I take a quick look at Mallory, finding her expression more confused than before. Her brows are drawn, mouth in a slight pout. I restrain my chuckle and then lead the way into the back room.
When we move through the double doors that lead outside, I take in the space. From the wading pools to the shaded areas with dog beds for napping to the toys laid out everywhere, this place is equivalent to a dog’s heaven.
A couple of medium-size dogs are closer to us and Mallory pays them attention, not realizing who else has noticed she’s entered the play area. I watch the Alaskan shepherd’s ears perk, the hundred-and-twenty-pound dog looks part wolf surrounded by so many thinner dogs. While I’ve grown attached to the dog, I understand his interest in Mallory.
“Aren’t you the sweetest baby,” Mallory coos, rubbing a boxer behind the ears.
Obviously jealous now, the big dog comes charging toward us. I stay silent, watching them. Waiting. I’ve discovered that this big meatball of a dog isn’t really the gentle type. He totally proves me right when he suddenly plows into Mallory, nearly toppling her over if I hadn’t grabbed her arm.
“Huh? Wait…what?” She grabs the dog’s face; he keeps licking her nose. “Draco, is that you?”
“Muskoka,” I correct.
She jerks her gaze to me, blatant confusion in her eyes. “What?” She looks at the dog again then back at me. “Huh?”
God, I love surprising this woman. She’s cute in all the ways I didn’t know a woman could be cute. I give Muskoka a scratch on the ear when he comes to acknowledge me. “I actually liked the name you said before when we were at the cabin. Muskoka seems to suit him better than Draco, so when I adopted him, I had the shelter change it on the forms.”
Her eyes widen. “He. Is. Yours?”
I nod.
“Why?” She gasps, unblinking. “How?”
I smile. “You were undeniably right about him.”
She finally blinks then shakes her head, as if to clear the confusion from her mind. “Okay, I can’t even believe you were paying such close attention to what I was talking about to remember him.” Muskoka drops onto the ground, and she scratches his chest. “But what made you think to go and see him in the first place?”
I sigh. “I watched a damn commercial.”
“You watched a commercial?” she repeats with a frown.
“That’s right. This is all your doing,” I explain with a smile, remembering word for word what she said to me on that hike we took. “I went on YouTube and watched one of those shelter commercials that you were talking about. Call me curious or whatever, but you were right—I felt like I needed to go to the shelter to make a donation or something.”
The shock slowly dissipates from her expression, and she laughs softly. “Well, I can’t say that I’m not glad for that if this is what happened after.” She turns back to Muskoka, scratching his belly. “I went into the shelter on that Saturday after we got back, and they told me someone had adopted him on Friday. I was so happy he found a home but I hated not being able to say goodbye.”
“That was the day he came home with me.”
She cocks her head, curiosity filling her gaze. “That was only the day after we came home from Canada.”
“Yes, I know.”
I can’t tell what she’s thinking when she sits on the ground, crossing her legs. Muskoka puts his big head in her lap and she strokes him. It’s clear they’ve done this many times before. She finally looks up at me. “Do you bring him here a lot?”
I shove my hands into the pockets of my shorts. “The shelter explained that the reason he was surrendered was a dog like him needs a lot of exercise and somewhere to play outdoors or he’ll get into trouble again.” I shrug. “Since I can only give him a walk in the park in the morning and a run at night, because I live in a condo, he gets this instead.”
Her eyes widen. “He comes here every day?”
I nod. “He seems to like it.”
“From a shelter to this.” Her eyes get teary, and she grabs Muskoka by his face, kissing the top of his head. “You must be so happy.”
Muskoka licks her nose then he’s on his feet running toward the pack of dogs playing with the balls.
Mallory rises, a sweet smile on her face, and she wipes her hands on her jean shorts. Her smile slowly begins to fade, her head cocks when she examines me. “Did you do this for me?”
“Adopt him?” I clarify.
She nods.