Page 1 of Housebroke

CHAPTER ONE

Hazel Bristow lined up all her babies, preparing them for their early-evening walk. Today she waited until almost dark because even though it was late summer in Orlando, it was still muggy, and just chasing after these hellions all day inside was a sweat-inducing activity, let alone taking them on a long walk.

Of course as soon as she dragged the harnesses and leashes out, there were excited tail wags and butt wiggles. Even from Gordon the pug, who at twelve years old couldn’t make it more than two blocks but gave it his best effort. Which was why she always brought the stroller along.

She got all five dogs hooked up and prepped the stroller, and they were out the door, Lilith the Chihuahua leading the way, even though she was the smallest of the pack. But Penelope the golden retriever was too busy sniffing every blade of grass in the front yard, and Freddie the dachshund had to pee on every bush they passed, and they hadn’t even gotten off the property before Boo the pit mix parked his butt at the end of the driveway, refusing to go any farther.

“What’s wrong, Boo?”

He looked up at her with his sad eyes, pulling on the leash to head back toward the house. She frowned and studied him, trying to figure out what the issue was. Then it hit her.

“Oh, right.” She looped the leashes around the stroller, knowing they wouldn’t go anywhere without her. “I’ll be back in a sec, kids.”

She dashed inside and found Boo’s stuffed bear by the front door. She grabbed it and hurried back outside to find all five dogs waiting ever so patiently for her, though Lilith looked like she was ready to bolt any second and take the rest of them on the walk by herself.

“I’m so sorry for the delay, Lilith. We can go now.”

She handed Boo his bear. He gently took it in his mouth, and now they were ready to roll.

The dogs always started out at a brisk pace, especially Boo, who was the youngest and full of energy. Which suited her just fine, too. Even with the heat, she enjoyed walking.

She loved this neighborhood with its nice homes and amazing trees in every yard. It had always felt friendly and homey to her. She was so grateful to her friend Ginger for letting her crash here, even though the house was currently for sale. And empty. But it was a roof over her and the dogs’ heads, and she’d find something else soon. She’d promised her friend it would only be a short stay, and she’d keep the place superclean, which she had. And since Ginger and Greg had already moved out, Hazel felt like she was providing a service by keeping an eye on the place.

Plus, Hazel didn’t have a lot of stuff, so it was easy enough topack up and vacate whenever Ginger alerted her that the real estate agent was coming by to do a showing. Fortunately—or maybe unfortunately for Ginger, there hadn’t been any activity for the past few weeks. Which had worked out well for Hazel, though she knew she was going to have to find another place to live soon. But right now? It was awesome, and she liked to imagine she and the dogs actually lived in the house.

As was typical, Gordon’s tongue started hanging out after about fifteen minutes, so she scooped him up and placed him in the stroller, where he promptly turned in a circle, curled up, and went to sleep. The rest of the dogs kept up the pace, though after thirty minutes she could tell they were hot and ready to head for home. So was she.

They made their way back to the house, and she unhooked the dogs from their harnesses. Everyone ran for their water bowls to hydrate while Hazel put everything away, then she went to the fridge for the pitcher of water, pouring herself a glass. She drank the entire thing, breathing out a relieved sigh when she finished it. She washed and dried the glass and put it away just in case someone wanted to come look at the house. She never left dirty dishes or anything lying out, because just packing up the dogs and their things made it enough of a rush to leave.

Not that she had much.

She changed into her swimsuit, then opened the back door and all the dogs ran outside.

The best thing about this house was the pool. It was screened in to keep the bugs out, an important thing in Florida, so shecould swim anytime of the day or night. It was also great therapy for Gordon, whose arthritis had gotten bad in the past year.

She grabbed his swim harness and put it on him, smiling as his tail swept back and forth.

“You ready for a little dip, baby?” she asked as she walked over to the steps and waded into the pool.

Gordon followed her to the side of the pool. She reached for him, and his short legs were already pumping before she set him in the water. She walked around the shallow end, letting him swim while she held on to the harness for support.

“You like the water, don’t you, Gordon?”

Gordon didn’t answer, of course, but she could tell from his goofy pug smile that he loved it. Because when Gordon didn’t love something, he let you know with lots of grunts and whines.

So did Boo, who jumped into the deep end and swam around for a while before making his way to the steps. He got out, shook the water off, and lay down under one of the shade trees.

“You’ve got to have some Labrador in you, Boo. You just love your swims.”

Boo rolled over on his back, stuck his feet up in the air, and went to sleep, ignoring her praise.

Typical. She continued to enjoy the cool water, though at times she wished she could swim laps. Sometimes she did, late at night, after the dogs were all asleep. She’d come out here and slice through the water, remembering the times she’d have a late-night swim in her own pool, at her own house, enjoying that quiet. Before her marriage went to hell and she lost everything.

Well, there was no point in reliving the past, was there? Thatpart of her life was over. There was only now, and now was pretty great.

Temporarily great, anyway. This wasn’t her home.

Not wanting to overtire Gordon, Hazel kept track of the time. Gordon would spend all day in the water if he could.

---