Page 3 of Unleashed

They laughed and more of my tension eased. “Nah,” said the girl with a shake of her head. “You need a big, scary dog.”

“Big and scary, huh?” I puffed out my chest. “Am I scary?”

The boy giggled. “Yeah!”

They left me with a grin and I made my way to the tent set up by the local Austin Animal Allies group.

The Aces organization, in their infinite wisdom, had decided to partner with the local animal shelter for this year’s Paddle for the Playoffs. Each player would be saddled with an adoptable pet for the canoe race. As if paddling a damn canoe wasn’t challenging enough on its own.

Luck was finally on my side though, as the adoption volunteers assigned me a young lab. Black as pitch, sleek muscle and boundless energy. She sniffed my hand, then nudged it, big brown eyes begging for a treat. “Sorry, girl. I’m a terrible human. I didn’t bring treats.”

Just then, Lily emerged from the throng of people, her voice a cool contrast to the shoreline cacophony. “What kind of person doesn’t bring dog treats to a dog event?”

“The kind that doesn’t have dogs.”

“I don’t either, but lookie here.” She knelt beside the lab, her hand extended. The dog wiggled, thwapping her tail so hard her body rocked from side to side as she scarfed down whatever Lily had in her palm.

“What happened to the grumpy cat?”

“He’s monitoring the video feed from the shade.”

Video feed. Another reminder to guard my game. “Are you carrying iguana treats, too?”

“Huh?” She looked up at me, her blue-green eyes sparkling as brightly as the sunshine reflecting off the lake.

I motioned toward one of my players, Whitney. He’d already climbed into a canoe, but the iguana wouldn’t budge from the edge of the deck.

Lily stood. My gaze snagged on the curve of her calf, her thigh, the smooth line of her bare leg disappearing beneath the frayed denim of her shorts. Focus, Vignier. Lizard. Not legs. “That iguana’s the size of a Komodo dragon. I don’t think one of your piddling dog treats is going to tempt it.”

Her laughter rolled over me, soft and sensual, rounding off the edge of my annoyance. A dangerous reaction I'd been battling for months now.

“You might be right.” She turned her face up to mine with a conspiratorial smile. Her eyes, a mix of blues and greens like a pretty meadow right before a storm moved in, held my gaze when most would have looked away.

Just then, Adam Riley, the rookie sensation with the energy of a squirrel on a sugar high and a knack for attracting chaos, bellowed my name across the deck. He barreled through the crowd with a barrage of high fives and back slaps. A bright red and blue parrot perched on his shoulder.

“I’m with you, Cap!” he said as he reached me, vibrating with the sort of enthusiasm that could curdle milk. “I picked us up a pirate copilot! Polly wants a paddle, eh? Gonna bring us luck, am I right?” The bird squawked, ruffling his red and blue feathers and fixing me with beady eyes.

Fuck my life.“Right.”

Riley sidled past me, chattering away to the bird like the animal was his new best friend.

Lily pressed a handful of little round dog treats into my palm. “Good luck, Viggy.”

My palm tingled and I resisted the urge to flex my fingers. I’d need more than luck to survive the day, but my fingers closed over the treats and I gently tugged the leash to get the lab moving toward the canoes. More of players gathered around the dock, an assortment of dogs at their feet. Several stood over Whitney as he maneuvered the enormous iguana into the canoe.

Riley stood next to me. “Alright, Captain. We’re winning this thing, right?”

“You ever paddled a canoe before?”

He grinned. “Nah. But, boss, how hard can it be?”

Over the next few minutes, volunteers outfitted the animals with life jackets and harnesses. As the volunteer helped me into my own life jacket, showing me where to attach the dog’s leash and how to operate the quick release mechanism in case the canoe flipped, I couldn’t help but get into the spirit of the competition.

We got a quick lesson in how to steer and then we loaded up. I craned my neck around to catch sight of Whitney done up in his neon orange life jacket along with Bell. The iguana, somehow managing to look proud in his own bright yellow lizard jacket, took up all the space between the two men.

On the bench in front of me, the bird dipping and fluttering as Riley settled into position, loudly narrating the rookie’s every move. Its squawks echoed across the lake as we lined up with the rest of the team at the start of the race.

Bell jockeyed for better position, knocking into our canoe and setting the lab in front of me to barking. The canoe rocked with her lunging, but the harness she wore kept her from going overboard. “No cheating, Bell. Get your ass in line behind me.”

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