Playing Hard to Get
Chapter 3
Rick hadn't called Roy this time, let alone Beckett. Besides, he didn't have to. All he had to do was talk to his friend that had even more than two tickets and ask him who had sat in those seats.
"What did they look like?" Rick asked him. He had sent two tickets, and while it was possible Kate had taken a date, he didn't care about that right now. He only wanted to follow her around, just so he could get the inspiration that he needed to write his first of three books.
"Let's see. One was a black guy about six foot three, I would say. Weighing in at, oh, I don't know, 230 or more. Bald, but he had a beard, so maybe he shaved his head. I'm a guy, but he was handsome enough, I would say. His clothes were average, tennis shoes, blue jeans, knit shirt.
"The other guy was Hispanic. A lot shorter but just as muscled as his friend. Very short haircut, little more than a crew cut, like you would see on a Marine. He dressed casually, like his buddy, in sneakers, blue jeans, and a knit shirt. They both seemed to enjoy the game and the seats," Nick told him.
"Esposito," Rick muttered since one of them sounded like him. He had no idea who the other person was. "You're sure one of them wasn't a woman?" Rick did his best to describe Kate. "Really long legs, tight ass, small tits, short reddish hair."
"Not in those two seats or any seats close that I saw. I would remember someone like that. Not that many women at a ball game," Nick said. "I'll get back to you on the favor you owe me." He hung up on Rick.
Rick sat there wondering where he had gone wrong yet again. Neither flowers nor basketball tickets right down on the court reached her. He had no idea what Beckett thought was personal to her. A pony was out. "I could get her a puppy. She could take it to work. Train it to be a drug-sniffing dog. I don't know, something."
Now he was on his computer researching what the best drug-sniffing dog was. "Border Collie, German Shepard, Czech Shepards, Belgian Malinois. What the heck is a Belgian Malinois?" Suddenly, Rick was sidetracked and reading about a Belgian Malinois. "It's just another German Shepard with shorter hair. Probably hard to find." He needed a puppy he could find easily enough, even if he had to have it shipped here.
"German Shorthair Pointer and Labrador Retriever. Great, so let's see, the Shepards sound too big and not very pet-friendly, more like working dogs, so that leaves Border Collie and the Labrador Retriever."
Rick started with Border Collie. He quickly read that they were considered the smartest dog available. You might get lucky with a very smart Poodle, but even then the standard Border Collie was still much smarter.
"Beckett might like that." Rick kept reading.
A Border Collie is a very active dog. If you don't keep it busy – very busy – it will find a way to keep itself busy, and that means destroying something. It needs lots and lots of exercise. Good in small apartments so long as you keep it occupied and learning new things.
"Guess that leaves a Labrador Retriever," Rick said to himself.
Friendly, active, outgoing. He liked it so far.
A male can weigh 65 to 80 pounds while a female can weigh 55 to 70. Their life expectancy is 10 to 12 years. Colors are black, chocolate, and yellow.
"You need to brush their teeth!?" Rick didn't know that.
Needs exercise and loves retrieving and swimming. Perfect for drug and bomb detection.
"Bomb detection, huh?" He had a new idea to go with the first one.
Very smart and easy to train. High-quality dog food, only be careful to keep it from gaining too much weight.
"Beckett can bring her into the Precinct with her, put down food and water, and get her a doggie bed." Rick had already decided on a female. Now he just needed to find one.
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Kate was glad not to have yet another case right after the last one. Paperwork was done and handed in. It gave her time to catch up on everything else that came with doing this job, like reviewing her notes for an upcoming trial where she would most definitely be called to the stand to answer questions.
"Hey, Beckett." Espo plopped himself down in the chair next to her desk. "Thanks for those tickets. Those were the very best seats. You don't know what you missed out on."
"I'm glad you liked them. I'll let you tell Castle thanks since I won't be doing it," Kate said dryly.
"You hate him that much?" Espo didn't get it. He might be perfect for her.
"Yes... No. He's a child in an adult body. He doesn't listen and doesn't care. If I let him follow me around, someone, likely one of us, will end up taking a bullet because of him. That someone isn't going to be me, and I don't want it to happen to you or Kevin, so he's not following me or anyone," Kate explained. "The mayor can complain all he wants."
"Well, if he sends you more tickets, I'll be happy to take them off your hands," Espo grinned.
"I'll keep that in mind." But he just sat there. "Is there something else, Espo?"
"Nope." There was no way he was going to suggest she should give it a chance before she rejected it, so he got up and headed back to his desk.
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Rick had found a yellow female Labrador. She was eight weeks old and ready to go home. She was at a breeder in a place called Penn Yan, New York. "Where the hell is Penn Yan?" Rick had to look that up first.
"Five hours northwest of here. Mostly all Interstate, but it was still 5 hours." Rick knew he could manage the trip. It was worth it. Beckett couldn't possibly say no to a puppy. Who could say no to puppy eyes, puppy breath, and holding a live puppy that only wanted to love you and have you love it back?
Rick soon had a date and had given her his credit card number so he could reserve one of her puppies. He had his choice between Lilly, Foxy, and Dahlia. They were all the same age and the same color.
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"I'll be gone most of tomorrow, so you and Grams are on your own," Rick told Alexis when she came into the kitchen to look for something in the fridge.
"I'm sure we can manage. You've taught me to cook, though Grams may have another date." That was one thing Alexis was learning about her grandmother, not much slowed her down except getting up in the morning, and she was more than willing to date someone.
Alexis found some strawberries but they needed their green stems cut off first, so she took them over to the sink to wash them. Then she got a knife out of the drawer. "Where are you going?"
"Penn Yan." He didn't need his daughter to shoot down his plan with any of her female logic. Besides, his idea was foolproof.
"Penn Yan? Where in the world is Penn Yan?" Alexis had never heard of such a place. "Is that even in New York?" It didn't sound like it belonged in New York. More like East Asia or something. But he had said only tomorrow, and it would take him all day to fly there, let alone come back.
"Five hours northwest of here. Almost all interstate. I'm taking the Mercedes." It was a little far for the Ferrari, plus he would need other things like puppy food, a puppy bed, puppy pee pads, and all kinds of things. His Ferrari didn't have that kind of space.
"Okay, have fun, Dad." Alexis didn't question why. She cut her strawberries, put back what she didn't cut, and took what she had upstairs. "Stay safe, and don't expect Beckett to get your speeding ticket removed from your record," Alexis cautioned him and went into her room.
Actually, if he got a ticket, he would call the mayor, not Beckett or Roy, even.
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The next day, Rick got an early start. Interstate 80 turned into Interstate 81, which, in turn, turned into Interstate 86. He had done his research. It had a population of about 5,100 people.
It turned out to be a farm, so he parked near the barn and saw the house some distance away. He watched as a woman came out of the barn and walked his way.
Rick introduced himself. "I'm Richard Castle; we talked yesterday."
"I was right. You're that Richard Castle, the author." She was still a little surprised.
"Are you a fan?" He was always glad to meet someone who enjoyed his work.
"Nope, I hate your books. Complete trash, but my husband likes them, and since I love my husband, I put up with your books. You wanted to see the yellow labs. They're this way." She turned and left him. Somewhat taken aback, Rick stood there. No one hated his books. How could anyone hate his books? Still, he was here for a puppy, not to convince her to read his books.
Lilly, Foxy, and Dahlia. The three of them were impossible for him to tell them apart, yet she seemed to have no problem even after they moved around.
Rick had already ruled out Foxy simply because of the name. Kate would never go for a dog with that name. So that left Lilly and Dahlia.
Lilly didn't seem interested in him, and Dahlia did, so he chose her. Twelve hundred dollars later, a little bit of dog food, paperwork for this vet, a collar, and he was all set.
Dahlia seemed content to just lay in his passenger seat and look up at him. "Beckett is going to love you. ...She has to love you. Who can resist those eyes?" Rick was sure this was going to work.
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Rick stopped at a big box pet store, carried Beckett's puppy in with him, grabbed a cart, and started pushing. Puppy food, puppy bed, puppy pee pads, leash, new collar, flea stuff for a puppy, food and water bowls and stuffed toys, and something for the puppy to chew on for those puppy teeth.
The clerk at the register petted her. "A Labrador! Hi, sweetie. You're adorable," she crooned.
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Come morning, Alexis was up and found a puppy wandering around the loft. "Dad got a puppy!?" Alexis walked over to her and plopped down on the floor to pay attention to her.
"You're so cute!" Alexis picked her up and hugged her. "So what's your name?" Alexis didn't see a tag on her collar. She didn't want to confuse her, so she had to wait for her dad to tell her.
Alexis was still on the floor and still playing with her when her dad finally showed up. "You got us a puppy? I always wanted a puppy, but I was sure you'd say no."
UH-OH! He was in trouble, big time. He hadn't anticipated this event. What made it worse was that Alexis looked like she was already in love with the puppy.
"What's her name?" Alexis needed a name.
"Um, I, ah... I got the puppy for Beckett," Rick admitted and, in a heartbeat, saw the look Alexis gave him. "She had three, I can go back and get another one," Rick quickly told her.
"You got Beckett a puppy but didn't think to ask me if I wanted one." Alexis hugged her puppy in a manner that told Rick she wasn't handing over HER puppy.
Rick tried to appease his daughter. "I'll call the breeder and ask if I can come out and buy another one. That one can be Beckett's."
"Yes, you will, Dad." Alexis wasn't giving up HER puppy. Alexis watched him spin around and go back into his study so he could call her, reserve one of the other puppies, and drive back tomorrow.
"So what's her name, and where's her food and everything else a puppy needs?" Alexis queried. If he didn't get her puppy what she needed, she would give him a piece of her mind.
"Dahlia, and it's in my study. I'll move it all to the kitchen right after I talk to the breeder," Rick told her
While he was on the phone trying to get yet another puppy, Alexis put the leash on Dahlia and found a simple sandwich bag. It would do to pick up the poop since her dad hadn't bought any puppy poop bags. Alexis took her outside so she could do her business.
"Dad didn't even get you any treats to help train you, either." Did she have to do everything?
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Rick was gone and back the next day with puppy number two. This time he had Lilly since Foxy was already gone.
He found Alexis with Dahlia in the living room, playing with her and teaching her how to play tug of war with a stuffed toy. Alexis watched as her dad set down another puppy that looked just like hers. "Who's this?"
"Her name is Lilly." He planned to keep everything in the car to get it all to the Precinct and up to Kate.
"Lilly!" Now Alexis had a problem – a big one. She was falling head over heels in love with both of them.
"You're sure Beckett will agree to this, Dad?" Alexis was sort of hoping Beckett wouldn't want her puppy. That meant she got to have both of them. Alexis didn't have a problem taking care of two puppies. She could manage just as long as she wasn't at one of her classes.
"How could she not agree? Look at her. Who can resist those puppy eyes?" Okay, now he had his own problem. But they didn't need two puppies. Two sets of puppy eyes and cuteness were getting to both of them.
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Rick didn't dare deliver the puppy himself. He wasn't even going to make it past the Desk Sergeant. That meant he needed a service to take the puppy and all the puppy supplies to the Precinct. But not any delivery company would do. A bike messenger was out, and Rick needed to be sure all of it got delivered.
Kate was sitting at her desk working on paperwork and hadn't given Castle a second thought, not ever since those basketball tickets that Javi had enjoyed.
Two officers showed up at her desk, and each had something. "Detective Beckett? A service delivered this for you." He placed Lilly in her lap, and Kate was literally too shocked to do anything about it but sit there and take the puppy.
"All this as well. Food, bowls, treats, pee pads, leash, and flea stuff." The other officer dropped off a big box filled with stuff. "And a puppy bed." That wasn't in the box, he had it tucked under his arm.
Those two were walking away. "Wait, what?" Kate watched them leave and finally had to look down at the puppy in her lap that was clearly awake and wanted to climb her to reach her face so she could smell her and lick her.
Kate felt her neck and saw she was wearing a collar with a tag. "Lilly." Kate looked around but didn't see anyone that was paying attention to her just yet. "Do you know what's going on here?" she asked Lilly.
Kate didn't dare put the puppy on the floor. She was afraid she might wander away and end up in trouble. So holding her in place, she used one hand to open the box. Sure enough, she found a 5-pound bag of puppy food and everything else they had told her about. But right on top was some paperwork. Picking it up, she saw it was all the paperwork necessary to take her to the vet to get shots, but she didn't find anything else.
"Beckett?"
Kate looked up and saw Roy standing there. "I didn't do this, Sir," she blurted. "I would never bring a puppy to work without your approval. Honest." Kate needed her Captain to believe her. "There's puppy food, a bed, bowls, pee pads, you name it. I swear, Sir. I didn't do this."
"A puppy?" Espo overheard her and stood next to Roy. Almost immediately, Ryan joined him. And in less than a minute, just about the entire floor was close to Kate's desk to get a peek at this puppy.
Roy could only think of one person that would do something like this. "Castle." The man wasn't going to stop until he got what he wanted. It was just that the more he tried, the more he was going to stretch Beckett to the breaking point. And they would all suffer when that happened.
"Castle!" Kate hung her head. She should have known.
Roy caved in since what else was there to do? "Looks like our precinct has a mascot." He could pick all this up and take it all back to Castle. He knew where he lived, after all. But he also suddenly thought that looking after a puppy, both here and at home, might soften Beckett and keep her from burning herself out too soon.
"What's its name?" Roy inquired.
"Sir? Please say you aren't going to let the puppy stay." What was she going to do with a puppy?
Roy tried again. "Name, Beckett. Surely the puppy has a name."
"Um, Lilly, Sir." At least, that was what the tag said.
"She can stay, only keep good care of her and take her home when you leave. Just remember to bring her back." He was actually thinking having a puppy that became a dog in the Precinct might not be such a bad idea.
"Sir!?" Surely he couldn't be serious!? What was she going to do with a puppy? "It'll pee and poop everywhere." Not to mention stink up the place.
"I see puppy pee pads and puppy poop bags and puppy treats. Put down a few pads, and when Lilly does what you want, then feed her a treat. Simple." Roy was done here and headed for his office. He was going to call Castle and ask him what the hell he was thinking.
"BUT, SIR!" Kate tried again, but he didn't stop. Kate offered up her puppy to one of the guys. "What about you, Espo?"
Espo shook his head and backed away. "Not me. Castle wants you, and you better hurry up and say yes before he finds a way to get a pony up here." Espo retreated to his desk.
Kate watched every single person that was around her retreat quickly. "Cowards," Kate called out to them all.
Kate looked down at Lilly who was still trying to climb her. Kate had been holding her down all this time. "Lilly, huh?" Suddenly Lilly worked out that she wasn't going to reach Kate's face, so she began licking her hand. She needed to taste her. She already loved Kate. All Kate had to do was love her back.
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Kate had Lilly's bed where no one would step on it. Her bowls of water and food were just barely under her desk. She had two puppy pee pads spread out on the floor nearby. She planted Lilly on her bed with one of her two toys and watched her start chewing on it.
"Stay," Kate told her, and she focused on what she had on her desk.
Kate got lost in her paperwork. Suddenly, Captain Montgomery's voice rang out. "BECKETT!" Kate's head jerked up, then she looked down and realized Lilly was gone. "Oh, no!" She scrambled to her feet and saw him holding Lilly out for her to take. Kate took Lilly, and since her human's face was now close enough to lick, Lilly proceeded to do just that. "Sorry, Sir. I got sidetracked."
"I'm no puppy guru, Beckett, but you might want to consider taking her outside before she does something inside," Roy advised.
"Yes, Sir." Sadly she knew he had a point. So with a poop bag in hand and a leash hooked to Lilly's collar, she carried her outside, put her down, and started walking.
At first, Lilly wasn't a fan of the leash but quickly figured out that Kate was willing to go where she wanted to.
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Eventually, it was time to go home, but Kate had to leave all this behind. Even she knew she couldn't just leave Lilly alone in her apartment all day long. It was just that she didn't have anything for a puppy at home.
Getting off the elevator and carrying Lilly in her arms down the hallway, Kate noticed a box in front of her door long before she even got there.
The box had a bow and a card on it. And written on the card was, For Lilly.
"Castle." Suddenly Kate had a small smile. He had planned for everything. She still didn't know what she would do with a puppy. "The answer is still no, Castle." She didn't care how many puppies he got her. The answer would always be no.