Alas, it was David calling me.
“Howdy, big brother. Mind if you make it quick? I’m waitin’ for an important call.” I trapped the phone between my shoulder and cheek and went over to the coffeemaker to refill my mug.
“No problem, this won’t take long,” he responded. “I spoke to Soph already. Melissa and I would like to have y’all over for Christmas.”
Oh. That gave me a pause. I scratched my chest and flicked a glance downward, only to grimace at the sheer amount of sawdust stuck to my tee. On a normal day, it wouldn’t bother me for crap, but I was meeting up with Sebastian for lunch in an hour, and I didn’t have time to change.
“I take it Soph and Dylan accepted?” I asked.
I didn’t know the protocol here. Sebastian had his own family. I didn’t know if they’d already made plans—or if we were supposed to spend the holidays separately. I sure as heck hoped not.
“Yes, they were with Dylan’s family last Christmas,” David said. “Mel and I are basically stealing Mom and Dad’s celebration.”
I chuckled and took a sip of my coffee. It felt kind of good to have reached the stage where we could joke about something revolving around our folks. A pang of sorrow could hit me at the most random moments, but the support of Soph and David had made all the difference. Mom was going to keep pretending as if nothing had happened, and they weren’t going to play along.
“I’d love to be there,” I admitted. “I’m just…sort of in a plus-one situation now, so I reckon I gotta talk to him first.”
“Soph told me.” David had a smile in his tone, and it felt good. “We’re very happy for you, Blake. Don’t fuck it up.”
I let out a laugh. It wasn’t often my brother cussed. “I’m doing my best. But according to Soph, we look ridiculously love-sick. We didn’t even tell her that we worked everythin’ out. She took one glance at us and knew.”
David laughed softly. “I hope I’ll get to see you both for the holidays, then. Let me know as soon as possible, please.”
“Will do. Give Melissa and the kids my love.” We wrapped up the call, and I took another swig of my coffee and checked my messages. There was a text from Sebastian.
You hunt, right?
I hesitated as I mulled over my answer. I couldn’t say yes outright because it’d been a couple years now. I’d considered myself out of the game for the time being once Rosie couldn’t handle the long treks anymore. On the other hand, I missed it. And a former avid hunter couldn’t move to Washington without taking advantage of the best part of the state, could he?
I’d like to get back to it, but it’s been a while. Why?
Maybe he wanted me to go with his pops as some kind of chaperone. The last few days, Sebastian and his sister had been trying to get their grandfather to realize it wasn’t safe for him to head out alone. The old man couldn’t walk up the stairs in his own home, but he was gonna go out and shoot deer in the mountains?
I’d have to say I sided with Sebastian. It seemed a little too risky.
Sebastian’s reply popped up with a picture that made my eyebrows lift. It was of a beautiful dog, a mix of some sort, possible German shepherd and a Lab. Maybe something else too, because the dog appeared a tad smaller, more slender, and its coat was a dark, rich coffee-brown color.
One of Pops’s hunting buddies’ grandsons recently had a baby who’s turned out to be allergic to dogs. The dog’s name is Nala. She’s two years old, trained in blood tracking, small game retrieval, and recovery. So it goes without saying she needs a new owner who can give her a life in the field. I told Pops I’d talk to you, but they’re gonna need a quick answer.
That was fine, because I had a quick response.
Let me meet with the owner and Nala. But the answer is fuck yes.
I didn’t dare hope too much. This kind of thing wasn’t too uncommon, and I’d seen shit go sideways before. When selecting an adult dog, there had to be chemistry, even more so with a working dog or one trained in hunting. But sweet Jesus, something just clicked when I looked at the photo again. And it didn’t have so much to do with Nala specifically, but with the fact that I was incredibly ready to find a new four-legged companion. It was time. Spending my nights with Sebastian, who had that tight bond with Mischa, didn’t help.
Sebastian answered again.
I had a feeling. :-) I think she can be great for you. I’ll call Pops right away. See you soon.