Page 44 of Say Yes

“You make me happy, too, babe. Believe that, will you?”

She didn’t answer him. He didn’t give her a chance to.

* * *

HE WAS READY TO KILL HER.

One animal had been enough. Two, he could have tolerated. Even three, given the circumstances, he’d have handled just fine. But five? He stared at the old, shivering poodle she held in her arms and felt his temper ready to snap.

“What’s the matter with this one?”

Sara flinched slightly, and she had a little trouble meeting his direct gaze, but she finally muttered, “He’s deaf.”

Deaf. A deaf poodle. Just ducky. “Sara, I thought we agreed after the last dog—”

“I had to bring Melon home! No one would have wanted a pregnant dog. After she has her puppies, we’ll find a home for them.”

“And for this…this decrepit old soul? You know you won’t want to part with any of them, Sara.”

She hugged the poodle closer to her chest. “It’s a good thing he can’t hear you. And he’s not decrepit. Just a little…”

“Ancient? Hell, I see gray hairs on him.”

“That’s the natural color of his coat.”

“Yeah, right. What about his double chin? I swear, I’ve never seen a dog with a double chin before.”

“He needs to be treated gently.”

That was the thing about Sara. She seemed to have taken his words to heart two weeks ago. She was more relaxed around him, more accepting of him. But she still wanted to save every single animal that came into the shelter. Luckily the backyard held up, but they had to take regular duty with the scooper twice a day, and the pet-food bill grew daily. Gavin honestly hated to stem her enthusiasm for helping the animals, but enough was enough.

“Sara, this is not a halfway house for socially challenged animals. The last two you brought home weren’t at the shelter long enough to be adopted.”

“Because I know whoever took them wouldn’t have been as good to them as we are.” The poodle lifted his grizzled head and gave Sara a slow lick on the chin. Gavin winced.

“Babe, listen to reason. When Melon has her pups we’re going to be overrun with dogs. Poor Satan is liable to run away, Tripod will go into a nervous decline, Maggie will hide—”

He stopped abruptly when the poodle turned watery eyes in his direction, looking wounded to his very soul.

Dammit all.

He fought the inevitable for another three seconds, then stomped forward. “Here, give him to me. He’s probably cold, even as warm as it is. I’ll put him in on Maggie’s blanket.”

Sara’s grateful smile wobbled. “Thank you.”

Gavin managed to point an accusing finger, and his frown was downright mean. “That’s enough out of you, lady.”

She took his warning to heart and turned away, but he still caught sight of her smile. She trusted him now. But she still hadn’t told him she cared.

He was about at the end of his patience.

After getting all the animals settled, Gavin located Sara in the laundry room and announced he had work to do. “The finishers are still up at the house. I want to go check on them, make certain they’re on schedule. Tomorrow we’ll be getting a new shipment of drywall and now that three of the houses are almost complete, I don’t want to fall behind.”

“It will be strange having neighbors, won’t it?”

Gavin grinned. He knew Sara liked having the street to themselves, but she was also extremely proud every time he sold a house. So far, all the lots had been taken, with plans for the house styles already chosen. Within a year, all the buildings would be complete, and the street would become a neighborhood. Maybe, Gavin thought, someone moving in would want a dog.

He gave Sara a quick kiss. “We’ll eat out tonight, okay?”

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