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will traumatize the poor thing, and he might catch one of those kennel diseases. Thelma Goodie got her dog there, and after paying a fortune in vet bills, she still ended up putting the poor thing to sleep.”
    “This one’s the only pup we haven’t been able to place,” Jason interjected. He shot Gabriella a smile. “He sure seems to like you. He’s got an impressive pedigree. His daddy is a three-time grand champion field hunter, and we drove all the way to Nova Scotia to get his mom five years ago, and she’s the best ocean duck dog in the area.” He nodded toward his brother. “Johnnie trained Maggie himself. We got nine hundred bucks each for his six litter mates, which is a steal for a Chesapeake Bay retriever with great bloodlines, but we could sell you this little guy for seven hundred.”
    “Oh, I would love to have him,” Gabriella said, lifting the pup to rub its fur on her cheek. “But where I’m living right now is bursting with people. I couldn’t possibly get a dog of my own until my brother’s house is finished being built and we move into it.” She suddenly thrust the pup into Fiona’s arms. “But you could take him. You have that whole apartment to yourself, and your landlord doesn’t have a dog.”
    “I … but …” Fiona couldn’t say anything because every time she opened her mouth, the puppy kept licking her. She was finally able to wrestle the quivering mass of muscle under control, and after darting a frantic glance at the two men, she grabbed Gabriella’s sleeve and dragged her farther down the aisle.
    “I can’t just bring home a dog without asking my landlord’s permission,” she quietly hissed. “What if he doesn’t like dogs and says no? Then what am I supposed to do with this little guy?”
    “But you said he’s never there,” Gabriella countered. “Heck, it would probably be months before he even realized you had a dog. Oh, Fiona, think of how much company he would be for you. And you’ll be able to take him for walksaround town, and he’ll grow big and strong and protective. A dog is just what you need.”
    “Who’s your landlord?” Johnnie asked, making Fiona jump when she realized the two men had followed them down the aisle.
    “It’s Mr. Huntsman,” Gabriella answered for her. “Do you know him? Fiona is renting his upstairs apartment. His is the large yellow and sort of white house down by the ocean on the edge of the village, just a short walk from here.”
    “You live over Huntsman?” Johnnie asked in surprise, looking at Fiona. “Hell, I went to school with Trace, and I know for a fact that he likes dogs. I tell you what,” he said, reaching out and rubbing the puppy’s ear. “You take this little guy off our hands right now, and you can have him for six hundred.”
    Fiona couldn’t even speak, much less think; she could only picture the seven months she’d spent in hell the last time she hadn’t done something a man had asked her to do.
    “But you said you’re taking him to the shelter,” Gabriella interjected when Fiona didn’t respond. “So you should give him to my friend, and that way, you would know he’s going to a good home.”
    Johnnie Dempster continued looking directly at Fiona. “Five hundred,” he said quietly.
    “I’ll buy him from you!” she blurted out when Gabriella started to protest again. She immediately shifted the puppy to one arm, reached into her pocket and pulled out the small money purse Eve had given her, and thrust it toward him.
    But Gabriella snatched it out of her hand. “Three hundred,” the girl said.
    Fiona shot Gabriella a threatening glare and spoke to herin Gaelic. “You will not barter with this man,” she hissed. “I am naming the puppy Misneach, and to pay any less would demean my new pet.”
    “Misneach?” Gabriella repeated, slaughtering the word with her ancient Irish brogue. She suddenly smiled. “You’re naming the pup courage ?” she asked in Gaelic.
    Speaking in her