Chapter 2

"Beau!"

Beau raised his head realizing that that was the word that people called out when they wanted him to pay attention. He was asleep in a little patch of winter sunlight at the end of the sun porch. The little boy who usually played with him had gone away, to something called school. Beau opened his sleepy eyes and looked up at the little blonde person who was standing in front of him.

'Oh no, it was the crier and the squeezer!' Beau laid his head back down.

"Beau!" Bree said again. "Play?"

Beau opened one eye and looked at the child. He wasn't at all sure about this one. He knew the big people were very gentle with him. They picked him up and cuddled him. He liked that. This one was the one who had squeezed his ear.

"Beau," Bree said batting her eyes at him. She plunked herself down beside him and started running her hand down his back. His tail started to swish from side to side. That tail always betrayed him. "Love you, Beau," Bree cooed as she buried her face against his neck.

Beau let out a low rumble from his throat. He actually liked the feel of what she was doing, but he didn't want her to pinch some other part of him.

Bree pulled back and looked at the dog. She frowned and stared at him. She wasn't sure what that noise meant.

"Daddy!" she yelled getting up and running back into the house. "Daddy, Beau made noises at me."

Beau did his version of a puppy smile, yawned and went back to sleep.

*****

Brian relished this time of year. The holidays were over, the threat of snow made the countryside quiet. Justin was busy doing his 'artiste' shtick and doing it very well, mind you. As much as he complained about meet and greets, Justin took to it gracefully. He went into the Pitts almost daily, taking Princess Squirt with him so she could go to school.

Brian, being the king of his empire, could afford to run it from home, which was what he was supposedly doing, from the comfort of his sun porch. After the intense experience he and Justin, and for that matter, most of his family endured in New York, Brian decided not to waste the opportunity for quiet. Quiet, was exactly what the doctor ordered at least until the next crisis. And Brian had a funny feeling that the 'crisis' would be happening soon, if the buzz Hunter was making was any indication.

So here Brian sat, a cup of his favorite coffee on a small table by his side, a mystery novel in his hand. He was all set for a quiet, lazy day at Edna's Treasures. Of course, quiet could be a relative term when the newest member of Edna's Treasures was on the prowl.

[good boy...big boy...warm...safe...smell good...good boy]

"What is that dog up to?" Brian muttered to himself, arching one brow as the pup boldly plodded out of the Anderson-Morrison kitchen door, through the porch, stopping briefly at Brian's sock clad feet. Beau took a cursory sniff at the well groomed cotton covered digits then continued on his way to the Kinney-Taylor side. Brian normally would have followed the curious pup in fear of potential accidents; however, John assured Brian that Beau rarely had accidents, being the highly intelligent good boy that he was. Brian merely stated that, of course Beau was highly intelligent, did not Brian pick him out of a whole litter of puppies. John thought it wise to agree with his brother.

[good boy...big boy...smell good...mine...big boy]

Just then Beau appeared at the doorway, one of Brian's favorite Prada boots in his mouth. The boot was almost as big as the pup. It took a Herculean effort on the part of Beau to heave it out of Brian's closet, down the hall and out to the porch. If it were not one of Brian's favorites, he would have applauded the feat. However...

"Beau! Drop it!" Brian shouted so loudly that it echoed off the glass walls, startling the perpetrator of the offense. John who was in his office heard the shout and was immediately drawn to his balcony for a look-see. Beau tumbled, doing a half somersault, landing with his head stuck in the boot. Brian began to laugh but immediately stopped when he heard Beau's whimpers.

"What did you do to yourself?" Brian said softly using his best fatherly calming voice to reduce Beau's panic. He eased the boot off the puppy's head then held him close to his chest as he had seen John do when little Beau panicked in the past. Brian noted that neither the dog nor his boot suffered any ill effects from the episode. John had witnessed the whole exchange but decided to tease his brother a bit. He bolted down his spiral staircase.

"Kinney! What the hell are you doing to my dog?" John demanded as his long legs brought him over to where his brother was sitting on the porch floor with the puppy in his arms. John looked really, REALLY, angry.

"I, um...he, uh, the puppy had my boot and..." Brian sputtered.

"Give me my dog." John reached down and took the pup out of Brian's hands, cooing in the same calm voice Brian had used moments before. He tossed a death glare towards Brian then strode back toward his end of the cottage leaving a stunned Brian on the floor. Brian watched his brother disappear inside then reappear two seconds later sporting an ear to ear grin.

"Gotcha!" John called out then disappeared again.

"Son of a bitch!" Brian yelled out when he was finally struck with the clue bus as John laughed.

"Come on, Beau, let's go for a walk," Brian heard his brother say. He was still sitting on the floor. "You too, little brother," Brian heard John call.

"Woof!" Brian replied as he scrambled to his feet to put on his boots and coat.

"Good boy," John retorted.

*****

"Squirt, what's wrong?" Brian noted that Bree was becoming very quiet and that wasn't quite the normal state of affairs for a three year old, correction almost four year old.

"Nothing, Dada," Bree said softly. She was sitting on her bed holding the grey stuffed bunny that Gamma Joan had given her on Joan's arrival to New York.

"I don't think it's nothing, Squirt," Brian said as he sat on Bree's bed. He reached for Briana's brush that was on her nightstand. Bree edged her way closer and onto her Dada's lap. "What is it, sweetheart, don't you feel good?" Brian asked softly as he removed the hair clip and began to brush Bree's fine locks.

"I good."

"I'm good," Brian corrected.

"I'm good," Bree repeated.

"So why so quiet?"

"Patrick don't like me no more," Briana replied softly. Brian noted that Bree pronounced Patrick's name correctly, not using her baby talk so he decided not to further correct her at this time.

"Oh Squirt, Patrick loves you. One day he's going to be your handsome prince."

"No, he's not; he likes Beau more than me," Bree said sadly. Brian got it; his daughter was jealous of Beau. Brian leaned down to kiss his daughter's head.

"Patrick likes Beau in a different way than he likes you. He loves you."

"Do you love me, Dada?"

"Of course I do, you're my bestest Squirt." Bree squirmed in her father's lap until she turned to stand and face him. Brian gazed into the deep blue eyes that looked so much like Justin's.

"You're my bestest Dada!" Bree declared then threw her little arms around her Dada's neck.

Brian savored the moment then gently pushed her back to look into Bree's eyes. "Patrick's a boy and all little boys love their puppies. You be nice to Beau, and Patrick will pay attention to you." Brian taught his daughter some of the finer arts of getting her man. He gathered up the fine wisps of Bree's strawberry blond hair and replaced the hair clip. "Perfect," Brian murmured. He kissed his daughter then set her on the floor. Bree took off like a shot.

"Paaatwwick!" Bree called out as she ran to find her best friend and his pup.

Brian continued to sit on Bree's bed chuckling and shaking his head.

"There you are," Justin said cheerfully as he found his missing spouse. "I wondered where you disappeared to. What's so funny?" Justin wanted to know why Brian sported a silly grin. Brian drew Justin into his arms to kiss him senseless.

"Nothing. I'm just so happy and lucky to have my blond Taylors in my life," Brian whispered as he gazed into Justin's deep blue eyes. "So very lucky." Justin gave his spouse his sunniest smile just before they kissed again.

*****

The family of Edna's Treasures was enjoying a late Sunday brunch. The winter sunlight filtered its way through the sun porch glass warming the air. Brian had wowed his family with a feast. Before clearing the table, the family was enjoying peaceful conversation, catching up on the latest gossip regarding work, school and the rest of their family. Beau had taken up his position under the table, enjoying whatever tidbits that had made their way down to him. Much to Beau's pleasure, he found the best tidbits came from his human, Patrick and from the other, the man that smelled almost the same as his human, John. Patrick had sat across from Brian so it took little effort on Beau's part to accept all freely given gifts. Afterwards, Beau and his full belly found a warm patch of sun, curled up into a little ball and fell peacefully asleep.

[warm...good boy...safe...not hungry...warm...sleep]

*****

"Daddy, beans," Bree said.

"Okay, but this is all you get for today."

"'Kay."

Justin counted out three jelly beans from the jar in the cupboard and handed them to Bree. She smiled at him and ran to play in the sun porch. Justin got back to preparing the roast they were having for dinner.

It was very quiet out on the sun porch when Justin put the roast in the oven. He poked his head out there to see what Miss Briana was up to. She was sitting on the floor with a sleeping Beau at her feet. The puppy loved to find a spot of sun and luxuriate in the warmth whenever he could. Patrick was at school and Bree was home since both her fathers had chosen to work from home. Brian was up in his office.

Bree was studying Beau carefully. Justin could see the concentration on her face. He was about to ask her what she was doing when he heard her whisper, "Beau." The puppy raised his head and looked at her. She took one of the jelly beans from her hand and held it out to the puppy. Beau sniffed and then laid his head back down. Instead of giving up, Bree placed the bean on the floor in front of the pup's nose and whispered his name once again.

Beau looked up at the little blonde girl. He still wasn't sure about her, but she seemed to be calmer and less of a danger to him lately. Bree pushed the bean closer to the pup, using her finger to place it close to Beau's head. Beau sniffed the jelly bean, out popped his tongue and the bean disappeared into his mouth.

Bree smiled and said, "Good," as she placed one of her remaining jelly beans in her own mouth. "Happy Valentine's, Beau," she said, carefully enunciating each word.

"What are you doing, Briana?" Justin asked having witnessed the whole proceeding.

"I give Beau his Valentine's tweat, so he will like me," she explained.

"That's treat, sweetheart. Valentine's is over," Justin told her.

"I know, but I forgot to get Beau a cupcake."

"Dog's don't eat cupcakes and he shouldn't have jelly beans either."

Bree frowned. "But then he don't get to cel…cele…"

"Celebrate," Justin supplied. "Dogs like things such as bones or doggie toys."

"Bone?" Bree asked.

"I was going to go into Harrisburg for a few things. How be you come with me and we'll go to the pet store and see what we can find for Beau as a belated Valentine's present?"

"Yes, Daddy. Now!"

"Okay, let me tell Dada what we're going to do and when we'll be back. Go find your boots and scarf and we'll get going."

"Bye, Beau," Bree said as she ran from the room.

Beau snorted and went back to his snooze.

*****

When Bree and Justin returned a couple of hours later the prime rib roast was smelling delicious and Brian was starting the potatoes and vegetables.

"'Bout time you two got back," Brian said. "I don't like cooking by myself."

"Shouldn't that be, you don't like cooking at all?" Justin asked.

Brian did his death glare. "I've gotten better over the years."

"I won't argue with that," Justin chuckled. "Thanks for getting the rest of dinner ready. I didn't think we'd be quite so long."

"What were you doing?" Brian asked. He saw that Bree was struggling to get out of her jacket and boots, so he went to help her while Justin emptied the bags he was carrying onto the counter.

"I needed a few art supplies and Bree had to get some Valentine's presents for Beau."

"Valentine's?" Brian asked.

"Bee-later Valentine's," Bree said as she was finally free of coat, boots, scarf, mitts and hat.

"I think she means belated," Justin laughed.

"Can I give them to Beau?" she asked.

"You better ask Uncle John first," Brian replied.

"'Kay," Bree said as she headed for the Anderson-Morrison side of the house.

"What did you get?" Brian asked as he picked up the packages from the pet store.

"I caught Bree feeding Beau her jelly beans because the pup didn't get a cupcake for Valentine's Day like all Bree's other friends did at school. I told her jelly beans and cupcakes weren't the right thing for dogs, so we got Beau a crushed rawhide puppy chew and a soft vinyl football throw toy."

"How sweet," Brian snorted.

"What's this about presents for Beau?" John asked as he walked into the kitchen carrying Bree.

"There, Unca John," Bree said pointing to the items on the counter.

"Bree thought Beau deserved some Valentine's Day presents," Justin said with a smile. "We wanted to make sure they were okay with you."

"That's very thoughtful, little lady," John said as he set Bree down and took a look at the pup's toys. "These look fine, but old Beau wouldn't have known what to do with them," John said with a funny look on his face.

"You still miss Beau, don't you?" Brian asked.

John nodded. "We were together for a lot of years."

"I … I hope I didn't get the new Beau too soon," Brian said gently.

"No, little bro, he was just what I needed. He's a great dog."

"Dada! Dada!" Bree said pulling on the leg of Brian's jeans. "Give Beau his presents."

"I'll take Bree out to the sun porch with me and we'll present Beau with his new treasures," John said. "Something smells awfully good in here."

"Where's Patrick?" Justin asked.

"He's staying at daycare after school until Bobby picks him up."

"Then all of you can join us for dinner."

"Sounds good to me," John said with a smile. "Come on, Miss Briana, let's go make Beau's day."

"Yes, Unca John. Beau will like me now," Bree said quickly.

"Beau already likes you," John said taking Bree's hand and picking up the rawhide bone. "The trick with dogs is to know when they want to play and when they want to sleep. Maybe I can show you how to tell the difference."

John and Bree disappeared into the sun porch.

"That's good," Brian said watching them go. "Bree's afraid that Patrick likes Beau, so he doesn't like her anymore."

"Patrick didn't tell her that, did he?" Justin asked with a frown.

"No, but she figured out that Patrick was spending more time with the pup than he was with her. Her little nose was out of joint, especially after she pulled Beau's ear. She and the pup kind of got off on the wrong foot. We should have shown her what to do."

"Did you ever have a dog?" Justin asked.

Brian shook his head. "Are you kidding? Can you see Jack and Joan looking after a dog?"

"Maybe not," Justin laughed. "I never had a dog either, allergies."

"Are you allergic to Beau?" Brian asked.

"I don't think so but you'll notice I don't rub my face in his fur."

"Smart man," Brian grinned. "I guess getting a puppy for Bree is out of the question then."

"You … you want another puppy?" Justin asked with a stunned look on his face. He really couldn't picture Brian with a dog.

"No, I just wanted to see your reaction. I think Beau's plenty for all of us."

"Phew," Justin said with a mock wipe to his brow. "That's a relief."

"You mean you didn't want to get up in the middle of the night to let him out, or clean up his accidents, or…"

"No, no and no. I have enough to do looking after you."

"And I'm even house trained," Brian laughed.

"It's taken me a long time to train you to do anything," Justin laughed.

"A lifetime commitment," Brian stated as he pulled Justin into his arms.

"A lifetime commitment," Justin whispered before Brian captured his lips in a long and sensuous kiss.