The Merriest Magnolia (Magnolia Sisters #2) - Michelle Major Page 0,34
Sam complained. “I’ll clean up poop.”
As if she could tell she was the topic of conversation, Daisy stood up and slowly moved toward the food bowl. She sniffed at it then lowered her head to take a bite.
“The puppies are adorable,” Dylan agreed then glanced at Meredith. “How long will it take before they’re adopted?”
“With the holidays coming up, they’ll be gone as soon as I post them on the website. People love puppies.”
“Of course they do,” Dylan agreed. “Puppies are easy to love.” He glanced back into the stall. “We’ll take a chance on Daisy. Do you offer dog training?”
Meredith nodded dumbly, and it was strange for Carrie to see her confident, outspoken sister at an apparent loss for words. That was the thing about Dylan Scott. He gave one impression on the surface but then could turn around and surprise a person with his depth. It didn’t shock Carrie that he wanted to take on the challenging rescue. Other than the moment when he’d accepted the bribe from her father, she’d never known him to take the easy way out of anything. He seemed to thrive on making things harder for himself than they needed to be.
Sam seemed as dumbfounded as Meredith. “You can’t deal with a puppy, but you’ll take some sort of reject mutt who no one else wants?”
As the boy’s glare sharpened, Carrie’s breath hitched. Was that how Sam saw himself? Losing his parents had made him an orphan that no one wanted and Dylan was stuck with him? It broke her heart that any child could believe that about themselves.
Although hadn’t she known herself to be expendable on some level? Her parents had loved her in their own way, but their affection was so conditional and their personalities so inherently narcissistic that she’d made sure she was indispensable in all the ways she could. It sickened her to think about how much of her childhood had been spent with her stomach in knots hoping she could please her mom and dad.
“She’s not a reject,” Dylan said, his gentle tone somehow easing the tightness in Carrie’s chest. Sam still didn’t look convinced. “She’s a creature who got dealt a crappy hand in life,” Dylan continued. “But she still deserves love and a good home. Hell, I don’t even like dogs, and I can see her potential.”
The boy’s lips twitched at that.
“Let’s try it, Sam. We might not know what we’re doing or be experts or have all the answers, but I bet with some help we can figure out how to love her.”
Carrie swallowed back tears as Meredith reached out and gripped her wrist.
Sam turned away, swiping his sleeve across his cheeks then looked back at Dylan. “Okay,” he whispered. “But you’re scooping the poop.”
“We’ll thumb wrestle for poop duty,” Dylan offered then reached out and ruffled the boy’s shaggy hair. “What do you think?” he asked, turning to face Meredith. “Can you trust us with her?”
Meredith took so long to answer, Carrie thought she might actually deny them the chance to adopt Daisy. Finally, she nodded and pointed at Dylan. “I’m still not convinced you’re a good bet. But Sam has a way with dogs. I have a feeling Daisy will thrive with him.”
Carrie knew that Meredith valued the lives of her rescues more than anything, so she wouldn’t agree if she didn’t truly believe they could handle it.
“Then it looks like we’ve got a dog,” Dylan said.
“I’ll gather the adoption papers and a starter pack of supplies.” Meredith gestured to Sam. “Why don’t you help, and we can go over some of the transition instructions for a shy pup?”
A slow smile spread across Sam’s face and he glanced at Dylan. “You’re serious?”
“Crazy,” Dylan answered with a smile. “But serious.”
“Yes.” The boy pumped his fist and then looked over into the stall again. “Don’t you worry, Daisy. You’ve got a home now and you’ll never have to be alone again.”
Carrie let out a small noise and looked at Meredith, who was blinking rapidly as if she was trying to not cry. “Happy Thanksgiving, indeed,” her sister murmured then led the boy down the aisle toward the office at the far end of the barn.
“I blame you for all of this,” Dylan said with a laugh as Carrie joined him in front of the stall. The dog had eaten a few bites of food and then lay down next to the bowl, chin resting on her front paws.