Leave a Trail (Signal Bend #7)(79)

Here was something that made the idea of a god hard for Adrienne to swallow. Innocent little puppies dumped in a ditch. “People suck.”

“They do. Can you help me? I’ll get them out of the ditch if you can take them to the truck. We can put them in the bed. It’s not that far to the clubhouse.”

There were five, and they definitely weren’t teacup pups. Obviously quite young, they were solid little furry chunks. Badger had decided that the pup who’d come up to him was the alpha, because he seemed to be most alert and cautious, and the others seemed to wait for him to say the coast was clear. He was also, by a good margin, the biggest. Once he was okay with Badger and Adrienne, then the other pups got noisy, jumping and squirming and yipping. They were adorable.

It was a struggle to get through the puppy kisses and enthusiastically wiggling butts and get them all into the bed of Badger’s truck, but they managed it, both of them laughing the whole time. Adrienne thought it had probably been months since she’d felt this good.

As Badger took her hand to lead her to the cab, Adrienne pulled back. “I’ll ride in back with them.”

“What? No!”

“It’s fine. It’s not far, and I want to make sure they’re okay. What if one of them jumps out?”

“They’re too little to jump out, babe. And your leg—I don’t want you sitting on the damn steel bed.”

“Badge, I’m fine. I’m not riding anywhere but in the back with them. They’ve been alone long enough.”

As she said it, her eyes teared up, shocking her—and Badger, whose brow wrinkled.

He put his hand on her face and leaned in to kiss her. “Okay. I’m going slow, though, and I’m opening the back window. You let me know if you’re hurting or whatever. If you need me. Right?”

She nodded. He kissed her again, lingering this time, and then swung her into his arms and lifted her over the side of the truck bed.




CHAPTER EIGHTEEN



Badger ran into the clubhouse and grabbed Thumper, who was sitting alone playing on the Xbox. It was not long past ten o’clock, and he’d expected the Hall to be livelier, but maybe the other guys were already getting their play.

“Hey, Thump. I need a box. A big, cardboard box. Something like that. Dig one up for me. Quick. Just set it…over there”—he indicated the corner nearest the television—“and then come out to my truck.”

Thumper nodded at the order and got up from the couch. Badger turned back to the front door.

Adrienne was sitting in the middle of his truck bed, buried in puppies. As Badger approached, the alpha pup left the pile and walked toward him. He was a big guy, with huge paws, all four looking like he’d walked through a trough of white paint.

“Hey, buddy. You keepin’ watch?” He put his hand over the wall of the truck bed, and the pup nosed him, then gave him a lick. “How you doing, babe? Your legs okay?”

Adrienne was giggling, so he already knew the answer, but she beamed at him and answered, “Oh yeah.

These guys are great. I want all of them!”

“I don’t think so. Maybe one. But let’s see what the rest of the guys say. It’d be cool if they all went home with the Horde some way.”

Thumper came out then. “I found a big toilet paper box. What’s…oh.” He noticed the pups. “Cool.

Where’d they come from?”

“Some asswipe dumped ‘em on the road.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah.” Badger leaned into the bed and lifted a pup. “Here. Take this one, and…”—he handed the pup to Thumper and then lifted another—“this one.” Grinning, Thumper turned and took his wriggling burden into the Hall.

Reaching over the bed wall, Badger held his arms out to Adrienne. “Here, babe. Let me help you out.”

She stood up—he noticed her stiffness—and came over to the side. The remaining pups followed her, climbing over each other to stay as close to her as they could. He lifted her over the side, ignoring the sharp pull and ache in his chest. He was starting to get used to it, actually. He wondered if, someday, he would stop noticing completely. Like pain would just be normal.

When he set her down on the gravel, the pups began kicking up a fuss. “Easy, shorties. You’re not getting left.” He reached in for a pup and handed it to Adrienne. “I’ll get the other two—go on inside.” She nodded and turned to the clubhouse. Badger grabbed the alpha and the last pup and went in.

Thumper and Adrienne had set their pups down and were both sitting on the floor with them. Badger put his down, too. The alpha immediately went to the litter, sniffed around, and then began exploring.

Badger watch as he investigated the whole room, cycling back repeatedly to the other pups, all of whom stayed close together, close to their new people. They yipped and rolled and climbed all over them and each other. It was impossible not to laugh, impossible not to feel good, around all this untrammeled enthusiasm.

Badger was pretty sure this litter was mostly a Rottweiler/German Shepherd mix—their bodies and markings made it obvious to him. The alpha was noticeably biggest and looked most like a Shep, at least in terms of his markings, though he had the broad head and chest of a Rotty. Three of the others were more solid-colored, ranging from almost blond to a deep, reddish-brown.