Page 41 of Lucky Mother Pucker

We sign the papers and head out of the shelter. Wally trots happily by my side to Leo’s car, sniffing the sidewalk and the grass along the way.

I open the back door of Leo’s SUV and pat the seat for Wally to hop in. I slide in next to him.

“Sorry about the jumper cables. You can put them on the floor.”

“Car battery troubles?” I ask.

“Not mine. My sister’s car. She needed a jump the other day, so I drove over to help.”

I glance at Leo as he hops into the driver’s seat, feeling myself soften even more. He goes out of his way to help so many people.

He heads back in the direction of his house. The whole way home, Wally sticks his head out the window. I chuckle at the way his tongue and long ears flop around in the cool autumn wind.

“He’s not cold?” Leo asks.

“No, he loves the cool air. I swear, he must be part polar bear.”

In the rearview mirror, I catch Leo cracking a smile.

Minutes later, he pulls into the driveway of his house, right behind my car. I notice there are other cars parked on the other side of the driveway. His roommates must be home.

Nerves fire off inside of me. Are they going to be mad about Leo agreeing to let Wally stay with them without asking them first? He promised me they’d be fine with it, but I can’t help but worry. They don’t even know me. Are they really going to be okay with taking care of a stranger’s dog?

Leo gets the door for me and helps me out of the car.

“What if your roommates get mad when they see Wally?” I say as we walk up the porch stairs.

“They won’t,” he says without even looking at me.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because they’re my friends. And teammates. And we live together. I know them. They’re gonna be pumped.”

Chapter 16

Lucy

Leo opens the front door. The three guys from the diner are sitting in the living room, eating breakfast leftovers and watching a football game on TV.

“Hey,” Leo says. They all look over at us. “We got a dog.”

“Oh, hell yeah!” the guy whose name is Nick, I think, says. He runs over to Wally and kneels down to pet him.

He cradles Wally’s floppy face in his hands. “What’s his name?”

“Wally,” I say.

Nick grins. “What a great name.”

Wally’s tail wags like crazy as Nick pets him. He falls onto the ground and shows his belly.

“Aww, this guy loves belly rubs, huh?” Nick scratches his tummy.

I smile. “Yeah, they’re his favorite.”

The tall blond guy walks over and pets Wally. The big, grumpy-looking guy with light, reddish-brown hair stands off to the side, watching Nick and the blond guy fuss over Wally.

“He’s friendly,” the grumpy one says.