Dev laughed, nodding. “It does sound a bit wilder than a lot of these people would see as normal. Whatever that is.”
Once they were out of the neighborhood, Dev looked at him again. “So where are we going?”
“I actually called a friend of mine. Someone whose guard dogs I helped train some years ago. He has a dude ranch in a nice spot by the mountains. It’s about an hour and a half drive, but since we’re going this early, I thought it’d be okay?” It suddenly struck him he had made that decision without really asking Dev, so he quickly amended, “Unless you’d rather go to a trail closer to home?”
“Oh no, I have all day. And wouldn’t the dogs like to run free too?”
Leaf felt his heart flutter. “Yeah, yeah they would.” His voice sounded more than a bit fond, and Dev picked up on it. Instead of saying anything, he reached his hand back to Leaf, but this time let it rest on his thigh.
“So, who decides on the driving music?” Dev asked cheerfully.
THEY ARRIVEDat Dane and Erin’s ranch right around ten in the morning as Leaf had thought they would.
“Wow, this place is gorgeous!” Dev said as they got out of the car.
He was turning his head this way and that, and Leaf took in the place with new eyes also. He’d been there many times before, but to see it through Dev like this made him appreciate it more.
“It’s a great location, and there’s plenty of room to do their thing.” Leaf went to the very back of the car to open the door there and let the dogs out. “Prepare yourself,” he called to Dev, who chuckled but still plopped down on his butt in the dusty parking spot.
The dogs went nuts when they got to Dev, especially Missy. The others were more interested in their surroundings after the first nuzzles and kisses, but Missy continued to wiggle mostly on her back on top of her new favorite person.
“Okay, okay, let’s get up, girl,” Dev told her, then looked at Leaf. “Is it okay if I give them commands if I need to?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. Thanks for asking by the way. They might not respond to you as fast as they do to me or Seth, but they still obey people they like.”
“Okay!” Dev looked at the dog in his lap. “Missy, quit it. Time to go,” he said firmly, pushing her gently so she rolled off him and onto her feet.
She looked at him in a way Leaf would’ve described as “dumbly” with all the love he had for the little dog.
Dev got up, mindful of the dog, then patted her rump. “Go on, find Grace,” he told her, and chuckled as she finally bounced to find the other dogs.
“So, we’re on the ranch’s land now, but closer to the river and the guest cabins they have than the actual ranch buildings,” Leaf explained as they took the things they were going to need out of the vehicle.
They stopped at the edge of the parking spot—too small to be called a lot—and Leaf pointed at a signpost at the edge of it.
“Here, pick what sounds good to you. There aren’t that many guests around, and they’re at the stables and around the yard today. We can go anywhere and the dogs will be fine off leash.”
Dev went closer to the signs and tilted his head as he considered them. “Well, the river sounds good. Have you been there?”
“Yeah, there are several crossing points too, so we can go across and back in another spot.”
“Sounds good to me!”
“All right, then, let’s go.” Leaf whistled at the dogs and made sure they picked the path leading left through some bushes and trees.
The route was wide enough for two people to ride horses side by side, so they had no trouble walking together.
“They’re already having fun,” Dev said, chuckling at the dogs.
Missy was quite literally bouncing between the humans and the other dogs, which never ceased to amuse Leaf.
“Yeah, they really are.”
The weather was lovely, and while it would probably get pretty hot after midday, the river would provide them with relief when needed.
“So, tell me about the job you had in Utah?” Dev glanced at him and reached for his hand, carrying his cooler in the other one.
Leaf smiled at him, enjoying the touch, and held on as he hummed thoughtfully. “Well, the shelter’s owner and I go way back, sort of. I mean, we’re not best friends or anything, but we’ve been bumping into each other a lot in the last fifteen years. So, when she founded her shelter, I promised to help them out if they needed me. I mostly go there if there’s a sudden influx of troubled dogs.”
