Halfway to the house, he heard a howl, and while it raised the hair on the back of his neck, he knew it wasn’t coyote or wolf. That was the baying of a hunting hound. The rush of a four-footed creature sounded in the dark, and a big shape appeared, blonde coat gleaming in the moonlight and the light from the back porch lamp.
Allie gasped, clutching his shirt. “Daddy, what is it?”
The beast began to wag furiously, panting and walking around them in a circle, wagging so hard its butt kept trying to disconnect from its body.
“Well, baby girl, it looks like maybe a yellow Lab mixed with some kind of hound.” He remembered the new foreman, Ellis McIntyre, had said he’d had a dog. They had decided to not introduce him to the girls until tomorrow, so Ellis had picked up pizza for them and one for him, and had gone on to the bunkhouse.
She squinted down at the big mutt. “It’s a dog? Is it nice?”
“Seems to be.” Like, hysterically so. Her tail was like a huge, solid whip.
“Can I say hi?”
“Dammit, Mavis! Where did you get to? I told you to stay close.” Ellis appeared out of the darkness, and he stopped on a dime, staring at them. “Whoops. Sorry about that. Mavis, you sit.” That dog’s butt hit the ground as if a lead weight had been attached to it. “She had to go do her business. I had no idea y’all were out and about.”
Allie was still staring at the dog. “Daddy? Can I pet her?”
He glanced at Ellis, who grinned, teeth flashing white in the dark. “If you want to, kiddo. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body, but she is big, and she’s real excited to meet kids, so I’ll get her to sit while you do.”
“Okay.” She wiggled, wanting to reach that dog so bad.
“Mavis, you stay.” Ellis stepped up
He tried hard not to stare at the man in his loose pajama pants and thin T-shirt. They showed off that cowboy’s body way more than the tighter Wranglers and starched shirt had in the daytime somehow.
He set Allie on her feet, hand on her back, and she reached out to the dog. He fully expected Mavis to sniff Allie, but as soon as his baby girl got close that big tongue swiped right over her face.
Allie shrieked, then started giggling, and Mavis wagged so hard her whole body vibrated. When Allie threw her arms around the dog’s neck, he had to work not to grab her, but Mavis sat there and wagged and licked.
“Oh, she likes you, kiddo.” Ellis chuckled. He winked at Ichabod.
“Can we keep her?”
“Oh, honey, she belongs to Mr. McIntyre.”
“Lord. That’s my dad. You can call me Mr. Ellis. And Iadmit, Mavis is my girl. But I’ll be working here, so you can visit with her anytime.”
“I like her.” Allie’s giggles made his heart swell because she’d been so sad. This was amazing.
“I’m glad,” Ellis said.
“Okay, baby girl. We need to let Mr. Ellis go back to bed while we get some milk.”
“Awww. Night, Mavis.” Allie kissed Mavis’s head. “Night, Mr. Ellis.”
“Night, Miss…”
“Allie.”
“Miss Allie.”
He picked Allie back up, mouthing a thank you at Ellis McIntyre. Then he headed back to the house, the quiet whistle telling him Mavis was being taken back too.
He headed to the kitchen, and by the time the milk was warming, Allie was sound asleep on his shoulder, so he put her to bed without it. He’d have it himself.
Ichabod figured he really needed to get his kids a dog.
Chapter Four
