Wild Country (The World of the Others #2)- Anne Bishop Page 0,75

release command, Tobias waded through the dogs until he reached the deputy. “You looking for a dog to ride shotgun?”

“I’ve been thinking about adopting one of the dogs, but I’ll mostly be on horseback when I’m on duty,” Jana replied, petting the dog, who had reached her first.

Tobias crouched and studied the young bitch. Not more than a few months old. Lots of energy. She would be a good fit for the deputy, and she’d be a good fit with the right horse. Question was, was Deputy Paniccia riding the right horse?

He handed Jana one of the leashes. “She’ll suit you.”

“You can tell that, can you?” Jana asked dryly.

“Yes, ma’am, I can. I have a feel for animals.”

“Feel? You’re an Intuit?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She gave him an assessing look. “What about Wolves? Do you have a feel for the snarlies?”

If she hadn’t looked ashamed for saying that, he wouldn’t have answered. “That’s a conversation for another time and place,” he said quietly. “But I can tell you that if you use a disrespectful word for someone when you think about them, sooner or later you’re going to slip up and say it out loud, maybe even within the individual’s hearing, and whatever trust you had built will be gone and you will never get it back.”

“I know that—and I know better. Heard enough disrespectful words thrown in my direction when I was at the police academy, and I swore I wouldn’t do that to someone else. But he’s so frustrating.”

He’d only known her for a few minutes, but the way she moved and the look in her eyes told him Jana Paniccia had pluck, so he didn’t need to ask whom she found frustrating. And he didn’t doubt for a moment that Virgil found his new deputy equally frustrating. Only thing was, if pushed, Virgil would do more than bruise feelings. “Well, you’re thinking like a human, and he’s thinking like a Wolf. And not just a Wolf—he’s the dominant Wolf and you’re part of his pack.”

“So I should learn my place?”

Tobias nodded. “Sooner you do that, the better you’ll get along with him.” He looked over at a couple of playpens set up in a spot that had been shady but was rapidly changing to full sun. “I have to get people and critters settled today, but I’ll come back tomorrow and we’ll have that talk.”

“All right. Thanks.”

“Hold them for a minute.” He gave Jana the border collies’ leashes before he walked over to the playpens, which held the puppies. A few were youngsters barely weaned. But there was one … Still had her puppy fuzz, but old enough to have been housebroken—he hoped. He picked her up and cuddled her against his chest while she desperately tried to give him kisses.

He wasn’t sure if she was a particular breed or a mongrel. Didn’t matter. There was something about this one that gave him a strong feeling that she was the right one.

“Want to come with me and meet my mother?” he whispered.

Wag wag. Kiss kiss.

“Ms. Debany? I’ll need a collar for this one.”

Barb Debany studied the pup. “I’ll get a collar and a harness. That might work better. The storage place has dog beds and crates and whatever else you’ll need.” She dashed inside and returned a minute later with a choice of collars and harnesses.

He got the puppy fitted out, collected the border collies, loaded up the cats, and left Barb Debany to do her routine feeding and cleanup, while Deputy Paniccia drove off with her new friend. As he and Ed drove to the building that was serving as a warehouse for household goods and was supposed to have everything the dogs would need, he wondered if his mother was going to take one look at the puppy and then pick up her rifle and shoot him.

* * *

* * *

Pulling up in front of the household goods warehouse, Jana looked at the dog curled up on the seat beside her. She needed to pick up what Rusty would need but couldn’t leave the dog in the vehicle. She could go to the office and put Rusty in the Me Time cell, but she didn’t want Virgil or Kane to find the dog before she got back—and she didn’t want to imagine what she might find when she got back if she did leave Rusty alone in the office before she told the Wolves she had adopted the dog.

“Deputy?”

She looked at the man who had helped her load