Page 49 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

“You mean you got them for me?” Her eyes widened. She’d just assumed he was the one adopting them.

“If you want them.” He searched her features.

“Absolutely!” Wow! Becoming a dog mom had been on her to-do list for ages. “I’ll have to look into the rules and regulations of owning pets in apartment-ville.” She still wasn’t sure when she’d be able to return to her one-bedroom apartment, much less if they would allow her tobring two puppies with her. The homeowner’s association was pretty strict.

“I know you’re kind of in limbo right now.” Rock lifted the puppy from her arms and held him high over his head, eliciting a playful yip. “That’s why these little fellas come with an all-expenses-paid boarding agreement. You can leave them here with us for as long as you need to.”

“Whew!” Johnny huffed out a breath. “This place is getting crowded.”

“He’s already house shopping.” Gage tossed a wadded up piece of parchment paper at his brother. “I wasn’t trying to run him off. Is it something I said?”

“Nope.” Rock chuckled and returned the squirming puppy to Mila’s arms. “I just don’t want to outstay my welcome.”

“Teddy and Bear,” she said suddenly. “I know it’s a little cliche, but they’re so squishably adorable.”

“If that’s true, you could call ‘em Squish and Squash,” Johnny snickered.

He and Gage suggested a number of other duo names — everything from Chips and Queso to Frodo and Sam. In the end, though, Teddy and Bear stuck.

Mila returned to the sofa with the two Golden Doodles in her arms. After all the attention they’d received, their eyelids were drifting drowsily. In no time, they were snoozing in her lap, with Teddy’s head resting on Bear’s belly.

While the others in the room drifted back to the kitchen to load up on dessert, Rock dropped onto the sofa beside Mila. He opened his electronic tablet and pulled up a few photos. “I could use a second opinion about a few house listings my realtor emailed me. You game?”

“Sure. Why not?” She’d never purchased any real estatebefore, but the artistic side of her adored looking at pictures. She was tickled that he’d asked. Plus, it gave her something to do while she cradled the two sleeping puppies.

Rock balanced the electronic tablet on his thigh, bending his head closer to hers as he pointed out the features he liked the most about the first listing. It was a one-story home without a garage. “I’d have to add a detached garage out back.”

She wrinkled her nose. “And a walkway to the house. Otherwise, you’d have to dodge the raindrops, hail, and snow.”

“Good point.” He scrolled to the next house, which was a little bigger. It was a story-and-a-half with wide dormer windows on the second story. However, the yard looked overgrown and not very well cared for. “I’d probably have to lay new sod in the yard, but it has an attached garage.”

At her noncommittal humming sound, he kept scrolling. “What about this one?”

“Oh, wow!” The house in the third listing was roughly the same size as the last one, but it was a log cabin instead of traditional construction. The driveway leading up to the house was lined with evergreens, and the backyard was fenced in. Two additional gated pastures adjoined the backyard. Plus, it came with a number of outbuildings — a cozy red barn, a pair of white metal storage sheds, and a wooden canopy the owners were using to cover horse feed and watering troughs. Altogether, it added up to ten acres of land.

“You like it?” Rock studied her curiously.

“Are you kidding? This is my dream home! If you don’t buy it, I might.” She couldn’t afford it right now, but maybe someday.

“What do you like about it?” he pressed.

“Everything!” She didn’t have to think twice.

“Including the log cabin?”

“Especially the log cabin,” she gushed. “All it needs is a Home Sweet Home sign in the entry foyer, assuming it doesn’t already have one. And a few quilts and rag rugs.”

“And two puppies.” He gave her a crooked smile.

“For sure! And look at that side yard.” Their fingers brushed as she pointed it out. “It’s the perfect spot for gardening.” She grew nostalgic as she recalled all the families with children who’d gotten to enjoy the gardens, pumpkin patch, and corn mazes at Chester Farm. “You can practically hear children playing tag with the dogs in the backyard.”Oops!She caught her lower lip between her teeth, realizing she’d said more than she’d meant to. “Assuming you want kids someday.” Her face heated.

“Sure do. What about you?”

“Definitely.” She felt like fanning her face. “After being raised as an only child, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.”

“What’s wrong with being an only child?” Johnny swaggered back into the living room with both hands full of chocolate chip cookies.

“You’re a spoiled only child?” Rock waggled his eyebrows at him. “I never would’ve guessed.”

---