to heft a black puppy up and over the gate, and thankfully, Donald stepped in and took the dog from Link’s skinny arms.
“I think I like the black ones,” he said to Lincoln, crouching down so Lincoln could get all the puppy’s love without having to hold the animal. “You don’t like them?”
“I like ‘em,” Link said, looking from the dog to Donald. “I just think you can see the eyes better on the gray ones.”
“That’s probably true.” Donald cuddled the puppy and then lifted it over the gate again. He stepped inside and started interacting with all the puppies, but the one in Cactus’s arms had settled right down. He rested his head against his chest, right above his heartbeat, and Cactus knew he’d be taking this dog home with him.
He stroked the canine, a perfect calmness filling him. He probably should’ve heeded Dr. Thompson’s advice about getting a dog months ago, but he hadn’t believed something as simple as a puppy could rid him of the anxiety and anger he’d carried for so long.
One of the pups kept barking, and Cactus would never pick him. Donald passed by him too, and Cactus turned to Mother. “What do you think?”
“I think that puppy has you wrapped around his paw already.” She smiled at Cactus and patted his shoulder. “You’re just going to get one?”
“I don’t know.” He slid the dog he held into his mother’s arms and joined Donald in the pen. Several of the puppies came up to him, and Emily told him the ones with collars had already been claimed.
He wanted a dog that liked people, not the one that shied away from him and stayed in the corner. He didn’t want one that was too aggressive, like the one who’d jumped up on him. Or one too vocal, like the one still crying at Donald’s feet.
There were plenty of other choices, and he bent to pick up a black pup without a collar. This one went right for his face too, and he turned his head. He thought he’d like a pair, and he had the money. Two dogs weren’t really more work than one, especially if he was taking them at the same time. He’d be going out anyway. He’d be feeding them anyway. He’d be leash training anyway.
“I like this one too,” he said to Emily.
“That’s Rosa,” she said. “The gray one is Louis. You can name them whatever you want, of course. But you’ve got a black girl and a gray boy.”
“I want them both,” he said.
“And I want this one,” Donald said, that black pup back in his arms.
Emily grinned at them and said, “Let me get the paperwork printed. You guys are ready to take them today?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” Link said, jumping up and down. Mother laughed and drew him away from his friend to hold the calm, gray dog she held. Cactus stepped out of the pen with the black dog, and he handed it to Ollie so he could sign paperwork and pay for his new puppies.
Back in the car, Aurora giggled in the back seat as the puppies kept climbing all over her and Ollie.
“You two okay back there?” he asked.
“Yes, sir,” Ollie said, laughing with Aurora. “I’m going to ask my dad about getting a dog. These are so cute.”
Cactus said nothing, but he hoped Tripp Walker wouldn’t be too upset. If someone didn’t have a dog, there was usually a reason why.
His phone rang, and Ranger’s name came up on the screen. Cactus reached out and tapped the phone icon to connect the call, giving the car a moment to allow the sound to come through the speakers. “Hey, Range.”
“Sammy and Bear just left the ranch. Her contractions are four and a half minutes apart, though they’re not lasting a full minute. They want you and Link there.”
Cactus’s pulse went nuts, and he pulled to the side of the road, trying to think. “Okay,” he said. “Do you need me to call anyone?”
“I’m putting it on the family text right now,” Ranger said. “I just called you, because you have Link.”
“Right.” He started nodding, the landscape beyond the windshield blurring. He got thrown back almost twelve years, to the birth of his own son. This panic felt so familiar, and he pushed against it so he could think clearly.
“Ollie, can I drop you and Aurora at her place? Or yours?”
“Either,” Ollie said.
“My mom will probably go to the hospital,” Aurora said. “Should I just go with