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your kitchen. (Please, though, don’t humiliate the poor dog by dressing her up.)
She’s ready for you, Sage, and you’re ready for her. You bring smiles to the lives of others through your work. Let this little furball bring smiles to your life through play.
—Colt
“I can’t believe he did this,” she murmured as the puppy opened her round black eyes and blinked. “Of all the nerve.”
She spoke to the empty room as if he were still there, as if he could hear her. “Rafferty, didn’t anyone ever tell you that it’s wrong to give pets as gifts? Adopting a pet is a big commitment. It’s not something to do on a whim. Certainly not something to force on someone else.”
She could almost hear him answering back. This wasn’t a whim, Cinnamon, but a well-considered, deliberate decision. She needs you. You need her.
“No one is going to force me into keeping this puppy. I know where you got her. This is one of the Prentice family’s pups. Little Josh Prentice has been trying to find them homes for a month. I’ll load her up and take her back to them.”
No, you won’t. Look at her. Pick her up and hold her. She’s meant to be yours. You know it’s true.
The puppy rose to her little puppy paws, and her little puppy nub of a tail began to wag. Warmth flooded Sage’s heart. “It’s a good thing you’re already gone, Rafferty, because I’d kill you otherwise.”
She picked up the puppy and cuddled her close. When the dog lifted her little puppy face and licked Sage’s chin with her little puppy tongue, Sage laughed and said, “I think I’ll call you Snowdrop.”
TWELVE
April
Tyson’s Corner, Virginia
Colt leaned against his car on the suburban cul-de-sac as he waited for the realtor to arrive to show the house he’d made an appointment to see. While he waited, he pulled out his phone to check his email. Seeing another message from Sage, he grinned and clicked on the picture. He sighed and shook his head. “Of course. I should have expected this.”
With tomorrow being Easter Sunday, she’d sent him a picture of the dog wearing bunny ears. This followed pictures of a little green leprechaun hat on St. Patrick’s Day, a green sash in honor of the anniversary of the Girl Scouts’ founding, a quilted sweater for National Quilting Day, and unfortunately, for the first day of spring, a green cape with a pink petal collar and a headpiece of pink and green antennae.
Colt had stuck a sympathy card in the mail to Snowdrop after receiving that one.
He glanced down at the lowered window of the passenger side door where his dog stood on the seat, his paws braced on the door, and his head poking out into the spring breeze. “I’m surprised that dog’s coat hasn’t turned pink from embarrassment.”
Shadow let out a woof.
“You have a puppy!” a voice called out. “He is a puppy, right? What kind of dog is he, mister?”
Colt looked around to see a little boy—seven or eight years old, he’d guess—come speeding down the front walk of the house next door.
“Is he yours? Are you going to buy Mr. Barrington’s house? Do you have any kids? Any boys?”
“Timothy Purcell, you leave the poor man alone.” A harried-looking woman with a toddler on her hip stood at the front door.
She called out to Colt, “Sorry!”
“Not a problem,” he replied as his realtor swung her BMW into the drive. To Timothy, he said, “I don’t have any children, and Shadow is a Labrador retriever.”
“That’s too bad you don’t have kids. Shadow has big paws. That means he’s going to be a big dog.” The boy called to the realtor. “Hey, Miss Cindy. This dog is a Labrador retriever!”
“Hello, Timmy. He’s cute, isn’t he? Hi, Colt. Sorry I’m late. Traffic was a bear.”
“No problem.” Colt pushed away from the car and lifted Shadow through the window, keeping him in his arms.
“If you want, mister, I’ll hold his leash for you,” Timmy offered. “Do you want me to show him the house, Miss Cindy? I give the best tours.”
Cindy glanced at Colt, saw the smile and the shrug, and said, “Sure, Timmy. Thank you.”
As the boy called out his plan to his mother, Colt set the puppy down and handed the leash to the boy. He then spent the most entertaining half hour he’d passed since leaving Eternity Springs over a month ago. Timmy knew the house inside and out, but it was his commentary that continued