Without giving him a chance to respond she narrowed her eyes at him making him take a step back. “You should take him with you. I’m not bitter or anything, but I hope he shits a splinter after what he did to my door.”
Justin smiled before replying smartly, “Actually that paneling isn’t solid wood. If it was it would have been too hard to chew through.”
Her brows furrowed in confusion so he continued to explain. “It’s not wood so he won’t get a splinter.”
She remained looking at him with wide eyes and a look of utter irritation. “So…no splinters as punishment?”
“No splinters. I’m sorry. I’ll fix it tomorrow if you want, after I get the tools and supplies.”
“Don’t worry about it, you’re still recovering. I’m not extremely concerned about appearances anyways. I was just annoyed and a bit surprised at all the destruction one dog can cause.”
After a brief hesitation in which the dog whined, she asked, “So, what’s his problem anyway?”
Justin’s grin lit up the room and he laughed. “I’m sorry again, but I don’t speak dog. I’m a wolf.”
Sighing dramatically, she rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. “You know what I mean.”
Justin shrugged, “If I had to venture a guess it would be he has to go to the bathroom, or he’s teething, or he simply didn’t like being locked up.” He paused for a moment before leaning toward her and sniffing, “Or you’re perfume is too strong and he doesn’t like it. Dogs have very sensitive noses.” He tapped his nose in sympathy.
“Did you just smell me? That’s creepy, don’t do it again.”
Justin pulled back and asked, “Well, I came to pick up Carter for the moon run. It’s time. Do you want me to take the dog out before we go?”
“Carter isn’t going to the moon run. We’ve never gone and we don’t intend to start now.”
Just then Carter came bounding down the steps and stood right in front of Justin. Throwing his arms around Justin’s legs he almost toppled to the ground. “I can’t wait. This is fixin’ to be real fun, Mister Justin. Can we go now?”
Justin looked searchingly into Carter’s eyes and truly only saw the boy’s enthusiasm. “Uh, Carter, remember we talked about telling you mom about the moon run? You said she said it was okay, but by the way she’s staring daggers at me, I’m gonna assume you didn’t ask.”
His little chubby cheeks turned red and he looked down to the ground shuffling his feet. “Well…see, Mama don’t like the moon run and says it’s only for big boys and girls. But my friend Trevor, he says that its fun and the big boys and girls stay together and the little ones stay together. It’s what yer supposed ta do in a pack.” He turned pleading eyes to his mother, “Right, Mama?”
Justin watched with fascination as she smiled at her son, her teeth grinding before she ventured a response. “We’re a part of a pack, but we’ve discussed the moon run and you’re not going. It’s for adults and I can’t supervise you there-”
Justin interrupted, “Sure you can. I’ll take you both-“
She hissed, almost sounding like an annoyed cat, causing Carter to stomp his foot and yell. “It’s not fair, Mama. I never gets to do pack stuffs ‘cuz you won’t let me. I’m tellin’.”
“Now, I’m your Mama and you better show me some respect.”
Carter spun on his heel and looked at her. Sticking his nose in the air, he said. “Respect is earned and you have to give respect in order to get respect.” His eyebrows rose, “Right, Mama?”
Justin chuckled at Carter’s mimicry. He knew it was a perfect imitation, because his mother had given him that very same lecture a time or four. “Carter, maybe we can go next time. I’ll leave you both to sort things out.”
As agile as a woman he’d ever seen, Dee jumped in front of him to halt his forward progress toward the door. “Oh no you don’t, mister. You’re responsible for this mess, so I expect you to fix it.”
Lifting his shoulders in a shrug he shot back, “Okay, lil’ Buddy, let’s go.”
His little grin split his face and he ran towards Justin again jumping into his arms. “Thanks Mister Justin, I knew you was a good boy ‘cuz Trevor says so. Come on, Mama, it’s gonna be super fun.”
Shaking with rage, Dee just stood there. The pulse at the base of her neck was fluttering wildly like she was afraid. He attempted to scent her, but that disgusting perfume was permeating the air and messing with his nose.