Page 34 of Brutal Savage

The air grows solemn. “He’ll talk. You’ll see. It’s still hard on him. When we lost Ma, that was…”

“Yeah…”

“And he has had it ten times harder.”

“I know, damn it. I just wanna help him. I just want him to be like he used to be. Just say one damn word. Give me something to hope for.”

He sighs. “You did what I could never do. You took him in without hesitation. You love that kid. You’re his father figure now, and you’re wearing that badge like you were meant for it. Aiden would be proud.”

“Yeah…” Pain bites at my center. “Anyway, gotta go get a dog today.”

“Wait, did you say a dog? Since when do you want a dog?”

“Since now. Let’s hope the kid picks a good one.”

“This I’ve gotta see.” He chuckles. “Meet you at the shelter.”

Just then, Brody returns.

“See ya there.” I stuff the phone into my pocket. “Alright, kid, let’s go see what we can get.”

Hopefully Elara likes dogs.

He strides ahead of me, glancing from crate to crate, and I’m close to giving up hope that he’ll actually pick a dog.

I really thought he’d like this, yet he hasn’t even wanted to hold a single puppy. Not even the damn cute beagles the woman from the shelter showed us.

She struts beside him, keeping a small distance between. “We just got three German shepherd puppies you might like.”

He simply shrugs as she leads him toward the far end.

She peeks back at me with a sympathetic smile, and I want to punch the nearest fucking wall.

Why can’t he just talk to me? Hell, even to curse me out. I’ll take anything at this point.

As we pass the last crate on the left, he stops in place, glancing down in concentration at the small dog barking and wagging its tail at him. He kneels and sticks a finger into the slot, and the dog excitedly licks it.

It’s easy to see there’s something wrong with one of its eyes. The pup paws the crate, as though trying to find an escape. Don’t blame him. A cage isn’t a life.

Then again, we’re all in a cage one way or another. Some of us just don’t know it.

“That’s Bubbles.” The woman squats beside him and opens the door, and the pup doesn’t retreat, practically jumping out.

“I know you’re excited to meet my friend Brody here.” She scratches the dog on the ear and gathers it in her arms. “She’s a Havanese and only one year old. We got her when she was around six months.”

I stand behind them, watching his eyes light up at the sight of this shaggy black-and-white dog, maybe weighing ten pounds.

“Did something happen to her?” I move in closer, taking a good look at the pup.

“Yeah, she had a rough start in life. Lost her vision in one eye, and unfortunately, she gets passed on a lot for that reason. But she’s a great dog and very sweet and playful.”

I’m waiting to see what Brody thinks.

“Wanna hold her?” She grins at him.

After spending forty-five minutes with us, I think she’s relieved he’s finally gravitating toward a dog.

He nods.

---