Page 29 of Housebroke

He laughed as Penny and Freddie jerked on their leashes, dragging him along. “Just think of it as fresh air and exercise.”

It wasn’t overly crowded—or actually, crowded at all. There were several people, some with dogs, some without, but no one even blinked when they arrived and the dogs excitedly started barking at the water.

Hazel kicked off her shoes, then took the leash off Gordon and Lilith. Gordon wandered slowly toward the water’s edge, sniffed, then plopped down in the wet sand just out of reach of the approaching waves. Lilith pranced around in the water, getting her feet wet but mindful of the waves. Linc held on to Penny’s and Freddie’s leashes, waiting for Hazel’s cue.

“You can let them off leash,” she said. “They know what to do.”

He unhooked them, and the dogs ran happily toward the water. Of course Penny, being taller with longer legs, got there first, but Freddie ran as fast as his short legs could get him there, his floppy little ears flying in the ocean breeze. Penny ran straight into the water, and Linc could swear she was smiling as she did a dive underneath the waves. Freddie, not quite as brave, barked at the water, danced around in circles, then let the waves lap over his feet before scurrying back to the sand and repeating the process again. Lilith stayed firmly on the sand and guarded her siblings.

Linc walked over to Hazel. “You’re right. They’re all having a good time. Even Gordon.” He motioned with his head to where Gordon had gotten up, stretched, and padded toward the water’sedge, got close enough to have a wave wet him down, then calmly extricated himself and lay down next to Lilith.

Hazel smiled. “For Gordon, that was an enormous undertaking.”

They watched the dogs frolic—or sleep. Hazel kicked off her flip-flops and dug her toes into the sand, trying to relax.

She should be able to relax. This was an ideal location, the sun was shining, the ocean breeze sprayed her with cool, salty mist, and she had a sexy-as-hell man sitting next to her. The dogs were content, so why did every part of her body feel as tight as Spanx in August?

Maybe she was overanalyzing and worrying about nothing. That was standard for her. She could try relaxing and letting her mind just... go. Clearing her mind and thinking about nothing just wasn’t something she did, though. Not when she had her future to think about, and where the money would come from. It was a constant worry in her head, and it wasn’t going away.

Linc got up and went to the water’s edge, distracting her. He played with the dogs, who went crazy, barking and lunging at him as he splashed water at them. Even Gordon got in on the act—playfully bending into his downward dog pose and giving Linc tiny barks. Meanwhile, Lilith ran circles around Linc, and Hazel was sure she’d never seen the Chihuahua happier as she pranced and growled at him. And when he scooped her up in his arms and ran his hand over her head, her little tail whipped back and forth and she licked Linc’s face.

Wow. Her girl had come a long way. To see the level of trustthat Lilith had developed with Linc was a big deal. Maybe it was because Linc knew he would never hurt her, so Lilith somehow also knew that. Hazel didn’t begin to understand the inner workings of a dog’s mind. She knew they had emotions, including hurts, so she simply accepted their feelings and worked with what they felt at any given moment.

Like right now. Right now, her dogs were all happy. Linc had been right—they all had needed this day.

Especially her. She’d been sad about losing Boo, but she knew he was going to be so happy at his new home. And at the moment, how could she feel down when dogs were barking, sand was flying, and Linc had that incredibly deep laugh that he used with abundance as he rolled around in the surf with the pups?

It had been so long since she’d felt that kind of unrestrained joy. It was time for her to recapture these moments and grab a bit of the happiness that had eluded her over the past few years. Even if it was temporary.

She got up and joined them, immersing herself in the maelstrom of flinging water and barking dogs. They’d spent at least half an hour running amok with the pups until she’d laughed so hard she couldn’t breathe. When even the dogs had begun to slow down, they leashed them and went in search of something to drink, finding an outdoor restaurant and drink spot about a half mile down the beach. Linc bought some bottles of water for the dogs and a couple of beers for them. She poured water into the dogs’ bowls, and they all drank greedily, then passed out at their feet while Hazel and Linc took seats and sipped their beers.

“That was fun,” Linc said after taking a couple of long swallows.

“It was. Also exhausting.”

“Yeah.” He reached out and swept his hand across the top of her head. “You have sand in your hair.”

She shrugged, not feeling at all embarrassed at being seen as less than perfect, since he’d already seen her at her worst. “And your hair’s standing straight up. It looks like you got struck by lightning.”

He laughed and shoved his hand through his hair. “Then I’d say we’re a pretty good match.”

Her stomach did a tumble at his comment, but she knew it was a throwaway joke and not a come-on. “Yes, we definitely are.”

“You hungry?” he asked.

“A little.”

“Let’s grab something to eat. I’ll get us a menu.”

Fortunately, the little shop they had stopped in had food, so they ordered some tacos, which were delicious. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was until she bit into the taco, then ended up devouring the entire thing and wished she had ordered more than one. But she’d also noticed Linc had only had one as well.

“Aren’t you hungry?” she asked as she wiped her mouth with a napkin.

“Yeah, but I thought we might go out for dinner tonight, if you’re game.”

“You want to go out for dinner? With me?”

“Yeah, with you. I told you we were taking the day off, so why not make it the entire day and have some fun? You’re alwayscooking, and you should have someone else cook for you for a change.”

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