Page 34 of Dead to Rights
“What did you do this time?”
Of course, she didn’t answer him. If he had to put a name to her expression, though, he’d say she looked pretty damn smug.
Noah marched out onto the deck and stopped at the top of the steps with his hands resting on his hips.
“Hey, sugar,” he called, hoping to defuse the situation. “Why are you all wet?”
His shirt hung off him like a limp rag, and his golden curls had darkened two shades and were plastered across his forehead.
“I was trying to give your damn dog a bath because she smells like she rolled in something dead!”
To be fair, she probably had.
Finn glanced down at her again. She looked completely dry. Even her feet.
“Uh, what happened?”
“That dog is a menace. That’s what happened!”
He ducked his head to hide his smile, knowing it wouldn’t win him any points and crouched down beside his pup to scratch behind her ears. “Come on,” he told her. “We better go apologize before we both end up in his hole.”
He’d been digging out a place to build a firepit in the back yard, but he wouldn’t put it past his riled-up mate to bury them both in it.
Debrah yipped as if confirming she understood the assignment, then darted back across the lawn, leaving him to follow at a more casual pace. She bounded up the stairs and plopped down in front of Noah, tongue lolling and tail beating out a quick rhythm against the wooden planks.
Noah pretended to glare at her, but Finn could already see him softening around the edges, fighting to hold back a smile.
“Don’t give me those eyes,” he told her. “I’m not falling for it.”
Debrah barked, happy and excited.
“No,” Noah said. “I know your tricks.”
Debrah barked again and nudged his leg with her nose.
“Oh, fine,” he relented, crouching down to ruffle her long ears and kiss the top of her head. “You are spoiled rotten. You know that, right?”
In answer, Debrah swiped her tongue across his face and tried to crawl into his lap, knocking them both over so that they landed in a tangle of limbs and fur on the deck. Noah’s laughter rang out across the yard and echoed into the distance, the sound filled with the kind of love and joy that made Finn’s heart ache with happiness every time he heard it.
“Okay, okay,” he gasped, trying to shove her off him as she continued to maul him with kisses. “You’re forgiven.” Pushing into a sitting position, he booped the end of her snout with his index finger and shook his head. “You’re still getting a bath, though.”
Debrah let out another excited bark, wiggled her butt like she was winding up for a race, and zoomed past him into the cabin.
“I’m glad to see you two made up,” Finn said as he climbed the stairs. “I thought I was going to have to stage an intervention.”
Still seated on the deck, Noah looked up at him, his eyes squinted against the morning sun. “You’re ridiculous.” He accepted the hand Finn offered him and rose to his feet with a quiet grunt. “How’s the firepit coming?”
“Almost done digging it out,” he confirmed. “I’ll probably have it finished by suppertime.”
“And Ace?” he asked, referring to the old stallion currently in the barn at the back of the small pasture behind their home. “How’s he doing?”
“I think he’s good. I’ll keep him in the barn one more day, but his hoof is looking better.”
He’d been telling the truth when he’d said he didn’t care where they lived as long as he had access to the outdoors in a place like the park. Apartment living had never really suited him, but he would have been able to make it work.
Instead of some stuffy high-rise, however, they had been blessed with a smaller version of his place back in Texas. It even came complete with a swimming pond and all the responsibilities of life on a ranch.
Debrah had been waiting for them on the front porch when they had arrived, her entire body vibrating with barely contained excitement. And honestly, that would have been enough.
