Read Hounded (Going to the Dogs) Online
Authors: Zoe Dawson
Hounded (Going to the Dogs) (22 page)
“So, I don’t know if I should trust you on a picnic. Especially when I only count one horse.”
Jared looked at Poe perched on the bottom rail of the corral fence while she watched him saddle and bridle his horse and smiled. She looked ravishing in a pair of jeans shorts, a white crocheted top and brown and cream cowboy boots on her feet. Her dark hair was covered by a straw hat with a brown leather band. “Aw, shucks, darlin’ I don’t have no ulterior motives.”
“Don’t listen to him, little lady.”
“Hello, Roy! You got some advice for me? I think he wants to teach me how to kiss, Texas style with our cowboy hats on. What do you think?”
His father was completely besotted with her and he’d even taken to The Terrible Two. In fact, he was like an indulgent grandpappy with those two mischief-makers. He, of course, got along great with Daisy, her being a hound dog and all. He would never forget when his dad had gotten his first look at Poe with her blue-streaked hair and her lucky bat earrings.
He’d leaned over to Jared and whispered, “Are them’s skulls on her skirt?”
Jared had grinned and said, “Yup.”
His father frowned and said, “That must be some kinda New York City thang.”
Jared had just replied, “No, Dad, that’s just a Poe thang.”
But now it was time to advise Poe about her first-ever time on a horse. “I just think it would be better if the first time you’re on a horse, it’s with me. We’ll have to sit real close-like to keep you from fallin’ off,” Jared said, winking at his father.
“I don’t know…” Poe frowned. “That sounds pretty suspicious to me.”
His father laughed. “If you find yourself in a hole, son, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.”
Poe broke out into deep peals of laughter. Yup, it was still at the top of Jared’s list. Edgar and Allan were just as fearless with horses and steers as they were comfortable with muggers and rats in New York City. At this moment, Allan sat on top of the saddle, cocking his head at Jared. Edgar reclined on the ground, his head bobbing as he watched a butterfly flutter over near a buttercup. Daisy was sprawled in the sun as happy as a hound dog could be.
Her cell chimed out her snappy zombie song and she answered. Her face drained of all color. “Thank you, Dr. Mitchell.”
“Poe, what is it?” Jared said, jumping over the fence and easing her down.
He and his father led her over to a bale of hay, and she plopped down.
“That was my doctor. She’s been trying to reach me for a few days, and I’ve been so distracted with packing and the trip. I kept forgetting to call her back for two days.”
His heart hung suspended. “Tell me you’re not sick.”
“I’m not sick. I’m pregnant.”
Shock coursed through him, the same kind of shock that was on her face.
Roy slapped him on the back. “Well, I’ll be hornswoggled. I’m gonna be a gran’pappy.”
Poe looked pleadingly at Jared. “I guess that would make you a…pappy. Jared, talk to me.”
He dropped down to his knees, wonder filling his face as he slipped his hand over her still-flat tummy. His eyes filled. “We’re going to have baby? Just like you to manage something totally unconventional.”
“How did this happen? I mean, we always used protection. We were careful.”
“Sometimes life throws stuff at you. Who knows? Who cares? We’re going to have a baby. I love you, Poe.” He gathered her into his arms and kissed her with all the pent-up love and happiness inside him. “Promise me we’ll keep the tradition in your family for literary names.”
“Oh really. You have something in mind?”
“Yup. Hemingway for a boy.”
“And for a girl?”
“Your choice.”
“I think…Whitney. I loved her mysteries.”
He nodded. “Good choice.”
“I’ve got to call the girls.”
“I don’t have a token of my love, but it’s not as if I hadn’t thought about marriage, Poe. I wasn’t sure if you were ready for that. But, I know, for me, it was just a matter of time. So, will you be my wife, through thick and thin, and zombies?”
Tears slipped out of the corners of her eyes, and instead of making him uncomfortable, he embraced the emotion. He’d taught her she didn’t have to be helpless to accept help, and she’d taught him about spontaneity. With Poe it would always be interesting, surprising and loads of fun. And it happened, Poe tilted her head to the side and he tilted his head to the side and the Texas kiss slipped in between.
“Oh, my God, let’s detour to Las Vegas on the way back to New York. I always wanted to get married in Vegas!” Then she bit her lip. “That sounds so wonderful. But my family will kill me if I get married without them.”
“Then we’ll bring the whole kit and caboodle out there to share in the celebration,” Jared said.
“You’re coming, right, Roy?”
“Don’t you think you’d better get used to calling me pappy?”
Tears slipped down Poe’s face and she popped up from the haystack and threw her arms around the old codger.
Then she got busy on her cell while Jared simply enjoyed watching her.
“I know a woman who can pull a wedding together in no time,” she chortled to his dad. “Brooke, are you sitting down?”
Jared’s laughter danced across the paddock as steers in the nearby field raised their heads at the human sound of pure joy.
***********
Don’t miss Harper Sinclair’s romance and the Case of the Missing $50,000 Dog Collar in the last book in the Going to the Dogs Series –
Collared
– Coming in October 2013! To see where it all began, check out Leashed, Book #1
Enter my contest that runs from June 5-July 31, 2013 to help choose Callie’s wedding cake. Go to my
blog
and follow the directions to enter for fabulous prizes and the chance to have a vote on the cake that will be featured in Harper’s book when Callie finally ties the knot with her beloved Owen! Good luck!
About the Author
Zoe Dawson is the alter ego of multi-published, bestselling author Karen Anders. Karen started her career because her grandmother gave her a book to read. That book made her fall in love with romance and started her on the trek to get published. She achieved that goal in 1996 with the publication of Jennifer's Outlaw for Silhouette. Even with many books under her belt, she can't wait for that next idea, that next exquisite sentence and, of course, the next hero and heroine who fall in love.
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Dear Reader,
Thank you for embarking on this journey with me. It's been fabulous to write this book for your enjoyment.
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