“A Tamaskan.”
I’ve never heard of those before. Jamie pulls out his phone and shows me a picture. My jaw drops. “That’s a wolf.”
Jamie laughs. “Nope! Tamaskans are bred to look like wolves.”
Could have fooled me. The dog is beautiful. Huge, with pure white fur and beautiful eyes. I’d still probably piss myself if I saw it watching me from a shadowed corner of my bedroom, though. “Gorgeous dog. What’s their name?”
“I know, right? If Anders and I weren’t so busy, we’d love to have him over. His name’s Buddy.”
Imagine having a dog that looks like they walked off the set ofGame of Thronesand giving it the most average name imaginable. What a missed opportunity.
“Is he friendly? House trained?”
“Yes and yes!”
That’s a relief. “I’ll need to check with my grandfather first, but I’ll let you know.” Having a dog around could be just the thing to lift my spirits.
Fergus seemed apprehensive, but when I told him the dog was trained and friendly, he was on board. So early the next morning, I go downstairs to meet Jamie. His car pulls up to the curb, and Jamie gets out to open the back door.
If I thought the dog was big in the picture, he’s even larger in person. The white wolf-like dog jumps out of the car and shakes his thick pelt of fur. His coat is so bright when the sun shines on it, it almost hurts to look at. Stunning green eyes find mine, and his big, bushy tail starts to wag so hard his entire backside wiggles with it.
I kneel and beckon him over. “Here, Buddy. What a gorgeous boy you are!”
With a big gaping grin, the dog lopes over and covers my face in sloppy licks. Sputtering, I tilt my head back so he licks my neck instead. “Whoa! Friendly, aren’t you?” I sink my fingers into his dense coat and give him a good rubdown.
“He’s the best, isn’t he?” Jamie asks. “And between you and me, he’s a great free therapist!”
“Who could be depressed with you around?” I ask Buddy, stroking his soft ears.
“We’ll come and pick him up around the same time on Friday,” Jamie says. “Oh! And here.” He pops openthe trunk and hauls out a huge bag of dog food I’m not excited to carry upstairs. He’s also got a big bag of other pet supplies, like toys, food dishes, and some treats.
“Does he need anything else?” I ask.Please say no…
“He should be all set! Call us if you run into any problems.”
I shoulder the large, very heavy bag of stuff. I’ll have to make two trips. No way am I carrying the food and—
To my amazement, Buddy grabs the food bag and carries it toward the front door. He paws at it and looks back at me expectantly.
“That solves that problem then.”
Once we’re upstairs, Fergus greets us at the door. The second he lays eyes on Buddy, he takes a step back, color draining from his face.
“Gramps? It’s okay. He’s very friendly.”
“Y-you’re sure that’s a dog?” Fergus asks.
“He is!”
Buddy whines, dropping the food bag. He backs away from the threshold, ears flat and eyes fixed on my grandfather.
What the hell is going on? I can’t tell which of them looks more unsettled. Crap. Maybe this won’t work out after all.
“I could rent a place and take Buddy with me,” I offer.
“No,” Fergus says, so sharply I jump. “I don’t want you alone with that thing.” I’ve never heard his voice so harsh before. “Fine, just see that it behaves.”
My shoulders loosen a little, but I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong. “Go on,” I say, motioning Buddy inside.
