Page 29 of Hound Dog
“It’s my job, isn’t it? So, tell me who you’re looking to find.” The dog shifted in his lap, snuggling up to Finn’s chest.
A woman would have to be dead not to melt at the sight of this brawny guy snuggling a small, fluffy dog. The sight even thawedmycold, angry heart.
Just a touch. And just for a moment.
“Uh… I’m not here to find someone. I’m looking to unload several.”
Finn slid a look at me out of the corner of his eyes. “You’re looking to unload several?” he repeated.
“Yeah. I thought I was clear about that in my message.”
“Sometimes Enzo doesn’t relay the entire message to me.”
Enzo worked here too? Maybe this was the app she was working on… Hound Dog? A new animal rescue site perhaps. “Look, don’t get me wrong, they’re all really great. But there’s just too damn many.”
“I always knew you’d be flush with men scrambling over each other to get to you.”
Though his smile was sincere, the joke poked a bruise that had never fully healed. Not even after six years.
I scowled in return. The memory of him leaving me there on the roof burned through my sinuses. “That’s not funny, Finn.”
He took a quick, sharp breath and met my accusing eyes. “Who says I was kidding?”
A soft gasp escaped me, and I shook the fog from my thoughts.
Focus, Haylee. I was so close to achieving what I needed. I just had to get through this meeting and get the dogs into Finn’s hands to find them all safe, good homes.
When I didn’t answer, Finn sighed and pulled his phone from his pocket, opening his Notes app. “Okay. So, you want me to take some guys off your hands and find them a new partner?”
Partner? Was this some weird rescue animal language?Like how you don’t own a dog, but they’re part of the family? Maybe now it was considered a partnership?
I loved my dog, but I didn’t think I’d call him a partner. But, hell, who was I to judge? Besides, I couldn’t mess this up. Ineededto rehome these dogs. And if that meant I spoke like a weirdo who considers animals people, then fine.
“Um, yeah,” I said carefully. “I could really use the help finding them new partners. Someone they’ll connect with and move in with so that I don’t have to keep taking care of them. But they’re not all guys. There’s a couple of girls in the mix, too.”
Finn’s eyes rolled to the sky, and he blew a tight breath out of pursed lips. “Fucking hell,” he muttered.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing,” he cleared his throat. “Nothing. Just… caught me off guard with that one.” Finn paused, sitting there and scratching the dog’s head, deep in thought for a long moment before he finally said, “All right, I’ll help you out. It’s auniquerequest, that’s for sure. But I like a challenge.”
Unique. Yep, that about summed it up. I doubted Maple Grove had all that many animal hoarding cases in their little town.
“So, tell me about them,” Finn added.
“Well, Jake’s the oldest and so awesome. His big brown eyes will make anyone melt. And heloveskids. I can’t keep him away from playgrounds. His favorite thing is to sit with me in the park and watch kids play.”
Finn typed into his phone, taking notes. “Okay. That’s good. Women go nuts for that.”
“But…”
He paused, brows arching. “Uh oh. Is this why you’ve kicked him to the curb?”
I sighed. “Sort of.”Among other reasons.“It’s just… he’smassive.”
“Like… obese?”
“No! No, he’s all muscle. He’s just giant and clumsy. And the drool. Oh my God, the drool—”
