Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 691(@200wpm)___ 553(@250wpm)___ 461(@300wpm)
And for a solid minute, my entire internal monologue became wholly unhinged wailing.
Externally, what I said was, “Cool,” nodding like it was no big deal. “Cool.”
I glimpsed at Roxie and because Roxie gave zero shits, she stared right on back at me. And, I swear to God, she was smiling.
Okay, so we were dog-sitting the small horse for a month or two.
How bad could it be?
I was trapped.
It was my own fault really. I’d fallen asleep on the sofa. She’d seen the opening and taken it. She knew I was smaller and weaker than her and was making an example of me.
I’d been awake for a while now but was too afraid to move.
When I opened my eyes, there she was, blinking down at me, daring me to do something.
Yes. Roxie was dominating me and I was letting her.
I was unsure how much time had passed but when I heard footsteps coming into the kitchen, relief washed over me. Connor had just walked into the large, open living area and when he spotted the massive pony straddling me, his lips tipped up in the corners. “Well, look at you two, getting along and all.”
That’s what he thought was going on?
I spoke through gritted teeth. “I have been stuck here for a half hour.”
Connor lowered himself to sit on the arm of the opposite sofa. “Aw, Emmy. C’mon. She loves you.”
A quiet scoff left me so as not to spook the seventy-pound creature now dozing on me. “She hates me, Connor. She knows I’m scared of her and she loves it.” I shook my head. “She’s planning on torturing me for the next couple of months—mark my words.”
Connor took in a long, patient breath before exhaling quietly but his smile never left him. He took a look at the dog and spoke directly to her, “Okay, Roxie.” The Doberman’s ears perked and she lifted her head off my chest to face him. “That’s enough. Get off of Emmy so she can get up.”
Roxie made a sound. At first, it scared me so I remained still.
Connor clicked his tongue. “Don’t argue with me, missy. Up you get.”
Roxie rolled onto her side and continued to moan and whine, and she did it for a long time. The longer it went on, the funnier it sounded, and when my lip started to twitch, I asked, “Is she…?” My brow lowered and I couldn’t believe I was asking what I did. “Is she backtalking you?”
“Oh yeah.” My husband, realizing that Roxie was going nowhere on her own, got up to assist me. “She’s a spoiled brat.”
The closer Connor got, the louder Roxie’s protests became and before I knew it, I was quietly laughing at how ridiculous she was being. When Connor reached out to her, the Doberman rolled over on me once again and shoved her snout into my armpit. Her muffled complaints were too much.
My laughter could no longer be contained. My body shook with unrestrained mirth.
Okay, so maybe Roxie wasn’t as scary as I thought.
Actually, Roxie was kind of hilarious.
Connor chuckled. “I don’t know, Emmy. I think you’re stuck with her.”
No longer frightened, I felt stupid asking the question so I did it quietly, a little unsure, “What do I do with her?”
Luckily, Connor didn’t make me feel any dumber than I already did. “You could try petting her.”
Yeah. Okay. Dogs liked to be petted. I could try that. Sure.
It was the moment of truth. If she bit my hand off… oh, Lord, would Connor pay.
Slowly, I lifted my arm and hovered over her trim belly. Before I could think better of it, I rested my hand on the curve of her ribs. And Roxie stilled.
My heart skipped a beat.
Testing the waters, I softly scraped at her with my fingertips.
And it was as if all my Christmases had come at once.
Roxie’s undocked tail began to thump against the back of the sofa and that was that. We were now best friends forever.
A happy little sound escaped me and growing in confidence, I scratched a little harder. Roxie’s back leg began to scratch at the air and the happiness that lit inside me was unrivalled. “Oh my God, she is so cute.”
I couldn’t believe it. Was this the same dog that almost scared me into an apoplectic fit just the night before? No. It couldn’t be.
This dog was, “Such a sweet girl.” She was, “The best widdle doggie in the whole wide world. Yes, she is.”
When Roxie licked my chin, clearly overwhelmed by her love of me, I fell even harder.
Looking up at Connor, I wrapped my arms around the princess and uttered a forlorn, “Does she have to go home?”
At that, Connor rolled his eyes, forced out a sound of pure annoyance and walked away, shaking his head.
Connor nodded slowly a long time before repeating some of what I’d just told him. “Japan. Turkey. Six weeks. On tour.”