Home > Faux Paws (The Dogmothers #6)(7)

Faux Paws (The Dogmothers #6)(7)
Author: Roxanne St. Claire

“I’d go, but…” Ayla plucked the T-shirt.

“Well, they’ll love that top. As for the bottoms…” She stepped to the dresser and opened the top drawer, tossing a pair of camo pants to her, like Ayla had seen Marie wear a hundred times. “There’s a pair of shitkickers in the closet.”

“I assume those are shoes?” she guessed, making Marie laugh.

“Yes. Size nine.”

“I’m a seven.”

“Then wear extra socks—bottom drawer—and get dressed, Ayla. We’re headed to Waterford to introduce them to Bitter Bark’s newest pet…animal communicator.” Marie reached down and gave her a hug. “You’ve got a new job and a new life, kitten. What else do you need?”

She flicked at her hair. “A new ’do.”

“There’s a bottle of conditioner in the shower. Knock yourself out.”

It took half the bottle, but Ayla finally smoothed out her long hair, and then she washed off every drop of makeup except for the lash extensions, which saved her from looking like death warmed over.

Dressed in camos, a baggy T-shirt, and filthy boots that were two sizes too big, she headed out to start her new life and new job.

Wait. Hadn’t Marie said there was one other thing that a rescue needed?

Oh yes. Unconditional love.

Two out of three wasn’t bad.

 

 

Chapter Four

 

 

Clementine howled like a hurt wolf, throwing her head back and giving it all she had.

“Oh, please,” Theo’s stepsister, Darcy Kilcannon Ranier, chided the dog sweetly as she managed to clip one honker of a dog toenail.

Darcy pushed her long blond hair over her shoulder and glanced at Theo from her grooming station at Waterford Farm. “I promise this doesn’t hurt her, Theo. She’s a little bit of a drama queen.”

She was also the neediest female Theo had been around in a long time. And the hungriest. She’d powered through every bite of food he had on the rest of the drive, leaving his car looking and smelling like a dumpster by the time he rolled into Bitter Bark before sunrise.

It had taken about twelve hours and five more rest stops after he left the mini-mart outside of Little Rock, but the minute Clementine finished a meal, she stared at him, wanting more.

More love. More conversation. More food. And more Theo.

When it came time to walk anywhere—anywhere at all—she curled on the ground and waited for him to pick her up and carry her. Everywhere. His arms hurt from hauling the pup around, and his clothes had reeked until he had finally taken a shower and changed.

While he did, his stepfather had done a thorough exam on the dog in the small vet hospital on the property and pronounced Clementine generally healthy but undernourished, with some sores and infected fleabites. No more oranges, he’d warned, which turned out not to be so great for dogs, making him hate the human vermin even more.

She had a few scrapes and scars that made him think she’d seen plenty of action in her day, not to mention she was neurotic, anxious, and scared of her own shadow.

They’d spent some time giving her flea and tick treatments and the most basic, immediate care. Daniel started her on a special diet and supplements, and when Theo’s stepsister arrived that morning, she took over with some much-needed grooming.

When she finished the nails, Darcy turned on a warm stream of water and poured shampoo all over Clem, who whimpered, then finally settled into the sudsy bath given by someone who was clearly an expert at the task.

Even during the luxurious treatment, Clementine never took her dark gaze off Theo.

Next to Darcy, Theo’s sister, Cassie, who’d come over the minute she heard he’d arrived early, pointed at Clem’s face. “Find someone who looks at you the way this dog looks at you, Theo,” Cassie joked.

“But someone who doesn’t need to be carried everywhere,” he replied. “I’m telling you, she is not going to be happy when we get separated.”

“If you’re really moving into Waterford Farm, you can keep her, Theo,” Darcy told him. “You’re taking Liam and Shane’s old room, right? It’s dog-friendly. Everything here is.”

He considered the offer, but shook his head. “I don’t want her to get more attached to me,” he said. “This is a short-term deal. The job in London could get reinstated anytime, or something else could come through. I don’t expect to be here long.”

Cassie stuck her lower lip out. “Why can’t you stay, Theo? The whole family is here in Bitter Bark.”

“Nick’s in Africa,” he reminded her, referring to the oldest Santorini, who was working for Doctors Without Borders. “And nuclear engineering jobs are scarce in Bitter Bark.”

She came closer and wrapped her arm around his waist. “Well, we’ve all missed you, big bro. We’ll have to make you fall in love with this little dog town the way the rest of us have and keep you here.”

“Not falling in love with anyone, anyplace, or anything, Cass,” he said grimly. “Not after Heather.”

Cassie rolled her eyes. “I can’t say I was a huge fan of hers.”

“Now you tell me?” He eased his sister away and shot her a vile look. “Thanks for the help.”

“Where is he? Where is my grandson?” His grandmother’s demand came from right outside the grooming building, followed by the loud bark of one of her doxies.

“Right here, Yiayia.” He opened the door and was instantly wrapped in a loving hug, while a little dog jumped at his legs.

“Here he is! My Théodoros!” Yiayia pronounced his name with a t instead of th sound, which was technically on his birth certificate, but no one else called him that. “Finnie, come here. My grandson is home!”

He shot a look at Cassie, who rolled her eyes and laughed. He knew why. Agnes Santorini was never very good at hiding her feelings, and where Theo was concerned? Her feelings were obvious: He was her favorite of the five Santorini kids.

Maybe because the oldest, Nick, had been so close to Dad. Alex and John were twins and had each other. Cassie had been glued to Mom, surprising no one when she moved to Bitter Bark after their mother married Daniel Kilcannon.

As a little boy, Theo had always ended up in Yiayia’s care, and for some reason, her razor-sharp personality never bothered him. He laughed at her, and she softened around him. And she cooked him into happy food comas, so it was a win all around.

He reached down to hug the other woman who’d come in with Yiayia. Finola Kilcannon, the tiny Irish woman who’d become his grandmother when her son married his mother. She was the sweet polar opposite of Yiayia, though the two old ladies had become inseparable.

“Oh, good gracious, laddie,” Gramma Finnie exclaimed. “I’m always so surprised by how big you are.”

“Théodoros means ‘God’s gift’ in Greek,” Yiayia told her, gazing up at Theo like he was posed on the pedestal she reserved exlusively for him. “Don’t you think he was perfectly named?”

“Perfectly,” Cassie said wryly, making him laugh at the long-standing family joke.

“And hello, little Galatea.” He bent over to stroke the tan dachshund, who licked his hand.

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