Page 93 of The Lyon Whisperer
With the toe of one boot, she swung the door further open and slipped inside.
One look at the nook where she housed the pups and her stomach dropped. The dogs had somehow nudged the barricade aside.
She set the water aside, no longer caring if it slopped. A quick search of the nook told her the three were not inside.
She dashed outside, casting furtive glances in every direction. She saw no sign of them.
Tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision as she jogged the length of the stone building to reach the grassy area behind—and the large expanse of wood.
Roddy, Rose, and Fergus were all still babes. If they’d ventured into the woods, she’d never find them. Anything could happen to them. They could be picked off by predators, or…
She jerked to a halt at the sound of robust male laughter.Chase’slaughter.
She scrubbed her eyes with the backs of her hands and peered around the corner in time to see Roddy take a running leap toward Chase, who caught him mid-air.
Her husband half sprawled on the dew-covered lawn wearing tweed pantaloons and his shirtsleeves—no waistcoat or cravat—and appeared not to care about the moisture surely soaking his clothing.
Rose and Fergus wrestled in easy arm’s distance from him, their small bodies indiscernible from one another’s as they rolled and kicked for all they were worth, both issuing their adorable renditions of menacing growls.
Roddy, still caught in Chase’s large hands, wriggled and strained in a desperate bid to plant kisses on the man’s face.
“No,” he ordered, but laughter laced his remonstration. A broad smile split his handsome face, softening his normally stern features. She could almost imagine how he’d looked as a tender-aged boy.
An image of Chase’s son—her son—came to her, unbidden, and her breath hitched.
The sound must have alerted Chase to her presence, because he shot a querulous look over his shoulder toward her.
Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Roddy dove forward, managing to plant one solid lick on Chase’s chin before landing on his lap, where he curled into a ball, tucking his nose under his tail. He fixed Amelia with a belligerent look, as if daring her to try and take him from Chase.
Her eyes misted again, and her mouth curved in a helpless grin.
“Good morning,” Chase said, his expression neutral. He set poor Roddy aside and unfolded from the ground, dusting himself off. “I thought you might like to sleep in.”
“It was quite cozy when I awoke, perfect for lazing about in bed, but I knew I had three hungry mouths to feed. Thank you for your assistance, by the way, both last night and this morning.”
He gave an indeterminate grunt of acknowledgment and sauntered toward her, Roddy at his heels.
“You might have mentioned you intended to take them out. When I looked in and found them gone, I thought they’d somehow escaped into the wood.”
“Apologies,” he said, an unmistakable edge of sarcasm lacing the one-word reply.
Her face heated. “None needed.”
“May I ask what your plans are for them? Other than traipsing about in your nightshift for the next several months to sneak food to them?”
He’d saidmonths. A good sign, she decided. “I’ll find homes for them, of course, as I did for two of the litter already, and as I have for countless others.”
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Countless. Others.” He opened his dark eyes and fixed her with a stern eye. “This will be your last batch of strays, madam wife. Do I make myself clear?”
She frowned. “But—”
“Nobuts.” Clearly considering the discussion closed, he studied the puppies with an assessing air.
Their frolicking had ceased, possibly due to the tone of the conversation between Chase and Amelia. Rose and Fergus had gravitated toward her to press their warm little bodies against her legs, and tiny tremors coursed through them.
Not Roddy, though. He swiped at Chase’s boot with one paw.
Amelia crouched to stroke the two at her feet. “It’s all right, Rose and Fergus. Lord Culver doesn’t mean to toss you to the wolves.” She slanted him a glance. At least she did not think he meant to.
