“I’m not sure it was a good idea to leave Addie alone with Mom,” I grumble. I didn’t want to leave her, Mom insisted and then Petal and Kayla came over followed by CC. I was overruled by women. Addie promised she was fine, but I don’t think it was my imagination that she looked panicked.

“It wasn’t,” Blue mutters, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Asshole! You’re the one that told me she’d be fine!”

“I lied. You can’t be that stupid. You know leaving a woman—any woman alone with our mother is a bad idea, but you left her alone with the whole clan.”

“Shit,” I say with a sigh, knowing he’s right.

“You’re fucked,” Blue adds helpfully.

“I hate you,” I growl, because he’s enjoying this way too much.

“If I were you, I’d hate me too. You left the womb first and obviously I stayed and got not only the good looks, but the brains too.”

“You wish. Shit. I should go back and get Addie.”

“Nah, it’s too late,” Blue says as he pulls into a parking spot outside the local shelter. It’s not enough the asshole is busting my balls, he had to insist on driving too.

“Too late for what?”

“We’re here. Besides, by the time you get back they’ll be picking out wedding dresses.”

“You’re just being stupid now. Addie and I have only had one date.”

“Have you seen how it works in our family? We get a look at the right woman and bam—there’s no dating.”

“Didn’t work that way for Green.”

“Green didn’t get the right woman. He got a bad case of herpes.”

I snort, because he’s not exactly wrong. Green’s ex is a class A bitch.

“What about you?” I ask my brother, interested on how he will answer since we’re getting out of the car and getting ready to go in and see Meadow.

“Some of us aren’t meant to have that one woman,” he says not looking at me, his face stoic.

I let the matter drop, starting to think there’s more to Blue’s attraction to Meadow and their story than I’m aware of. I open the door to the shop and a bell above my head jingles.

“Just a minute!” I hear Meadow call from the back—her voice is somewhat muffled with barking dogs.

The front office smells amazingly clean. I would have thought it being a shelter it wouldn’t. It looks sparkling though. Meadow has to clean constantly to get it looking this way I bet. There’s a candle burning on the counter of the reception desk and the scent reminds me a little of Addie. Then again, everything reminds me of Addie these days.

I stand there waiting, Blue comes up to my side. I look at him through the corner of my eye and notice he looks… angry. His face is almost rigid, and he’s staring straight ahead. There’s so much tension in him, it makes me nervous. I elbow him.

“What?” he barks, his voice quiet, but rough and angry.

“Try and put a smile on your face, you’ll scare Meadow to death. What’s wrong with you?” I chastise.

He lets out a large troubled breath and looks down at the ground, rubbing the back of his neck again in agitation. “Old demons, I guess,” he mumbles, not bothering to look up until Meadow comes in.

“Sorry about that. One of the new pups got out and—” Meadow comes bustling out of the back wiping her hands on a paper towel, looking pretty but frazzled. She’s got long burnished copper colored hair that is a wave of tight small curls that reminds me of Julia Roberts in her younger days. Odd, but I remember Blue used to watch that damn movie about college kids trying to kill themselves to see if there was life after death all the time. I forget what it’s called, but he never missed it. He always had a thing for Julia when we were younger.

Seems my brother has a type.

Meadow stops talking when she sees me and Blue standing there. Her dark brown eyes go round with shock. She is a pretty little thing. She probably doesn’t stand about 5’4” barefooted, we tower over her, but I don’t think that’s what she is reacting to. Her gaze is centered on Blue. Her mouth falls open and she says nothing else for a moment, she just stares. I clear my throat trying to get her attention, because it seems her and Blue might be in a staring contest and neither one makes any moves to talk. Normally, I’d just watch and observe but I need to get back to Addie and see what her and the rest of the women are doing. It wouldn’t surprise me if they’re fitting Addie for a wedding dress. That bothers me, I won’t lie—but, you would think it would panic me more than it is.

Maybe Blue is right….

“Black, Blue how… uh… nice to see you both.”

“Is it?” Blue asks.

“What?” she asks, startled.

“Is it nice to see us?”

“I… Of course. What can I help you with?” she asks, avoiding his stare and I can’t say as I blame her.

My brother is intense. There’s more emotion behind his attraction to Meadow than I ever realized. I file that knowledge away for future reference.

“Nothing,” Blue says, putting both his hands on the counter and leaning in towards Meadow. This time I jerk around to watch him too. “There’s nothing you can help me with, Doe. It’s my brother that’s here to see you.”

Doe? The nickname is interesting, but not quite as interesting as the way Meadow reacts to the name. She literally jumps. That’s when I see anger flare in her eyes. You’d have to be blind to miss it. She immediately dismisses him, I can see it in the way she tightens her body and turns away from him. Blue's hands tighten into fists as he watches her. Oh there’s definitely a big story here. I’m going to have to get my brother to open up… somehow…. Or get mom after him…

“What can I help you with Black?” she asks me, her voice still tight, but at least there’s a smile on her face.

“I’ve lost my dog,” I answer, trying to get my mind off my brother—who is currently gripping the side of the bar so tight it may break—and back on the reason I’m here.

“Oh no. When? We haven’t had any new strays come in lately. Suzy Marlowe brought in six puppies that their dog had. She keeps doing that. I’ve given her coupons to get her dog fixed several times, but she never has. I just can’t understand people. We’re a no kill shelter, but we’re running at capacity. I’m having trouble finding forever homes for the dogs we have. People just don’t understand what an epidemic pet neglect is getting to be. We got over twenty cats alone brought in last week. It’s sad…” she says, her voice soft and melodic—sweet even, but full of sadness. You can tell she really believes in her job and is bothered by the way things are. It’s admirable. Then again, Meadow was always standing up for what she believed in. That’s how she got involved with her ex-husband. She stayed way too sheltered. Everyone knew her ex was bad news, but she had no idea. There’s lines on her face and maybe a few scars that makes me think maybe she does now.

“It is. This wouldn’t be a stray and I really doubt he would have been brought in here. Honestly, he could have been brought to any shelter in Texas.”

“Oh my…”

“Yeah. I’m hoping you can help me locate him. Like maybe there’s a shelter pipeline you can send his picture through? Anything?”

“That’s a lot of shelters, Black,” she warns me. “You need to prepare yourself….”

“I have but Meadow, I have to try. My ex-girlfriend got rid of Kong, and I’ve got to at least try and find him.”

She puts her hand over mine, as if to comfort me. Blue growls and she jumps, immediately taking her hand away.

“I’ll do my best,” she says, still not looking at Blue. “Do you have a picture of Kong? And anything that might help us locate him? I assume you didn’t have a chip implanted, that would have made things so much easier.

“A chip?”

“Microchip. They're implanted rather easily in the pet and helps you to find them and several other uses,” she says taking the picture I have of Kong.

“No… I guess I never thought about it. I never thought I’d need it. Kong was always with me…”

I feel so stupid. Hearing Meadow talk brings home just how hopeless this whole thing might be. I need to realize that I most likely will never see Kong again. The knowledge burns in my gut. I’m not a violent man but I could choke Linda cheerfully.

She’s put me through hell. Am I really ready to trust Addie? Do I have a choice?

I don’t think I do… the pull is just too strong.