Текст книги "The Dragon's Favorite Strays"
Автор книги: Ruby Dixon
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Текущая страница: 24 (всего у книги 26 страниц)
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CHAPTER 105
DAKOTA
“Oh wow, it smells like a bookstore in here,” Jonah declares the next day as we lead him into our home. A smile creases his face, his head turning back and forth so he can take in even more of the scents. “I’d almost forgotten what they smell like.”
“Could be worse,” Aggie comments, leading him forward. “Could be dogs.”
“I smell them, too, but it’s not a bad smell.” Jonah keeps a light hand on Aggie’s arm, his other hand on his cane, letting the tip of it warn him of any objects in his path. “They’re two of my favorite smells, if I’m being honest. And all of this smells better than the fort.”
Well, he’s not wrong there. I linger a few steps behind them, not wanting to crowd the two. They’re Aggie’s dogs, and this is ultimately her decision. I don’t want to influence anything by hovering like a helicopter mom over both of them. Even now, the temptation to move stacks of books out of the way of Jonah’s cane is overwhelming, but he expertly skirts by objects, and I’d probably just make things worse by jumping in.
“I’ll show you my quarters I share with Dottie,” Aggie is telling him as they head deeper into the bookstore. “We found a kiddie pool and filled it with blankets, and that’s turned into the puppy nest.”
Jonah turns his head slightly, back toward me. “Where does Rabbit stay?”
I practically bristle. “In her room,” I say primly. “She can show you some other time.”
A wave of amusement crashes over me, and I turn to look at my mate, who’s lingering in the doorway. I knew even without seeing his face that he’s laughing at my expression. I know I’m ridiculous. Wanting to mother Jonah one moment and then being an overprotective harpy the next. I shoot him a look.
Murr just grins. He strides forward, moving to my side, and kisses my temple. “I make fire,” he declares, voice loud enough so that Aggie can hear it, too. “Make cooked meat for cats, for Jonah, for all.”
I can sense his hunger, too. There’s a gnawing sensation in the belly that I know isn’t mine, because I ate a couple of corn cakes that Jonah brought with him on the daytrip here. I poke Murr in his flat abdomen. “Go get yourself a snack, too.”
“Meat for all,” he agrees, voice light, and he makes it sound like a sultry promise and not like dinner. He kisses the tip of my nose and shoots me another scorching look before striding back out of the store and leaving me all clenched up and turned on. I bite back a sigh of happiness. Meat for all, indeed.
I know it eases Murr’s mind to provide for all of us. He loves having a family to care for, and nothing makes him happier than seeing us tended to. In that, we’re very alike. We both love to smother those we care for with affection.
“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.”
“Everyone’s terrified of him,” Jonah agrees.
“See? Perfect.”
I wince inwardly, because I’m not sure we want to get the head of the fort involved in anything involving puppies. The drakoni are afraid of nothing, but they’re wary the moment his name comes up. That makes me antsy. “We can talk with Gwen and Vaan about it,” I say. “They’ll let us know if it’s a good idea or not.”
“Plenty of time before anything has to be decided,” says Aggie. “Plenty of time. The dogs still look like blobs anyhow. Cute blobs, but blobs. You want to hold another one yet, Jonah?”
“Not just yet,” says Jonah, and continues to gently pet the sleeping puppy in his arms.
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CHAPTER 107
DAKOTA
We spend a lovely day with Jonah visiting the bookstore we call home. A lot of it is spent around the puppies, of course. Jonah gets time to hug and hold each one, but he keeps going back to Sleepy, and I suspect that even if Sleepy turns out to be as dumb as a rock, it’s going to end up his dog anyhow. He’s in love with that little dog already.
Murr feeds everyone with a fresh haunch of deer, and I take some of the dried meat and put it in a plastic container for Jonah to take back home to his dad. Murr, Aggie and Jonah sit by the fire and pet cats and talk about what it’s like at the fort. Lord Azar, the Salorian everyone is so wary of, has been there for only the last year or two, but he’s made a lot of changes, and most of them for the better. Even Jonah’s father is impressed. “It’s really not that bad,” Jonah tells us. “I think if you guys lived there, you’d like it. It’s easier than being on your own.”
“Maybe so,” is all I say, just to be polite. Truth be told, I’m thinking of the shipping container that he and his father live in, and how cramped and stuffy it is. It’s clean and tidy and they have furniture, but I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life living in a metal box like that. Other people in the fort were living in storage sheds, or an old gas station, and I even saw a broken-down yellow school bus that looked as if it was being lived in. It might be easier, but it doesn’t scream “home” to me.
Then again, neither does a bookstore.
The realization that I don’t consider the bookstore home is a little surprising to me. For so long, our lives have been lived day to day, never thinking further ahead than next week, or even the next meal. A bookstore with a mostly intact roof is an incredible place to hide out, but the parking lot is more asphalt than dirt, the floor is hard, and the building drafty. I’m perfectly happy to live here for the next season, or even the next year. But ten years from now? Do I still want to be living on the floor in an abandoned bookstore and trying to grow tomatoes in a pothole?
I suppose the fact that I’m even thinking like that means our lives are safe and comfortable. I glance over at Murr and give him a warm look full of affection. He’s changed everything for us in such a short period of time. I can’t imagine our lives without him. With Murr, I’m safe and happy…and I can think about the future.
We return to the fort that night, heading to Samir’s home to check in on Dottie and Rabbit. Dottie looks good to my eyes. She’s got a crossword puzzle out and a nub of a pencil, and is working on one with Rabbit at her side. “Where’s Samir?” I ask as we go in.
“Someone cut themselves with a saw,” Rabbit says, getting to her feet with a yawn. “I’m on nursing duty.”
I fold my daughter into my arms, pulling her in close. “Does that mean you’re staying again tonight?”
“I think so. That okay?” She snuggles against me, and she smells like rubbing alcohol. “Plenty of time to go back to the bookstore once Dottie’s all better.”
I nod and press a kiss to the top of her head. “All right. We’ll be back tomorrow. You want anything from home?”
“Maybe another crossword book for Dottie,” she says. Her gaze slides to Jonah, and she watches him head in, moving to his favorite chair. “How were the puppies, Jonah?”
I release her from my hug, sensing that Mom is no longer the most interesting thing in the room. Jonah immediately launches into a recounting of what it was like to hold each of the puppies, his face glowing, and Aggie, Murr and I visit with Dottie.
“Can’t tell if I’m any better,” Dottie confesses, her hands smoothing the thin blanket over her legs. “But I don’t feel any worse, so I suppose that’s something. You’ll be back tomorrow? All of you?”
I nod. “Can we bring you anything? You want a pillow? A change of clothes?”
“Just come back.” Dottie gives us a thin smile. “It’s nice enough here, but I don’t want to stay forever. And speaking of coming back—Vaan and Gwen were looking for you guys earlier.”
A prickle of unease moves through me. “Oh? Did they say what they wanted?”
“No, just to look for them whenever you came back. They just wanted to chat.”
I’m not sure if it’s just the couple being friendly or if it’s something more sinister. I don’t trust it, though. Gwen and Vaan are nice, but they’re also fort. Sometimes those two things don’t go together that well. “We’ll be back tomorrow. If they come by again, tell them we’ll see them then.”
She nods. “I’m sure they’ll be back.”
I’m sure they will be, too.
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CHAPTER 108
DAKOTA
We return the next morning. Five minutes after we enter the fort, Gwen and Vaan approach. Vaan is in human form, wearing a pair of pants and a casual T-shirt with a logo on it for a burger chain. He scratches at it as if it bothers him, and his feet are bare, his toes curling in the dirt. His mane is tidy and neat, as if he’s just run a comb through it. He looks fairly civilized, for a drakoni.
In contrast, Murr’s longer, wildly thick mane is windblown, and he’s wearing nothing but his usual wrap around his loins. I’m oddly happy about Murr’s quiet refusal to change who he is. He’s perfectly fine with not blending in with humanity, like he doesn’t need to impress anyone in the fort. Murr nods a greeting at Vaan, clasping hands in an awkward handshake that looks as unnatural as it probably feels.
“Hello again,” Gwen calls out, waving us down. “Spending the day here?”
I nod, indicating the backpack I’m holding. “Visiting Dottie, and we’ve got a few books and some dried meat to trade.”
I’ve also included the book Introduction to Homesteading. If I need to bring up the herd of cattle, I can use it as a bargaining piece, just in case we need more power than we have.
Vaan scratches at his shirt and eyes Murr. “Hunt?”
My mate nods. “Hunt good.”
“You go have fun,” I say. I imagine hunting together is probably a lot of fun for the drakoni. He could use some time in his dragon form anyhow. Back at the bookstore, he stays in human form a lot just to be near me, and he could probably stretch his wings a little. “You know where I am if you need me.”
Gwen’s smile remains friendly as she moves in close. “Do you like coffee? Melina is brewing a pot, and I thought we could all sit down together and chat.”
A shiver goes down my spine. “Melina? Isn’t she the mate to the Salorian?”
“She is, but she’s good people. It’s not a bad chat, by the way. It’s just a bit of talking. I promise. No one’s going to manipulate you or try to get you to stay.” Gwen raises a hand. “Scout’s honor. She really does just want to chat.”
I don’t know that I believe that. Someone just wanting to chat can come find me, not bribe me to go hang out with them. The offer of coffee is tempting, but I also know I’m being bribed. I hesitate.
“Is ok,” Murr says, looping a casual arm around my shoulders. He leans in and rubs his nose against my temple, holding me close. “Dakota get scared, Murr come get. Promise.”
So that’s how I end up having coffee with Melina.
To be fair to her, she’s an absolutely lovely and gracious woman. She has long, cascading hair that’s been braided back from her face. Her warm brown skin is set off by a floaty yellow dress that looks comfortable and elegant at the same time. She meets me in a private dining area that’s heavily guarded by the Fort Dallas militia. The exterior of the building is all concrete and metal reinforcement, but inside it’s charming and tastefully decorated. There are a few paintings hanging on the wall that I’m pretty sure were from a museum, and delicate glassware adorns the table.
Melina pours the coffee from a fancy teapot, and we sip it in old-fashioned cups and saucers that remind me of Dottie’s birthday presents. Man, she would love this tea set. The coffee is delicious, too. It’s harsh and strong enough to make me cough, which means I love it.
“You didn’t have to waste your coffee on me,” I say, even as she pours us a second cup. I downed the first one greedily, but Melina doesn’t seem to mind. “I know how precious it is.”
She gives me a small smile and pours more coffee for Gwen. “Coffee is for special occasions. I’m sorry it’s plain. I can’t get the kitchen to spare any sugar or honey, and there’s no milk.”
I know where she could get some milk. I think about the cattle herd and how I should bring it up to bargain. About the book in my pack. And yet…I don’t. It feels like handing over all our power. “Black coffee is fine, I promise. It’s nice to have coffee at all.”
“I’m all about making alliances with additional dragons and their mates. Gwen tells me you’re not interested in living in the fort?” She arches a brow, settling back with her coffee. “I’m not asking to pressure, just curious to know more.”
“We’ve got a good set-up where we are,” I tell her. “We’re happy to trade with the fort, but I don’t feel the need to live inside it when we can be independent.”
Melina nods. “Between you and me, if you can be independent, I’d rather you not be in the fort. Our resources are finite. We don’t turn anyone away, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t wake up in the middle of the night sometimes and worry about how we’re going to feed everyone. Azar and I feel responsible for everyone that lives in these walls, and sometimes it’s a lot. I’d much rather have good allies to trade with than another set of mouths to feed.”
“Tell that to Thess,” Gwen murmurs as she sips her coffee.
Melina laughs, shaking her head. “Thess means well but she doesn’t see things the same way I do. She figures that if there are more people, all we have to do is get more food. But I’m thinking about housing, and waste, and schooling and a thousand tiny other things that have nothing to do with feeding hungry mouths.” Her gaze focuses on me. “Which is why I wanted to talk to you today.”
Here it comes. “Oh?” I feign innocence. “What about?”
“About your wealth,” she says in a blunt voice. “And how it can affect the status quo here.”
I sputter at that. Right now I’m wearing my torn jeans, grubby shoes, and an old T-shirt. I don’t have a lick of jewelry. I didn’t bring a single battery or solar panel to trade with. “My wealth? What wealth? The books? The meat?”
“Both of those are welcome but not really what I was thinking of.” Melina curls her fingers around her cup, raising it to her lips to take a sip. “I was thinking of the dogs.”
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