Free Something to Curse About by Gayla Drummond Page A

walkies .
    That would be far too embarrassing once I was human again. At my next, louder whine, she put the box down and frowned at me. “What?”
    I pawed the bottom of the door, wagging my tail.
    The teen sighed. “You need to go outside?”
    I bounced up and down before pawing at the door again.
    “All right. I guess I can take you out to the yard.”
    Oh, thank you .
    Unfortunately, I’d forgotten about the stairs. Terra started down, noticed I wasn’t beside her any longer, and stopped. She looked over her shoulder. “Well, come on.”
    Crap . I half-crawled down a few, placing each paw carefully. She bounced down to the landing, turning to watch my descent. By the time I reached it, I was shaking. Stairs were difficult with four legs and no arms.
    The future tiger Queen of Santo Trueno stared down, her brows drawn together while she nibbled her bottom lip. I looked away, toward the next set of stairs, and felt my tail curl until it was between my legs and against my belly.
    “You’re scared of stairs.” Her fingertips brushed my ear. “Okay. Don’t bite me.”
    Before I could look at her, she’d bent and hefted me, one arm under my rear, the other across my chest. I almost peed when she took the first couple of steps, certain she’d trip and we’d both go tail over tea kettle.
    We didn’t. Her faint wobble disappeared, and we thumped down to the next landing, then the following two without any trouble. Once on the first floor, she put me down and grinned. “There, that wasn’t so bad. Right?”
    You asking me, or yourself? I wagged my tail, noticing the acrid smell of her fear was nearly gone. Still grinning, Terra patted my head before leading me down the hallway to a door at the back. It opened onto a small, fenced area full of old and new overgrowth.
    I found a hidden spot as quickly as possible, and concentrated on the day ahead. Fortunately, my doggy body didn’t need instructions on how to take care of business. Finished, I stepped forward and kicked dirt like I’d seen real dogs do.
    When I rejoined Terra at the door, she patted my head again. “Good girl.”
    The smell of fear had completely disappeared. I guess helping her get over her dog phobia could be counted as a plus to the situation. We went back inside, and she coaxed me up the stairs, appearing ready to catch hold if I tripped or fell.
    By the time we walked into the apartment, Logan was ready to leave.
    “I was going to cook pancakes,” Terra protested.
    “That’s okay, I’ll pick something up on the way,” he said before lowering his head to rub his cheek against hers. He followed that with a kiss on her forehead. “We’ll go to the grocery store when I get back, okay?”
    “Okay. Um, what if the vet doesn’t know who she belongs to?”
    He looked down at me. “I don’t know.”
    “You can’t take her to the pound.”
    My blood ran cold. No, don’t take me to the pound!
    “If they can’t help me, I’ll run by to see Discord. I guess if she can’t help, I’ll bring her home and we can put an ad in the paper or something.”
    Whew .
    Terra seemed satisfied with that, and patted my head. “Okay, see you later.”
     
     
    ***
     
     
    Roughly two hours later, we knew that I wasn’t microchipped. We also knew that I was a seven-month-old Border Collie mix—the last thing I’d already figured out—weighing sixty-five pounds, and that in spite of the fact I’d refused, with a loud growl, bared teeth, and rear firmly planted, the indignity of having my temperature taken, I seemed to be a healthy pup.
    I made a note to repay Logan for the cost of the checkup, as well as the purple collar and leash he bought before we left the vet clinic. Back in his truck, I sat quietly while he put the collar on me. He grimaced, checking to make certain it wasn’t too tight. “Sorry, girl. There’s a leash law and we have to follow the rules.”
    Not a problem. Come on, let’s go. I need Kate .
    Logan fastened his seat belt,