“Cane Corso. Jarrett will have a couple others patrolling the area around the house and one more inside to protect Stone while he’s doing his job. He has a couple breeds.
“You will be introduced and they will all be safe to you and to her. She could pull their ears off and they won’t hurt her. Plus, Jarrett will never be far away.”
“Will Jarrett be staying in the house with us while you’re away at work?”
“No. He prefers to watch from the outside. You’ll be safe. I promise.”
Jarrett looks at me. “Bella and Rose are waiting. I’ll bring them out in a minute since they’ll share house duty. Duke, Shep and Buddy are already on patrol.”
“Uhm, how many dogs are there?” Gentry asks.
“Six. Depending on what their job is, they rotate. Stone is in charge of Ayla. Bella will be his back up and inside to help cover if he gets injured.”
Jarrett gives a different whistle and two more dogs pad into the yard. “This is Bella and Rose. They already know Sayer and Paul but they’ll take a minute to reacquaint themselves. If you don’t mind ladies, just let them smell you. They may nudge your hand. If so you can scratch their heads.”
After the meet and greet the dogs begin to sniff around the yard.
“Dad, I need to get to the job site. Do you want to go with MaryKatherine now?”
“I need to get to work with my daughter,” she interrupts. I’ll just go to the coffee shop, your dad can come to town at the end of the day.”
“Okay, I’ll follow you to town.”
CHAPTER 12
Gentry
Paul and I work side by side in the office while Ayla plays at her new table with her stuffie dog. Stone lays beside her constantly watching. Bella wanders through the house periodically then lays by the front door.
The first time Ayla smacks Stone on top of the head with a building block I jump. “Sweetheart, be gentle with the puppy. You could hurt him.”
Paul snorts. “Think it would take more than that little girl to hurt Stone.”
Leaning forward Ayla cups the dogs massive head and kisses him on the nose, like I’ve seen Sayer do to her.
By the time she’s pulled his ear and bopped him with her stuffie, I’ve totally accepted that he doesn’t even feel her abuse.
Paul goes to the kitchen to refill our coffees. I pick her up to stretch my own legs and dance around the room with her. I pause at the picture of Sayer on the bookshelf like I’ve been doing every day. “Dada. That’s your Dada. Da-Da. Da-Da.”
She points with the finger she’d been sucking. “Da.”
My heart leaps. “Yes, Da. Can you say Da Da?”
“Da. Da,” she repeats.
Paul clears his throat behind me. A tear runs down his cheek before he sets our coffees on the desk and swipes it away. His breath hitches. “My son has wanted to hear that so badly.”
“There is no doubt he loves her. Or that he’s her father. We’ll keep working on it.”
“You’re a good woman, Gentry. A damn good woman.”
He clears his throat and takes his seat at the desk.
Later, I see Jarrett is out in the yard throwing sticks for one of the dogs as I make lunch. Paul comes into the kitchen after taking Ayla to the bathroom and washing her hands and I ask. “You want to tell Jarrett to come in for lunch?”
“He doesn’t like being inside. He’d probably appreciate you taking something to him on the porch though.”
“What about the bathroom?”
