Ally worked to retain her outward composure as she watched Hank dump the soiled linens into the washing machine. She clenched her teeth while he added detergent and set the dials. “I mean it,” she insisted.

He pulled the knob, then leaned a hip against the washer, and folded his brawny arms in front of him. “Listen to me, Ally.” The water rushing through the pipes forced him to raise his voice slightly. “Hear what I’m saying. There is no way I’m putting that sweet lost dog in an animal shelter during the holiday season. Or at any other time, for that matter. Not when I’ve got the capacity to take care of her myself.”

Ally had never encountered such fierce protectiveness. Despite the fact that it countered her current request, she couldn’t help but admire Hank’s gallantry. Or wish, just a little impractically, that one day someone would feel that way about her.

“Fine.” She swallowed, struggling to hold her own with this very determined man. “But the dog doesn’t have to stay in the house.”

Hank took a moment to scowl at her before he replied. “Where would you have me put Duchess? In the barn?”

That was exactly what her father and mother would have done, had they not run the pregnant dog off the property first. Ally forced herself to hang on to the Garrett family’s unsentimental attitude just a little while longer. Coolly, she pointed out, “That was where Duchess was initially headed.”

Hank’s handsome features tightened in reproof. “Only because it was the best shelter she could find in which to deliver. Fortunately, we spotted her, and came to her rescue. Because if Duchess had given birth out there in the elements sometime in the next few days, with the temperature falling into the twenties at night, there’s no way she could have kept her offspring warm enough. All her pups likely would have died-maybe Duchess, too.”

Ally’s eyes welled with tears at the thought of yet another completely avoidable tragedy. She was responsible for a lot of bad things that had gone down on this ranch. She wouldn’t be held to account for this, too. “Fine.” She finally relented, throwing up her hands. “But when you’re not with her, you’re going to have to figure out how to contain the dog so she’s not in the way.”