Keeping Kenzie - Pepper North Page 0,43

his hand and squeezed hers when she interlaced her fingers with his.

A loud honk drew their attention away from each other. “That must be the builder. Come on, you two. Let’s not keep him waiting.”

Chapter 21

“Daddy! Daddy! Come quick!”

Kenzie’s frantic call from the backyard ripped Osiris away from his lunch preparations. The couple had settled easily into Deke’s house. His Little loved being outside, and with Lollipop by her side, Osiris had relaxed about her being out of his sight after the disappearing act by the creek.

Tearing out into the backyard, Osiris stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes watered at the putrid smell. Skunk.

“He came out of nowhere! Lollipop stopped to smell a bush. The skunk jumped out and scratched his nose. Then, he was even more mean and sprayed us.”

Racing across the grass, he blocked his attention from the smell. Years of fire training had helped him compartmentalize putrid odors from his conscious. He’d learned to concentrate on the important things.

“Did he hurt you, Baby girl?”

“N-No,” her voice warbled with tears. “I smell so bad.”

“We’ll see if we can fix that,” Osiris soothed. Pulling out his phone, he searched quickly. “Got it. Here’s the antidote to the smell. We’ve got everything. Come over by the house. We’ll hose you down and mix up the magic potion.”

“For Lollipop, too?”

“Baby girls first. Puppies second,” he promised.

Leaving his smelly Little outside by the spigot, Osiris raced inside for the antidote ingredients: baking soda, mild dishwashing detergent, and peroxide. Throwing everything into a bucket with an old T-shirt of his and a towel, he ducked out the back door to find Kenzie standing exactly where he had left her. Tears slid slowly from her eyes as she stroked an equally miserable Lollipop’s head.

“Baby girl,” he crooned, setting everything on the ground and moving to wrap his arms around her.

“No! Stay back. I don’t want you to smell this bad,” she answered.

“Let’s get your clothes off. That will help take away some of the smell,” he comforted her, lifting her shirt over her head. Osiris thought she might be shy about taking off her clothes outside, but he was dead wrong. Kenzie shimmied out of everything quickly, tossing the smelly clothes far away.

Pulling his attention from his Little’s attractive form, he mixed the magic ingredients together. Sloshing the liquid liberally over her body, he noted that the smell began to dissipate almost immediately. Not completely. But so much better.

“My hair smells, too!” Kenzie reminded him, pulling a lock of her hair to her nose to sniff.

“This might change the color a bit,” he explained.

“I don’t care if I have pink hair. I want this smell gone.”

“You got it. Close your eyes and tilt your head back.” Osiris carefully soaked her hair with the mixture. “Time for the rinse. Keep your eyes closed.”

Turning on the hose, he washed her face quickly and rinsed it before moving to clear her hair of the smell-eliminating mixture. To his nose, she immediately smelled better. Her cute shivers and jumps at the feel of the cold water against her bare skin made him chuckle.

“Are you laughing at me?” She opened one eye to glare at him.

“No, Baby girl. I’m just glad it’s working. It’s not my fault you’re so damn cute.”

“I smell so much better. Thank you, Daddy.” Her anger vanished as he finished at her feet.

“You do. Here, Baby girl.” Osiris wrapped the towel around her shivering body and tucked the end between her breasts.

“Lollipop, now!”

“Come on, Lollipop. It’s your turn.”

By the time the builder appeared, the two were much less smelly. Osiris had already texted Deke with the details of the event and would keep him updated. With everyone more comfortable and allowed inside Deke’s house again, Osiris and Kenzie were able to talk with the construction expert. He’d noted the new exterior and made a few positive suggestions for the interior. Incredibly, he’d had a cancellation and now had a hole in his schedule. Work on their house would begin immediately.

Concerned about the scratches on the dog’s nose the next day, Osiris called Bart. SANCTUM was lucky to have a vet on speed dial.

“I’d send you to the local vet, but he’s booked with calving. I’ll need to see him. Lollipop may need some shots. I want to make sure it’s a scratch and not a bite,” Dr. Bartholomew Jennings answered. “I won’t be back at SANCTUM for a week. Could you bring him here?”

“We need to go check the house and begin packing our