Free Diamond in the Ruff (Matchmaking Mamas Book 13) by Marie Ferrarella Page B

would be taught. She’d had to clean up several rather untidy messes already and couldn’t see herself doing that indefinitely. To be honest, she’d rather hoped that the vet had some sort of magic solution regarding housebreaking that he was willing to pass on to her.
    The sympathetic expression on his handsome, chiseled face told her that she’d thought wrong.
    “That’s going to take a little longer for him to learn, I’m afraid. I can—and will—show you the basics and what to say, but for the most part, that’s going to require dedication and patience on your part. A
lot
of dedication and patience,” he emphasized. “Because you’re going to have to take Jonny here out every hour on the hour until he goes—as well as watch for signs that he’s about to go.”
    This was completely new territory for her and something she had never given any attention to before now. “How will I know what signs to look for?”
    “That,” he replied with a smile that would have curled her toes had she allowed it, “is a very good question.” Leaning in to her as if to confide a secret, he lowered his voice and said, “This would be the part where
you
get trained.”
    Drawing his head back again, he gave her a wink that seemed to flutter through layers of skin tissue and embed itself smack in the middle of her stomach.
    “Okay, back to getting him to come when you call,” he said, taking a firm hold on the long line. With that, he proceeded to go through the basics for her slowly and clearly before he went on to demonstrate what he’d just said, allowing her to see it in action.

Chapter Six
    “O kay, now you try,” Christopher said after successfully getting Jonathan to come to him when he called the puppy. The vet held out the long line to her.
    Instead of taking it from him, Lily looked at the elongated leash uncomfortably. “Me?”
    If there was one thing she really hated, it was appearing inept in front of people, even someone who seemed as nice as this man. Doing so only seemed to underscore her feelings of insecurity, not to mention that it reinforced the shyness that she grappled with every day.
    Christopher instinctively knew when a situation required an extra dose of patience. Usually, it involved the animals he treated, but occasionally, he could sense the need to tap into his almost endless supply when dealing with a person. He could see that Lily’s reluctance had nothing to do with being stubborn or reticent. From her stance, she was far from confident.
    That had to change. If he could sense it, the dog definitely could. While he had a soft spot in his heart for all things canine, he also knew that dominance had to be established. If it wasn’t, this cute little black ball of fur and paws was going to walk all over the woman beside him and most likely make her life a living hell—or at least turn her home into a shambles.
    “Well, yes,” Christopher told her. “Unless you intend to have me come home with you and take over raising Jonny here, you’re going to have to learn how to make him obey you. Emphasis on the word
obey,
” he said, still holding the end of the long line before her.
    Lily pressed her lips together. The only thing she hated more than looking like a fool was looking like a coward. She took a deep breath and wrapped her fingers around the end of the long line.
    Glaring at the puppy, she said as authoritatively as she could, “Come!” When Jonathan remained where he was, she repeated the command even more forcefully. “Come!” At which point Jonathan cocked his head and stared at her, but made no attempt to comply.
    Taking pity on her, Christopher bent close to her ear and said in a low voice, “Remember to preface each command with his name and give the long line a little tug the way I did. He’ll get the hang of it eventually.”
    Christopher’s breath along the side of her face and neck would have caused an involuntary shiver to shimmy down her spine had she not steeled