Page 129 of She Wolf

“Is he for me?” Jack whispers into the puppy’s partly grey, partly silver, and white fur.

“He is. He’s going to take care of you when I’m on the road.” Jack really does cry now, the tears fall and wet the puppy while he wriggles and tries to lick them off Jack’s face.

“Mom look at his collar! It’s from the team.” A little bandana with the Wolves emblem adorns his neck and I’ve got to say it looks as cute as I thought it would. Right now he’s really tiny, but he’ll grow.

“What’s, what’s his name?” Both Coralie and Kate get down on the floor, the phone abandoned.

“He doesn’t have one. It’s up to you to name him.”

“It should really be hockey-themed,” Kate says, and I have to admit I agree.

“Puck?” my mom shouts.

“Nah,” I say. “It’s too obvious.”

“Sticks. No. Ooh, Sniper,” Coralie tries.

“Maybe,” Jack says. We go back and forth for a while until Coralie says,

“What about Biscuit?”

I turn to look at Jack. “What do you say, does he look like a Biscuit?”

Jack picks him up again, “Are you a Biscuit?” The dog blinks his big brown eyes and yips again and I think it’s settled.

“You’re training him, right?” Coralie says, her tone even, but I hear what’s implied; you introduce the kid to a dog, and you’re stuck for life.

“Of course. It’s all booked and there’s a local dog walker who is familiar with the Breed I’ve hired as well,” I assure her and send her a big smile.

“I’m going to train him too,” Jack insists, and I think we might have a responsible dog owner in the making.

Now that the surprise is literally out of the box, I go to my trunk and collect all the things I’d bought for him: a big cozy bed, cool little bowls, a Wolves leash, and a whole store worth of toys because I couldn’t settle on just a few. I also bought a special waist leash so when he’s a bit bigger he can come out on my runs with me. Maybe he’ll make them more bearable.

Jack spends the next half an hour setting Biscuit up in the kitchen because he’s not house trained yet, but not before giving him a tour of his new home and the backyard. They both crash not long after.

Chapter Thirty

Coralie

Tensions. Are. High.

I’ve spent all day trying to explain to Jack that we need to get back to the cottage and get ready for school and second grade. Not to mention the academic year I have ahead of me. There are three days left and I want him back in his routine.

When we left Casey’s, he saw it as an adventure. When we came to stay at Gunner’s for a few weeks, in his head it just made total sense. We were looking after Kate, he wanted to be close to his family and to share his space with Gunner. It’s been a whirlwind, that’s for sure.

He really is a resilient kid and takes everything in his stride. Of course, there are little apprehensions when it comes to change, but generally, it’s like water off a duck's back. Even so, we need to go home now.

But today as I start to lose my patience with the kid who is less trouble than I give him credit for, I feel like pulling my hair out.

“Mom, I don’t want to go back to that stupid little house.”

“Well Jack, that’s not your decision to make. School starts in a few days. And I want us both prepared. And don’t say it’s stupid,” I say as I pick his clothes up off the floor.

“I don’t want to. I want to stay here with Gunner. I like this room. I bet I could have a wolf wall here too. I bet I could!”

His hair is still damp from the swim he took in Gunner’s sunken bathtub and he’s walking around in his birthday suit without a care that everything is out for the world to see. Gunner has taken Biscuit for a walk so that’s one less distraction.

“Can you please put your briefs on,” I say waving them at him again. “And we don’t live here. This was just temporary, you knew that.”

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