Page 101 of Coiled Tight
“Good.”
I wouldn’t be satisfied until I had more evidence that Cam wasn’t going to find himself in a situation that would make him break, but I could take it easy. Use some of the patience I was known for.
If I could do it with the horses, I could do it with people, too, right?
Swiftheart butting her snout against my shoulder again felt like an answer to my inner monologue. No idea exactly what the meaning was, but I rewarded her with some more pets, regardless.
Things would be fine.
“If you don’t head back to the house in ten, I’ll send Dwight your way!”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
Flipping her off felt like letting her go easy, but I supposed it was about time I headed back. Besides, the screaming across the field was a good reminder that she was not to be trusted, and I had all but abandoned Cam with a man who would jump at the opportunity to fully fold him into the family.
“How do you feel about a night at the big house, gorgeous?” I untangled her mane as I spoke. “I promise I’ll keep the pups away from you.”
They were decent enough at staying out of the way, and the horses weren’t particularly bothered by them when they decided to follow me and managed to get through the fence, but… They were still pups. As untrustworthy as my sister could be when she set her mind on something.
The house was oddlyquiet when I arrived and dismounted Swiftheart in the stable. I’d already left a fresh bale of hay and water in the trough, so I let her be and walked the distance to the house. Not even the pups seemed to be around. Golden was happy to spend most of the day on one of the couches I’d covered up with quilts and blankets when shewasn’t caring for her pups, but the same couldn’t be said for them.
Brownie and Bootylicious. Heaven forbid I tried to bypass using their names.
“Anyone home?”
The pitter-patter of paws was a welcome relief. It was Golden appearing through the door to the living room. The poor thing was still recovering from everything she must’ve gone through—neither of us had been too keen on learning the details, and given she hadn’t been microchipped when she was dropped with us, the vet had been happy to sign her up to our care without much fanfare. I supposed it helped that he knew the sanctuary, and he and my sister had gone to school together. The point was, one wouldn’t tell with how valiantly she wagged her tail as she rushed to greet me and rub herself against my legs.
With the number of animals we had in the sanctuary, being scent-marked by each animal that came within walking distance was par for the course.
“Hey, pretty girl.” I scratched behind her ears as she had her fill. “You know where your dad is? Or mine?”
He’d said he’d be driving back for dinner with Ma, but that was all I knew about his plans for the day.
“Daddy!”
Well.
“Guess he left already.” The hollering gave me the answer, and made Golden ten times more excited, her feet tapping impatiently against the hardwood floor. “Yeah, yeah, let’s go upstairs, shall we?”
Technically, both Cam and the local vet had said she could climb up stairs without much supervision—climbing down might still pose more of a risk—but neither of them was going to stop me from gathering her up in my arms and helping her up to the second floor. It was just concern—nothing to do with how she slobbered me up with her tongue everywhere she could reach.
Cam was the bleeding heart out of the two of us.
Speaking of, as soon as I dropped Golden to the floor, I was tackled by both him and the two pups.
“Hey, baby boy.”
Who would’ve thought I had to work on my strength not to lift up bales of hay or help carry injured animals. No, I had to do it to keep my balance when a fully grown man threw himself at me while wearing a fuzzy onesie covering his diaper.
My heart did funny things as I took in the pure happiness in his features and the absolute devotion there. He was coming so far, so quickly. I’d really had a point when I compared him to one of our horses. So easily spooked when they arrived, but the second they realized it was safe, their personality did a 360.
He was proving to be just like that.
“I thought Sofía would be here.”
Cam shook his head, arms wrapped tight around my neck.
“She left with your dad,” he mumbled. “We’ve got to go to theirs on Sunday, he said.”
