Re: Sonrisa: oliver & hunter & appearances by cris
Hunter lost a lot of his reserve when Cris moved past him to the door. His hands came out of his pockets and his head came up. He followed loosely, tilting his head sideways over his shoulder to watch what Cris was doing with some interest and, frankly, pleasure. Most people weren't real polite with Hunter's pack. They acknowledged them, sure, or patted their heads, but nobody was polite because most people 'round here thought of animals as animals and animals belonged outside. "Sure you want 'em in? Puppy might like to chew on somethin' expensive." The other two were very well-behaved though, and judging from his new, pleased expression, Hunter wasn't really worried the puppy would get up to anything he couldn't handle. They were just getting through the housebreaking phase, and the furry bundle was moderately smart and quick on the uptake. (Housebreaking was very important when you lived in a one room trailer with three animals and one heater.)
The puppy did his thing of hiding behind the other two, bounding over to Cris' shoes, and running back to hide again, before Hunter made a sound (kind of like "hep"), and all three dogs trundled in, noses to the ground. The old one went straight for Cris to sniff out the other-dog smell that was all over his pants, and Becky had a tail-wag for the man that had given her the leftovers of his hamburger the other night. Then all three of them came over to Hunter, reassured themselves he was unharmed in the twenty seconds they had been separated from his immediate vicinity, and then went to investigate Oliver--all but the old one, who sat down and surveyed this mess of strangeness with calm-eyed patience. Hunter scratched the old dog's ears.
Hunter nodded reluctantly, seeing the sheriff's logic, and then looked at Oliver. Hunter figured he would be judgmental if some asshole had broke in to a store he owned (all real hypothetical like) and he anticipated Oliver's dislike. It was a little disappointing. Oliver was one of the things the antique store window had framed up so pretty from the view across the street. Hunter reminded himself not to show any of that. The resulting look was the exact mirror of Oliver's 'less accusatory, but still very uncertain' expression. There was a short silence, and Hunter dragged his knuckles across his wet nose, warming up the the shop.
He started for the pane of glass. "I can fix it," he said, avoiding gazes again.