They reached the barn doors just as Jewel popped her head out, a smear of something suspiciously muddy on her cheek. “They’re ready!”
Charlie Grace opened the door with a knowing look. “Brace yourself,” she murmured to Lila. “You’re walking into full-blown puppy love.”
Lila chuckled. “Aren’t I always?”
Inside the barn, dust motes floated lazily in the sunbeams slanting through the opening. In the far stall, Jewel knelt in the straw, the cut-up towel pieces now arranged like patchwork bedding around the cluster of pups.
“They’re sleeping,” she whispered, holding a finger to her lips.
Lila crouched beside her, pulling latex gloves from her back pocket and slipping them on with a snap. “Let’s take a look anyway, sweetheart. I won’t wake them more than I have to.”
Charlie Grace leaned against the stall door, folding her arms and watching with quiet interest as Lila worked. The pups were nestled close, a pile of fuzzy limbs and twitching noses. Six in total—some dark, some pale, all with thick, plush coats and broad little paws.
Lila reached gently for the nearest one, lifting it with practiced care. She examined its ears, eyes, and belly, then ran her fingers down each limb with precision. Her brow creased.
She set the pup down and picked up another. Then another.
Charlie Grace straightened. “Something wrong?”
Lila didn’t answer right away. She was focused, her eyes sharp now in a way that made Charlie Grace’s stomach flutter.
Jewel looked up nervously. “Are they okay?”
“They seem healthy,” Lila said slowly, keeping her voice calm. “Good muscle tone. Clear eyes. Eating well, I assume?”
“Like little pigs,” Charlie Grace confirmed. “We’ve been bottle-feeding every four hours. They gobble it down. Well, except for the tiniest one.” She pointed. “But she’s doing a little better.”
Lila lifted the last pup and examined the pads of its feet, then gently turned it on its back. Her fingers hovered over its growing canines, then moved to the fur around its ruff.
Charlie Grace stepped into the stall. “Lila?”
Lila sat back on her heels and slowly peeled off her gloves. Her eyes met Charlie Grace’s, serious now. “They’re not dogs.”
Charlie Grace blinked. “What do you mean they’re not dogs?”
“They look like dogs,” Lila repeated, nodding. “But I’m ninety percent sure these are wolf pups.”
Charlie Grace gasped. “Wolves?”
Lila softened her tone as she turned to Jewel. “Sweetheart, they’re not dangerous right now. But they’re wild animals. They don’t grow up to be pets—not the way dogs do.”
Charlie Grace felt a chill prickle her skin. “You sure?”
“I’ll need to run some DNA to confirm, but the markers are there. The paws, the length of the snout, the shape of the ears—too narrow, too pointed. And the way their coats are coming in? That thick, layered underfur? It’s classic.”
Jewel’s lower lip trembled. “But I’ve been singing to them. They know my voice. They wag their tails!”
“I know, baby,” Charlie Grace said softly, wrapping an arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “Let’s just hear what Lila thinks we should do next.”
Lila looked between them, her face full of compassion. “We’ll take this one step at a time. First, I’ll get the DNA testing done. Then we’ll figure out next steps—together. But I want to prepare you both…if they are wolves, there’ll be regulations. This may be out of our hands.”
Charlie Grace met Lila’s gaze, heart sinking. She looked down at the sleeping pups, nestled so trustingly against each other in the straw. Jewel had called them hers. Had already given them names.
If Lila was right, her daughter’s world was about to shift. This wasn’t just a passing cloud—they were on the leading edge of an emotional storm. And they’d just felt the first drop.
7
Capri stood at the front door, twisting the lid onto the thermos as coffee-scented steam curled into the cool morning air. She held it out, and Jake took it from her with one hand, the other settling on her waist as he leaned in and kissed her, his whiskers grazing her skin in that way she secretly loved.
