The Professor's Defender

Chapter 4

Chantale arrived ten minutes early to the Ranch and sat in her car, reviewing her questions. Her plan was to let Autumn do the talking and only ask questions which hadn't been answered during the initial phase. She had no idea what she was facing, but she knew she had to be sympathetic - which wouldn't be hard.

Grabbing her briefcase, she was about to get out of her car when a streak of yellow bounded towards her. The dog sat in front of her door, clearly waiting for her to make the next move.

"She's harmless." Chantale looked up to see a woman approaching. "Her name is Tiffany and she loves company."

Sufficiently appeased, Chantale slipped out of the car. Seth had shown her how to greet animals, so she held out her hand, palm up, knuckles folded. The dog took a really good sniff then swiped a quick lick across her hand. Before she had met Seth's dogs, Chantale might have been grossed out. Now that she was more accustomed to canines, she simply reached out to pet the dog. Soft fur, she noted.

As she straightened, she offered her hand. "I'm Chantale Baldwin."

"I know. My name is Rainbow Dixon. Kennedy and Autumn are my sisters." The woman was absolutely stunning, Chantale thought. Long blue/black hair which went almost to her waist and eyes the lightest shade of blue she had ever seen.

"I've heard a rumour there are eight of you."

Rainbow's laugh was quick and light. "There are," she confirmed. "And we all look the same except Kennedy. We joke that she's the mailman's child."

"Or maybe the rest of you are."

Rainbow's eyes turned mischievous. "That might be impugning to my mother, but she would appreciate the thought."

"She must be quite a woman."

"Oh, you can bet on that. Six of us were planned while the twins - Autumn and Summer - were an unexpected bonus."

"No brothers?"

That rich laughter bubbled up again. "I don't think a boy would have survived with us. Nope, we broke the odds." She began walking to the ranch house and indicated that Chantale follow. Tiffany kept pace with them.

"She's a Labrador Retriever, right?"

"You know your dogs," Rainbow confirmed. "And if you're not too exhausted afterwards, I would love to introduce you to her little ones."

Chantale wasn't sure what to make of the exhausted comment, but the thought of little ones filled her with joy. "Puppies?"

"You bet. She just had a litter of nine. They're six weeks old and cuter than you could possibly imagine."

Chantale had a pretty good imagination, but she still wanted to see. "I would love to see them."

"Okay. I'll also give you a tour of the place." Rainbow held the door open for Chantale who entered the huge main room. The space was two stories, about twenty feet tall, with soaring wood beams and a huge stone fireplace. One corner had an open plan kitchen while another held what appeared to be an informal dining room and the rest of the space was made up of groups of seating areas. Done in rich and dark colours, the entire room was inviting.

Rainbow pointed off towards one wing. "This is the counselling centre. You're going to be in Kennedy's office today. They're waiting for you."