“Hello, Gayle.” He moves past me and she pulls him into a hug. “We’re just doing the rounds.”
“Oh, that.” She waves it away. “We’re fine. You’ve more than made sure of that.” She grips his shoulders and looks up at him. “We support you. No matter what.”
There it is again, the sheer loyalty Hades commands. He does it without threats or making lavish promises. His people will follow him to the end of the earth simply because he respects them and does his best to see they’re taken care of. It’s a powerful thing to witness.
He nods. “Appreciate it.”
She drops her hands and grins again. “Don’t suppose today is finally the day I convince you to get a dog or two so you aren’t haunting that giant house by yourself?”
I perk up. “Dogs?”
She finally looks at me, and her attitude cools a little. “We don’t normally keep any dogs but Old Man Joe in the shop.” She motions behind her at a dog bed that I thought contained a bunch of towels. A head lifts and I realize it’s not towels at all. It’s a Komondor dog. He shakes his hair out of his eyes and gives a big yawn.
“Oh my gods,” I whisper. “Hades, look at that magnificent creature.”
“I see,” he says drily.
Gayle shrugs. “Like I was saying, we don’t normally keep dogs here, but Jessie found a box of them by Cypress Bridge. I don’t know if someone from the upper city decided to dump them there or if it was one of ours, but…” She sighs. “People can be real assholes sometimes.”
I manage to drag my attention away from the dog at that. “They just dumped them there?” I have absolutely no business feeling a kinship for these puppies I’ve never seen, but I can’t deny that it feels like a strange twist of fate. “Can we see them?”
“Yeah.” She jerks her thumb over her shoulder. “We have them back here. They look like they were old enough to be weaned, so that’s a silver lining.”
I’m already moving, slipping past Hades and Gayle in the direction she indicated. Sure enough, there is a large box set up near the back of the shop. I lean over and look in and gasp. “Oh my gods.”
There are three of them, all perfectly black. I’m not quite sure of the breed—I suspect they’re mutts—but they’re cute as they sleep in a puppy pile against one corner. I reach out, then stop to look at Gayle. “May I?”
“By all means.” Most of the frostiness is gone from her when she looks at me, and I’m certain I see amusement lingering in her dark eyes. “I take it you’re a dog person.”
“I’m an equal-opportunity pet person.” I go to my knees next to the box and reach down to run a gentle hand over the back of the puppy on top of the pile. “I like cats, too. Fish, I can take or leave.”
“Noted.” Now Gayle is definitely fighting back laughter, but that’s okay. I don’t mind her finding me amusing.
“Hades, look.”
He sinks to his knees next to me. “I’m looking.” There’s something strange in his tone, and it’s enough to get me to drag my attention from the puppies. Oh my gods, they’re so soft.
I study his face. He looks almost pained. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I wrinkle my nose. “Your words are saying ‘nothing’ but your expression is saying something else altogether.”
He sighs, but not like he’s irritated. More like he’s giving in. “They’re very cute.” He reaches down and lifts one carefully into his arms. Now he really looks pained. “They shouldn’t have been left like that.”
I’m aware of Gayle moving back to the computer with the woman who must be her mother, giving us space and at least the illusion of privacy. “It happens a lot, especially if they aren’t purebred. They’re essentially worthless to breeders and just more mouths to feed. It’s crappy.”
“Crappy,” Hades echoes. The puppy nuzzles his chest and settles into his arms with a sigh. He strokes its head with a single finger like he’s afraid of hurting it. “It’s a terrible thing not to be wanted.”
My heart gives a painful twist. I speak before giving myself a chance to think. “You should adopt one. She’s right about that big, empty house, and no one loves like a dog. He or she will win you over before you know it.”
He contemplates the puppy, still petting it methodically. “It’s not a good idea.”
“Why?”
“It’s easier not to care.”
I might laugh if there was any air left in the room. Hades might pretend he doesn’t care, but this man cares more than any other I’ve ever met. He tries too hard to hold people at a distance, but he obviously hasn’t noticed how epically he’s failed. I’m not sure I should be the one to tell him, that it’s my place to pull back the curtain and show him the truth of his circumstances. I’m not a permanent fixture in his life. The thought leaves me feeling hollow.
Suddenly, I’m determined to convince him to buy this puppy. The thought of Hades wandering the halls of his house alone after I leave, a lord of emptiness and sorrow… I can’t stand it. I can’t let it happen. “Hades, you should adopt the puppy.”
He finally looks at me. “This is important to you.”
“Yes.” When he just waits, I give him a sliver of the truth. “Everyone should have a pet at least once in their lives. It’s such a blessing, and I think it would make you happy. I like the thought of you happy, Hades.” The last comes out almost like a confession. Like a secret, just between us.
He stares at me a long time, and I’m
