Greyson (The K9 Files) - Dale Mayer Page 0,47

dog.

The staff person nodded, smiled, and said, “All pets are an adjustment.” She looked down at Kona and smiled a little more. “She’s beautiful. I love her unique markings.”

“It’s the Malinois in her,” Greyson said, and she nodded and left. “If you’re ready to go,” he said to Jessica, “let’s buy this stuff and get going.” He walked to the cash register, pushing the shopping cart with Danny and the dog food, a few treats for Kona, who was even now sporting her new leash.

Up at the front, the cashier quickly rang up their items. Once he paid, they headed back outside to the car. He loaded up the dog food in the trunk, as she buckled Danny into the car seat. Loading Kona into back seat beside Danny, they both looked happy as Danny babbled away in a cheerful voice, his hand patting Kona on the head. The big dog seemed completely content to lie there beside him. The two adults got back into the car, and she pulled out of the parking lot. “Where to?”

“Well, that was what I needed,” he said. “So how about people food?”

“Yes, we could use a bit more,” she said. Down the opposite side of the block was a large grocery store. She pulled in, and he hopped out with Kona once again.

“Now Kona’s not likely to be allowed in the grocery store,” he said with a smile. “So why don’t I walk her around the parking lot, while you go in and get a few groceries?”

“Oh,” she said, “I should have thought of that. An outdoor market is over there that’s open now.”

He walked around the corner and saw a large outdoor store that had wide aisles up and down it and big orchard boxes full of vegetables. “Well, this works,” he said. “What do you need?” He pushed a small shopping cart and loaded up on the vegetables, as she called out what they needed for the next few days. “But surely you need things like eggs and bacon and meat, right?”

“Inside,” she said. “Let’s just walk in with the dog and see if anybody says anything.” They went in and, sure enough, found a section with fresh eggs and dairy, plus all different types of sliced meats, including bacon. He found a butcher counter on the side as well. There he ordered several steaks and quite a few links of sausages.

She smiled at him. “You’re such a guy,” she teased. “It’s all about the meat here.”

“Well, I’d be good with fish too,” he said. “I didn’t see a barbecue grill or pit at your place though. Do you have one?”

She shook her head. “Nope, I don’t.”

“We’ll have to change that,” he said. He went over to the deli counter and ordered some cheese to be cut up as well.

She pulled him off to the side and pointed at the fruit. “We didn’t get to this section yet. Did you want any fruit?”

He walked over and smiled, immediately filling up the loose spaces in the cart.

She stared at the groceries and said, “This will be hundreds of dollars.”

“Good,” he said. “I’m paying anyway.” He pushed it up to the front, still hanging on to Kona’s lead. She was extremely well-behaved, always standing aside at a proper heeling position.

At the front counter, the teller commented on Kona and how well-behaved she was. They quickly processed the order, bagged it up, and, with Kona still behaving like a dream dog, they returned to her car.

As Greyson loaded up the groceries in the trunk, on top of and around the dog food, Jessica held Danny and looked at Kona and said, “I would never have thought a dog like this would be so well-behaved.”

“I’ll just say that we’re blessed at the moment,” he said, “because we’re all trying to get to know each other.”

She nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Kona has to figure out her new world too,” he said.

Just as they were about to climb back into the car, Kona bristled. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Immediately Jessica hugged Danny tighter in her arms and got closer to Greyson. “What’s the matter?” she asked in a low voice. “What does Kona see?”

“I’m not sure,” he said, as he looked around the area. But it was obvious that the dog was disturbed by something. Her hackles had risen, and she growled in the very deep, dark recesses of her throat.

“Obviously she feels threatened by something,” Jessica said nervously.

He reached