Capítulo 70: 70. Chapter 70
Castle follows Kate inside the Humane Society's front doors; he's carrying Ella in his arms. The little girl is well past exhausted, lying like a rag doll, but the moment she hears the barking and yipping, her head perks up.
"Doggy?"
"Lots of them, huh, cricket?"
Kate is already at the front desk, asking after Rex; he told the woman on the phone to please wait, and he was pretty sure they would, but bureaucracy being what it is. . .things happen. He's trying not to get his hopes up.
Castle shifts Ella in his arms and approaches the desk, hears Kate murmur her thanks as the woman turns to her computer. He gives Kate a raised eyebrow and she nods back at him, some of that hope swimming in her eyes.
"They waited. She's calling up his file right now. They'll bring him out to us."
"Doggy?" Ella says, her fingers stroking the back of his neck.
Castle brings his hand up and captures hers, kissing her little palm. "For Dash's birthday. We want you to make sure he's a good dog. Got to have your approval."
"Good dog?" Ella peers around Kate, hanging on to Castle's neck as she leans out, trying to get a glimpse past the closed cage door that leads to all the barking dogs. Castle can't see any cats, but maybe they have a different section, a less noisy section.
"Okay, I've found his tag number," the woman at the desk says. "I'll have someone in the back bring him up, you guys can take a look." She reaches for a phone on the desk.
Kate snags his hand, squeezing tightly; when he looks at her face, she has that same expectation and slowly-unfurling joy that she had when they went in for that first ultrasound for what would be Ellery. All this for a dog?
"Kate," he murmurs on a laugh. She turns at his voice, blushes when she sees he's laughing at her.
"Shut up. He's a good dog. A really good dog. I'm so glad they didn't put him to sleep."
"Doggy tired?" Ellery says and then yawns around the question, drops her head down to her father's shoulder.
He curls both arms around her tightly, feels her snuggle down, drawing up into a little ball against his chest. "Ella's tired," he murmurs. "Think you can stay awake long enough to pet the doggy?"
"Pet doggy. Good doggy?"
"I think he is," Kate murmurs, scratching Ella's back with her fingers, leaning in to kiss the girl's cheek. "We'll have to see if you like him, baby girl."
"Babies no have doggies," Ella says solemnly. "Not a baby."
"I'm sorry. You're so right, dušo. Not a baby at all. That's why you get to help us decide about Dash's dog."
"Birthday doggy. Puppy?"
"No, not a puppy. We don't need a puppy. We need a dog that knows what it's doing already," Kate says, grinning at her.
"What's him know?"
Castle muffles a laugh, but before Kate can try to answer that, the cage door is being buzzed open and a young guy in cargo pants and a tshirt leads a mostly black dog out on a leash. Ellery picks her head up, watches the dog make his way out into the concrete floor of the reception area.
The tail thumps, a long black thing, short-haired; the head lifts, scenting the air, tilting at them. Kate drops to her knees beside the dog, smooths both hands over his ears, rubbing. The dog's tail sways some more, a hind leg lifts to paw at the air, a shiver running down his back.
The dog is a mutt, for sure, mostly black with some dark brown streaks around the scruff, whiskering from the nose. The face of a beagle, but not the body, too long, too tall. The pink tongue comes out and goes for Kate, but she darts back. Yeah, Castle didn't figure she'd be good with the whole dog-germs, face-licking thing.
Ella has gone still in his arms, watching.
"You want to get down and pet the dog, Ellery?" Castle doesn't give her a chance to say no, just moves to Kate and squats down beside them, lowering his daughter to the floor. She hangs on to his neck a moment, then steps up, bravely, chin raised, and reaches out a hand.
The dog noses it, nudging at her hand. Ella giggles.
"I think he wants you to pet him," Kate says gently, drawing her arm around Ella and pulling her closer. Ellery doesn't have any trouble coming; she gets down on her knees like her mother and wraps both arms around the dog's neck.
Castle moves to grab her back, not sure about her face being so close to that muzzle, but the dog is patient and stands there, taking it.
Kate laughs, turns to look at him, catching his hands in her own to keep him from grabbing his daughter. "Dash did the same. It's okay."
He waits, and Ellery leans back; the dog licks her face, and Ella giggles again, falling back on her bottom. The dog hangs in there, even though she's pulling on his neck. Kate catches Ellery, loosens her arms. "Soft touch, cricket."
The young guy still has a hold of the leash, but he leans over and pets the dog's head. "This is Rex. He had a family just six months ago, but they moved to Hawaii and couldn't bring him along."
"Oh," Kate murmurs, and reaches out, stroking the dog's nose. Castle gives in, joins his family in petting Rex. And of course, like knew would happen, the soft ears, the dark eyes looking into his, it does him in. He never had a dog as a kid, too much moving around, but he wanted one. So badly.
"Okay," he sighs, bumps his shoulder into Kate's. He gives up.
The young guy pats the dog's side with pride. "Rex is a mixed breed - part beagle, part black lab. Maybe something else in him too. He's a good dog for young children, but he does get stubborn."
"Fit right in," Castle says.
Kate elbows him, on her knees petting the dog, trying to prevent Ella from lying on Rex's back. "Cricket, it's not a horse. You can't ride him."
"He big, Mommy."
"Don't use baby words," she says back, frowning at her. "He's a dog. You have to have a soft touch with him."
Ella gentles her petting, but buries her face in the dog's fur, leaning against him. Castle is impressed with Rex's ability to stand there and take it, not growling, not skittering away, seemingly content to suffer in silence. He gives the dog a break though, reaches out to snag Ella away.
"No sleeping on Rex, either, little one." She giggles at him, snuggles down in the circle of his arms, but stretches out a hand to the dog, wriggling her fingers.
Just like the rest of their family, even without Ellery saying a word, the dog comes, nosing her hand, tail swishing slowly, rubbing at her almost like a cat. She sighs and pats his head, rubs his fur the wrong way.
"Good doggy, good Rex."
Rex whuffs low in his throat, but Ellery doesn't startle, doesn't even seem to be scared by the noise. "My doggy."
"Dash's dog," Kate says firmly. "Dash's responsibility, so it's Dashiell's dog, Ellery."
Castle strokes his hand down Rex's coat, pats his back. "Okay, Kate. I'm sold."
She turns a beaming smile on him, wraps an arm around his neck, pushing in past Ella to kiss his ear. "Really?"
"Of course. You knew I couldn't say no."
"I know," she grins, her smile against his cheek. "So let's adopt my dog."
"Your dog? I thought this was Dashiell's dog."
"Yeah, yeah," she murmurs, laughing as she pulls back, stands on her feet. She offers him a hand and he takes it, standing beside her with Ella in his arms. He turns to the young guy.
"So. How do we adopt Rex?"
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