Page 13 of It's Mother-Pucking Christmas!

It was like they all spoke a secret language, like I was making some major faux pas, and the girls would lose interest quickly. Didn’t want anything serious.

After the fourth time it happened, I had to admit that there was just something wrong with me.

“Stop feeling sorry for yourself. You have a job, you have savings. You have a place to sleep.” I always found focusing on other people really put your own small problems in perspective.

And if they were helping shelter animals find homes for the holidays? Even better.

People were already in line for the shelter event.

“There’s the goods!” The director laughed when I pulled my T-shirt off over my head and ran my fingers through my hair.

“We are going to clean out the shelter with these.” The older woman squeezed my bicep.

I relaxed as the event got underway, posing for photos and listening to children coo over the animals. Puppies and kittens were always happy to see you. It didn’t matter where you came from.

Shewasn’t though.

A pair of angry brown eyes glared at me from the other side of the stack of donated dog kennels.

7

DAKOTA

“You remember that time in seventh grade I tried to blackmail Lennox Kai into going to the dance with me?”

“Yeah?” Gracie winced.

“Well, this was worse than that.”

“Aww!” Gracie was in mom mode and trying to force-feed me hot cocoa and Christmas cookies.

“He literally said no, thank you. Like, I get it, I don’t look like all those other girls hanging out in front of the stadium, a couple of whom I think were actually our cousins. But still. Fuck him.”

“I know Violet and Bella like to try for a hockey hookup out there.” Gracie grimaced.

“I am so dumb. I don’t know what I was thinking.” I rubbed my temple.

I didn’t even want Ryder. I was just trying to help my little brother, but the rejection of my offer of a fake date stung.

“Trying to find love is a lot of pressure for the holidays,” Gracie murmured, rubbing slow circles on my back. “I think we should table the holiday boyfriend, and maybe you should find a furry friend for the holidays instead?”

I thought about a cuddly, wriggly little puppy or a happy bouncing kitten. “Yeah, actually I think maybe we should look for a dog.”

“The animal shelter is having an event. They even have some pugs,” Gracie suggested.

I looked down at Pugnog and Kringle drooling and rolling around on the floor. “Do we really need three pugs in this family, Gracie?”

“Don’t even thinkabout sitting on my bed,” I warned Timmy when my little brother snuck into my room.

“I’m not!” he yelped, hands above his head. “I just wanted to see if you had an update on the you-know-what situation.”

I turned around to face him. “No dice.”

“Please, Dakota,” he whined. “Now people on the sports podcasts think the Icebreakers have a good chance of winning against the Frosthawks.”

“You need to start looking at tickets to Venezuela for Christmas.”

We were greetedby kittens in festive holiday bows and the happy yips of dogs finding their forever homes when we walked into the local animal shelter.

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