Page 9 of Red Hot Roaster

This was my first gift since…well, since I was little, real little.So, a big fucking deal.

“Yeah, I’m okay with chocolate. Thanks,” I mumbled, turning to tuck the bag under a tarp in the pickup bed so that rain and the baby girl couldn’t get to it.

Rose smiled at me for a few seconds before she clapped her hands. “Before we get our days started, can you introduce me to your pup?”

“She’s pretty wary of new people so don’t be disappointed….” I trailed off when Rose looked over my shoulder and started laughing again. I turned to find Princess ramming her muzzle against the passenger window and wagging her tail like crazy.

“Oh, what a darling girl you are!” Rose crooned, backing up a few steps and sinking gracefully to her knees. “Rafe, would you please let Princess out? I’ll stay still while we get acquainted. Is it okay if I give her a treat—a piece of dental dog food?”

She plucked a big kibble from her jeans pocket and showed it to me. The woman walked around with dog treats on her person.

Why did this not surprise me?

I nodded, and Rose fisted the treat. I opened the passenger door, and Princess leaped down, prancing over to her.

Yeah, pranced. Despite—or maybe because of—being a camp dog of definitely mixed heritage, Princess was forty pounds of pure elegance. Creamy white fur with honey-colored spots covered her from graceful long legs to delicate pricked ears. One look into her amber eyes when she’d danced into camp that day, and I’d fallen hard.

Rose held perfectly still, smiling without showing her teeth.Smart woman.She murmured, “What a sweetie, what a pretty pup, what a good baby girl.”

Princess barked one sharp demand. Rose turned her hand and opened it flat. After hoovering up the treat, Princess dropped and rolled over on her back.

“Belly rubs are the best, aren’t they, sweetheart?”

Ahhh…she had a soft touch when she wanted.

“Guess I was worried for nothing,” I muttered.

“Whaaat?” Rose protested. “You were worried? I’m an old dog wrangler from way back.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “You mean whisperer, right? Dog whisperer, like that guy on TV?”

“Well, both, if you get right down to it. I need to be for a dog the size of our current chocolate Lab. Pirate weighs in at 103 pounds, even more soaking wet. And believe me, he’s wet most of the time, what with our Portland rain or swimming in his pool or diving in the river down at the park. He’s also never met a mud puddle he doesn’t like.”

“Wait, wait…he has his own pool?”

“Well, sure, one of those round kiddie ones. Does Princess like to swim?”

“Yep. Sometimes I take her camping between gigs, and she likes to dip her toes in a lake or stream.”

Rose continued to stroke Princess’s belly. The easy girl’s eyes were closed in bliss.

“Maybe we can introduce these two a bit later,” she suggested.

On cue, a deep “woof” sounded from behind the backyard gate, and sniffing started at the base of the fence. Princess rolled to her front and sat up on her haunches, looking first at Rose, then at me.

“Or maybe a bit sooner than later,” whispered Rose. “Oops, sorry, I was going to leave Pirate in the house for the morning. How do you feel about a meet-and-greet right now?”

“Depends. How does yourbehemothget along with other dogs?” I grumbled before I could curb myself. I didn’t want Princess steamrolled by some dog three times her size.

Rose stood slowly and narrowed her eyes at me. “Behemoth? Really? You’re judging him for his size without knowing anything else about him? Like idiots who claim all pit bulls are aggressive just because some were bred for fighting?”

Oh, fuck. I should’ve trusted Rose to know her own dog. The contempt in her voice struck me square in the chest.

Luckily, Princess ignored us both. She trotted to the fence and stuck her muzzle at ground level where there was a gap. Once her nose met Pirate’s, she did the play bow thing. Next, she yipped twice and sat down facing the gate.

I couldn’t have gotten the message more clearly if she’d suddenly spouted English.

Rose looked at me and smirked. “I guess Her Royal Highness has spoken.”

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