DEACON WAS ON his knees working on the wiring on the first floor when something nudged his butt. He figured it was one of the guys trying to get his attention.

“Not now.” He swiped the sweat from his eyes and focused on fitting the wiring into the connection box when he felt another nudge, this time between his legs.

“What the fuck?” He jumped up, ready to do battle with whoever had just grabbed him by the balls.

Only it wasn’t a person. It was a dog. A damn big one, too. And in his work space.

The dog came over and licked his entire hand, his tail whipping back and forth and causing a breeze in the room. He was black-and-white with short, sleek hair and was, Deacon had to admit, beautiful. But huge.

“Okay, dude.” He checked to make sure it was a dude, and it was. “You’re obviously lost.”

“He’s not lost. He’s mine.”

He looked up to see Hazel standing in the doorway. “This is your dog?”

“Yup. Got him a couple of days ago.”

“He’s bigger than you.”

“Is not. He’s the perfect size.”

“Come on, dog,” Deacon said. “Back outside for you.”

Fortunately, the dog followed him, practically knocking Hazel over when he greeted her on the porch. Then he licked her entire face, which only made her laugh.

Hazel giggled. “Isn’t he great?”

“Yeah. Great. Did you name him yet?”

She nodded. “His name is Otis. He’s a Great Dane and he’s almost a year old. So he’s like still a puppy. Oh, and he knows how to sit, don’t you, Otis? Otis, sit.”

The dog wagged his tail and licked Hazel’s hand, but didn’t sit.

Deacon gave the dog a critical eye. “I think your dog needs some training.”

“I’m gonna train him. I was doing that on the porch but he slipped out of the leash and ran off.”

“You have experience training dogs?”

“No. This is my first dog ever. Mama and I went to the animal shelter and I got to pick him out.”

“So you decided on a horse?”

She laughed again. “He’s not a horse, Deacon.”

He loved the sound of Hazel’s laughter, which was filled with pure, unfiltered joy. There was nothing like a happy kid. “He looks like a pony.”

“Mama already told me I can’t ride him. Not that I would. She told me I have to be responsible for him. I have to get up in the morning and let him out, and when we’re here I have to watch him, take him for walks, and train him not to eat my shoes.”

Deacon arched a brow. “He ate your shoes?”

“Only one of them. We got him some toys so he’ll have stuff to chew on. Oh, and he likes to fetch tennis balls. But we can’t do that here cuz of the street.”

“Where’s his leash?”

“It’s over here.” She ran over to the bookstore’s porch and brought back the flimsiest leash Deacon had ever seen.

“That kind of leash will never work on a dog Otis’s size. You’ll need a stronger one.”

“I will?”

“Yes. And how are you training him?”

“By telling him stuff. He did sit that one time when I told him to. And I push on his rump while I tell him to sit.”

She looked proud of herself when she told him that. “I’ve been looking up stuff on YouTube.”

Kids and technology. At least she was trying. “Here, let me show you a few tricks.”

He didn’t have dog treats in his truck, but he did have some chicken breast that he’d brought along for lunch. He went to the cooler, pulled out a hunk of the chicken, then took Otis’s leash and brought him out to the sidewalk.

There, he showed Hazel how to hold a tiny hunk of chicken up high, then back the dog up enough to force him to sit while using the command. When Otis sat, he let him nibble on a small piece of the chicken. They worked on it several times until Otis did it instinctively. Of course, he expected a small piece of chicken every time, but eventually he’d associate the sit command with a treat. Until he’d do it with just the command.

“But you have to do it every time in the same way. A dog learns by routine,” Deacon explained to her.

Hazel nodded. “Got it.”

“Hazel. What are you doing?”

Deacon looked up to see Loretta standing on the front step of the bookstore.

Hazel turned around and smiled at her. “Deacon’s teaching me how to train Otis. Look, Mama.”

Hazel broke off a small piece of the chicken and held it up high. “Otis. Sit.”

The dog sat and Hazel let him nibble on the chicken. “Good boy.”

Loretta walked down the steps. “Deacon has work to do, Hazel. He doesn’t have time to play with you and Otis.”

“We’re not playing, Mama. We’re working. He already knows how to sit because Deacon helped me.” Hazel turned to Deacon. “Can you help me train Otis some more?”

“Actually, I have to get back to work now, Hazel.”

“You have to stop bothering Deacon,” Loretta said.

“She’s not a bother, Loretta.”

“See? I’m not a bother, Mama. Maybe you can come over for dinner tonight and we can work some more with Otis. Can Deacon come over for dinner, Mama?”

Loretta looked horrified at the thought. Deacon tried to hide his amusement behind a cough.

“Oh. Uh, I don’t know if that’s a good idea, honey.”

Hazel’s smile disappeared. “But why not? We were doing really good together.”

Deacon hated to see the disappointment on Hazel’s face. “I’d love to come over tonight, Hazel.”

And there was that bright smile again. “Awesome.”

“Hazel, go take Otis inside and let him have a drink of water. I’m sure he’s been working hard.”

“Okay. See you later, Deacon.”

“See you, Hazel.”

After she walked inside with the dog, Loretta turned to him. “It’s not good to make promises like that to Hazel. I don’t want her to be disappointed.”

“First, I never make promises I don’t intend to keep. You don’t have to make me dinner. I’ll come to your place and give Hazel a few light training tricks for her dog. Then I’ll leave.”

Loretta stared at him, and he wondered what was going on in her head. Likely things he didn’t want to know about.

“Fine. We’ll be home about six.”

“Okay. I’ll see you sometime after that.”

She turned to head back inside.

“Loretta?”

She stopped. “Yes?”

“I don’t know where you live.”

“Oh.” She gave him her address, and he put it in his phone.

“See you tonight, Loretta.”

She gave him a look, then nodded. “Right. See you tonight, Deacon.”

When she disappeared inside, Deacon headed back up the stairs and into the building, wondering what the hell he’d just done. He didn’t want to see Loretta any more than she wanted to see him.

So why had he offered to come to her place tonight?

He knew why.

For Hazel. And only for Hazel.