Page 10 of Throw Down
Briar shrugged. “That’s what makes it delicious.But don’t change the subject.We were talking about my compensation for relocating to a town with more cows than people.”
“I warned you,” Nate reminded him.
“Yeah, but you knew I didn’t believe you.I had no idea my new life would be nothing but muck boots and abominations like chicken fried steak.It’s not even chicken or steak.”
“What happened to your plan to be vegetarian?”
Briar flushed and lifted his chin, injecting a jaunty superior tone when he said, “I’m on hiatus.Candace from the Stop n’ Shop is teaching me to cook, and she doesn’t know any vegetarian recipes.”
“Just admit you missed bacon.”
“Shut up.”
Nate laughed and gave him an affectionate shove.“Go check on your girl. Her vitals look good this morning.”
“And you didn’t lead with that?” He shoved his coffee into Nate’s hands and tore through the clinic.
The puppy had a name, Briar was sure of it, but since Derek had stubbornly refused to share it, her tag said Princess.Nate had already removed her IV port, and she wagged her tail so hard when he came through the door that she upended herself and toppled backward.
“We should’ve named you Rocky,” Briar murmured, scratching behind her adorably floppy ears before lifting her from her crate.She was already half-grown, but she wasn’t ever going to be a bruiser like her owner.She'd always be just the right size to chase gophers and nip at heels.
“We’ll keep her a few more days for observation,” Nate said, observing from the doorway, “but after that we’ll need to find her a home.”
“She’s already got a home,” Briar said, lifting his chin when she tried to lick the frown off his face.“The ogre with the giant chip on his shoulder, remember?”
Nate leaned against the jamb and crossed his arms.“I remember. Roberta said he called first thing this morning to check on her.He said to approve everything, no limit, and then put her up for adoption after that.”
“Asshole!” Briar exploded before he could stop himself, and when Nate looked at him askance, he quickly added, “Not you.”
“You’re not wrong,” Nate said with a reluctant laugh.“It’s probably for the best. Some things just go against common decency, and leaving a puppy on Derek Owens’ doorstep is one of them.”
Briar’s eyes narrowed. “He can’t be that bad.Sure, he wasn’t Mr. Congeniality, but so what?He was freezing his nuts off, and he still fixed the generator for me.He didn’t even laugh when he saved me from the snake.”
Nate’s lips twitched when he said, “God, I wish he’d gotten a picture of that.”
“It’s not that I was stuck,” Briar protested, trying to affect an air of offended dignity that he ruined with a hard sneeze.“I just didn’t trust myself not to accidentally hurt it.”
“Sure,” Nate agreed, his voice rich with amusement.“So, you let a complete stranger with fists the size of Christmas hams do it for you.”
“What’s his deal, anyway?”
“No.” Nate’s expression changed in an instant.He straightened up from his slouch and jabbed a finger in Briar’s direction.“No way. Uh-uh. Absolutely not.”
“What?”
“You’re fishing.”
“Aren’t you the one always telling me to learn more about the locals?Make some friends?” Briar asked innocently.“If anyone needs a friend, I bet it’s him.”
“He’s straight, Briar.”
The deep concern in his voice would have been insulting if he hadn’t been the man who’d peeled Briar up off the floor after his last breakup and then frog-marched him down to the police station tofile a restraining order. Nate had seen him at his worst.When he spoke, Briar owed it to him to listen—or at least pretend.
“Of course, he’s straight. Everyone in this town is straight.” He gave Princess one last pat before setting her back in her crate and added pointedly, “Just like Tucker…right?”
“That’s different.”
“Oh, yeah?” Briar smirked. “How?”