by Emmy Eugene
“There he is,” Darren said. “Food’s on the stove, boss.”
Russ didn’t mind that they called him boss. It wasn’t a term of superiority, at least not to him. And it was vastly better than Rex’s “bro.”
He helped himself to the buns, sloppy Joe mix, and cheese slices before joining his friends at the table. “How’d things go down at the river today?” he asked Brian.
“Good enough,” the man said. “The lines all look good. There’s something else causing a problem with the pump.”
“Travis will have to go look at the wells,” Russ said. “I’ll talk to him about it.” He bit into his sandwich and groaned. “Brian, this is so great.”
“Thanks.” He grinned at Russ, who had some decent skills in the kitchen.
“Is Tomas coming?” he asked, reaching for the bag of chips in the middle of the table. Russ liked spending time with the cowboys who worked the ranch with him, as he felt it was always better to know the men he employed. That personal connection could keep good help around for a very long time, and Russ liked Brian, Tomas, and Darren.
“He’s out with Lucy tonight,” Darren said with a chuckle.
“Oh, wow,” Russ said. “I can’t wait to hear about that.”
No one asked him about Janelle, and he was glad for that. Brian started shuffling before Russ had finished eating, and Darren got out the poker chips they used to bet. No real money exchanged hands, and Russ did enjoy an evening or two with his friends, chatting and drinking peach lemonade.
“What are you doin’ for Christmas?” he asked Darren. He was from Corpus Christi, but he had a sister only thirty minutes down the road. “Going to Jess’s?”
“Probably,” Darren said. “I haven’t talked to her about it. She’s pregnant again.” He picked up his cards and looked at them.
“Wow, tell her congrats,” Russ said. “Is that number four?”
“Yep.” Darren concentrated on his cards, and Russ got the distinct feeling that he didn’t want to talk about his sister.
Which was fine with Russ. He studied his cards too, and put down two to trade in. He got nothing, but he put in a couple of red chips to play the hand anyway. Brian was the whiz at cards, and sure enough, he beat Russ and Darren over and over and over.
Completely satiated with potato chips and entirely tired of losing, Russ threw down his last hand about seven-twenty. “Okay, boys. I’m out.”
“Me too,” Darren said darkly. “I didn’t win a single hand.”
Brian smiled as he cleaned up the cards and poker chips. “It’s not real money,” he said.
“Good thing,” Darren responded. “I’m going to go sit outside and find something to carve.”
“Have you asked Travis to teach you?” Russ asked. “He’s great with a knife in his hand.”
“Not yet,” Darren said, and Russ knew he never would. Maybe he should mention it to Travis instead. But something told him not to, so Russ just picked up his cowboy hat, positioned it on his head, and left the cabin.
“All right, Acorn,” he said to the dogs when he entered the enclosure. “We’re moving you to Janelle’s stable.” One by one, he loaded up the six dogs he’d chosen for her, each of them seemingly excited to be in the back of his truck.
“Here we go,” he told them before climbing behind the wheel. His nerves accompanied him off the ranch, and he told himself he wouldn’t kiss Janelle. Therefore he had nothing to worry about.
Nothing at all.
Chapter Eight
Janelle wiped her hand through her hair as she tiptoed out of Kadence’s bedroom. Her youngest had demanded a story, then a drink, then a song before she’d settle down to sleep. Janelle had made the girls help in the stables again, as well as cleaning up all of their toys from the backyard. They’d checked the fences to make sure none of the dogs could get out, and Janelle had cleaned up an old pile of firewood she’d never used.
She had good intentions for a lot of things that simply never came to fruition. The firewood had been for a summer hot dog roast that she and the girls had never gotten around to. She didn’t want to have to explain such things to Russ, who should be arriving any moment.
He’d texted when he’d left the ranch, and that had been about the time Kadence had started crying because she was so thirsty. Thankfully, water could cure tears, and Janelle knew which songs would get Kadence to settle back down.
The house sat in silence, and that was Janelle’s absolute favorite sound. She texted Audrey to come on in, and Janelle went into the kitchen to get down a package of cookies. They hadn’t baked anything that afternoon, much to Kelly’s disgust.
But Janelle had made them work for more than an hour, and she’d barely had any energy left to cook dinner. She’d put together spaghetti and meatballs in a jiffy, put the girls in the tub, and checked homework before declaring it bedtime.
“It’s just me,” Audrey said as she entered. She carried her backpack with her, and she sat on the couch and pulled out a math textbook. “The girls are already down?”
“Yep,” Janelle said. “And I’ll just be in the backyard with Russ. He’s bringing all the dogs.” As if King knew Janelle was talking about his species, he lifted his head from the floor in front of the TV, where he’d taken up residence.
“Come on, boy,” she said to the dog, and he got up and ambled over to her. She scratched him behind his ears, knowing in that moment that she’d be keeping him. Kelly was particularly attached to the dog already, and Janelle didn’t have the heart to break her daughter’s.
Her thoughts roamed across Henry and how he’d broken so many things in her life, and in their daughter’s lives, as she put on a jacket and headed outside with King. “I couldn’t get the window open,” she told him. “But Russ said he’d bring some tools to do it.” She hoped the project wouldn’t be too loud so as to not wake the girls.
For some reason, she needed until Saturday to be ready to introduce them to him. She wasn’t even sure how that would go. “Kelly, Kadence,” she said. “This is my boyfriend, Russ Johnson.”
She stepped to the right, as if she were Russ. “Russ, my daughters, Kelly and Kadence.” She hated how formal she sounded. And did she need to use the word boyfriend?
He is your boyfriend, she thought. And the girls knew she’d been going out with him for two months. Still, she hadn’t introduced anyone as her boyfriend in such a long time. The word felt funny in her mouth.
“Boyfriend,” she said again, reaching up to touch her throat. “My boyfriend, Russ.”
“Talking about me?” he asked, and Janelle spun toward the sound of his voice, her heartbeat pittering in her chest. She couldn’t quite get a proper breath for how handsome he was, standing there haloed in the light from her back porch.
King barked once, but Janelle shushed the dog, who came to sit right beside her. She didn’t know what to say, and that literally never happened to Janelle and the lawyer inside her.
He smiled at her and hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Are you ready for this madness?”
“Totally ready,” she said, though her stomach had tied itself into a knot. Six dogs. What had she been thinking?
She followed him around the house to the front driveway, where six wiggling canines waited, amost all of them with their tongues hanging out of their mouths. King did bark then, and he didn’t stop.
“Hush,” she said, trying to get him to stop pacing at the back of the Russ’s truck.
“I’ll take him,” Russ said, reaching over the tailgate to get a leash. He attached it to King’s collar and said, “Stop. Sit.”
Miraculously, the dog stopped and sat. Russ handed her the leash, and King whined. He shushed the dog and got back to work, leashing the remaining dogs. They ranged in size, but none were smaller than twenty-five pounds probably. “I picked out the nicest ones,” he said. “The ones Seth has been working with the longest. They’re relatively calm, and they don’t bark, and they should be okay here.”
> “They’ll be okay,” Janelle promised. “We’ll take real good care of them.”
“Seth does adoptions on the last Saturday of every month,” Russ said. “But I don’t know if he’ll do it in December or not. What with him being gone and all.”
“Have you heard from him at all?” Janelle asked.
Russ lowered the tailgate and managed to keep all six dogs in the back of the truck at the same time. He turned and handed her two leashes. “You’ve got Acorn and Snowdrift. They won’t pull too much. I’ll bring the other four.” He added, “All right,” and all the dogs jumped out of the truck.
Janelle dang near got her arm ripped out of the socket, but she managed to hold onto Acorn and Snowdrift—and King—while Russ yipped at his dogs and they all sat down like he was their puppet master.
“Haven’t heard from Seth,” Russ said. “Travis said we can’t bother him unless there’s a lot of blood or a big fire.”
“Probably smart,” Janelle said with a smile. “I wouldn’t want to be bothered on my honeymoon either.”
Russ gave her a look out of the corner of his eye, and Janelle waited for the questions to start. He’d had a lot over the several weeks they’d been seeing each other, and she knew that look.
They’d talked about a lot as they’d been dating, but she had a feeling tonight’s conversation would put them on new ground.
“If you got married again,” he started. “Would you want another honeymoon?”
“I suppose so,” Janelle said. “It’s not something you only get once, you know.”
“I know,” he said, leading the dogs around the side of the house and through the gate. Janelle followed him, securing the gate behind her so she could let go of the dogs.
All of them set about sniffing everything in sight, including each other. King was especially interested in his new friends, and Janelle stood in the backyard with them while Russ went back to his truck to get his tools.
“Where would you go on your second honeymoon?” he asked when he returned.
“Well, Henry and I went to Hawaii on our first, so not there.”
“Somewhere else tropical?” Russ unclipped all the leashes and took them with him as he walked toward the stable in the back corner of the yard. He hung the leashes inside the building and went around it to work on the window.
Janelle just tagged along, grateful to be with him, even if it was only for an hour. “Sure,” she said. “I like tropical locations. But somewhere like Iceland or Alaska would be fun too.”
He paused and looked at her, surprise in his eyes. “It snows in places like that, you know.”
“Ha ha,” she said, teasing him. “Of course I know that. I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights.”
“Ah, I see.” He started probing around the edges of the window with a screwdriver, finally driving the tool into the crack and prying it open. “That would be beautiful.” He started back toward the gate again. “Let’s get the food and bowls.”
She once again went with him, asking, “Where would you go?”
“Anywhere,” he said, and it sounded a bit evasive to Janelle. She wanted to press him further, but he kneed one huge dog back and said, “Stay here, Benny. You’re not coming. No, none of you are coming.”
Janelle had the distinct feeling these dogs would not like her as much as they clearly liked Russ. But she helped him carry in food and water bowls, and she listened as he told her how to feed and water them, how much to give them, and when.
“Can they have their food in the stalls with them overnight?”
“If you want,” he said. “That’s not how we feed them at the ranch, but you can do what you want.”
“I’ll put them out here,” she said, lining up the food bowls in the small space outside the first couple of stalls. “Do they need constant access to water?”
“Water is good,” Russ said. “You can feed out here and put water in there. Don’t be alarmed if they share.”
Janelle nodded and got to work laying the bowls out where she wanted them. “Have they been fed tonight?”
“Yep.” He put the second bag of dog food beside the first. “So in the morning, you give them all a scoop of food. They can come in and out of the stables throughout the day. They’ll be fine in the backyard.”
Part of Janelle wanted them all to come sleep on her bed with her. Then she remembered how much space King took up, and how stubborn he was about moving if he laid on her blanket the wrong way, and those thoughts dried right up.
With everything done, Janelle faced Russ again. “You have your family dinner tomorrow night, right?”
“Yes.” He drew her into his arms, his touch warm and welcome. “You haven’t introduced anyone as your boyfriend in a long time, have you?”
“No,” she whispered against his neck. His cologne made her pulse accelerate, and the hardness of his muscles in his chest and arms provided her with a sense of safety.
“You have a couple more days to practice,” he said, his lips right at her ear. “Good day at the firm?”
Janelle thought about Henry’s visit, and she wanted to tell Russ. But the words wouldn’t come. He didn’t need to know anyway. Henry was not coming back into her life, though she’d never truly be rid of him.
“Yes,” she said. “You? How’s the ranch?”
“Oh, we’ve got some issues,” he said, the same as he always did. He grinned at her. “But we’ll get them sorted out.”
“When does the excavator come?”
“Tomorrow,” he said, a new twinkle entering his eye.
“So you’ll call me and tell me about it,” she said, laughing.
“Sure thing, sweetheart,” he said. “I think we’re good here. Are you feeling okay about having seven dogs?”
A keen sense of being overwhelmed hit her, and Janelle exhaled in a low hiss as she glanced around at all the four-legged friends she was now responsible for. “Yes,” she said, though she didn’t feel it. “We can do this.”
She wanted to help Russ if she could. Having the dogs here would definitely keep him in her life, and that was where Janelle wanted him.
“Did you bring hot chocolate tonight?” she asked.
“No, ma’am,” he said. “I was playing cards with Darren until right before I came.”
“Ah, I see.” She smiled at him and stepped over to the stables. “Lucky for us, I put some cookies out here. Want to sit with me for a while?”
Russ reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “Out here?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I have a swing on the back porch. It’s not terribly cold.”
“And you’ll keep me warm anyway,” he said, his voice husky.
“I think it’s you who’s going to keep me warm tonight,” she said. “Well, and these cookies.” She lifted the package and walked down the path that led back to the house. They sat in the swing together, and she offered Russ the box of cookies.
He took several, and they watched the dogs interact in the yard. A couple of them came to sit right at Russ’s feet, and Janelle enjoyed the calm presence of them. “Thanks for brining the dogs here,” she said.
“Thanks for taking them,” he said. “I think we’re going to have to turn away anyone else who stops by with a dog. The Humane Society can take them.”
“They only get thirty days at the Humane Society,” Janelle said, frowning. She did not like that place, and she didn’t want even one dog to go there and risk not getting adopted.
“We’ll build the new enclosure as quickly as we can,” he said, pushing them gently with the tip of his cowboy boot.
Janelle snuggled into his side, because she could listen to the low, rumbling sound of his voice forever. “Tell me what you’re thinking,” she said.
“I’m thinking about how much I’d like to kiss you,” he said, no hesitation and no embarrassment in his voice.
“Hmm, you better do it then.” She tipped her head back and looked up at him. He lowered his
head toward her—just as a wail filled the air.
Janelle looked over her shoulder and through the window into the house. Audrey had Kadence in her arms, trying to soothe her.
“I should go,” Russ said, standing up. “I’ll see you…Saturday morning?”
“Maybe we could go out Friday night,” she said. “Out. Away from crying kids.”
“I’m free Friday night,” he said.
“Great,” she said as Kadence’s cries continued. “I’ll see you then.” She stepped into his arms and swept a kiss across his cheek, wanting so much more.
“Come on, guys,” he said, walking toward the stables as some sort of Dog Whisperer. All the canines went with him, and he secured them in the stables. King came back with him, and Russ saluted her as he went around the house, and she heard him tell King he wasn’t coming with him and to go on back to Janelle.
Then Russ was gone, leaving her with seven dogs and a crying seven-year-old. Janelle heaved a sigh as King came trotting around the corner of the house and together, they went in the back door. “I’ll take her, Audrey. You can go on home.”
“Sorry, Mrs. Stokes.” And Audrey looked sorry too.
“It’s fine.” She gave her a smile. “Thanks for coming over. You were a great help.” She took Kadence and sat in the recliner, already humming to her daughter. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander.
All she could do was think about kissing Russ again, and she dozed with a smile on her face.
Chapter Nine
Russ felt like maybe he’d missed his true calling in life—driving heavy machinery. Nothing brought him as much satisfaction as sitting in that seat, the whole world in front of him while he created something where nothing had been before.
And the best part? Travis had marked everything out for him, so all Russ had to do was learn the controls—easy as apple pie—and start digging.
Exhilaration moved through him as he removed scoopful after scoopful of earth, making a neat pile several yards away from the foundation. Not only that, but he’d get to start using power tools that afternoon too, while the cement trucks poured the foundation. Russ liked power tools almost as much as horses—but not quite as much as driving big trucks and tractors.
