Say No More (2 page)

“At least you’re quiet.” She swung my pudgy back legs from side to side. “Most of the time. Well ... for now.”

On cue, one of the other puppies let out a loud, shrill bark. Lise shook her head. It was Tar, the big nearly solid black girl. She was always barking. I found it annoying. Sometimes I bit her in the haunch to make her stop.

Grunting, I squirmed in Lise’s hold, then went stiff. She took the hint — finally — and set me back down, close to my mother’s front paws. I crawled up next to Mother’s ruff and curled into the softness of her fur.

“You’re a good mama, Bit,” Lise said to my mother. “I have a hard enough time running after one, let alone seven. I don’t know how you do it.”

What a wonderful, glorious world it was. We had each other to play with, Mother to clean us and feed us, Lise to give us kisses and tummy rubs. What more could we ever need or want? What more could there possibly be?

—o00o—

I hung with my front paws hooked over the edge of the box. What was this ... this
thing
in front of me? I looked up, and up, and up. It was tall, whatever it was. I wedged my nose between the cold wire bars and pushed. Nothing. I pushed harder. It wouldn’t yield.

Did Lise put this here? And why? How was I supposed to explore when I couldn’t get out?

My legs growing tired, I let go and fell on my rump. Where was Scout? I had used him to climb up only a minute ago.

Sharp teeth pierced one of my back feet. I whipped around to see Scout bowing before me, his front lowered to the ground and his butt raised in the air. His little stumpy tail wagged back and forth. The bobtail was a trait of our breed, the Australian Shepherd. He scooted back, growled at me, then charged.

I raised my chin and let out the biggest, meanest bark I could muster. Oblivious to my warning, Scout barreled into me. I toppled over backward. His weight pinned me to the floor, crushing the air from my chest.

Enough of this!
I rolled to one side, dumping him on his back so that his fat legs stuck up in the air. He couldn’t keep attacking me when my back was turned. It was going to stop
now
.

So I pounced on him, planting my front feet on his round, heaving chest. His legs stiffened. He tried to twist sideways, but I had him trapped. I lowered my face, bared my teeth, and barked relentlessly.

Yawning and stretching, Cooper and Tar sat up, then tottered toward us, curious, yet not bold enough to join in. Mickey, Jet, and Ruby slept on, unaware of the brawl unfolding.

Scout quivered. His legs relaxed and folded. He turned his head away and I took this as a sign of submission, although I stood there a few moments longer, glaring at him menacingly. I was superior. Next to Mother, I was the boss of everyone.

My hackles raised, I barked again, elated at my triumph. Suddenly, my other brother Cooper looked up from the puppy pile next to Mother, his bum wagging back and forth. He focused his gaze on something above me.
What the —?

A hand clamped on the loose skin at the back of my neck, hoisting me up. I stared into Lise’s eyes. They narrowed in anger. She shook me once, firmly.

“What am I going to do with you, little one? Escaping the whelping box, causing fights . . . Maybe you just have too much energy?” She blew out a breath, stirring the yellow bangs from her forehead. “Come on. Time for new adventures.”

She tucked me in the crook of her elbow and we walked past the two big boxes that made noise. Washer and dryer, she called them. Yesterday, she dropped a sock when taking a load out. I found it and when she didn’t come to get me right away, I chewed a hole right through it. I hadn’t meant to. Chomping on it felt good to my achy gums. She wasn’t happy, but why leave something on the floor if it’s not for the dogs? If she doesn’t want to share, she should take her things with her and guard them more closely.

The door squeaked as Lise shouldered it open. Gently, she lowered me to the floor. It was slippery, like in the other room, but this room was much,
much
bigger. I stood unsteadily, wary of moving too fast, as I took everything in. The walls were lined with wooden boxes with built-in doors. Curtains fluttered around an open window.

I sniffed the air. Smells curled inside my nose. Glorious smells. My tummy grumbled.
Food!

I took off toward the tall, shiny box — source of all the wonderful smells — trying to dig my nails in, but the floor was slick. A tangle of chair and table legs loomed before me like a forest of ancient trees. I veered left, but another column of wood blocked my way. A quick spin to the right and I avoided it, only to have a third appear out of nowhere. I planted my front feet to stop myself, but just kept sliding, sliding —

Bam!

I lay sprawled on the tile floor. My head was ringing. And I’d jammed a toe. My foot started to throb. I let out a long, pitiful howl to let Lise know I needed attention —
now!

“Oh, Halo.” She stooped before me. “If you can’t manage not to hurt yourself in the kitchen, how am I ever going to let you outside?”

Outside?
I sprang to my feet, wagging my nub. Suddenly, my foot didn’t hurt so much.
Yes, outside!
I gave a short, excited bark. Because that’s what my mother did when Lise said the word ‘outside’. I had no idea what it was. But it must have been a fabulous, super-exciting thing. Maybe a special toy. Or food. Or a magical place.

Outside! Outside!
I barked.

“Yes, yes. I get the idea.” She reached out to scoop me up. I began to toddle toward her, limping for dramatic purposes so she didn’t forget to carry me, when another puppy appeared next to Lise — a very strange-looking puppy. Bigger than me, but not nearly as big as Mother. With pointy ears, wiry whiskers, and a long, fluffy gray tail. Most unbecoming. Downright ugly, in fact.

Twitching a pink triangular nose, it studied me in an oddly disturbing way. I took a step and woofed. It arched its back, hair standing on end, and drew its lips up to show pointy teeth. From deep in its throat, a low growl emanated, and then a demonic hiss issued forth.

Every hair on my body stood on end. A shiver of fear zinged down my backbone, urging me to run for my life, but I was frozen, couldn’t move.

What was that ... that
thing
?

Its eyes glowed green, little slatted pupils reflecting the darkness within. Yes, I knew what it was now. All dogs knew.
That
was Evil Incarnate. Cause of all chaos. Enemy of all dogs.

And it must be killed before it hurt Lise or my littermates.

My muscles coiled tight. I bared my teeth. I wasn’t afraid to bite. To kill even, if lives depended on it. The creature lifted a paw, drew back. I exploded forward, my nails scrabbling over the slick floor.

This will be a fight to the death!

I slammed the pads of my feet before me to take my stance. The devil flicked a tiny paw and —

A single, razor-sharp claw sliced the air. I jerked my head sideways, but not quickly enough. Its hook connected with the leather of my nose. It stung like a knife to my flesh. I yowled.

I’ve been cut! I’ve been cut! Help me, I’m bleeding!

My rump slammed into the devil’s side, knocking him across the floor. We collided against the wall. But before he could strike again, I gathered myself and ran to Lise’s feet. To protect her, of course.

“Shhh, shhh, little one.” She gathered me in her arms and rocked me. “It’s just a scratch. Trust me, that cat is more afraid of you than you are of him. Isn’t that so, Trouble?” She looked past me toward where the cat had landed, but he was long gone. Apparently, I had made my point.

“What’s going on here?” A deep voice sounded from behind her.

I squirmed against her chest to look over her shoulder. Lise’s mate, Cameron, stepped through the door from outside. Scents, begging to be discovered, wafted in around him. I lifted my nose and inhaled.

“Barely a drop of blood.” Laughing, he swiped a calloused thumb at my nose. “Poor little puppy. Sounded like you were going to die.”

“Hey, Cam.” Lise juggled me over to her hip and smacked her lips against Cam’s. “How’s the baling going?”

“Good. Just praying the rain holds off.”

She frowned at him. “So you’re not sitting down to dinner? Again?”

“Just helping Dad out, honey.”

“I understand, but you’re at the farm almost every day. Can’t he get someone else to help, like one of the teenage boys around here?”

“Most are either too young or have other jobs. Jobs that don’t break your back. It was easier on Dad when Ben and Drew were still around.”

“Yeah, well, your brothers shouldn’t have moved out of state after he paid for their college. You didn’t.”

“Because you were here.” He slid an arm around her waist and nuzzled between her neck and shoulder. His tongue lapped at her throat. She tilted her head back as he pulled her closer, trailing little kisses from her chin to her collarbone.

I couldn’t ... breathe. I was being crushed between them. It was worse than having my brothers and sisters piled on top of me. I grunted to let them know I was short on air. When that didn’t work, I kicked my feet, trying to push them apart.

“Cam ...” Lise murmured, “the puppy.”

Laughter rumbled from his chest. I loved the sound. It meant he was happy. If I could laugh, I would. I sneezed instead. It was the closest I could manage. He lifted me from Lise’s arms and touched his forehead to the top of my skull, so that his face was close to mine. “You
are
keeping this one, right?”

“Oh, Cam, you know it’s too early to decide. Besides, I kind of had my eye on that flashy red tri boy — Scout.”

“Trust me, Lise, this red merle girl —she’s the one. There’s something special about her. Something ... different.” He handed me back to her. “What do you call her?”

“Halo. But why do you like her so much? She’s the runt, you know.”

“Just a feeling. Don’t ask why.” He ruffled the fur on my neck, then patted me once hard on top of the head. “Someone has to look after you and Hunter if anything ever happens to me. This one’s fierce.”

“Don’t talk that way, Cam. Anyway, I’m trying to build a breeding program. I can’t go on ‘feelings’. I have to pick the one with the best structure and type and —”

He silenced her with a long kiss. His fingers slipped beneath the waistband of her pants to untuck her shirt. This time she was careful to hold me off to the side. Her eyes drifted shut. She took a deep breath, shivered. Was she cold? Afraid? Humans made very little sense sometimes.

“Maybe you could take pipsqueak here back to her mother?” Cam slid his hand under her shirt, over her belly and then slowly upward. “I have forty-five minutes before I need to be back out in the field. You can stand here and talk — or join me in the shower. So, what d’you wanna do?”

Her eyelids fluttered. She glanced dreamily down at Cam’s hand as it curved around her breast. “Give me sixty seconds. You start the water.”

“Meet you there.” He dashed from the room, tugging his shirt over his head. “Just let me rinse the dust off first.”

Lise spun around to shout over her shoulder, “Not too hot!”

“Lukewarm! Got it!” he yelled back.

I bounced in her arms as she jogged down the short hallway to the laundry room. Then she plopped me down on the other side of the baby gate, not even bothering to put me in the nest. Mother lifted her head lazily from inside the box to look at me, blew out a breath, and laid her head back down. Scout was slurping away at her teat, his belly already plumped up like an engorged tick.

When I looked back up, Lise was no longer there. Whatever happened to ‘outside’? I had to pee. Now. So I did. Lise or Mother would clean it up later. When that was done, I waited for Mother to come out, but she was locked inside that cage around the box.

I was alone. And hungry. My stomach twisted in pain. I might
die
if I didn’t eat soon.

So I cried awhile, ramping up my volume as time went on. Desperate for a response, I hooked my front feet in the latticework of the baby gate, howling as loud as I could so Lise would hear me. But there were strange noises coming from the other end of the house — laughter, squealing, pipes clanging as water rushed through them, then muffled voices, thumping — drowning out my pleas. I shoved a back foot into one of the holes, pushed myself up, and reached with a front paw. Soon, I was hanging at the top. Carefully, I lifted a back foot again, my toes swinging through the air until they landed on another foothold. I pushed myself over and —

Thump!

Momentarily dazed, I lay beside the gate, waiting for someone to rescue me. But no one came. No one cared if I was okay or had just broken every bone in my body.

I shook myself off and trotted across the floor, more sure-footed this time. I could still smell the Devil-Cat, but I didn’t see him. I slowed my pace, casting looks from side to side, behind me, pausing when I reached the edge of the big room to stare down the long narrow space where Cam had disappeared. There were doors on both sides of the wall. All closed.

I stood there, listening. But it was quiet now. I couldn’t tell which door they were behind. I looked around. It was a long way back to the laundry room. A yawn pushed up from my chest. I was tired. Needed a nap. After that, I’d go back to Mother. Climb over the gate. The Devil wouldn’t dare go in there with Mother around to guard me.

Again, I looked down the long narrow room lined with doors. That was when I saw Cam’s shirt crumpled in a wad halfway down. The outside smells on it called to me. I went to it, sniffed, let the scent of crushed green stems and earth fill my lungs. Lay down. Stretched my legs. Closed my eyes. Just for a minute.

In my dreams, strong, protective arms cradled me. A kiss alighted on my brow. Scruff whisked across my cheek.

“You’re the one,” Cam’s voice whispered. “Watch over my family, okay? They’re going to need you.”

T
he door creaked as Cam pushed it open. He put me down in the front seat of his truck, closed it, and got in on the other side.