Page 60 of His to Love

“Dad wanted to call the pound to pick it up, but you went running out of the house, picked it up, and brought it into our backyard. You weren’t going to let anyone take that mangey mutt away from you. And you took great care of him too. You even bathed him in that mange medicine you bought with your own money from the vet’s office.”

“I loved that dog.” It was a good memory. “And then that man came looking for his dog and knocked on our door a month later.”

“And that man had that truck full of dogs in those little kennels. It was obvious that he was going to use that poor dog in some dog fighting ring,” he said. “Only that wasn’t obvious to you. And you were about to hand that dog over until Dad stepped in and told you to take the dog back outside to the backyard. He paid that man two hundred dollars to let you keep the dog. He knew that man wasn’t going to be good to that dog at all. And Dad knew you’d never hurt it.”

“Oh my god, Baldwyn. I never realized that about the guy. I thought he just loved dogs and had lots of them.” I chuckled at my naiveté, but felt relieved that we’d been able to save Bones from that kind of life.

“All I’m saying is that the Soliz boy might grow up someday and be worth a shit. But he’s not right now. And Patty needs good, stable parents who will nurture him and help him grow into a great man. You and Alexa can do that for Patty—all on your own. But you go mucking it up, infusing some young jerk into the mix, then who knows what might happen? Let the boy grow up, and then you can revisit this idea. What do you say?”

“I say that you’re pretty damn wise, big brother. And I’ve got an apology to give my wife. I’ll bring Patty to you soon, so I can make things right with his mother.”

Good God, I’ve got to learn to think before I speak!