The Icing on the Cake Read Free Page A

took a step back and watched her sternly.  “No!” he
commanded and she promptly dropped onto all fours and began circling his legs,
desperate to be petted.  “Gracie, sit!”
    To his surprise, and that of Gracie’s
owner, the dog promptly sat down.  Joe moved closer and Gracie tipped against
him and pressed the side of her face against him.  She looked up at him with
adoring eyes. 
    Joe knelt down and began petting her. 
He tousled her head, rubbed her ears, grasped her mouth and looked at her
teeth.  Next, he ran his hand along her back and finally, gave her tail a
gentle tug.  She rewarded him by kissing him squarely in the mouth.
    He laughed and rose up.  “She’s a good
girl,” he said.  “Spirited but sweet.”
    The woman eyed him tentatively.  “Would
you…?  I mean, is it possible…?”
    “Are you asking me to take her?” he
asked.
    She nodded.  “I just can’t do this
anymore.  As I said, Gracie is a runner.  We’ve tried everything to keep her
home.”  She shrugged.  “Nothing can stop her from bolting.  I’ve finally
concluded that maybe we’re not the family for her.  If she loved us, she
wouldn’t run.”
    Joe shook his head.  “It’s not that,” he
assured her.  “I’m afraid Gracie is part husky and they’re noted for having the
wanderlust.  The only thing that will keep this one corralled when the mood to
roam strikes her is to put her dog run on a concrete pad, so she can’t dig
out.”
    “Gracie can climb…”
    “Which is why her dog run will need a
roof,” he added with an indulgent smile directed at the dog.
    The woman gave a weary sigh.  “I…  I
honestly can’t do this anymore.  I have five kids…  And this one is a full-time
job,” she said, nodding toward Gracie.
    “I’ll take her,” Joe said.
    Kristine searched his face.  What was he
thinking?  The dog was part pit and was a runner to boot.  She speculated he’d
just signed up for a whole lot of doggie drama. 
    The woman watched Joe gratefully. 
Relief was evident on her face, until…  She glanced at Kristine with alarm, and
back to Joe.  “I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything about you.  I do love
Gracie.  I can’t give her to just anyone.  I couldn’t bear it if someone was
mean to her.  She’s actually very submissive.  Someone could really hurt her—or
even her feelings…”
    Joe smiled with understanding.  “I’m a
dog lover,” he assured her.  “I would never hurt her, or her feelings.  And I
promise to make every effort to assure Gracie doesn’t run off.”  He winced. 
“The thing is, since she’s part pit, if someone happened to see her running
toward them, and with the undeserved stigma the breed has, something horrible could happen to Gracie.  I promise I’m going to assure that doesn’t happen.  I’ll
construct a large dog run on a thick concrete pad—with a roof,” he added. 
“She’ll only be confined when absolutely necessary.  She’ll spend most of her
time with me, riding along with me in my truck to job sites.  And I intend to
do intensive training with her.  Frankly, Gracie is bored and needs to be kept
busy so she isn’t overcome by the instinct to run.”
    “What is it you do exactly?” the woman
inquired.
    “I own a commercial construction
company.  I grew up here and moved back to town recently.”  He turned to
Kristine.  “Krissy here can give you a character recommendation, if need be.”
    Kristine swallowed hard.  He wanted her
to vouch for him?  She didn’t know him any longer.  She never really had known
him that well.  He’d been Lori’s friend.  Sure, he’d spent time at her house
when they were kids, but she hadn’t spent any quality time with him.  Frankly,
he had frustrated her to no end, constantly teasing and harassing her at every
turn.  She often wondered how he could make her heart go pitter patter when she
wanted to strangle him much of the time.
    When she didn’t immediately