Page 1 of Her Second-Hand Mate

1

April 2021

“But Miss Penelope, why am I the only one who gets a stupid dandelion on his jeans?”

I sighed and, after threading the needle I was holding, turned to the impatient pup.

“Isaiah, we talked about this. You can't go around calling things stupid.”

“Sorry, Miss Penelope,” he seemed contrite for a moment. “But I still don't like the flower. You made flames on Caleb's shirt; those are much cooler.”

“Caleb's shirt is black, the tear was the right size, and the colors complemented each other. Your jeans are blue, and it wouldn't work,” I started explaining my artistic vision, but as I was saying this, I could see him gearing up for more arguing, so I hurriedly added, “And don't you know that the dandelion is among the hardiest flowers?”

Now, with that, I had all the gathered pups' attention. Isaiah narrowed his eyes at me and I vigorously nodded to further convince him.

“It really is. When it really wants to grow, it does, even in cracks in the concrete. And that's what I envisioned when I was mending your jeans. The determination and strength to blossom under the hardest of circumstances.”

“You sure love finding the moral in every story,” my brother said behind me, and all the pups sat up, showing respect to their future Alpha. “Penelope is right, Isaiah. There are many important lessons to be learned from observing nature, and now you'll have a great reminder of that fact right there on your jeans. If you don't like it, next time, you can do your own mending instead of complaining about Penelope's hard work.”

“I'm sorry,” the pup mumbled. “Thank you, Miss Penelope.”

“You're very welcome, Isaiah. You can all go play now. I'll finish mending your clothes another time,” I said as I got up to turn to my brother. “You needed me?”

“Yes, Nana sent me to get you. They need your help getting the house ready for the delegation.”

We linked arms and headed back towards the house.

“Are you excited?”

“What is there to be excited about?” he tried appearing nonchalant, but I could sense his wolf's eagerness.

“Oh, I don't know, maybe a whole new chapter in your life?” I teased. “You're going to be living away from home for the firsttime, learning new things with a whole new pack, what is there tonotbe excited about?”

“Well, I'll hate leaving my twin,” he said and I looked away to hide my sadness.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder, haven't you heard?”

“Please don't start talking in proverbs like Nana while I'm gone?” he groaned and I burst out laughing.

???

“Where is it?” Evie fumed from the kitchen door.

“Where is what?” I asked in my calmest tone, not looking up from the potatoes I was peeling.

“The hairbrush. Where is it?”

“Which hairbrush?”

Still calm. Still throwing potato after potato into a pot.

“Yourhairbrush,” she gritted out like it pained her to say it.

“Oh. I don't know. What do you want withmyhairbrush?”

“Nana! Tell Penelope to stop being mean!”

Nana, who was adding some carrots to the pot that was already on the stove, didn't even turn to look at her, “How is it that everyone is always mean to you, Evie? You know what they say: if it stinks everywhere you go, there's probably dog crap under your shoe.”

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