Free Vengeance in Blood (Book 2): Tribulations by Thomas A. Watson Page B

run.
    Stopping at the front door, Tiffany saw Besseta lying on the floor as the two pugs crawled over her, kissing her. Dropping her bags, Tiffany fell to her knees with tears in her eyes, watching the dogs love all over Besseta, and Kenneth laid on the floor, and they loved on him. “How?” she mumbled in a broken voice with tears on her face.
    The dogs suddenly froze and spun around. They jumped away from Besseta and Kenneth with Bonnie standing in front of Besseta and Clyde in front of Kenneth, and they started growling and barking at Tiffany. The hair on their backs was standing up as they viscously barked at her, even darting forward then bouncing back, trying to scare the predator they smelled away.
    This was the barking Tiffany always heard as she looked at the two dogs with tears running down her face with a longing that really hit Kenneth in the gut. He jumped up. “Bonnie, Clyde, that’s enough!” he snapped. The dogs ignored him and kept barking. Besseta got up and reached for Bonnie, but Kenneth stopped her. “Don’t,” he said. “They think Tiffany’s here to hurt us.”
    Besseta looked at the door and saw the tears and longing on Tiffany’s face. “She won’t hurt us,” Besseta said.
    “I know that, baby, but they are dogs, not people,” Kenneth told her. “Let me handle this, and you follow my lead. If you pick them up, you are taking away their means of attack and ability to run.” He looked at Besseta to make sure she understood, and she finally nodded. “BONNIE, CLYDE!” Kenneth bellowed, stomping his foot. The dogs jumped, shutting up, and even Besseta jumped back. Tiffany never moved, looking at the two dogs.
    Walking in front of the dogs, Kenneth put his hands on his hips and looked down at them. “Be nice!” he snapped, and they looked up at him in what Kenneth took to be shock. The dogs smelled danger, but Daddy wanted them to be nice. “Sit,” Kenneth snapped, and both dogs sat down, giving off low growls. “I’m not kidding!” Kenneth shouted, and the growling stopped, but the hair on their backs was still standing up.
    “Besseta,” Kenneth said in a low voice. “Go over and kneel beside Tiffany, and put your arm over her shoulder, then I’ll do the same on the other side.”
    Smiling, Besseta walked over to Tiffany, and the dogs jumped up, growling. “Sit!” Kenneth barked, and they both slowly sat as Momma kneeled beside the predator.  When Besseta put her arm over Tiffany, both dogs jumped up, growling, ready to defend Momma. “Easy,” Kenneth told them in a low, calm voice.
    Bonnie and Clyde both calmed down, not understanding why the predator wasn’t attacking Momma. Together, they both sat back down, not looking away from Besseta. “Good boy, good girl,” Kenneth said, bending down to give both some love. As he rubbed them, Kenneth could feel their muscles were tensed and hard as a rock. “Stay,” he said, standing up, and slowly walked toward Tiffany and Besseta.
    The dogs started to vibrate on the floor, growling as Daddy walked over to the predator. When Kenneth kneeled on the other side of Tiffany and put his arm around her, the dogs jumped up and growled again. “Be nice,” Kenneth snapped, and they stopped growling but didn’t sit down. Through all of this, Tiffany just looked at the dogs with tears pouring down her face. She barely registered Kenneth and Besseta beside her.
    “Besseta, slowly put your head on Tiffany’s shoulder,” Kenneth told her. “They need to see we aren’t afraid of her and trust her.” Slowly, Besseta laid her head on Tiffany’s shoulder, and both dogs cocked their heads to the side, almost making Kenneth laugh.
    “Tiffany,” Kenneth said, and she didn’t acknowledge him. “Tiffany,” he sang out louder, smiling at the dogs.
    “Yes.” She shook her head, and the dogs started growling, uncocking their heads. Kenneth just watched the dogs, impressed they knew what Tiffany was.
    “Don’t take this the wrong