Page 45 of The Jackpot Screwer
“Janice-Ann refused to come out of the rest room until Jefferson agreed.”
“How many others were there?” I asked, giving him another scratch behind the ears.
“Three,” Aunt L retorted.
“And what happened to the other two?” A thought came into my head. “Did Pauly take them to the pound?”
“No.” I looked up to see Jefferson. “They’re in my damn barn. And that is my shoe it’s having for breakfast.”
“He won’t let them in the house. He made us pick one out,” Aunt L pouted.
Jefferson rested his hands on his hips and looked down at the ground. “And didn’t that take longer than a cow with a breach birth,” he muttered.
“What are you going to do with the other two?” I asked, my idea taking shape.
“Why, you know someone who’ll want one?” Jefferson asked, looking up at me with hope in his eyes.
“Well, there’s nothing like owning a dog to tell a woman you’re ready to be a dad, right?”
Jefferson took a step back and winced. “Carter, son, are you sure that’s the right way to go about things. You know better than anyone how much work puppies are, and with a baby on the way…”
“I know.” I shrugged. “Like I said, it proves a point.”
Jefferson’s eye roll didn’t escape me, but I didn’t care, I knew it was the right thing to do. There was nothing like a fluffy little animal to soften a girl’s heart.
“I’m going to go pick one,” I informed them.
“There’s a boy and a girl,” Jefferson informed me. “They’re at the back of the barn in an old tack crate. Hunter is in there changing the oil on the truck.”
“What’re you ladies going to call your little guy now?” I asked, already deciding I was taking the boy.
Hunter’s two aunts gave me identical frowns. “Primrose,” they chorused in a tone that said I was stupid.
Jefferson shrugged and gave me a look as if to say, ‘see what I’m up against’.
“Okay.” I scratched my head and pointed toward the barn. “Once I’ve finished talking with Hunt I’ll give them all a check over.”
“Thanks, Carter.” Jefferson slapped my back and leaned in close. “Maybe see your way to swapping this guy out with the little girl. I’m not sure I can be responsible for him having a dick and answering to Primrose.”
Laughing, I nodded and walked away toward the barn to find my best buddy not with his head under the hood of the truck as I expected, but pacing up and down, mumbling to himself.
“Hey, what’s going on?” I asked, my eyes searching for the crate.
Hunter barely glanced at me as he carried on wearing a path in the sawdust and hay on the floor.
“Hunter, buddy, what’s going on? Your dad said you were changing the oil on the truck.”
He looked over to me and scrubbed a hand down his face. “What do you want? I’m kinda of busy right now.”
“Yeah, looks like it.” Leaving him to stride, I went to the back of the barn where a big, old wooden crate was making little yapping noises. “Hey, there guys.”
Inside were two more cute little puppies. One was all black and the other black and gold, just like ‘Primrose’. At a quick glance you wouldn’t have a clue what breed they were, but I knew Pauly’s bitch, Sadie, was a Golden Retriever. As for the dad, it could have been a Coonhound by the length of the puppy’s ears. They were handsome little fellas and I knew one would most definitely make Bronte all gooey inside. Picking each up in turn, I could see that Jefferson was seemingly better at gender spotting than his sisters. He was right, there was a boy and a girl.
“I’m taking the boy,” I announced to Hunter, whether he was listening or not. “Gonna call him—”
“Do not say, Blake,” Hunter snapped from behind me.
“Oh, so you are listening then?” I turned to see a real pale face. “What the hell is wrong with you? You sick or something?”
