Bonus points, I didn’t even gag.
Truth. I could learn to love oatmeal for Stone, but maybe I should set some culinary boundaries. Honesty was key after all, and I didn’t think he’d be happy giving me anything I actively disliked.
“Finished?” he asked, and I nodded with relief. “Let’s go.”
He whistled for Morrigan, who’d been wandering nearby. She ran to the porch, spun on her hind legs, and landed neatly next to Stone’s left foot. The happy way she wagged her tail told the whole story; this was probably her favorite part of the day.
“Good girl, Morrigan.” Stone gave her a treat from his belt pouch. “Good girl.”
As we walked, I tried to take in everything I saw. The dirt path was well worn. It led to the large arena where I’d watched Stone put the hybrids through agility training the day before. I heard excited yips and barking from that direction already, and the cacophony only grew as we approached.
Morrigan glanced up at Stone anxiously. “Go ahead,” he told her. Apparently, we were strolling, and she wanted to run. “Taggart must already be down there.”
“Does he help with the hybrids?”
“Not normally. Today he’s going to feed and run them around for me.” He put his hand at the small of my back to guide me. “I wanted at least a day to show you around.”
“Okay. Let’s go.” I was excited to see. “Where do the wolves live?”
“Other side of the property.” He pointed in the opposite direction.
“Near Taggart and Ariel’s house?”
“Beyond it.” He shoved a fallen branch aside as we walked past. “Wolves need a lot of room to roam, so we have fewer of them. There are eight right now.”
“I’d love to see them.”
“We can try looking, but you won’t spot them if they don’t want to be seen.”
“I have these.” I indicated the binoculars I’d hung over my neck. Unfortunately, they’d banged my sling with every step I took.
“I’ll carry those for you,” Stone offered. “If you want them, tell me.”
“Thank you.”
Before long, an industrial shed filled with individual kennels came into view. They were like the ones near the production company setup on the location shoot, but there were two rows of them with a walkway down the middle, just like a prison yard.
My feet seemed to stop working.
“What’s the matter?” Stone asked.
“Nothing. I’m fine.” What had I expected? Some canine Club Med?
Stone’s rescued hybrids were rehomed with people equipped to take them if possible, but if they were unplaceable, they lived out their lives right there. I’d looked forward to seeing them, but I never imagined it could be so bleak. I had a million questions.
“Taggart?” Stone called his brother’s name. The man appeared from behind a smaller outbuilding I assumed was a storage shed of some kind.
“Brother.” Taggart waggled his eyebrows at me. “Did you bring Sebastian to see your evil lair?”
“We’re going for a nature walk this morning.” Stone didn’t stop long enough to chat.
“The grove is nice this time of year,” Taggart called after we walked past.
“That’s why we’re headed there,” Stone answered.
“It must take an immense amount of labor to run this place,” I said. “How many people work here?”
“Seven year-round.” Stone held my free hand around the cast. “We have volunteers and students from the university who help when they can.”
