Page 74 of In Spades

“Careful, Ky!” I snapped. “Chase has gloves on. You don’t!”

“Can he stay with us?” Hunter asked before he even got his foot off the step.

My heart dropped.

“Yeah!” Zoey squealed. “Can he stay, Krissy? Please?”

I sighed. “Guys, a dog is an enormous responsibility.” And a lot of money.

“We can do it!” Hunter said, pleading. “We can walk him and feed him and play with him.”

“And he can sleep with me!” Zoey chirped.

The kids swarmed Chase, giving that mangy mutt all their love and undivided attention.

“Come on guys, chill out,” I groaned in exasperation. “Give the thing some space. It’s probably terrified.”

Chase’s eyes met mine. I shook my head. If I had to take care of another living thing, I would be the one hiding under the house.

“How ‘bout this,” Chase said, addressing the kids. “This little guy—” Chase paused and peeked between the dog’s hind legs. “Sorry, this girl probably needs to go to the vet. Once I get a clean bill of health, I’ll take her home with me. Y’all can come over and spoil the hell—heck out of her. And maybe on the days that I’m on duty, I can bring her over here to hang out, so she’s not alone.”

He looked over the kids’ heads at me, making sure that was okay with that.

I nodded and mouthed, “Thank you.”

“Can we name her?” Zoey shouted, bouncing up and down. How much sugar had Hannah Jane fed her this morning?

Chase shrugged. “Sure.”

“Moon!” Zoey squealed.

“Stupid name for a dog,” Logan muttered as he scratched the dog behind her ears.

“No!” Zoey pouted. “It’s a moon!”

She pointed to the dog's back leg where a lighter-colored streak of fur swished through the mottled black and brown.

Chase looked down and chuckled. “Well, would ya look at that?”

“Luna,” Kylie said, stroking the dog's back with her hand. “It’s prettier.”

“I like Luna,” Hunter agreed.

“What if it already has a name?” Logan clipped.

“She looks like she’s been on her own for a long time,” he said, then looked the dog in the eyes. “What’cha think? You like the name Luna?”

Luna yipped and gave Chase’s cheek a long, slobbery lick.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said, grinning. “Hunter, can you get the door to my truck open? Kylie, there’s a blanket in the back. Mind grabbing that and spreading it over the seat? Just in case Luna can’t hold it until I get back to Beaufort.”

The kids sprang into action.

Logan waited with Luna and Chase while Kylie and Hunter prepped the front seat of the truck.

Zoey bolted past me and ran into the house. She returned seconds later with a stuffed duck that had seen better days. She ran over to Chase and held it up.

“This is for Luna. My bunny helps me sleep. If Luna’s sleepin’ somewhere new, she might want somethin’ to sleep with.”

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