A moment of quietude settled over the kitchen. Then Baker spoke up.
“You want to bring a lady home?” the eldest Bastian asked.
“I thought you were gay,” Linc, the second eldest Bastian, commented.
“Sexuality is very fluid,” Bella remarked and gave me a loving look. “You just be you.”
My brain was very itchy right now. “No, no, ladies. I mean, yes, a Lady, but she’s a dog.”
“That’s not a nice way to speak about a gal, Ford,” Granny said in her no-nonsense tone.
“No, I…” I picked at the tines of my fork, plucking each one. “Lady is a dog. A real dog. That Rip Leary shot in the butt yesterday. She’s at Aiden’s office resting from surgery. She’s a good dog. Very good.”
“Why did Rip shoot at her?” Baker asked as Hanley muttered bad things about Rip Leary shooting at a creature.
Bella looked ready to cry. She was super sensitive when it came to dogs.
Linc handed her a paper napkin to dab at her watery eyes.
“He said she was attacking his sheep, but—”
“And you want to bring her to this ranch to go after your goats?” Baker seemed pretty incredulous. Even to myself, it sounded dumb.
“I don’t think she did it,” I countered. “She’s got a good temper. She never once even tried to bite anyone, even when she was in pain. I think Rip Leary is a lying bastard who’s mean and cruel.”
“No denying that the Learys are shitful ranchers. I don’t know how many times Ollie has been out there for calls about animal neglect,” Baker mumbled. I nodded enthusiastically. “But, that being said, if the dogwasgoing after his sheep, she don’t belong on a ranch with livestock she can kill.”
“She won’t. I know it. She’s a good dog. I’ll keep an eye on her. Twenty-four seven. I’ll teach her not to hurt anything. Not cows, sheep, horses, chickens, or even gophers. She’s a good dog.”
“You don’t know that,” Baker argued as the others had gone still as church mice.
“I do. I know it.”
“Don’t she have any tags?” Granny asked.
I shook my head. “No collar, no tags, no chips. She’s been abandoned.”
“You don’t know that,” Baker said, again, this time a little more firmly.
“I do know it! She needs me.” I was not backing down. Baker drew in a long breath then glanced at the others at the table.
“Let me think on it, okay?” I bobbed my head. “Good, now sit down and eat. We have barns to clean today.”
I sat, exhausted but hopeful. Bella gave my hand a squeeze and turned her attention to Baker.
“Itwouldbe nice to have a dog around,” she said before taking a sip of her coffee.
“Dahn would like it,” Granny interjected and got a sharp nod from Hanley.
“I agree with Bella,” Linc added.
“Of course you do.” Baker sighed. Linc’s ears grew red as did Bella’s cheeks. “Let me think on it. A dog is a lot of work, and if this one is mean—”
“She’s not,” I hurried to say.
“So you say, but we have to be sure. Dahn will be here every weekend and most days after school. What do you think Dodge would do if Lady turned on his son?” Oh. Shit. I’d not thought of that. I was sure she wouldn’t, but if she did, it would be so very bad… “Let me think on it. I see it’s a big thing for you, so just let me talk to Aiden then have a long think. That sound fair?”
“Yeah, it’s fair. If you think hard and decide to let her come here, I’ll be responsible for her.”
