Puppy Love / Bad English (Paperback SIGNED)

Hayden

"That's it, work it, baby. Uh-huh, you got it. Give me a little more sass. That's it. Shake that tail like your mommy showed you."

I snapped pictures, changing the angle, attempting to snap just the right picture.

Lulu glanced over her shoulder, offering me a coy look.

"That's the money shot!" I yelled, dropping my phone and reaching over to pat her head. "Who's a good girl? Are you my good girl? Would you like a treat, my little good girl?"

The silky terrier lost her mind at the word treat, her tail wagging frantically as she tap-danced on the platform.

"Here you go, my good girl." I fed her a liver treat from my pocket, flicking through the photos while she crunched.

Ah, fuck.

A photographer I was not. The images were blurry, poorly lit, and angled wrong. Instead of looking adorable, Lulu looked like some kind of hellhound with glowing eyes and bared teeth. Even her cute little smile appeared like a snarl.

“Ah shit. Lulu, I'm sorry, I can't use any of these." 

The silky snuffled at my pocket, searching for more treats.

"Here you go, you little hussy." I fed her another treat, flicking back through the shots I'd taken. One seemed like it could be okay if I superimposed some normal eyes over her glowing ones.

Dr.Dogg

Dogg Fam! What do you think of this picture?

I sent the glowing eyes to my family chat.

J-Wood

WTF is that? Some kind of devil spawn?

Ash

Dude. That dog needs to be put down, not adopted.

MaDogg

I’m not saying I wouldn't adopt, but you'd have to convince me that it wasn't riddled with rabies.

DaddyDogg

I rate it as a 0.5/5 for photo skills. Hope you're a better vet than photographer.

Ryan

Dude… *thumbs down emoji*

SamthePup

Does it have superpowers? Can we get a dog, Dad?

DaddyDogg

Absolutely not!

MaDogg

We'll discuss it tonight.

DaddyDogg

Like hell we will! Isn't a new baby enough?

MaDogg

You'd deprive your youngest son of a dog because we just had a baby?

DaddyDogg

I'm not depriving him of anything!

MaDogg

Except a dog.

DaddyDogg

Karrie, we'll talk about this later. 

James

Huh-oh! I'm guessing this means what I think it means…

J-Wood

Can I come for dinner? Cause this shit is hilarious!

SamthePup

Does this mean we're getting a dog?

Ash

Looks like it, kiddo!

Ryan

Uh-oh…

SamthePup

:) :) :) !!!

I sighed, dropping the phone to pinch the bridge of my nose.

My family was a bunch of mutts—and I meant that in the nicest way possible. Dad had married Karen last year, and they'd just had their first baby—Janeane—last month. Of my six siblings, Janeane was the only one related to me by blood. The rest—Jay, James, Ash, Ryan and Sam were adopted or foster kids that Dad had taken in over the years. Only Ash, at eighteen, Ryan, at fourteen, and Sam, at nine, were still at home. Jay and James were all in their twenties and either working in Capricorn Cove or at college studying.

It was times like this that I both missed living at home and felt supremely relieved to have at least a few miles between us.

I looked back at the picture of Lulu, frustrated as all hell by my lack of photographic ability.

The plan had been two-fold. First, we were gonna use the images I took to create a charity calendar and raise money for our new rescue shelter. We were also going to start placing ads on our social media and website.

When I'd taken over the animal practice from my former mentor, I'd decided to add a rescue shelter to the back of the property. The shelter had only been operational for a few months, but already we were nearing capacity, and I wanted my charges to find good homes—not stay in a temporary facility forever.

"Sorry, Lulu. I guess we're shit outta luck."

"Out of luck?" June, my receptionist, poked her head around the doorway. "What's up, Doc?"

A child of the British punk era, June had never outgrown wild-coloured hair, leather jackets, piercings, or her love for punk.

I held up my phone, sighing as she tutted over the pictures. I didn't know if it was the Brit in her, but June had a tut that always made me think of a proper school principal expressing disappointment in her ward.

You really need to get out more.

"You know, my niece and nephew are visiting next week. They'll be staying for three months before Henry heads off on his fellowship at that college—gosh, what's its name? The one with the giant oak trees."

I hid a smile. “Ravenburn? As in the only college in our town?” 

"That's the one!" June slapped a hand on the table, startling Lulu. "Sorry, precious. Come here, let me hold you close."

"So, Henry is a photographer as well?" I asked, attempting to steer the conversation back to our current predicament.

"Absolutely not. The boy is completely illiterate when it comes to anything art. Except for books—obviously."

"Obviously," I agreed.

Henry, as June had repeatedly bragged, held a doctorate in modern literature. He lectured at King's College on gendered writing and had forty-three books to his name—all of which were bestsellers, even the non-fiction ones.

"No, it's Kat who is the artist in the family. A wild heart, that one. Takes after me, I suppose. Her mother—my sister—never did roam far from Burford."

"Kat's a photographer?" I asked, desperate to get to the point of this conversation.

"Oh, my yes," June said, her fingers finding Lulu's perfect spot. The little dog leaned into her, a muffled huff of contentment escaping her. "And I'm sure she'd be more than happy to assist."

I looked back down at the phone that lay on the table between us—Lulu's demonic image staring up at me.

"I'd seriously appreciate any help I can get."

June pressed a kiss to Lulu's head. "Don't you worry, darling. You leave it all to me."