Page 71 of Dr. Stone (Billionaires’ Club #9)
I shook my head and returned to my Pinterest board, where I had been pinning pictures of nursery ideas.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Jace laughed. “Look at this shit.”
I looked over at his phone, where a side panel popped open with a quote: “ The leash is not for control—it’s the karmic thread that binds.”
I pointed at the screen. “There’s a testimony. What’s it say?”
“Orin had helped a formerly feral rescue Chihuahua ‘reclaim his inner power’ using singing bowls and smoked quartz,” Jace said, laughing with me.
“You really want to try this guy?”
Jace reached for his beer and took a sip. “Desperate times call for desperate measures, baby,” he said with a victorious smile. “This is definitely happening.”
Jace followed through, moved some mountains, and a week later, we had Jake and Ash over as we all watched Orin prepare to take on Duke and his issues.
The dude was cool, smelled like weed, and showed up in a Volkswagen van circa 1968.
So, if anything, he was dead-on legit so far with what his website said about him, in my opinion.
I watched, hiding my smile as Duke lay flat on the teak deck just in front of the pool, as if he’d just released years of suppressed guilt over chewing a table leg. A ring of polished stones surrounded him, and incense smoke curled lazily toward the sun-drenched sky.
Ash and Jake had just arrived, and after a few exchanged amused glances, we turned our attention back to Orin kneeling before my dog like Duke was the Dalai Lama in disguise.
“Is it just me,” Jake said slowly, “or does it smell like patchouli and sandalwood and possibly a cult?”
“Shh,” Ash said, the only one who seemed to be intrigued, which, of course, almost made me lose it.
Orin Rhylor lifted his head from his silent communion and whispered to Duke, “You no longer need to carry the tension of your humans. Your bark is no longer your burden.”
Duke sneezed, and Jace and Jake both snorted at the same time. I had no idea at this point who was going to lose their shit first.
“That sneeze was a release,” Orin murmured. “Old karma. Maybe a past life.”
“Shit,” Jace whispered to Jake. “Could you imagine the fucking past life of a dog?”
“No,” Jake tried to hold a serious expression. “I can’t even imagine anyone speaking like this to a dog, much less bringing up their past lives.”
Jace chuckled and leaned in toward Jace, “He saged Duke’s bed and asked the ocean for permission to enter his canine energy field .”
“That was the kelp moon blessing,” Ash corrected. “It’s on his website.”
“Baby, it concerns me sometimes that you know this shit,” Jake said, sipping his coffee and intently focused on Orin and Duke.
I closed my eyes, forcing myself not to explode into laughter at this situation.
“Oh, I read more on the website earlier,” Jace muttered. “He doesn’t train dogs. He aligns them with cosmic vibration.”
“So, do we Venmo him or sacrifice a goat?” Jake asked, crossing his arms while studying the psychedelic scene before us.
I crouched down slowly, watching Duke, who was now flat on his back, paws splayed out like he’d just received Reiki from one of the gods.
“Is he okay?” I questioned Orin.
“Better than okay,” Orin said without turning. “He’s rebalancing. Processing. This is a full-body energetic surrender. It’s beautiful.”
Ash whispered, “He’s giving the dog a chakra detox.”
“Oh, God,” Jake said.
“And Duke’s loving it, apparently,” I added with a laugh. “He hasn’t relaxed like this in months.”
“Nor have I,” Jace added. “Which is why we’re doing this.”
Orin finally rose from his kneeling position, the long folds of his robe floating around him like he was weightless. He faced us all, palms up in greeting.
“The trauma is leaving him,” Orin said softly. “He no longer feels your fear with him.”
Jace’s mouth opened. “My what? Huh?”
“Your fear. It bleeds into your scent,” Orin said gently. “You carry it behind your sternum. But you’re not broken, just heavy. Let the dog lead you back to lightness.”
“That little guy thinks I’m fearful of him?” Jace argued.
“No, good friend. He doesn’t think it, he feels it.”
“Shiiiit,” Jake said in a muffled laugh. “That dog has got your number, pal.”
Duke let out a sigh so long it sounded like he was releasing the grief of a thousand dog years.
“He really is amazing, isn’t he?” Ash said with her cute laugh.
“I don’t know if I want to tip him or run background checks on every dog he’s ever touched,” I said with a laugh.
“You mean healed,” Orin said, nodding in gratitude.
I looked back down at Duke—blissed out, eyes half-lidded, and snoring softly.
Jace did the same, looking past Orin when Orin returned his attention to Duke. “Well, Duke’s either channeling divine wisdom,” he said, “or he microdosed this morning and took us with him.”
Jake clapped his back. “Doesn’t matter. The dog’s chill, the girl’s smiling, and I haven’t been this entertained since Ash tried goat yoga.”
Ash nudged her husband in the side, “You make fun of all this shit, but look. It actually worked.”
“She’s not lying,” I said with a laugh.
“Well, Andie and I will put Orin’s work into action tonight and see if he’s cleansed of the past life demons he apparently dragged into this one,” Jace said with a laugh.
“Well, then, I expect a positive report on this bitch yapper in the morning,” Jake answered with one last sip of his coffee.
Jace
…later that night
We were ten minutes into what I knew was going to be a damn unforgettable night.
Andie was beneath me, hair fanned across the pillow, with her breath catching in these soft, addictive little whimpers.
Her legs were wrapped tight around my waist, her nails dragging down my back, and I’d just whispered something filthy about worshipping her until sunrise—when it happened.
BARK! Which was rapidly followed by a series of unholy shrieks that made my brain misfire.
“What the—” I stilled. “Is that Duke?”
Andie’s eyes flew open. “No! No, no, no. Orin said he was balanced now. He’s in harmony with the universe. Remember?”
BARK-BARK-BARK-HOWL . It sounded like he was actively fighting demons downstairs.
Then came the second scream, and this time it was from Brandon. “Shit.” I was already off the bed and yanking on my boxers, running half-naked through the house. “We forgot to put Duke in his crate!”
“Jace, he’s in Brandon’s room! He fell asleep on his bed…”
I took the stairs in two bounds, trying to get own there to shut the yapper up before this house sounded off in the worst sense of the phrase.
When I burst into Brandon’s room, it was like a war zone. Brandon was standing in his crib, screaming bloody murder while Duke was losing his damn mind in the corner, barking at something.
“What the hell is it?” I yelled to Duke over the chaos, flipping on the light. And that’s when I saw it…a goddamn mouse.
The tiny bastard skittered across the floor like it had something to prove, and Duke was absolutely feral, barking and lunging, sending Brandon into full toddler meltdown mode.
Without thinking, I lunged, and in one perfectly placed stomp, it was over.
Mouse: deceased.
Brandon: traumatized but unharmed.
Me: also traumatized and processing what the bottom of my foot must’ve looked like. Mostly feeling disgusted about what’d just happened.
Duke: completely silent, still, and staring at me.
He glanced back at the unmoving mouse, then blinked once after he looked at me—no longer panting—in total silence. And dare I say…submission?
I raised an eyebrow, knowing this dog must have just found its place, thinking that the mouse paid the high price for what I might do to him if he didn’t stop yapping when told.
I smiled at him, now lying there at attention, giving me the respect I deserved from the moment I decided to bring him into Andie’s life.
I exhaled, proud to have finally fixed the barking situation for good—something I was now sure Orin never actually managed to do. That’s when I looked at the dog, who’d finally learned I was the alpha, not him, and said, “Pretty quiet now, aren’t you, you little prick?”
And then? You better damn well believe we all lived…
Happily… Ever… After!