“Sure. Wanna take them to the RV to wait? I’ll ping your phone when I’m hidden. House fair game?” Seth smiled at Missy, who now came running to him, the slobbery tennis ball in her mouth.
“Leave the door open, but don’t hide there for Missy. Others, sure.”
“Oh, I bet Dev would love this game,” Seth said, bending down to pet Grace, who had come to sniff at him.
“He’d probably figure out new places to hide too. We’ve used most of our repertoire already,” Leaf mused. “We could actually take them somewhere where they can run free, and I could have both of you hide in different locations. Set Husky on one search, the girls for another. That could be fun.” Leaf gestured at the dogs, then snapped his fingers when Missy dragged behind when the ball escaped her jaws somehow.
Leaf walked past Seth, giving him a kiss and a pat on the ass. The dogs followed Leaf into the garage and the RV so Seth could hide in peace, and Leaf would put some music on to make sure they couldn’t hear anything either.
The order was always the same. First Husky, because while he could wait, it was easiest to have Missy second and Husky got impatient if he went third. Dogs were funny beings sometimes.
Seth made a slow circle around the backyard, leaving his scent track for Husky to follow. When he got closer to the porch, he took a running leap as quietly as he could and flung himself as close to the back door as his strength and agility allowed. It wouldn’t confuse Husky much, but anything to make the game more challenging would be more fun.
He made a few other false tracks in the house, then walked into the bedroom and hid underneath the afghan they had on the end of the bed. It would confuse Husky more to have him somewhere his scent was already prominent. It would be easier for the dog to find him in, say, the room they used for storage, because he rarely went there.
He sent a message to Leaf, just a simple thumbs-up emoji, made sure his phone was on silent, and settled in to wait.
The air under the warm blanket got stuffy pretty quickly, but he tried to keep his breathing even and quiet as he listened to where the dog might be. It took a couple of minutes at most before panting and the sniffing came from the hallway outside the bedroom door.
It sounded like Husky ran past the bedroom doorway and rounded back immediately. The snuffling came closer, and soon it rounded the bed, exactly where Seth had gotten in. He muffled a laugh when Husky sniffed at the blanket, then jumped on top of the bed to sit by Seth. The dog knew better than to make direct contact, but it couldn’t help the tail-wagging. Husky barked twice as a signal, then sat there patiently as they waited for Leaf to come check the find.
Leaf walked into the room. “Whatcha got there, boy?” he asked, his smile evident in his tone. “Let’s see….”
The afghan was pulled off Seth, and Husky almost lost it. The dog looked from Seth to Leaf and back and let out a pitiful whine.
“Good boy, Husky. Give Daddy some kisses.”
Suddenly Seth’s whole view filled with blue eyes, pink tongue, and a ton of hair when the dog cuddle-attacked him hard enough to make him gooomph.
“You found me!” Seth enthused, knowing it would make Husky even happier. “You’re such a good boy, Husky!” They wrestled on the bed for a moment, and then Seth told him playtime was over, and Husky snapped back into attention. “Let’s go find your other dad, eh?”
Leaf had retreated from the room and was in the kitchen, getting himself a bottle of water. “Hey, ready for Missy?” He smiled and petted Husky, then told the dog to stay inside where it was cooler than in the RV.
“Yeah, I’ll ping you again when I’m in the spot. I’ll close the door, though, so she won’t run inside.”
He made a few tracks in the yard, but not too many so Missy wouldn’t get frustrated. Then he went into the corner of the lot, behind the garage. He sat down, leaned against the fence, and peeked through a bush. Perfect. He could see Missy, but she wouldn’t be able to spot him easily.
He sent a message to Leaf, then waited.
The side door of the garage opened, and an excited bark-whine sounded from nearby.
“Where’s Seth? Where’s Daddy? Go find!” Leaf encouraged Missy, as if she needed any encouragement.
She dashed into the middle of the yard, and Seth had to clamp a hand over his mouth to keep quiet. The dog stood like a statue for two seconds, then swiveled her egg-shaped head this way and that, trying to listen.
“Nose, Missy. Nose,” Leaf reminded her, and she looked back at him, wagged her tail, and sniffed.
She made a couple of random-looking circles around the yard, and Seth could tell she was getting frustrated.
“You can whistle,” Leaf said at the same exact moment, making Seth smile.
Seth whistled once and his dog stopped midbounce, waiting for another whistle, probably. Seth didn’t give it to her. Instead, he stayed still as possible, waiting for her next move.
Just as he’d hoped, she bounced toward the corner a bit, then sniffed around again. In a few seconds, she found his tracks and made her way to him, bursting through the bushes like a cannonball.
“Oomph!” Seth groaned, but he still tried to stay put and not give her anything else. It was hard not to when she wiggled around him, trying to get into his lap and lick his hands and arms.
“Missy,” Leaf said. He’d come to the corner as well and stood beside the bushes.
