Chapter 23

Brooke

Landon and I walk to the arena. I hold Taco, and Fajita, and Merle’s leashes while he walks behind Burrito and Chili. I give Landon a shoulder check. “So, I’m your girlfriend now?”

He looks horrified and shakes his head. “No, I was just saying that to make you feel better. You’re just some random chick I picked up…” Unable to keep going with the lie, he chuckles. “Of course, you’re my girlfriend! And if you tell me no, I will look at you with puppy dog eyes. I learned from these guys, so don’t try me.”

Every cell inside my body explodes with pure happiness. “Yes, I’m your girlfriend. But are we in high school or something?” Just like that, it’s official. Landon and I are an item. My heart beats a little faster. I wasn’t even looking for anything serious, and here I am, plunging into a new relationship. I’m nervous and giddy all at the same time.

“High school?” He winks. “We can roleplay later if you want. I’ll be the quarterback, and you be the cheerleading captain. Will you wear pigtails?”

The dogs bark louder as we get to the backstage area. There are lots of trainers with their dogs…every breed from teacup Chihuahuas to Dogue de Bordeauxs. I approach the competition coordinator, Brad, a tall man with thick glasses.

“Hey, Brad.”

He looks up from his clipboard. “Hey.”

“I know you’re super busy right now.”

“Yes, I am–”

“But I wanted to introduce you to my boyfriend, Landon.” I grin. Wow! Damn, it feels good to say it out loud.

The two men nod at each other.

“And these are his Chihuahuas.”

Brad finally smiles. “How can you not love Chihuahuas, right?”

“Exactly.” I squeeze the two in my arms. “That’s why I was hoping that you could allow Landon and his dogs to participate today.”

“Today?” He shakes his head. “Maybe next year. All the competition slots are filled. We didn’t have any cancellations. Which is weird because it seems that someone always gets sick or chickens out.”

“Come on, Brad,” I plead. “Can’t you work something out?”

“There’s no way I can accommodate four dogs.” He glances down at his clipboard, running his pen down the margin. “But, maybe.” Landon and I frown. Brad takes a deep breath. “But maybe I could make room for one.”

“Please don’t make me pick.” Landon’s eyes are huge. “That would be like a father picking a favorite son.”

“Sorry, buddy, but that’s the best I can do,” Brad says. “And for the record, my older brother West is my dad’s absolute favorite. So, you may not want to pick a favorite, but you can pick a favorite.”

I smile at Landon. “Come on, just pick one. It doesn’t mean you love one more than the other.”

Landon sighs. “Okay. If I had to choose…I pick…”

Taco barks as if he’d raised his little paw and said, “Pick me, pick me.”

Landon grins at him. “You want to do this, mister wet hair licker?” Taco barks again and wags his tail. “Alright, I guess it will be Taco.”

“A Chihuahua named Taco, now I’ve heard it all,” Brad says as he hands Landon a clipboard. “I just need you to fill this out, sign the waiver, provide a check for the entry fee, and we’ll be getting started soon.”

Landon hands Chili to me. “Thanks again.”

I beam at Brad. “Yeah, we really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” Brad says.

We walk over into a corner, away from the other dogs and trainers. Landon completes the form and says, “I’m not really sure if I can do this. I hope that I don’t make a fool of myself.”

“Just try your best.” I kiss him on the cheek.

He nods and kneels down. “Okay, Taco. It’s you and me. Put on your game face, buddy!”

Taco barks. I laugh, and the other Chihuahuas join in on the barking. A few minutes later, Brad walks over to us. “Brooke, you and Merle are up in five.” He looks at Landon. “You’ll be right after that.”

“Okay.” I look at him before turning to Landon and handing him the leashes for all the little dogs. “You’ve got this.”

“I don’t know about all of that, but we’re gonna give it the old college try. Right, buddy?” Landon looks down at Taco. The dog is preoccupied with a plastic toy bone that squeaks.

Walking toward the arena with Merle, I feel complete joy fill my heart. I bend to pet my beloved bulldog, whispering, “You can do this, boy,” into his ear.

And he sure does, flying over, under, and around obstacles at record speed. When he’s finished, I drop to my knees and pull the hunk of muscles to my chest.

“That was amazing.”

I look up to find Landon grinning down at me. The Chihuahuas jump on Merle as if they’re trying to congratulate him too. He gives me a long-suffering look as Taco bites at his ear.

“And up next, we have the first in our small division. Please welcome Taco, the Chihuahua!” the announcer with the mustache calls out on the microphone. “What an awesome name!”

Everyone claps as Taco and Landon walk into the arena. Landon looks nervous under the bright lights. I’m starting to think maybe this is too much for him, and I shouldn’t have pushed him into the spotlight so soon. His hands tremble a little as he waves at the crowd.

“Okay, Taco, show us what you can do, por favor!” The announcer chuckles.

Landon takes Taco through the first obstacle course with only one little mistake and a relatively fast time for a first timer. I’m shocked! I never knew that they had it in them. Landon stays by Taco’s side every step of the way, talking him through it with the positive reinforcement techniques I showed him.

Everyone claps for Taco as he finishes with flying colors. “That’s one amazing Chihuahua!” the announcer says. “Please give it up one more time for Taco and Landon!”

The applause gets louder as Taco and Landon come to the backstage area. I’m waiting by the entrance with Merle and the three amigos. I kneel to pet Taco. “Great job, boy!” I look up at Landon. “Where did you learn to do all of that?”

“I had been practicing every day on my own with the dogs until you-know-who took them away,” Landon says. “I was afraid that they might forget everything, but Taco really worked his magic out there.”

“To say the least! So, now you can see first-hand that positive reinforcement really works.”

“For them and for me.” He kneels down to pet the Chihuahuas and steals a kiss from me. The dogs jump up and down and bark louder. “You know what I think?”

“What’s that?”

“I think you’re perfect, Brooke Kirkland.”

The heat of his compliment flows over me as he steals another kiss.

***

Landon and I stand in the backstage area as the last dog and his trainer finish up in the arena. “Alright folks, our program has come to a close, but don’t go anywhere, we’re gonna take a little break while the judges tally up the scores!” the announcer says.

Loud music blasts over the speaker. Landon turns to me. “Are you still hungry? I could really use those nachos about now.”

“But he’s about to announce the winners.”

“Seriously, Brooke? I know you’re a constant optimist and Taco is great, but there’s no way he stands a chance with all of this competition. Can you watch the dogs? I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

He walks away. I pet the dogs and smile at them. “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other, huh.”

A few minutes later, the announcer makes his way back to the center of the arena. “Alright folks, now for the big prizes! Let me start off by saying that it wasn’t easy at all for the judges to make up their minds. But here goes…”

The sound of a drum roll blasts through the speakers. I send a text to Landon. “Hurry.”

He replies: “Just placed order. Be back in a sec.”

“And the third runner-up is Bailey, the Beagle!” The dog and his trainer rush out to the arena to accept their prize. Everyone applauds. “And the second runner-up is Molly, the Poodle!” The dog and her trainer rush out to the arena to accept their prize. The applauds gets louder.

I send another text message to Landon that reads: “Where are you?”

He replies: “I’m coming. Not like Taco will win first place. LOL.”

“And now for the biggest, grandest prize of all! Our champion is…drum roll please…” The announcer paces the arena. The drum roll is very loud. “Merle, the bulldog!”

Everyone applauds.

Shocked, I look at Brad. “Can you please watch the other dogs for a second? That’s me!”

“Sure, no problem,” he says and takes the leashes.

I run out to the middle of the arena with Merle. Landon runs down the steps and jumps inside with us. I can’t help but laugh. He’s out of breath.

“Now that’s what I call an entrance, folks!” The announcer smiles as he hands me a golden trophy with a dog paw on the top. Taco barks to be picked up, and when Landon does, he licks his hair. Everyone shares a laugh as Merle snorts and grunts his approval.

I pull my cell phone out of my pocket and take a few pictures. The moment is way too cute to pass up. Landon smiles as he holds Taco and my trophy.

We walk to the backstage area. I look into Landon’s eyes. I’m so happy it’s hard to put all of my raging emotions into words. I can’t believe how Guy turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing, but that’s all in the rearview mirror now. I have so much to look forward to with Landon. We have our whole lives ahead of us.

He presses his lips to my hair. “Congratulations.”

“Merle did all the hard work,” I say. “You and Taco did really great yourselves.”

He grins. “None of this would’ve been possible without the help of a very talented, gorgeous trainer I happen to know. I realize I still have a little more work to do with them, even my hair licking competitor, but I’ve got all the right tools because the woman who taught me really knows her stuff.”

“Is that right?”

He kisses the tip of my nose. “Yes, that’s right. And you want to know something else?”

I lift an eyebrow, happy down to my toes. “What’s that?”

“I’m falling in love with you, Brooke Kirkland.”

Tears prick the backs of my eyes, and I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling his face down to mine, ignoring the jumping dogs all around us. “I’m falling in love with you too, Landon Cole.”

Our lips connect, and everything is right in my world.