Page 50 of Lee

“Penelope Garcia from Criminal Minds?” Rori asked.

Carisa grinned at her. “Yep!”

That she had something in common with this wealthy, beautiful young woman was shocking to Rori. It was hard to think that was possible, but maybe it was. Lots of impossible—at least impossible in her mind, anyway—things had happened since coming to Serenity.

Rori walked over and peered into the enclosure. “Oh. She looks like Elsa.”

“Elsa?” Carisa asked.

“Elsa is Lee’s dog.”

“Is she a King Charles Spaniel too?”

Lee dropped to his haunches and continued to slowly pet the dog. “Yes.”

Rori looked more closely at Penelope, noticing that she was shivering and kind of snuffling around in the towels and blankets inside the enclosure.

“Why is she shaking like that?”

“That’s a sign of her being in labor.” Lee stayed crouched down near the dog as he glanced up at Carisa. “Has she had a litter before?”

“No. This is her first.”

“Was it planned?” Lee asked.

“Yes. A friend of mine has a male King Charles Spaniel, so we decided to do one litter with them. I don’t plan to keep breeding Penny, but we each wanted another puppy.”

“When did you first notice the signs of her labor?”

Rori listened as Lee continued to ask Carisa questions. She had thought she was just coming to watch puppies being born, but she was actually learning some things. There probably wouldn’t be much chance of her putting that information to use, but it was good knowledge to have since she worked in a vet clinic.

As she watched them interact, she couldn’t help but notice the way Carisa responded to Lee. She seemed so secure in herself, laughing easily in a way that was definitely friendly and maybe borderline flirting.

Rori shifted her gaze from the pair back to Penelope. The small dog was clearly uncomfortable, and Rori felt for her. However, it didn’t look like Lee was too worried about what was going on.

“Would you guys like some coffee?” Carisa asked. “I put the pot on after I called you.”

“I’d really appreciate some,” Lee said.

“Hot or iced?”

“I’ll go for hot.”

“How about you?” Carisa asked as she turned to Rori.

“Iced?”

“You’re not sure?”

“I’m not a huge coffee drinker, so I’m not sure which I’d prefer.”

Carisa’s smile grew, her eyes lighting up. “Leave it to me. I’ll make you the most amazing iced coffee drink ever.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

When Carisa left the room, Lee said, “I think this is the biggest laundry room I’ve ever been in.”

“Me too. It’s about the size of my apartment.”

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