Getting out, I let him into the enclosed yard at the back. “Behave and enjoy yourself. Remember the instructions, when I call you, you come running in and sit in front of her.”
Not answering, the key player in my plan turned and ran off to have a look around. I wish I had that much energy.
Opening the front door, I came to a halt when I saw the walls of brown boxes. “Uh…”
“You had some deliveries,” Zuri shouted from deeper in the house. “I didn’t open them because I knew they weren’t for me. The last thing I ordered was what I thought was one of those long carpets for the hallway, and it turned out to be bath mat sized.”
Well, shit, there went the first part of the plan.
Adapt, Garrett.
“Why don’t you help me open them?” I called back. “Can you bring a knife or pair of scissors, please?”
I could use the Leatherman in my pocket, but I was smarter than that.
I was still staring at them when her head poked out from behind one of the boxes, almost scaring the shit out of me as she held the scissors out. “What did you get?”
Winking at her, I gestured at her to do the honors. “That defeats the fun of opening them, so you’ll just have to wait and see.”
Lifting one of the boxes down for her, I waited as she cut the tape and then pulled the sides open. Of course there were packaging noodles, of fucking course. I get that they did a good job protecting stuff, but I don’t know one person who was happy when they opened a package with them in there. Why? Well, they went fucking everywhere. Even when you put them in a bag before you put them in the trash can, they find a way out of it, and then you’re stuck finding them in your grass and yard for weeks. Fuckers!
Moving them aside carefully, she reached in and pulled out a metal stand with two bowls in it.
“This would’ve been awesome a week ago so I didn’t pull the stitches, but I can still use it. Wait, is it for us?”
Us. I fucking loved that. I was also slightly concerned that she’d eat out of a raised dog bowl.
“Keep going,” I urged, pointing at the next box.
By the time she was done, she was surrounded by empty boxes that’d been piled on top of each other again, the bowls on the stand, a big fluffy bed, squeaky toys, soft toys, dog treats, dog food, dog vitamins, a leash and matching collar, and sprays of all kinds in case he peed in the house.
“I know some of it’s for a dog, but what’s the rest for? Are you getting a service K9?”
Winking at her, I skirted around where she was sitting, stroking the bed, and walked over to the backdoor.
“Close your eyes.”
Not arguing, she covered them with both hands, and I opened the door.
I didn’t have to shout or whistle to get his attention because the oaf came bounding in, almost knocking me over.
Gently grabbing the collar Alex had put on him, I got his focus on Zuri and whispered, “Go get her.”
And that’s what he did. He went shooting across the floor and skidded to a stop in front of her. I’m not even sure he breathed as he leaned in and started licking her frantically, making my stomach twist again. I mean, I’m fairly certain he licked his balls with that tongue, and he was only an inch away from her mouth.
“Uh, Garrett? I don’t know if this means that you want to take our relationship to a new place, but would you brush your teeth?”
Closing the door with a bang, I strolled across the room again. “Lower your hands, pretty girl.”
Dropping them back to her lap, Zuri blinked rapidly and froze when she came face to face with her surprise. “You got a bear?”
“How the hell did you get a bear from that? He’s a freakin’ dog.”
Gently holding him around the neck, Zuri inspected him while he wagged his ass and tail.
“Wow, he’s so pretty,” she breathed, carefully moving her hand near his face and freezing when he licked it. “Hey, baby. Did you kiss me? Thank you.”
Then, just to show off, the dog sat down and scratched her leg with his paw like he was stroking her.
“Who’s a clever boy?”
Me!
“He’s yours, pretty girl. Alex named him Clyde, but you can—”
“I want to keep Clyde,” she interrupted, laughing when he barked. “Why are his paws so big?”
“Because he’s a Great Dane.”
Blinking at me, she shrugged. “I don’t know what that means. I know they come in different breeds, colors, and sizes, but I don’t know enough about the breeds to know what’s what.”
Scratching the back of my neck, I winced. “It means he’s going to grow a little bit more.”
Like another sixty pounds or so. If she paid attention to my brother’s dog, she’d have known this tidbit of information by now, especially seeing as how he was Clyde’s father.
Clyde, the asshole, leaned in and rested his head under her chin, totally stealing the thunder from me.
“That’s so cool. I’ll have to look online how to look after him, but he’s just the sweetest baby ever.”
Admittedly, he was. He was a rare color mix of blue-grey with white paws and a white patch around his eye and on the end of his tail. He also had one blue eye and one brown one.
“Clyde’s been taking lessons on how to be a protection dog for you. He only has another two weeks until he graduates, so he has to do these last two with you and the school together.” I told her, squatting down beside her and reaching out to put a hand on her arm.
I was two inches away from my destination when he growled at me. “Don’t you fucking dare. I can take you back!”
“Isn’t that dangerous for him?”
Still glaring at the dog, I replied, “No, Alex is a great guy who loved the puppies. In fact, he’s been helping train Clyde for—”
“No, I meant being a guard dog. What if someone breaks in and hurts him?”
Frowning, I tried to think of the rationale behind what she’d just said, but I couldn’t get it. “Baby, he’s there to help if you if someone breaks in and hurts you.”
Holding Clyde with both arms around his neck, she shook her head. “No, I don’t want to risk it. He’s only a baby, and when he’s grown up, dogs are meant to be protected and cherished.”
And this was where I could see that she’d never had a pet at all. Anyone else would understand how smart dogs were to begin with, and with training, that smartness just increased.
Grabbing up one of the packets of treats, I opened it to tempt the shithead away from her. Sure enough, he was a sucker for whatever the hell was in the bag, so he came straight over and nudged me with his nose to hurry up.
“Cool it, man, you’ll get your treat,” I huffed as I pulled one out and tossed it to him.
Catching it mid-air, he went over to the bed and lay down to chew on it, leaving me with a silently fuming woman. Fuck my life.
“Baby, he’s safe, I promise, and this training means he’ll be even safer, and so will you. It’s like when I started doing my training for Ground Force duties and operations. Mom almost had a heart attack at the thought of me going into a situation where I could be killed or stand on an IED, but my training made it easier to avoid them and protect myself and the others with me. That’s what the training does for Clyde.”