Page 12 of Housebroke

She started to walk away, then realized that Penelope was still hanging out next to Linc.

Huh. That was unusual.

“Come on, Penelope. Time to go.”

The dog reluctantly followed, but she caught the knowing smile on Linc’s face.

When they got inside the guesthouse, she closed the door. She leaned over and brushed her hand over Penelope’s head. “You like him, don’t you?”

Her only answer was that beautiful golden retriever smile.

Her dogs had always been a good judge of character. They had always helped her find the best homes for them. Dogs had an inner sense about who were good people and who weren’t, and Penelope was one of the best at it.

It was heartening to know that Linc was one of the good ones.

CHAPTER FOUR

Linc had spent two days pulling up the flooring, which had been a giant pain in his ass. But now that project was done, and he could move forward.

If only he could find his hammer, which had suddenly gone missing. He looked through his tool bag but didn’t find it there, and thought maybe he had left it outside. He was mostly storing his tools in the garage, but the only table he had was on the patio, and since he occasionally checked the blueprints there, maybe that’s where he’d laid the hammer.

Certain that’s where it was, he stepped out back to look. Huh. Not there. He scanned the yard and saw the dogs out there, hiding out in the shade under the trees.

He squinted to see Penelope happily chewing on... something. He didn’t see Hazel out there anywhere, but the dogs were used to him wandering near them, and Penny—as he’d taken to calling her—was the friendliest, so he approached her. She was tucked beneath one of the palm trees.

“Hey, Penny,” he said as he got closer. “Whatcha got there?”

It didn’t take long for him to figure out she was gnawing on his hammer.

He got down on his hands and knees and crawled toward her, which then made Lilith come to investigate. He heard her warning growl—not the first time the Chihuahua had let him know she wasn’t happy about his presence. Since she only weighed about six pounds, it wasn’t like she was a threat, but he still liked to praise her.

“I hear you, Lilith. I promise not to hurt Penny.” He came closer, and Penny seemed nonplussed about him being there, now more interested in him paying attention to her than she was the hammer. So he took the hammer, then sat next to Penny and rubbed his hand over her head and ears.

“Penny. Hammers aren’t good for you. Got that?”

Penny just looked up at him with adoring eyes.

“What’s going on?”

Hazel had come out and now leaned over with a concerned expression on her face.

“Penny borrowed my hammer for a little chew time.”

“Oh.” Hazel pulled up a spot on the grass. “I might have failed to mention that she has a tendency to steal things.”

Linc looked down at Penny. “A bit of a klepto, are you?”

“She doesn’t mean any harm. She just likes to collect items and hide them.”

“Hey, it’s no big deal. Other than I need my hammer.”

Just then Gordon the pug came over and crawled into his lap, made himself comfortable, and went to sleep. Linc felt a rush of warmth and emotion that he wasn’t expecting. He’d grown upwith dogs but hadn’t had one since he’d left home for college. He put his hand over Gordon’s back and just let the peace of it wash over him.

“Gordon never lets any opportunity for a cuddle nap pass him by. Laps are his favorite thing. You’ve been warned.”

Hazel’s lips curved into a wry smile. Maybe part apology, part “you’ve been suckered, pal—deal with it.” Either way, he’d been due for a break, and it wasn’t too bad sitting under the shade of the enormous palm tree surrounded by dogs and a beautiful woman.

“You’re good at getting to know their personalities,” he said.

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