Mistletoe Magic (Paradise Place #6) - Natalie Ann Page 0,12

again and that was too depressing of a thought.

Less than an hour later, their delivery of puppies arrived. As always, they were barking and jumping, some whimpering.

“Got a loud crew here,” the driver said.

One by one, Cooper and she started to help bring the crates out. She might be little but she was strong.

“What’s going on with those two in the back?” Cooper asked.

“Brother and sister,” the driver said. “We tried to separate them, but they put up the biggest fit. The girl is the little one. Runt of the litter and she was almost screaming in fear. It was heartbreaking. I could hear her in the back. The brother was barking and scratching trying to get to her. I don’t know. Sorry, I know we are supposed to separate them, but I didn’t have the stomach for it.”

“It’s fine,” Cooper said. “That might be a problem getting them adopted though if they can’t be separated.” He opened the crate and reached in for the male, leaving the female there until she started to cry and the male wiggled to get back, so he grabbed the female in his other hand.

“What breed are they?” Robin asked Cooper. “Can you tell?”

“Mix of lab and something else. Not sure what. Definitely chocolate lab which people love, but they can get big and not everyone wants two of them.”

“Do you want me to clean them up while you take care of the others? Maybe I’ll separate them from the rest of the group and bathe them together.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

She reached for both puppies at once. They weren’t that big. Maybe six weeks or so. But the girl was definitely on the scrawny side.

When Robin got to the back of the shelter she put the two of them in the large sink, giving them both rubs. They wouldn’t be able to get out, so she went and filled a bowl with fresh water and set it down, watching them go right at it until the bowl was empty.

She didn’t want to scare them and turn the water on, so she put water in a bucket from another sink and then got a cloth and wet it, trying to give them a little sponge bath each.

They were both squirming and wiggling around, but neither biting or whining. The female ended up peeing on her hand, making her laugh, but she was used to it by now.

Once both dogs were cleaned up and smelling nice, she picked them up and brought them to the back on the artificial grass. She liked that option here. It was easier to just hose it down and not worry about mud and the dogs getting too dirty.

When she came back in with the puppies, the little girl was sleeping on one arm, the boy almost lying on top of her keeping guard.

Cooper went to reach for the male to examine him and that was when he started to bark, waking up his sister who began to cry.

“They don’t like to be apart. They were fine in the back when I had them in the sink together, but I think they are worried we are separating them.”

“Why don’t you bring his sister over and keep an eye on her while I examine the brother. Then we’ll switch. Hopefully if they can see each other they will be fine.”

Which they were. Both were put back into a crate together to nap while she and Cooper dealt with the rest of the dogs brought in. As much as she wanted to spend time with the siblings, there were other dogs she had to deal with and pictures to be taken.

Her phone went off later in the afternoon. She pulled it out of her pocket and read the text from Brian. I had a good time on Saturday. We forgot to exchange numbers so I had to wait until court ended to get yours in my office.

That just warmed her heart, telling her that maybe he was thinking the same as she was.

I had a great time Saturday too. At the shelter now and figured I’d call your office tomorrow if I hadn’t heard from you since I remembered I didn’t get your number either.

I’ll touch base with you later tonight. Need to run now. Didn’t want you to think I was ditching you, she read.

No, she didn’t think that in the least. Or not much. Maybe it was a fleeting thought. There was a connection there and she felt it strong and