Page 30 of Some Cowgirls are Worth Protecting

Mateo pulled Rachel around in front of him and pointed down at the most adorable little Border Collies. Five of them were the traditional white with black ears and spots on their eyes. But there was one that looked blonder than the others. While the others practically bounced off each other, this one sat front and center, her eyes trained on Rachel.

“What do you think?” Mateo murmured as he pointed to her. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”

At that moment, another pup pushed her over and she resumed playing with her siblings.

Mateo laughed and scooped her up from the group. Her eyes were blue, and she had the softest fur. When Mateo plopped her into Rachel’s arms, that’s when Rachel melted. Tears sprang to her eyes, and she turned to Hudson. “Really?” she whispered.

Hudson’s expression softened and he nodded. “Do you like her?”

Rachel pulled the puppy closer to her chest. “I love her.”

“She’s got all her shots, and she’s already been socialized with the horses and the cattle we have here. She’ll need training, of course, if you plan on working her. We offer that here as well. Collies are an extremely active breed. You’re gonna want to give her plenty of exercise or she’s going to destroy your house.”

Rachel snuggled with the puppy, feeling her heart mend in real time. “She’s perfect.”

Mateo grinned. “Good. Now, let’s meet the dog I have picked out for you.” He jerked a thumb toward the door that led them outside from the kitchen area. “He just graduated training. I was going to keep him for myself, but Sophia keeps telling me I can’t keep the merchandise.”

“Is Sophia your girlfriend?” Rachel asked. She’d thought, with his blatant flirting, he couldn’t possibly be married. It would take a strong woman to know her boyfriend was talking to other girls the way Mateo had been treating her.

Mateo laughed. “Don’t tell her you asked that. She’d wrestle me to the ground. No, Sophia is my sister. She helps me run the training side of things. Come on. Let’s get Odin.”

“Odin?” Hudson asked. “You mean like the God?”

“That’s the one. Odin is a beast. And he’s fiercely protective. As soon as he realizes you’re the one taking care of him, he’s going to take care of you.”

“Is he a border collie too?” Rachel buried her face in her puppy’s fur.

“Ha! No. Odin is a Great Pyrenees.”

After they completed their paperwork and Hudson gave Mateo a little more information on the security game plan, they were off toward home with Odin in the back of the truck.

Rachel had her pup on her lap as they drove, amazed at how calming it could be to snuggle with the small creature. The rollercoaster of emotions she’d been dealing with since the beginning of all of this was making her dizzy. It wasn’t just the break-in. It was finding her sister. Moving to Colorado. Buying the property. But most of all, it was discovering more about the man seated next to her.

“What are you going to name her?” Hudson’s voice dragged her out of her own head, and she jumped. It was impossible for him to read her thoughts. He wouldn’t know that she’d developed a full-blown crush on him. Even still, her face heated uncontrollably.

“I’m not sure,” she said softly. “Do you have any ideas?”

Hudson shrugged. “How about Cookie.”

“Cookie?” Rachel laughed. “You want to name her Cookie? She’s not a food.”

“You got any better ideas?” He scoffed. “Because you can’t just go around calling her Dog. That’s overused.”

She laughed again. “I’ve never heard anyone name their puppy Dog. That’s ridiculous.”

“You’d be surprised. Some people don’t have any imagination.” A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he continued to drive. It was nice to see that side of him shine through. There was a lot about him that she didn’t know about. Like the fact that he had a friend.

“How long have you known Mateo?”

Hudson glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “Since grade school. He was a troublemaker like most of my family. I think we gravitated toward each other because the town didn’t exactly approve of our antics. The ironic thing was that they weren’t all that bad. Just normal occasional shoplifting and such.”

She coughed out another surprised laugh. “You shoplifted?”

“Who didn’t as a teenager?”

“I never did.”

He glanced at her then, and she was reminded just how different they were. While they had similar baggage, they were formed by two very different lifestyles.

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