Order (Tattoos and Ties 2)

Maybe as far at two miles down this side road the GPS alerted him of the upcoming address. It still took several hundred feet before he saw the mailbox. The address had been scratched off, which was about right, nothing could be easy. Alec came to a stop in front of the property. The home sat some distance off the road. Luckily, the porch light flipped on. He took that as an invitation and turned into the driveway, hoping he’d gotten it right. If not, he hoped he wasn’t met with a shotgun for trespassing at such a late hour. Both seemed equally possible out here.

There didn’t seem to be any clear parking guidelines. Alec pulled his sports car off the gravel drive and parked to the side of the house behind one of those Texas-sized trucks he saw all over the place and grabbed his coat. He got out, quickly slid his arms in, and pulled the full-length coat around him, throwing the wool scarf over his shoulders to ward off the icy chill in the wind as he started for the front door. Whoever said DFW didn’t get cold was an absolute idiot. It was freezing outside. The cold wind made him shiver as he took the steps up the porch. Just as he reached up to knock, the door opened and a woman in her night robe motioned him inside with a warm friendly smile.

“Get in here. It sure is cold out there,” she said, closing the door behind Alec before she asked, “You’re Kellus’s friend?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he muttered, which was not something he said often. It just felt right to say now to this woman who somehow commanded his respect even in her night clothes. “I’m Alec Pierce.”

“I’m Kristi. This is Paul.”

Alec looked over to a tall man who was passed out asleep on an oversized La-Z-Boy in the living room a few feet away.

“Did I keep you up?” Alec immediately asked in a hushed tone, feeling like such a heel for coming so late. He should have waited until the following day.

“No. He’s always out then up early. I’m the opposite. This is perfect, and you don’t need to whisper. He won’t hear a thing. A bomb could go off and he wouldn’t wake.” Even with the encouragement, Alec still couldn’t find it in him to speak in a normal tone, so he nodded and smiled, hoping that was enough.

“Come on back here. They’re in my back room.”

Alec followed her down a long hall. All the doors were shut, even the last one at the end of the hall.

“I saw Little Bit. He’s adorable. He stole my heart,” Alec said.

“He is a cutie. Their mama’s done with ’em. She wasn’t a very good mom to begin with.”

Alec had no idea what to say to that and opted for quiet again, wondering if that was one of the reasons Key always stayed silent.

She opened a door, revealing a room with both a table lamp and a heat lamp on. Alec skirted around her to the side of a large cardboard box where he saw three black and white marked puppies.

“See? She won’t even get inside there with them.”

Mrs. Hardin pointed to the cute Boston terrier lying on top of the bed. The dog must have known she was being talked about, because she rose then shook herself before jumping off the bed and exiting the room. Alec caught it all in his peripheral vision as his focus landed on one puppy who was staring up at him intently. The longer they were locked in the stare, the more he fell in love with that curiosity. The sweet little puppy cocked his head to the side, watching him. He held the pose until it proved too much, and the puppy tipped that direction, falling over on his back. That funny little guy had Alec grinning.

“Take your time. There’s no pressure. I’ll keep ’em all. My family just doesn’t need to know my plan.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he said again, unwrapping the scarf and tugging off his coat. He tossed both on the bed before he dropped to one knee and stared at all three of the puppies. Alec reasoned he and Key needed a male. It just seemed easier, but as he stared at the one still focused on him, he wasn’t certain that truly mattered.

“Hey there,” he said, rubbing his cold hands together. That garnered all the puppies’ attention, and Alec’s grin spread. They were adorable. Not near steady on their feet, they toppled over each other to get close to him. He reached in, taking the one who’d been so attentive from the beginning. He lifted the puppy to his face and received a soft little yap. This one didn’t even seem nervous to be held. Alec tucked the pup to his body and reached a hand over, petting the tops of the heads of the other two.