Page 92 of Operation K-9 Brothers

Nichole stopped in the middle of his living room, and Dakota sat in front of her, her ears perked up, and her gaze on the puppy.Weird that.He’d never seen her that interested in another dog before, not even Rambo.

“Hey, pretty girl.”Nichole leaned over and scratched her muzzle, then glanced up at him.“Will she hurt Maggie May if I put her down?”

“Maggie May, huh?I thought you couldn’t keep her.”

“I can’t.Doesn’t mean she doesn’t deserve a name.”

“Mmm-hmm.”Jack swallowed his smile.“Go ahead.Dakota won’t hurt her.”

Nichole set the puppy on the floor, and Dakota sniffed the little thing from one end to the other.Maggie May froze as if afraid the giant dog might eat her.After a thorough investigation of the puppy’s scent, Dakota wrapped her mouth around the back of Maggie May’s neck.

“Oh,” Nichole said, panic in her voice.She reached for the puppy.

Jack put his hand on her shoulder.“Wait.”

He knew Dakota wouldn’t hurt Maggie May, but he wanted to see what Dakota was up to.After the dog was secure in her mouth, Dakota carried the puppy to her bed, gently set it down, curled her body around it, and then went about the business of licking it clean.

“I’ll be damned.”Dakota was sort of friends now with Rambo, but in the beginning, she’d considered Rambo more of an annoying pest.Never would he have expected what he was seeing now.

“I think Maggie May just got adopted.”Nichole glanced at him and grinned.

If he could keep her looking at him like that, he’d drag home a hundred puppies.“I think Dakota and I need to have a talk about house rules,” he grumbled.

Nichole laughed.“You’re a softie.No way you’re going to take her new baby away from her.”

“Softie, huh?”He liked the way she was eyeing him with that sparkle glinting in her eyes.Like maybe she was ready to forgive him.The hope he’d been trying to squash was bubbling, ready to burst free.

“Yep.”She moved to him, stopping in front of him.“I’ve missed you,” she softly said.

“Nichole.”Her name was a whisper on his lips.A prayer.Afraid he was misreading her, he opened his arms, willing her to come to him.When she stepped forward, and then rested her head on his chest, he closed his eyes against the burning in them.He wrapped his arms around her, and did what he’d wanted to do from the moment she’d walked in.He buried his face in her hair and breathed in her scent.

She was back, thank you, God.