Page 14 of The Geography of Happiness

Terry shook his head way too fast. “No. Not at all.” But his expression told me otherwise. I’d made an idiot of myself, no mistake. I briefly considered the shrewd option of just letting it go, but common sense was never my strong point. Instead, I dug myself deeper. “It’s just you’ve got the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. Kind of hypnotising if I’m honest.”Kind of hypnotising?

“Oh.” Terry’s gaze darted down to the pup, who gave a rumbly growl of pleasure as Terry stroked him. The sound did squirmy things to my stomach. “Genes, right?” He shrugged. “I could’ve got my dad’s extra toe, but instead I got my mum’s baby blues. Figure I lucked out on that one.” He looked back up and those eyes danced with mirth.

I snorted a laugh at the unexpected humour. “Yeah, my mum is a pint-sized light-footed tigress who couldn’t put on an ounce of fat if she ate lard for an entire year. I, on the other hand, havemy father’s height along with his clumsiness and the capacity to sprout belly fat if I so much as walk past a bakery.”

Terry laughed and the small grey room lit up at the sound. “He must’ve handed down a few redeeming characteristics. Where did you get your love of animals?”

I thought about that. “Definitely my mum. But I have been told I’ve got my dad’s charm, although that’s debatable.”

Terry studied me for what felt like a long moment, then shook his head. “No, definitely not debatable. I can see that about you. But I bet it got you into a lot of trouble.”

He thought I was charming?I chuckled. “Yeah, you’re not wrong on that score. But it also got meoutof a lot of trouble.” I waggled my brows and Terry’s answering smile was wide and unaffected, all that awkward wariness suddenly gone. A glimpse of the real man behind the quiet, cautious exterior.

A warmth curled low in my belly. I couldn’t look away, and for some reason neither did he. My radar was pretty damn good, and together with the long silence, and that soft, almost shy look in Terry’s eyes, the question of his sexuality began circling my brain. Then I remembered the young girl he’d flown in with and the fact that they were Miller Station guests, and I kicked myself.Don’t be an idiot, idiot.Even if Terry was gay or bi or whatever, that scenario was way too complicated, even for me. Not to mention, Gil would likely skin me alive for messing with his guests. I was about to break eye contact when Terry beat me to it, returning his attention to the pup, who was beginning to fret.

“Shhhh. It’s okay, little one. You’re safe.”

The pup settled.

“Nice touch you’ve got there,” I observed. And okay, maybe I was flirting a little, but the guy had me genuinely puzzled.

“Thanks.” Terry flushed again, which didn’t help my confusion.

I held out my hand and waited until the pup was curious enough to take a sniff. It didn’t take long, which, in addition to the way he was letting Terry manhandle him, told me he’d known human affection at some point in his short life.

“Not so bad, am I?” I scratched under his chin until his bottom started to wriggle along with most of his body, making me chuckle. “Well, aren’t you a friendly wee thing?” The pup rested its paws against my chest and reached up to sniff my neck. I snorted and lifted him up so we were eye to eye. “Now listen here, little mister. I generally expect dinner first, at the very least.”

Terry chuckled. “High standards.”

I caught his eye and grinned. “I do try.”

He flushed and looked away, and if the guy was straight, I’d eat my damn hat.

I set the pup back on the table and began a more thorough examination. He was the size of a spaniel, with a light-coloured coat that was developing the greyish mottled tones of an Australian cattle dog. Not purebred, for sure. With feet that size and a pair of oversized knee joints, a much larger dog had clearly contributed to that gene pool. Fleas ran for cover in his coat and he needed a week of good feeding, but overall, he looked healthy enough.

“Word is, you found this little guy wandering the streets.” I opened the pup’s mouth for a good look at his teeth.

“In the supermarket carpark, actually,” Terry answered, then told me the whole story while I completed my inspection.

I smiled when he mentioned Chrissy and looked up into those killer baby blues. “Ah, yes, our local activist for any number of named and unnamed causes. That kid’s going places, let me tell you.”

Terry chuckled. “She certainly has a way about her. In fact, she reminds me of Hannah. Forthright and able to twist me around her little finger far better than I care to admit.”

“Ah, the joys of parenting.” I refocused on the pup who was busy batting at the cord hanging from my sweatshirt hood. After failing to find an identification chip, I scratched the pup under his jaw and looked up to find Terry watching me intently... again. If he didn’t stop that soon, I was gonna get a complex.Was he or wasn’t he?I wasn’t sure why I was worried either way. Not like I was gonna act on it, right?

“So, what do you think?” Terry asked, his gaze travelling over the pup.

“Aside from a good bath, vaccinations, defleaing, worming, and some fattening up, he’s in surprisingly good shape. All of which tells me he can’t have been on the street that long. He might even have people looking for him.”

Terry brightened. “Do you think so?”

I shrugged. “It’s possible, but I wouldn’t get my hopes up. He’s clearly been around people at some point, but he’s not chipped, and I’m unaware of any local litter with these distinctive Australian cattle dog features. Doesn’t mean there isn’t one, just that I know most of the local dogs and their owners, responsible or otherwise, and there’s nothing like him around.”

“Oh.” Terry’s worried frown returned. “I guess that would’ve been too easy.”

I shot him a sympathetic smile. “Don’t give up. I’ll get Sonja to post his photo on the lost and found websites and check with the shelters if they’ve had any enquiries. Connor will hang a flyer in the cafés and the farm supply store. That’ll catch most of the locals, but the truth is that Oakwood gets more than its fair share of abandoned pets dumped from outside the region. People drive in to drop off their problems and then keep going.”

“What?” Terry gaped, and my gaze snagged on those pretty pink lips. “That’s—” He sighed and shook his head. “I was going to say, unbelievable, but it’s really not, is it? People can be arseholes.”

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