"Yeah, and she likes women," I told him.
"Cleary," Kanik said, shifting onto his rump. "Pepper, come?"
The dog paused, but when Kanik reached over for one of the treats, that convinced her. The moment the cloth bag rustled, she hurried over and sat, proving she did have some training.
"Nice!" he praised, giving her a tidbit of dried meat. "Lie down." When she did that, she got another. Kanik thrust out his lower lip and nodded. "One of these days, you're going to need to get me a dog, Ry. I mean, since you're spoiling your partners and all."
"Dream on," I said around a laugh - even though it wasn't a bad idea. "But this little girl? She latched on to Ayla right away."
"What does Holly think of her?" he asked.
"She's a little jealous."
"But not snarling?" he pressed.
I grunted and sank down to sit beside him. "Kanik, you're the dog man. I saw our girl falling in love with another dog, and I made it happen. You're the one who gets to help me figure out if it's a bad idea."
He patted his leg, calling the new dog closer. "I can do that."
And to my surprise, Pepper actually crawled a pace closer. Not more than that, but it was enough to count as obeying. Okay, so she was stubborn. The way I saw it, Holly was like Kanik: loyal to a fault. Pepper? She reminded me more of Zasen. A little pig-headed, somewhat gruff, and very abrasive, but good under all that.
"I think you're the perfect dog for her," I said, snagging one of those treats to offer it over.
Pepper sniffed it, then gently removed it from my fingers, but while she was still chewing, the dog's head snapped around. I turned, trying to figure out what had caught her attention, and saw Lansin and Ayla heading this way with their dogs.
Pepper didn't even bother to stand. The dog went from lying down to running at Ayla without anything in between. Shit, and I'd thought Holly was fast!
"Pepper!" Ayla said, recognizing her before she made it all the way there.
"So," Kanik said, leaning toward me with his voice down, "you have to actually take the credit for this. Don't see how you'll be able to pawn it off."
"Asshole," I grumbled, but Lansin was grinning, already knowing what I'd done. So, when she got close enough, I asked, "Ayla, do you want another dog?"
"What?" Her entire body stilled.
But beside her, Pepper was bowing and wagging at Holly. Surprisingly, Holly was doing a bit of bouncing in response, and I was pretty sure those two were actually playing!
"Her person died, Ayla," I told her. "That's why Moldan was having so much trouble with her. She's nothisdog, but his partner's."
"Oh, Pepper..." she breathed, kneeling down just for the dog to push in, begging for a hug - and Ayla gave it.
But while she comforted the dog, I kept going. "He wants her to be used. Sounds like he's not a big dog person, and he knows she needs her own person, so when I saw how she responded to you..."
Her head snapped up. "Did you buy this dog, Rymar?"
"Lansin helped!" I squeaked.
"I told him I'd cover the money until he gets back to Lorsa and repays it," Lansin told her. "That's all."
So Ayla ruffled the dog's neck one more time, then stood. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around Lansin's shoulders and hugged him hard. But just when I was about to give him shit for flirting with my partner, Ayla let go of him and headed straight for me.
"Did you buy Holly?" she demanded.
"YouearnedHolly," I told her, because that was the line I was sticking with. "I bought Pepper because I could, and because she needs you..." Then I sighed and gave in. "And because I love the way you look when you're with the dogs. You're so happy, and I can't make your past better, so I thought I'd make your future happier."
"Thank you," she breathed, palming both sides of my face and bending so she could press a kiss to my lips. Then, "Thank yousomuch!" And she hugged me harder than she had Lansin. "She's the best presentever! I mean, since Holly wasn't a present."
"Wasn't a present," Kanik assured her.
