Prissy had put a soft circular bed for the new mom and her litter in the corner of the room. The puppies were nursing when Sandi approached. Sandi and Prissy oohed and aahed. As if Margaret knew her offspring were the objects of human admiration, she wagged her tail.
“Oh, Prissy, they are so precious. I’m glad you’ve already given them away. I don’t know if I could’ve resisted one. And God knows, I cannot handle another pet. The only thing missing from my life now is an ark. I even got a gerbil the other day.”
“Where’d you get a gerbil?”
“The kid down the street didn’t want it anymore. He came to my house and knocked at my door and asked me if I wanted it. His dad was going to hit it with a hammer.”
Prissy’s palms flew up, her fingers splayed. “Oh, no! Thank God you saved it.”
“I know, right? It’s cute. It’s black and white and the cats are fascinated by it. I think, or I should say I hope, it’s a male. I named him Hammerhead.”
Frowning, Prissy pressed a forefinger against her cheek. “Hm. Well, under the circumstances, that seems appropriate. I’ll bet Jake had plenty to say about him.”
“I’ll say. You know what he said when I first brought him home? He squawked and said ‘Lunch.’”
“Did that mean he wanted to eat him? I thought he ate vegetables.”
Sandi shrugged and laughed. “We didn’t discuss it. He might’ve been talking about the cats. His relationship with them is different from how he behaves with the dogs. He plays with the dogs, but he pesters the cats.”
Prissy laughed, too. “That Jake. He’s such a card.”
Just then, one of the puppies wriggled free. “Oh, look,” Sandi said. “That one is the same color as Waffle. What a cute pair they’d make.”
“Hell, Sandi, Waffle might be the father for all I know,” Prissy said. She placed a cupped hand to her mouth and whispered, “I don’t think Margaret was very selective.”
The sound of the shop’s front door opening interrupted the conversation. “I’ll be right back.” Prissy turned and left for her front room.
One of the puppies had finished nursing and ventured to the side of the dog bed. Sandi picked him up, giggling at the sight of his little pink tongue sticking out. “Just look at you. Aren’t you sweet?”
Prissy re-appeared. Sandi knew Prissy only casually, but reading her oh-my-God facial expression wasn’t hard. Close on her heels was the reason for the expression.
It was definitely a man worthy of the Oh-My- God response. He was tall and well built. Sandi was five-feet-eight herself, so men who exceeded six feet always caught her attention. He wore a starched button-down shirt, starched and ironed Wranglers that hugged his trim hips, cowboy boots and hat, the uniform of the area. But on him, it looked better than on most. He had striking strong features, but his crystal blue eyes set off by thick dark brows and lashes sealed the deal.
His mouth tipped into a lopsided grin and he touched the brim of his cowboy hat. “Ma’am.”
“Sandi,” Prissy gushed, “this is Nick ... er, uh, I’m sorry.” She giggled and batted her lashes. “I forgot your last name.”
“It’s Conway, ma’am.”
Oh, God. He had a devastating voice. It dripped with honey. A drawling Texas twang added to it.
“Did you, uh, come to see your baby?” Sandi asked, returning the little one in her arms to its mother’s side.
“No, ma’am. I came to see a dog.”
Oh, no. Was this who was going to take the last little boy? Sandi didn’t expect him to react to the puppies the way she had, but he could show some kind of emotion. What kind of person could look at a bed full of squirming puppies and not want to hold every one of them?
Sandi looked at Prissy, but she was still staring up at the stranger, awe-struck.
“Prissy said you’re interested in a male?” Sandi said to him.
“How many males did she have?” the man asked Prissy.
Prissy snapped her attention back to the present. “Males?...Oh, yes, males. Several. But there’s just the one that isn’t spoken for. I’ve found homes for all the others.”
Prissy squatted beside the bed and picked up the golden puppy Sandi had just put down. Shrill little puppy barks came from the others. Prissy allowed Margaret to sniff her baby then turned to Nick. “This is him. He looks like a brick of gold, doesn’t he?”
“Yeah, I like his color. I had a dog sort of that color once.”
“Do you think your, uh, wife will like him? I mean, I wouldn’t want to give him to a home where everybody didn’t like him.”
“Don’t have a wife.”
I don’t wonder, Sandi thought.
“Oh, I see,” Prissy gushed.
“I can take him with me now,” he said.
“Oh, not yet. Like I said on the phone, it’ll be a couple more weeks before they’re ready to leave their mama.”
“I’ll be back in two weeks then.” He touched the brim of his hat again. “Nice to meet you.”
Prissy followed him to the entrance. Once he was through the doorway, she closed the door and fell back against it. “My God, that is a good-looking man. And he’s single. Where do you suppose he’s been hiding?”
“Humph. Where’s he hiding a personality is more what I was thinking,” Sandi said. “It’s a good thing he’s got looks.”
“I thought he was nice.”
“You should’ve seen yourself, Prissy. You wouldn’t have cared if he had robbed you. I don’t think you should let him have that puppy.”
Prissy frowned. “Why?”
“He didn’t strike me as having a lot of compassion for dogs. Or concern for their welfare.”
“He wants a ranch dog. He’s a cowboy. Cowboys like dogs.”
“Who knows what ranch dog means or what he might expect a dog to do? I don’t think that guy likes anything. I just think you shouldn’t let him have something as precious as that darling little puppy.”
Listen to yourself,
