Bucking the Rules(48)

Bea picked him up and thrust him at Trace. “Hold that. I have to clean this up before Peyton or Emma sees it.”

Trace held the dog at arm’s length. Those bug eyes really did freak him out a little. “You know, you keep that up and Emma’s going to feed you to the barn cats.”

The dog stared back, unimpressed.

“They’re bigger than you are, and mean as spit.”

He cocked his head to one side, considering the insult.

“Or she might just make you sleep in the barn.”

At that, the dog seemed to realize perhaps piddling on the floor wasn’t the best choice. He began his whine again, that nails-on-a-chalkboard noise making Trace want to rip his eardrums out. “Stop.”

The sound grew louder.

“Hell.” Trace brought the dog to his chest, holding him the way he used to hold Seth when he burped him. The dog quieted down immediately and snuffled into his neck. His wet nose made Trace tilt his head away. “Jesus, don’t do that.”

“Oh, look, he likes you. He’s bonding with his uncle Trace.” Bea hustled back in with a wad of paper towels and some carpet cleaner.

Amazed, Trace watched Bea clean the spot. “I didn’t realize you even knew what carpet cleaner looked like.”

“I spend most of my day in the house with Emma. Trust me, I’ve seen carpet cleaner.” She scrubbed furiously, a woman possessed.

“Why are you even over here? You have your own apartment now. You could leave him there.”

“No, I can’t. He has separation anxiety.”

“He has what?” Trace looked at the dog again. For something that weighed fifteen pounds, max, he came with a lot of problems.

“Abandonment issues. I mean, he hasn’t had a great life, Trace.” She looked up and cooed at Milton. “No, you haven’t. But now you have a nice life, don’t you?”

“So you’re over here because …”

“My place doesn’t have Internet yet. I had a Skype date with a friend back home.” She sat back on her heels and evaluated the spot. “If either of those two see this, he’s doomed. He already christened one of Peyton’s boots the other day.”

Trace looked at the dog. “And you’re still alive?”

The dog licked his neck in response.

“Yes, because Peyton isn’t heartless … completely. But I’m not willing to push it.” She stood and threw the paper towels in the trash can. “There. Hardly noticeable.”

Except for the fact the carpet was wet.

Bea seemed to sense this. “Okay, so … maybe she won’t come in her office for a few hours.”

As if realizing that was a vain hope, Bea reached out for the dog. “Come here, baby. We’ll go for a nice, long walk.”

“Why is it,” Trace mused, “when I hand you Seth, you act like he’s a ticking time bomb? But you hold that animal in your arms like he’s the most precious thing you’ve ever seen?”

“Because he is. Isn’t he sweet?” She held the dog up for inspection.

What Trace saw was an underbite, those creepy bug eyes, and ribs sticking out.

“Whacha doing?” she asked, craning her neck around to see the computer.

“Nothing.” He quickly hit the power button to the monitor. “Go feed him something. He’s too damn skinny.”

She shrugged, as if already forgetting she’d asked him anything. “He’s on a specific weight-gaining diet. He’ll fill out, won’t you, sweetie?”

It amused Trace no end that his sister, who refused responsibility as easily as most people refused brussels sprouts at the dinner table, had willingly taken on another living thing as her own. And was willing to clean up the mess afterward in order to save the responsibility’s worthless hide.

Maybe she was changing.

Bea headed out of the office, dog slung over her shoulder. The frog’s legs flopped against her back. “Come on upstairs, Milton. I ordered you a cardigan online and it came in this morning. Let’s go have a fashion show!”

Or not.

Trace pulled out his cell phone and quickly texted the name of the restaurant to Jo. She wouldn’t answer right away, he assumed, since she was likely working. So he pocketed the phone, headed to the kitchen, and made himself a sandwich. Carrying the sandwich, wrapped in a paper towel, to the front porch, he found Emma and Seth playing with the still unnamed dog he’d brought home from the shelter.

“Hey, little man.” He sat down and watched in amazement as his son crawled to him. That he could get around on his own now was such an awesome thing. “Soon enough, you’ll be too big to crawl. You’ll be walking all over this place.”