Page 18 of Crazy In Love (Secrets of Suburbi 3)

I didn’t want such a pushover. Or one that wanted anything near his butt. "No. Not that one."

"Well, what breeds do you like? We have..."

I waved my hand, cutting her off. "It doesn't really matter. I want something that doesn't shed much, is well trained, and is quiet."

"We have some hairless cats."

That sounds so much more appealing. "No, it needs to be a dog."

"Hmm." She folded her arms across her chest. "But all dogs shed. And most of these are puppies so they aren't even potty trained yet. And...they bark. Are you sure you want a dog?"

Of course I don't want a dog! They sounded terrible. What kind of monster wasn't potty trained? "It's a gift for my husband," I said. "He loves them." Maybe I wouldn't even have to torture him if I could teach the dog to bite on command. "Maybe one of the calmer puppies?" I looked around the pen. None of them seemed calm.

A baby crying made me turn back to look at Santa on his throne. He was trying to cheer it up with a candy cane, but the baby threw it back in his face. Poor guy. Maybe it was best that I never had children. I wasn't sure I had the patience for it. Or the stamina.

"Oh." The little girl was smiling again now. "How about Blue then." She walked over to another pen and pointed to a puppy that was just lying there. He was a tiny thing, about the size of a cat, with white unruly looking fur and bright blue eyes. All the other dogs were running around playing with children in the pen and trying their best to get adopted. And Blue was just...sitting.

He looked up at me with these big sad eyes. His tail wagged once. Twice. And then he looked back down at his paws. I swore I heard him sigh.

"Is there something wrong with him?" I asked.

"I don't know. He just doesn't seem to get along very well with the other puppies. And he's a little scared of all the people I think."

Huh. "Is he depressed or something?"

"Depressed?" The little girl looked up at me. "What does that mean?"

"Sad."

She nodded and looked back at Blue. "Yes, I believe he's very depressed."

I bit the inside of my lip. Blue sighed again like being here was the most exhausting thing in the world. I'd never felt so connected to an animal before. "I'll take him."

"Don't you want to meet him first?" She stepped over the edge of the pen and lifted Blue up into her arms. Blue looked about as happy to be in her arms as he did to be in the pen. Which was not happy at all. She held him out to me.

What did she want me to do? Touch it?

She held him out even farther.

Fine. I lightly patted his head. He was surprisingly soft. "Yup. He's the one. Can you package him up for me?"

She tilted her head to the side. "I can give you a leash."

I hadn't thought this through. Was he supposed to just sit in my car and ruin the leather seats? "Isn't there something to put him in?"

"Oh." She nodded. "There's a pet store down there to the left." She pointed to the store I’d just been in. "You'll be able to find everything you need. And all the puppies that are adopted here today come with a care package. A little bit of food, a collar, and a coupon for dog school. You just need to come sign a few papers with my mom."

Dog school? They needed an education too? I filled out the necessary forms and was given a small bag and the end of Blue's leash.

I stood there staring at Blue. He looked up at me and sighed.

"It'll be fine," I said. "We can be sad together. Let's go get you whatever else dogs need from the pet store."

Blue looked over his shoulder like he was reluctant to leave the chaos of Santa and an animal adoption going on at the same time. I was doing him a favor, didn't he see that?

"Come on, Blue."

He sighed again and followed me.

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