“Let me show you where to sit, young man,” I hear Aggie telling Jonah. “Stella will sniff you a bit and she’ll decide if you’re someone her puppies can be around.”

I head in after them, curious to see how this plays out.

Aggie’s quarters that she shares with Dottie are always a bit of a clusterfuck. Aggie’s wigs are on styrofoam mannequin heads, all of them piled together in a corner to form a terrifying-looking sort of sasquatch, and blankets are everywhere, along with dog toys. Dottie’s the tidy one of the two of them, which means that Aggie’s been throwing stuff everywhere. Nearby, she’s pulled open her solar-powered flashlight lantern, throwing a bit of light into the room for her to see by. She’s pulled a folding chair up next to the faded swimming pool, and Jonah is seated in it, his hands out and Stella’s slobbery muzzle is planted on him.

He’s ecstatic, though. He doesn’t seem to mind the drool and rubs her face all over, grinning so hard his face might break. “Hi Stella. Aren’t you a good girl?” He turns slightly toward Aggie, who’s pulling a stool close so she can sit down. “What is her coloring?”

“She’s a beautiful gold and black.”

“Like a German shepherd?” Jonah asks.

“Like a mutt,” I chime in. “And she’s a bunch of different colors mottled together. Gold and black is a bit more poetic sounding than she really is.”

He strokes Stella’s massive head, his fingers moving over one ear. “She doesn’t feel like she has a curly coat. You sure she’s a goldendoodle?”

“She might be. Then again, maybe her momma was named Doodle. I don’t recall exactly.” Aggie shrugs, putting up a hand to avoid Stella’s happily whipping tail. “All you need to know is that Stella is the best companion and I bet her babies will be, too.”

There’s a whine from one of the puppies as it wakes up, and Stella goes into the pool-nest and licks one of the babies, which leads to even more whimpering and crying. The dog settles back in, lying on her side so her babies can nurse.

Aggie waves me forward. “Don’t just stand there hovering in the doorway, Dakota. I’m tired from all this fussing. Hand him one of the babies and let’s get him a puppy to hold.”

I pick my way forward, stepping around legs and chairs. “Boy or girl?” I ask Jonah. “Preference to anything?”

“Just happy and healthy,” he says, putting his hands out.

One of the nearest puppies is just now waking up. It yawns with the pinkest, tiny little mouth, and my heart aches with how precious it is. I scoop it up with two hands and carefully give it to Jonah. “I’m not sure which one this one is. I wasn’t part of the naming.”

“That one’s Sleepy,” Aggie says in a soft voice. “And she’s one of my favorites.”

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CHAPTER 106

DAKOTA

Jonah cradles the puppy so carefully that it makes my heart ache. “It’s so small.”

“It’s still a tiny baby,” Aggie says. “I don’t even know if it’s been two weeks yet. Gonna be a while before it gets as big as Stella.”

His eyes are wet as he cradles it against his chest. His hands look enormous as he holds it, but the puppy just yawns and settles in against him. “Can you describe her to me a bit?”

“Well…she looks like a blob,” Aggie says helpfully.

“Oh lord,” I say, and decide to step in. I study the puppy in his hands. “Jonah, she’s got a black muzzle. I don’t know if it’s short or long. Mid-length, I guess. It’s a little wrinkly but it might be because she’s so little. Stella has a really long nose and jowls, so it’s safe to say that this one might have that, too. She’s got two gold spots over her eyes and the rest of her is a brownish black down her neck. Past her shoulders, she’s mostly white, but she’s got speckles of darker colors, too. And her belly is pink.”

“She sounds amazing.”

“She’s pretty cute,” I agree. The puppy yawns and makes a baby sound as she does, and all three of us melt with a chorus of “awws.”

Aggie looks over at the other puppies. “Doc looks like he’s not nursing. You wanna hold him, too?”

“Doc?” Jonah’s head lifts. “You named them after the seven dwarves?”

“Well, yeah. There’s nine of them. We’ve got a Prince Charming and a Snow White, too. Too many to name ’em after the cast of Friends.”

“Nine puppies. That’s incredible.” He shakes his head and lifts the sleeping puppy closer to his face, gently rubbing his cheek against the tiny paws. “And if it’s all right, I’ll just hold this one for a bit.”

“Take your time. We ain’t going anywhere.” Aggie’s smile is pleased. It’s clear she likes how besotted Jonah is with the puppies. I get it. Baby animals of all kinds are adorable, and Jonah is dazzled by getting to meet the puppies. He’s a good pick if Aggie is truly going to give one away.

Hell, Rabbit’s going to be ecstatic on his behalf.

I…wonder if I need to have The Talk with her.

Dear God.

Again, I feel a ripple of amusement moving through me, and somewhere out there, Murr is picking up my vibes and laughing to himself. Fair enough. I can acknowledge when I’m overreacting.

“Nine puppies is a lot for us,” Aggie says, her words slow. Her gaze seeks out mine, and she gives me a pointed look even as she speaks to Jonah. “We’ve already got a lot of cats here and it’d break my heart if the dogs chased them or made them scared. You know Murr lives for those cats and they were here first. I might be needing homes for more than just one puppy. Can you think of any kids in the fort that might need a therapy dog? Or hell, even just a buddy? And that would make sure they had a good home?”

Jonah goes still. He carefully pets Sleepy’s tiny head, his fingers smoothing one of the many wrinkles in her baby snout. “There’s a few kids, yeah. I know one or two that have lost their parents. Another one that has bad anxiety, but Dad doesn’t have the medicine to help her. I’m not sure they can pay, if I’m being honest.”

Aggie’s hands go to her hips. “Do I look like a fort, trying to squeeze every last penny out of people? Don’t answer that.”

“No, ma’am,” Jonah says politely.

“Sometimes doing the right thing doesn’t involve money or trading or whatever.” Aggie waves a hand in the air. “When I was a little girl, I didn’t have a lot of kids my age who lived nearby. I grew up on a farm, and I was the only kid. My dog was my best friend. And I’m thinking maybe others need a best friend, too.”

“A dog is really valuable.” He never stops petting the puppy in his hands. “I just worry someone is going to take advantage of a kid that gets a dog from you.”

“Well, you’ll just have to have Thess get on their asses. I know that young lady won’t let anyone steal a dog from a kid. She’s a good sort, and you can tell her I said that. You can tell your dad that, too.”

Oh lord. “Aggie.”

“I’m just saying. She’d probably make a good stepmom.”

“Aggie.”

“Just pointing things out,” Aggie says cheerfully. “Some men don’t know what’s in front of their faces until it bites their nose off. Your daddy’s a busy man, but tell him to make sure he ain’t so busy he doesn’t think about himself…or what’s right in front of his nose.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jonah replies, his mouth twitching with amusement. “I’ll be sure to pass it on.”

“As for the puppies, I’m just speculating out loud. No one’s getting a dog until you pick out which one you want anyhow. And maybe if it’s dangerous for people to receive them from us, they’ll have to receive them from, say, that Lord Azar that runs the fort. I bet if he handed them out to the people we said, they wouldn’t steal from them.”