Feliz Naughty Dog - Roxanne St. Claire Page 0,6
One of the nose pads was askew, and both arms were badly bent. “Geez,” he breathed. “Tor, that was really bad. Even for you.”
The greyhound came around the table and dropped his head in front of Agnes with that look of a dog who knows he’s about to be disciplined.
But the boy crouched down and put his arm around the dog’s long, narrow neck and head. “No worries, my dude. I know you’re sorry. It’s okay.” His words were soft, whispered into Tor’s ear with the same warmth and directness Agnes had seen from so many kids in Finnie’s family, their love of dogs simply infectious. “He gets a little rambunctious,” he said to Agnes and Finnie. “Raised as a racer, and they weren’t…good to him. Anything shiny or small gets him going because they used shiny lures to train him.”
His tenderness and rationalizations nearly cracked the heart that Agnes liked to deny she had. She turned to Finnie, pleased to see her gaze had warmed a bit as she observed him.
“’Tis all right, lad,” Finnie said. “I have another pair at home.”
He looked up at her with shockingly intense eyes, a shadow of pain and surprise and maybe distrust in them, as if he, too, expected discipline. “I can repay you. I don’t know how, but—”
“I know how,” Agnes said. “You are officially part of our team. You and Tor and…” She smiled at Finnie. “The Dogmothers.”
“The Dogmothers?” His lips hitched in a half smile.
“Hi, Lucas!” The dynamic duo returned, Mira pulling Gala by the collar.
“Hey.” He scowled at her. “Don’t drag a dog like that.”
Instantly, she let go of the collar, and Gala scampered back to Agnes, who scooped up the little doxie and stroked her head lovingly. “Good girl, Gala. Sorry you had to take one for the team.”
“What team is she on?” Lucas asked Agnes. “’Cause that’s a cute dog.”
“Believe it or not, she’s on our team.” Agnes smiled at him.
“The Dogmothers?” he asked with a glint of humor in his eyes. “Cool. You want me to try and straighten those glasses?” He gave Gala’s head a quick rub and looked at Agnes one more time.
Agnes turned to Finnie, who fiddled with the frames, then slid them on so that they sat utterly lopsided on her sweet face. “I can see, so I guess it’s not so bad.”
When he took a few steps away with Tor, Agnes leaned close to Finnie. “And he can join us?”
She nodded. “Aye.”
“Now there’s the Finnie I know and love,” Agnes said.
“Well, he loves his dog, so how bad can he be?”
“Exactly.”
And if she could just persuade her best friend to see the good in Aldo Fiore later today, it would be an excellent Christmas Eve for everyone. Especially sweet Prudence, who would certainly thank Agnes for this little Christmas gift.
Chapter Three
By the time Pru finished answering the last of the questions, helping some people figure out the RACK IT UP app, and talking to Emma and Charlotte—and Mason and Dylan, the boyfriends who ranked higher on the food chain than Pru—it was getting a little late.
She hurried across the square where Gramma Finnie and Yiayia were still at the table, looking as if they were eager to go. Of course, Yiayia wanted to get to the Santa-stalking mission ASAP.
“Hey, guys, sorry that took so long,” Pru called as she got closer. “But we’ll make it to…” The word caught in her throat as Lucas Darling ambled closer, his ebony gaze pinned on her. “Vestal…” She couldn’t remember the rest.
She’d never actually made eye contact with this guy before, never really had the chance to look right into the darkest, most penetrating gaze she could remember. The effect was…dizzying.
“Do you need a RACK list?” she managed to ask. “The teams are set, but you could—”
“I’m on your team.”
She just stared at him, trying to swallow as the impossibility of what he’d just said settled on her chest. The one where her heart was suddenly beating double time. “Excuse me?”
“Unless Tor isn’t welcome.” He tugged the dog leash and made the greyhound prance a little closer. “Or I’m not.”
She blinked at him, then turned to the grannies, doing a double take at the crooked frames on Gramma Finnie’s face. “What happened to your glasses?”
“’Tis a minor setback,” she said brightly, trying to straighten the glasses, but succeeding only in making them sit even more cockeyed on her tiny face. “I can see fine.”
She shifted her gaze to Yiayia, who suddenly seemed wildly