“Dog?” He said faintly, staring down at me. It was the first normal reaction I’d gotten from this family.
“He’s a hybrid,” she chirped, trying to hide her nerves as she very pointedly didn’t look at me.
“A hybrid?” He repeated again, seeming incapable of anything else as he stared at me. I growled lightly to show her I didn’t appreciate being referred to as a dog. It was considered an insult in our world and if anyone else had been foolish enough to try it, I would have ripped their throat out.
“He’s really friendly,” she said loudly to cover the sound of my growling.
“Friendly?” His disbelief was hard to miss and Jess winced.
“Friendly,” she repeated firmly, giving me a pointed glare. I quit growling and she smiled brightly at her Dad. “See? He’s a little wary around strangers. Very protective though,” she rushed to reassure him as it looked like he might grab her and run from the room.
“How long?” Her Dad asked with a frown. She glanced at me uncertainly, but I couldn’t exactly bail her out of this little fiasco. I tried to make my stare say, “You got us in this mess, now you get us out.”
“Overnight,” she blurted out then bit her lip. My head swung toward her in disbelief. She was an idiot.
“I don’t know, Bunny,” her Dad said slowly and I chuffed at the ridiculous nickname. She glared at me, but it didn’t lessen my amusement.
“He’s a perfect gentleman, Dad,” she rushed to reassure him and then she added, “He’s trained.”
Trained? Had she really just said I was trained?
“Trained. He’d have to be or you’d never be able to control him.” Her Dad looked at me over more closely and Jess was smart enough to cringe. “Where’s his collar?”
“He’s chipped,” she squeaked, not looking at me.
Do not ask me to do a damn trick, I chanted internally, but luck was not on my side.
“Hmm,” her Dad hummed and then told me, “Sit!”
Jess pressed her lips together as I stared at her dad in disbelief. There was no way in hell I was doing a dog trick for the man.
“I thought you said he was trained?” Her Dad turned to Jess at the exact same time as I did, and she shrugged helplessly.
“He is. Um, you just need to say his name first,” she invented, glaring at me.
“What’s his name?” Her Dad asked, lifting his eyebrow, not buying it.
“Dom –” She broke off before she finished saying my name and instead said, “Domino.”
“Okay,” herDad said, turning back to me and grimacing. “I think Kujo might have been a better name,” he muttered under his breath and I nodded. Kujo was infinitely better than Domino. Jess glared at me and I gave her the canine equivalent of an eye roll.
“Domino, sit.”
It took a second for the command to register and I was seriously tempted to snarl at him but Jess looked desperate. Grudgingly, I lowered my haunches to the ground and her dad beamed as if I’d just performed the world’s greatest trick. “Good boy!”
“Domino, lay down.”
If anyone saw me demean myself this way, besides Jess, I would have to kill them. As it was she owed me. Slowly, I slid down until my body rested on the ground. “Very good!” Her Dad praised and i barely swallowed a growl.
“Domino –”
“Dad, I think that’s enough,” Jess interrupted, clearly afraid of what might happen to her Dad if he continued to see what ‘tricks’ I knew.
“He’s had a long day, and he’s in a strange place,” she explained, hustling him to the door, but when she went to close it, he stopped her.
“Oh, no. Don’t think I forgot you skipped school, Bunny. This door stays open until I can trust you again.” He glanced at me and then back at her. “And make sure you take him outside so he doesn’t have an accident inside.”
I barked, insulted as she replied, “Of course.”
He frowned again and added, “And he better not bark all night.”
“He won’t,” she promised quickly as her Dad continued to linger at the door. Jess just waited, occasionally tossing a glare at me like this was somehow my fault.
“And keep him off the furniture,” her Dad demanded, pointing at the bed. Jess’s face flamed as I closed my eyes, unable to take much more.
“Got it, Dad.”
“I’m making steak for dinner,” he mentioned and my ears perked up.
“Can you cook one for Domin..no?” She quickly corrected the almost slip as her Dad stared at her in disbelief. “What?” She shrugged. “He’s gotta eat.”
“Of course he does,” He replied and went down the hall muttering something about big ass dogs and his steak.
“Love you, Dad!” Jess cried out after him and he tossed her a wave of acknowledgement over his shoulder.
She slumped against the wall, eyeing me. I tilted my head in the universal sign of ‘what now?’