Page 27 of Always a Bridesmaid
Finally, Violet knelt on the spongy ground, the knees of her jeans sopping up the moisture. “Listen. If Ford finds out we didn’t even make it to the scent pad once, we’ll never hear the end of it.” She patted the puppy’s head, fighting to not let herself be swayed by his big brown eyes. “You like hanging out with me, right?”
Distracto sat on his rump and scratched his chin with his back paw. Once she took over the scratching, he climbed into her lap and nuzzled his nose into the crook of her elbow.
“See, this isn’t helping.”
Much like her baby talk probably wasn’t helping.Must remain strong.
Gently, she placed the puppy on the ground. She withdrew one of the bone-shaped doggy treats and waved it in front of him. He pounced for it, and she slowly moved it another foot away. Her thighs burned from being hunched over, but Distracto was heading toward the pad again.
Excitement zoomed through her, overtaking her thoughts about her strained muscles. “Good job, buddy. Now that we’ve made up the ground we lost, we only have to make it a couple of yards.”
Another foot down.
Then a stinking butterfly had to show off, flitting its yellow wings as it flew low.
Distracto charged after it, and Violet gathered the rope and stopped him short.
“You’re killin’ me, Smalls.”
The sad-puppy eyes made her feel like a big jerk.
Violet looked around, and when she didn’t see Ford, she picked up Distracto and put him a foot or so past where they’d started. She broke the doggy bone in half and lifted it in front of his face. “If I let you eat this, you’ve got to promise to make it to the pad. You’ll get the rest of the treat when you do. Deal?”
The puppy pawed at her leg, desperately trying to snatch the treat, and she bobbed it up and down. His muzzle mimicked the motion, a coerced head nod that totally counted.
“Good enough.” Violet carried him a foot closer to the pad and fed him the first half of the doggy bone.
But before she could get him to keep going—because he certainly wasn’t doing it on his own—a loud throat clearing, followed by a deep “What do you think you’re doing?” made her jump.
She whirred around to see Ford standing with the other two leashed puppies, his arms crossed. “Hey.” Her voice came out way too high, with the guilty edge that accompanied being caught.
Ford cocked his head. “Hey? Seriously?”
“Oh, do you prefer to be more formal? Hello, Ford Whatever-your-last-name-is. It’s a pleasure to come across you in the swampy Alabama woods. Tis been such a long time since I had the pleasure of company on my midday stroll.”
He pressed his lips into a flat line, refusing to smile, but his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Violet.”
Her throat went dry as he strode toward her. “Mm-hmm?”
“I saw you cheating. You can’t give him a treat until he reaches the pad.”
“We had a deal,” she said.
“I know, and you broke it.”
“I meant Distracto and me.” She turned to the puppy, as if he’d back her up. He, in turn, barked at a bush, lifted his leg, and peed on it. “See, I told him I would give him half the treat now, and he’d get the rest when he reached the pad.”
The tips of Ford’s shoes hit the toes of hers, and her pulse beat so fast it left her dizzy. “That’s not when he gets one. Looks like I’m gonna have to take the treats and give ’em out asIsee fit.”
Violet swung her arm behind her, the remaining two and a half doggy bones clenched in her fist. “He’s trying his best.”
“No, you’re a sucker.” Ford extended his open palm and gestured for her to hand over the reward treats.
“No, I’m…okay, maybe a little bit of a sucker, but give me another chance.”
His chest bumped hers as he reached around her to pry the treats from her hand, and she stretched the limits of her arm. Fabric rustled, a swirl upended her stomach, and she suppressed a shiver as his callused fingertips grazed her arm.
A shriek escaped as he began prying open her fingers one by one. The puppy at her feet barked and wedged himself between them.
