by Michelle Major
When my kids were very young, other moms used to tell me they dreaded their children coming home from play dates at my house because of the requests for a trip to the pet store. I’m a total sucker for animals and almost zero willpower when it comes to saying no to a new member of the family. Right now, there are ten non-humans living with us from mammals to rodents to reptiles.
I know I shouldn’t play favorites (and I love them all—even the snake) but I have to admit there’s one who is extra special. You know how as romance readers we love a bad boy? That’s how I feel about my bad dog, Sage. We adopted Sage when she was six-months old. When I went to pick her up I found her on a back porch surrounded by stink and squalor and I immediately knew we were going to be her forever family. From the start, she was the sweetest dog I’d ever met. She loves people, especially kids and will happily tolerate being poked, pulled and tackled as long as there’s a bit of petting thrown into the mix. But she’s also so naughty (truly bad to the bone!). As a puppy she’d eat anything—from a leather boot to a table leg to all of the tomatoes out of my garden. Shortly after she came to live with us our vet realized that the severe ear infections she had when we got her left her totally deaf. So we can’t yell at her or call her and one occasion, my husband and I spent a frantic two days scouring a nearby forest when she wandered off and got lost in the woods.
The thing about the naughtiness that makes her easy to forgive is the joy she gets from being bad. We go to great pains to keep her out of trouble and she’s so proud when she outsmarts us. I wish I had a nickel for every time someone in my family said ‘Oh, Sage…” when she made a huge mess. Like that two-pound bag of sugar she pulled from the pantry and spread across the kitchen—yikes! But when I’ve had a rough day she always seems to sense it and will wander over with a head nudge and snuffle that seems to say, ‘Pet me and it will be a little better’. And it usually is!
Maybe I so often write animals into my books because I’m surrounded by so many of them. In my latest release, Romancing the Wallflower, there’s even a therapy bunny – inspired by my daughter’s Holland Lop. I’d love to hear about your favorite pet!
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“I’d like to have an affair with you.”
Dedicated kindergarten teacher Erin MacDonald isn’t the type to make the first move on a man—especially gorgeous David McCay, her secret crush. But when a crisis involving one of her pupils offers a chance to help the pro baseballer turned local brewery owner, Erin goes way out of her comfort zone. So way out she makes a shocking suggestion!
David moved to the Colorado mountain town to look after his sister and her son. Now he’s a stand-in parent to his nephew, trying to fight his attraction to Erin…who just propositioned him. David is nobody’s hero. So why can’t he convince the sweet, kindhearted beauty that she deserves better than him? Is it because they’re the perfect imperfect match?