Free By the Numbers by Chris Owen and Tory Temple Page A

went to sniff the grass and promptly marked her territory.
    "Classy." Deuce rolled his eyes and clipped on one of the leashes. "Got two more leashes here, do you want to let them out here or in the back?"
    "Here, I guess. And it's okay if they pee. I told my lawn guy I was getting dogs, and he's got some stuff, I dunno." Trey set the crate down and opened the latch. "Just clip it on their collars?"
    "There's a D ring near the buckle." Deuce grabbed one of the puppies -- Trey's, as it turned out -- and showed him. "That's all there is to it. Mind you, sometimes they're slippery and you're halfway across the yard before you get to the D ring."
    Trey furrowed his brow and concentrated on getting the leashes attached to the dogs before they bolted. He managed to get both of them on and proudly displayed his handiwork to Deuce. "I can be a dog owner. This is easy."
    The puppies promptly took that opportunity to make a run for it, not realizing they were leashed. Their leads got tangled around Trey's legs as they went in opposite directions, and Deuce winced as Trey tried and failed to keep his balance.
    "Shit," Trey said to the sky. To his credit, he still had the leashes in one hand.
    Deuce went to him and offered a hand up. "Maybe I should take one of those. You keep Six, I'll take Q and Nameless." He did not laugh, though he did grin. Trey was adorable even flat on his back.
    Trey took the hand and pulled himself to his feet. "Good idea," he said ruefully, and handed over Deuce's puppy. Six sat down and wagged his little tail, oblivious to the fact that he'd just sent his new owner sprawling on his nice, tight ass. "Let's bring them to the backyard and they can run around there."
    "Good plan." Deuce closed up the car and maneuvered his way to the backyard with two leashes, the puppies working in a constant zigzag pattern that seemed designed to trip him. Q just walked, stepping over the puppy without any apparent effort. "So, I figure it will take me all of an hour to unload the car and unpack. Then I'll go buy some food, I guess."
    "I can help." Trey seemed to be concentrating hard on getting Six to walk in a straight line, although the puppy wasn't cooperating. "Why do they do this? Why don't they just... walk?" He stopped short as Deuce's puppy unexpectedly crossed in front of him.
    "Too many things to smell and see." Deuce smiled as the puppies stopped walking to play. "They won't actually even be ready to learn how to walk on a leash for another few weeks. But we can teach them to sit and stuff. Leash and heel is hard."
    When Six decided once again to wrap his lead around Trey's ankle, Trey let out an exasperated snort and picked the puppy up. "You would think dogs would just know how." He gave the puppy an affectionate rub on the head and led the way around the side of the house to the latched gate. "I took care of the side door," he pointed out. And indeed, the woodwork that now covered the open spaces in the gate looked freshly cut.
    "Oh, nice." Deuce showed Q the wood. "Don't eat it." Q hadn't chewed anything in years, but it never hurt to tell her, he figured. "This will do great. Did you tell Lacey yet? About Six, I mean."
    "I said I had a surprise for her. If I told her what it was, she'd blab it to Holly, and then I'd get an earful before Lacey got here. This way, she and I can talk about how much her mom really needs to know." Trey's tone had turned grim.
    "About a dog, about a new housemate, or about me in the specific?" Deuce didn't want to get in the middle of family drama, not when things were only at the kissing stage.
    "Well, I meant just the dog. But the other thing will come into play eventually." Trey rolled his eyes and sat down on the grass in the back yard. "Don't worry, she won't harass you or anything. And we don't ever fight around Lacey. She and I just tend to have heated conversations when it's anything more than 'Lacey has ballet on Wednesday' or 'Be at the school at two on Friday for her parent