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“Your Nel was becoming inconsolable,” he laughed, “and knowing you, I knew you’d almost be finished with your set-up and deliveries, so I decided to bring her early and put her out of her missing-Hilly-misery.”
Her stepfather, who was in construction and always helping her with projects around the camp, turned his smile toward Cisco and offered his hand. “Hi. I’m Hilly’s Dad, Jenson Duncan.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Cisco returned the greeting and the shake. “I’m Cisco Andera. I’ll be running self-defense courses here for Hilly’s campers. She was just giving me the tour.”
Looking up at the two men, Hilly wondered how rude it would be if she continued to lay there hugging her dog while appreciating the hell out of her step-father, and ogling Cisco’s tall form from below. With the sun positioned just behind the younger man’s head, his imposing silhouette made all her girly-parts clench.
“I’m sure you’ll be a great addition to her program,” Papa-J rejoindered. “Hilly works hard to make everything here, perfect.” Her dad eyed her amusedly where she lay. “Hey Munchkin, you want a hand up?” he asked.
Hilly rolled her eyes at his nickname for her, but before she could tell him she could find her own two feet, Cisco moved close.
“Allow me.” He sent a hand down to her, and not wanting to appear rude, she gave an internal sigh, and took it.
A nibble of something tingled between them, and by the look on Cisco’s face, he must have felt it too, but instead of either of them commenting on whatever it was—perhaps excusing it as a bug caught in-between their palms—he tugged her upright with ease, then cleared his throat, breaking the spell of whatever had bitten them both.
“So, this handsome girl is Nel?” Cisco asked, quickly letting Hilly go, hunching over to pat her dog.
Funny. If she didn’t know better, she’d say that the uber-confident officer was looking flustered as he scruffed Nel’s head.
“She is,” Hilly confirmed, using her prickling palm to brush the dirt off the back of her shorts while she regrouped. “She’s four years old. I got her as a rescue when she was one, and we’ve been almost inseparable ever since.”
“An Australian sheepdog?” Cisco continued to pat Nel, and the dog almost turned herself inside-out with pleasure.
Hilly eyes would be rolling back in her head, too, if those gorgeous fingers were on her, too.
Shit. What had Cisco asked? Oh yeah.
“Yup. She’s mostly that, but the rest? A blender-special. A little of this, a little of that. I sent her DNA off to see what exactly her concoction was, and it came back Australian shepherd, Border collie, and Kelpie. In other words, all the good stuff.”
“Sweet,” Cisco was getting a hand-lick, but that wasn’t unusual. Nel loved anyone who was friendly to her. “And she helps out around camp?”
“She does. Nel cut her teeth with me my first year here two seasons ago, and she’s proven to be invaluable. Not only does she tend to herd the kids who have a propensity to wander, she’s taken on the role of comfort-dog with a lot of our shyer campers.” Which was the truth. Nel tended to know, instinctively, who needed a little extra love.
“I’ve always wanted a dog,” Cisco added wistfully.
“No animals growing up?” Hilly asked, patting Nel’s rump while Cisco continued to commandeer her head.
“Nope. My mom has really bad asthma, so we couldn’t have any animal dander in the house.”
“But you no longer live with your mother, right?” Hilly asked, making an assumption. “Couldn’t you have a pet now, as an adult?”
Cisco shook his head a little sadly. “I live alone, and I work a lot of hours. I didn’t think it would be fair to have a dog who was inside by themselves for a lot of the day.”
“Makes sense,” Hilly’s Papa-J spoke up, reminding Hilly he was there. “You’ll just have to spend a lot of time with Nel while you’re here, Cisco.”
“If she’ll have me,” the man demurred.
Hilly laughed, for real this time as she looked at the silly, infatuated face her dog was giving Cisco. “Are you kidding me? She’s already smitten. I wouldn’t be surprised if she hitches a ride back to town with you on your bike.”
“Now that’s something I’d like to see,” Cisco chuckled. “One of those bike-riding dogs with goggles and a scarf?”
Nel’s nose suddenly went up in the air, no longer basking in the human attention. She sniffed several times, then took off like a shot into the woods.
“And there she goes,” Hilly chuckled.
Cisco frowned. “You let her run wild? You’re not going to call her back?”
Hilly understood he wasn’t used to a dog’s ways, and quickly allayed his fears. “Nel is more familiar with this property than I am, and knows her borders. She feels it’s part of her job to patrol the place, and I must say, she does a great job keeping critters like coyotes away. Which is good for everybody.”