Page 14 of Finding Noah
“We might be going to meet a guy named Paxton.”
I squinted. “Am I supposed to know who Paxton is?”
“Nope. But he had a flyer up in the feed store. He found a dog on his property, like, a month ago. He’s been trying to find the owner, with no luck. The sheriff confirmed, since Paxton’s done his due diligence in trying to find the owner, that he’s free to re-home the dog.”
I arched an eyebrow. “So, we’re taking…”
“Stormy.”
“Stormy off of Paxton’s hands?”
“He swears she’s a really well-behaved dog. He’d love to keep her, but he’s got three of his own and a large farm to run. He thinks that might be why she was dumped on his property. The vet, Dr. Malcolm Jones, checked. No microchip or tattoo. He figured she’s about nine months old. She likely got bigger than the owners expected, and that’s why they dumped her.”
“Because why turn a dog over to a shelter and answer all those embarrassing questions when you can just dump a dog in some random farmer’s field?”
Noah nodded. “Pretty much.”
“Okay. So what do we need to get?”
He cocked his head. “I might’ve stocked up with everything, and it’s in the SUV.”
Because of course he did. He’d know I wasn’t going to say no. And since I wasn’t, his exuberance wasn’t an issue. “You have the address for the farmer?”
“Yep. He’s expecting us.”
“Well let’s not keep the gentleman waiting, then.”
We resumed our walk.
Suddenly, Noah stopped.
I halted as well, turning to face him. “What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t ask.”
I grinned. “I know you didn’t. Because you didn’t need to. Of course I was going to sayyes. I’ll always sayyes.” I stepped into his personal space—which I could only get away with because of our long familiarity with each other. “I’ll never deny you anything, Noah. Well, within reason. Now come along—we have a dog to rescue.”
Chapter Four
Noah
Paxton Greer had a lovely plum farm, and he was happy to give us a tour as Stormy acclimated to us. The Newfie cross was already about eighty pounds and had massive feet.
“The vet reckons she’ll be over one hundred.” Paxton petted her. “She’s a big sweetheart, but I just don’t have room for one more.”
His three other dogs were penned back near the farmhouse.
He glanced around. “Okay, I’d totally keep her, but my wife would have a conniption fit. She’s pregnant with our second child, and she’s already got a lot to deal with. I mean, I do what I can, but I’m in the fields a lot.”
We wandered down a row of trees in his orchard.
Stormy steadfastly walked on his far side, keeping her distance from Christian and me.
“We’ll give her a good home, I promise. We’re renting a lovely home on acreage.”
“Esmeralda’s place?”
I nodded. He’d asked when I’d called, and I’d laid everything on the table. I didn’t want to show up, fall in love with Stormy, and then not pass Paxton’s inspection. He was trying to play this off like letting Stormy go was no big deal, but it clearly was.
