsure how to respond. Michael had never, ever expressed that strong of an interest in a woman before. He must really be crushing on Alana Kelly if he was desperate enough to take Dad’s dating advice.
I sighed and turned to Coby. “Pickle is the doggie’s name?”
“I picked it!”
He was so proud of himself that it made staying mad at Michael difficult. “That’s a great name, buddy. Good job.”
Leaning in, I kissed Coby’s chubby cheek. His tiny hands came up to my face and squeezed my lips together, something he thought was hilarious. He started giggling and I tickled his side, sending
him into a fit of flailing laughter. He was getting so big, I couldn’t carry him for long and definitely not when he was squirming, so I set him back on his feet.
“All right.” I let him pull me forward again. “Let’s go see this dog.”
“Yay! Pickle!” His shout sounded more like “Picko” than “Pickle.” Coby had excellent enunciation for an almost-four-year-old, but we were still working on our l and th sounds.
Michael stepped around us and led the way to the back of the SUV. Then he opened the hatch, lifted out a metal dog crate and set it on the ground. Coby’s arms were flapping everywhere as he waited for Michael to open the crate.
Inside was the most adorable beagle puppy I’d ever seen. All four of his feet had white socks. The white tip of his tail wagged with abandon as he bounced around the newspaper-lined crate. His coat was glossy and clean, black on his back and brown around his face. But it was Pickle’s sweet brown eyes and floppy ears that were my undoing.
Damn it. I had a puppy.
“He’s licking me!” Coby giggled, sticking his little fingers through the metal grid so Pickle could attack them.
“I bought a collar and leash,” Michael said as he pulled out big plastic sacks from the Yukon. “There’s food, chew toys in here and some rawhide sticks. I already prepaid for his next five vet visits, plus one for him to get neutered when it’s time. When he’s out of dog food, just let me know and I’ll buy more.”
“I can afford a dog,” I told him, watching Coby, who was completely entranced by the puppy. “I just wasn’t planning on getting one until Coby was older.”
Michael’s shoulders fell. “I’m sorry. I know I should have told you, but I got caught up in seeing Alana again.”
“And you knew I wouldn’t say no.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. “I can take Pickle if it’s too much.”
