Page 69 of State of Grace

“Maybe I could borrow a puppy for tonight and gauge her reaction?” Blake leaned on the table and did her best pouting face like she’d seen Harper do. Across the table, she could tell Isla wanted to say yes but was making Blake work for it. “I know you were saying the other day that you needed to start finding foster homes for them, but here I am telling you I have a permanent home for one of them.”

“Well,” Isla tilted her head from side to side, “I had been hoping to find my pick of the litter a perfect home because he’s above and beyond the best puppy in any litter we’ve ever bred. Vera wanted to keep him to breed later, but we don’t need a puppy right now. The twins will be in high school in the fall, and between their after-school activities and Everleigh’s horseback riding lesson and both of our jobs, we’re pulled in enough directions as it is. The pups are fun for a few weeks, but I’m happy to see them go to their foster or forever homes.”

“And how great would it be for one of those homes to be Alexis’s?”

“Blake?” Harper called over to her as Blake and Isla looked over at her. She had a puppy cradled in her arms like a baby, and the puppy was licking her face excitedly as it remained super chill in her arms. “Can I have this one?”

“Shit,” Isla mumbled under her breath as Blake looked over at her. “That’s the pup I was talking about.”

“Oh, it’s a sign.” Reaching out over the table, Blake excitedly patted Isla’s arm repetitively. “Please, Mom? Please? I’ll ask Alexis if that will make it better.”

“If you can get her to approve it, then sure.” She shrugged and smiled. “Why not. They still need one more round of shots, so I don’t want you to take it home now, but I can stick a reserved sticker on the one you want.”

“Bless you.” Taking her phone out of her pocket, Blake walked over to the playpen. “Hey, Harper, let me take a picture of you and the puppy to send to your mommy.”

Harper smiled up at her with the biggest smile Blake had ever seen as she snapped the picture. She sent it off to Alexis before typing out her message.

Mom said this is the best pup of the litter, and Harper agrees. If you want him…my treat.

Blake anxiously waited for the Delivered notification under the message change to Read and waited a few more minutes for the three dots to appear. Then disappear. Then reappear.

Well, how on earth can I say no to those two adorable faces? :)

“Ha!” Blake held out the phone to Isla. She took the phone, held it out from her face so her eyes could focus, and shook her head. “She said yes.”

Are you sure?

Yes. I’d been talking to Vera about getting one anyway, so this is perfect.

“She said she was talking to Vera about getting one. Did you know that?”

“No, but that doesn’t surprise me. Vera’s wanted her and Harp to have a dog for a while.”

“Well, now they do.” Walking back over to the playpen, Blake tapped Harper on the head as she grinned up at her. “Harper, I talked to your mommy, and guess what?”

“What?”

“She said that once the puppies are a little older, we can take that one home.”

“Really?!”

“Really!” Blake reached into the playpen and took the puppy from Harper’s hands before picking her up. She put her on her hip as the puppy licked her neck. “Is this the one you want?”

“Yes, he’s the fluffiest.”

“He is soft.” She nuzzled her face against the puppy’s golden fur.

They spent another hour at Isla’s with the puppies before Blake loaded up Harper in the backseat to head to the pet store, and Isla headed off to the bar. She let Harper pick out what she wanted for the puppy, and, not surprisingly, most of the items were Star Wars and Marvel-themed. The entire shopping experience was insanely fun for both of them; they picked out leashes and collars and bowls and a Millennium Falcon-shaped bed.

She introduced Harper to Dolly Parton on the drive back to the apartment and loved how she bobbed her head along to the music. Blake watched her in the rearview mirror, feeling content when Harper smiled back at her. They’d had such a perfect day together that Blake hoped dinner with Sophia would go as great. She wanted to impress Sophia; she wanted to show her that she was worth being in Alexis and Harper’s lives.

The deer that ran out in front of them, however, had different plans.

Blake slammed on the brakes as quickly as she could, but it was too late. The buck collided with the front of the car. The airbags deployed and the windshield shattered in what felt like less than a second.

Harper screamed from the backseat; Blake beat the airbag with her hand and jumped out of the vehicle. She yanked open the back door and pulled Harper from her booster seat, lowering herself to a squat as she held her close as if to protect her still. Harper wrapped her arms and legs around her body.

“Harper, are you ok?”

---