Sealed With A Kiss: Boys of the Bayou Gone Wild, page 27
The dog stopped barking, but was still growling low in his throat, and baring his teeth.
“Hey, guys?” Donovan said, keeping his tone nice and even. “I’m going to need somebody to find me some dog food and water.”
“On it,” Fletcher said quickly. It seemed he was grateful to have something to do to help. He pivoted and started for the gate.
“I’m gonna see if I can track Denny down,” Zander said, suddenly, pivoting on his heel and stalking toward the gate as well. “I’ll be in my truck.”
Naomi stayed right where she was. Donovan might need a hand, and nothing could pull her away from the sight of him inching toward the dog and the dog slowly lowering his head. Even as he continued to growl softly, the dog seemed to sense that Donovan was there to help. Donovan was now within reach and if the dog wanted to take a bite out of him, he definitely could’ve gotten a finger or two. Instead, Donovan was able to reach out and let the dog sniff his fingers. The dog did, then gave Donovan’s hand a lick. Donovan put his hand on the dog’s head and stroked softly between its ears. He kept talking but his voice was low enough now that Naomi could barely make out the words.
“Naomi?” Donovan said softly, again keeping his voice steady.
“Yeah?”
“In my truck, I have metal cutters. We need to get this chain off. I’ve also got an extra long leash. I’m going to need some antibiotic cream and a bandage.”
“Of course.” Naomi ran to the truck and met Fletcher heading back to the yard with a bag of dog food and a jug of water he’d gotten from the truck.
She returned with all the supplies quickly. The dog was drinking greedily from the bowl they’d filled with water and they waited for him to finish, but now that the dog let Donovan close and had gotten head scratches, it seemed he was accepting of all kinds of help. Donovan was able to remove the chain easily and the dog let Fletcher hold him as Donovan tended to the wound on his neck.
“Okay, fill up the food. I think she’s been without any food or water for couple of days.” Donovan was stroking the dog’s back, not looking at the other humans.
“It’s a her?” Fletcher asked.
“Yup. She’s probably about four.”
Fletcher filled the food bowl and the dog went to it as if she were, literally, starving.
Naomi felt her throat tightening as she watched. “Poor thing.”
Donovan just nodded, his jaw tight.
When she was finished, he put the leash around her neck, over the bandage, and then looped the end of it around the bumper of the truck.
“What are you doing?” Naomi asked.
“It’s softer and lighter than the chain. It’s also a lot longer, so she’ll have more room to move.”
“But why are you tying her up again? Aren’t we taking her with us?”
“We can’t,” he said shortly. “Not until we determine the circumstances.”
“The circumstances? She was tied up with no food or water or shelter. Those are the circumstances. We should be able to take her with us.”
Donovan shook his head. “That’s not how it works. She had bowls. We don’t know what happened here. If we just take her, that’s basically stealing.”
“But we can’t just leave her here!”
“We’ve improved her situation. We’ve given her what she needs for now. She’s got food and water and we’ll clean up the area and construct a makeshift shelter for her. For now. Zander will track down the owner and see what’s going on.”
Donovan still hadn’t looked at anyone but the dog. Naomi reached out and grabbed his arm, squeezing. Finally, his gaze met hers.
“Donovan, you can’t be serious. We have to take this dog with us.”
“We can’t. That’s illegal.”
“It’s illegal to save a dog from abuse and neglect?”
“We’re not law enforcement, Naomi, and the abuse and neglect haven’t been proven. This could just be a bad circumstance. Which we’ve corrected.”
“Zander’s law enforcement.”
“And there are procedures for this. He has to take the right steps. She has an owner. We can’t just take her away. Unless we have really good reason to believe that she’s in danger.”
“She’s a dog. She’s a companion. She depends on humans for her well-being. You risk your life to save wild animals that can, for the most part, fend for themselves, but this animal that needs human intervention is going to be left behind?”
He pulled his arm away from her grip. “Stop it. That’s not what I’m saying. We’re going to be sure she’s taken care of.”
“No. You’ve made a career out of convincing other people to care about animals. So, here I am, caring.”
His eyes flashed with emotion, then he simply pivoted on his heel and stomped away.
She stared after him. But she didn’t say anything else.
Obviously he was emotional about the situation. She knew him. She knew he wouldn’t leave this dog behind if he had a choice. He was a certified rehabilitation expert for wildlife and this dog did not fall under wildlife. Okay, so there were rules.
But she didn’t like it. This was wrong. There were plenty of rules and laws and procedures and policies that didn’t go far enough, or, in some cases, were just flat-out wrong.
Zander rejoined them just then. “Can’t fucking get a hold of him.”
“Who? Denny?” Fletcher asked.
“Yeah. Apparently he headed out of town for work just after the hurricane. Nobody’s heard from him since. He’s not answering his phone. I can’t track him down.”
“So what does that mean for the dog?” Naomi asked.
“I need a little more time. I have to exhaust all the possibilities of finding Denny and getting a decent explanation about this.”
“A decent explanation for his animal being neglected and left alone?”
“If I can’t find him, or at least talk to him, within the next twenty-four hours, I’ll do something.”
“Like what?”
Zander blew out a breath. “Naomi, seriously, I need you to back off.”
Naomi looked from him to Fletcher, then to where Donovan was pacing several feet away. “Fine.”
Without another word, they all worked to clean up the area around the dog of waste and the debris that had blown in from the storm. They constructed a shelter for her using a kennel from Donovan’s truck and several pieces of plywood and plastic from around the yard. It was actually a decent looking dog house, by the time they were done.
Naomi was still upset.
She didn’t speak to Donovan or Fletcher on the way back to Ellie’s and when they got there, she headed for her truck, intending to go straight home.
“Naomi,” Donovan called after her as the other two men went inside.
She turned to face him and folded her arms. “I don’t want to talk to you right now.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
“Okay. That doesn’t mean I have to agree with it. Or be happy about it.”
“You can’t be upset with me for following the law.”
“I can be upset with you for just about anything, Donovan,” Naomi told him. “We’re not going to agree on everything all the time. And this is definitely one of those times.”
“I just…” He shoved a hand through his hair. “I’ve always felt like I was giving every situation my all. When I’m out in a hurricane rescuing bear cubs. When I’m jumping on the back of an alligator. When I’m climbing a tree just outside the ring of a forest fire. When I’m rescuing a seal. And I thought you believed that too. Even when you think I’m doing something dangerous, you believe in me. Sure, afterward, you try to give me reasons to not take the big risks, but you’ve always understood why I do it. I’ve always pushed because I was willing to sacrifice for a greater good. I was working to be worthy of being given a second chance myself.” He swallowed hard. “Then you convinced me that I don’t have to take those big risks for what I do to matter. That you knew my heart was always in the right place and that even the routine rescues of goats and raccoons matter. And now… I’m doing things safer and more routine and you don’t like it.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “I thought you knew who I am and that I’m doing what I’m doing for the right reasons no matter how I handle a situation.”
Her heart was aching. She felt raw. She hated everything about all of this. She hated that the dog was still in that yard. She hated that Donovan was torn up about that. She hated that he thought she was doubting him. And she hated that he was doubting her.
“Well, you taught me that sometimes risks are necessary and worth taking,” she told him. “And that sometimes I might be the only person who’s willing and able to take the risk.”
He frowned at that. “I don’t know what you’re thinking but—”
“Donovan.” She shook her head. “I can love you and find you worthy and believe in you, and still not agree with every decision you make. And vice versa. And you’re going to have to get okay with that if we’re going to make this work.”
Then she turned on her heel and stomped to her truck without looking back at him.
15
“Girl, go find your man,” Rosalie told Naomi three hours later.
“No.”
“Please.”
Naomi frowned at her grandmother. “No. I’m mad at him. He needs time to think. And I need some space.”
Rosalie shook her head. “Fine, but get out of my kitchen. You just ruined the tablet kokoye.”
Naomi looked down at the countertop in front of her. Then blew out a breath. She had been making the dishes that her grandmother had handed down to her in this very kitchen for most of her life. And now, since meeting Donovan Foster, she had nearly ruined two.
She threw down her spoon. “Fine. I…need to go for a drive.”
Rosalie narrowed her eyes. “I thought you didn’t want to talk to him.”
“I don’t.” That Naomi knew for sure. But there was something that she’d been thinking about constantly. That would make her feel better.
Ten minutes later, she pulled up at Denny’s house.
Yeah, okay, it was maybe kind of trespassing. But she could not get the dog’s face out of her head. So they couldn’t take the dog with them. That didn’t mean she couldn’t come back over and make sure the dog was okay. The poor thing was tied up here all alone. She could spend a few minutes here with it, keeping it company.
She headed around the side of the house and let herself into the backyard. And immediately drew up short.
The dog was not alone.
Sophia, Samuel, and Katie were there.
The kids sat in a semicircle around the new doghouse and the dog lay in the middle of them, her leash still on. Her chin rested on her front paws and she seemed completely content as two of the kids stroked her head and back as Katie read out loud from the book in her lap.
Naomi felt her heart swell and she pressed a hand over her chest.
“Hey, guys,” she called softly so she wouldn’t startle anyone.
They all pivoted to look at her. “Oh,” Katie said quickly. “We’re just…dog sitting.”
“Yeah. Denny is Sophia’s neighbor. He wouldn’t mind.”
“Yeah, I pet Brinkley sometimes when she’s outside playing,” Sophia said.
“The dog’s name is Brinkley?”
Sophia nodded.
“And you play with her?”
“Well…” Sophia cast a glance at Samuel.
Samuel shook his head quickly. As if to tell her to be quiet.
“It’s okay.” Naomi approached the kids and dog. “I know Denny doesn’t treat her very well. I want to help. You can be honest.”
“Okay, sometimes she gets loose. She runs over to our house. That’s when I pet her,” Sophia said. “He doesn’t let her out very much. He doesn’t play with her or walk her or anything.”
Yeah, Naomi had suspected as much. She dropped onto the ground with the kids and sat with her legs crisscrossed. She reached out and stroked Brinkley’s head. “That’s really too bad. She seems like a really nice dog. I don’t understand why people don’t treat their pets better.”
“I know. And we didn’t like that she was over here all by herself, so we thought we would come over and keep her company,” Katie said.
“I think that’s really nice. It’s why I’m here too.” Naomi withdrew the package of dog treats she’d pilfered from Donovan’s truck after the very tense drive back to Ellie’s earlier. She handed one to each of the kids. “I’m glad she’s got some friends. I hated the idea that she was here by herself.”
“I wish I could take her home,” Katie said. “But we already have two dogs and my mom said that’s enough.”
“My mom said I can’t have a dog either,” Samuel said. “She said I’m enough of a handful all by myself.”
Naomi grinned at him.
“And I think that if I took her to my house, Denny might still yell at her sometimes.” Sophia looked sad.
Naomi shook her head. “He yells at her?”
Sophia nodded. “He yells at everybody.”
Naomi didn’t know Denny very well, but she really didn’t like him.
“What’s going to happen tonight when it gets dark?” Samuel asked.
“What do you mean?” Naomi asked.
“She’ll still be here all by herself.”
“Yeah, but she’ll go in her doghouse and sleep. She’ll be okay.” But, stupidly, Naomi didn’t like the idea of Brinkley out here in the dark by herself either.
“We could camp out over here,” Katie said.
“My mom won’t let me camp out here if there aren’t any grown-ups here,” Samuel said.
“It would be scary over here,” Sophia said.
“Well, it will be scary for Brinkley too,” Katie said.
“You’ll just have to tell your parents that you’re at a friend’s house,” Katie told Samuel. “If they don’t know we’re camping here they can’t say no.”
Naomi closed her eyes. “You guys can’t camp over here with Brinkley. She’ll be okay.”
“You could camp with us,” Samuel said. “Then there would be a grown up here.”
She was not going to take responsibility for three kids overnight. Three kids she didn’t know that well anyway. And certainly not to camp in some guy’s backyard without his permission. Or even his knowledge. “Not going to happen,” Naomi said. “Sorry.”
“Then will you come over and be sure she’s okay tonight?” Sophia raised big, wide brown eyes to Naomi.
Naomi blew out a breath. What was she supposed to say? She had, after all, showed up here in the middle of the day. And even if Sophia hadn’t asked, there was a good chance that Naomi would be lying in bed tonight and thinking about Brinkley over here by herself.
Of course, dogs slept outside by themselves in the dark. But Brinkley was literally here all alone. Who knew how long Denny had been gone? Brinkley might be feeling abandoned. She might be wondering if anyone was ever coming back for her. She clearly was a sweet dog when treated well.
“Will you?” Katie asked. “It would be better if a grown-up checked on her anyway.”
Naomi sighed. These kids were good. She wondered if Fletcher was as wrapped around their little fingers as Naomi was now after only five minutes.
Then she laughed to herself. Fletcher Landry was absolutely wrapped around the little kids’ fingers and she was sure they knew it.
“Yes, I promise to come over and check on her tonight after dark. So you guys don’t have to worry. You don’t have to come over here yourselves. I’ll make sure Brinkley is all right.” She had to come over if for no other reason than to be sure these kids didn’t come back.
Katie was clearly the mastermind. Naomi wouldn’t have been a bit surprised to find the little girl curled up with the dog alone when she stopped by later.
“Will you bring her a dog toy?” Sophia asked. “I wanted to bring her a toy, but we don’t have any in our house.”
“Yeah, and all of our dog’s toys are kind of chewed up and slobbered on,” Katie said.
“I can give you some of my allowance money,” Samuel said. “I have a dollar thirty-eight.”
They were manipulative, but they were sweet. Naomi nodded again. “Yes, I will also bring her a toy and you don’t have to give me any money. You guys have been over here reading her stories. You’re being really good friends to her.”
“This one is really cool,” Samuel said, leaning over and pulling something from out from inside the doghouse. “But I think she needs a soft one to cuddle with tonight.” He held up a bright blue plastic toy that was shaped like a bone. Clearly, it was a chew toy for a dog.
Naomi frowned. “Where did that come from?”
The kids shrugged.
“It was here with the blanket when we got here,” Samuel said.
That was the first that Naomi had noticed the blanket that was just peeking out from inside the doghouse. That definitely hadn’t been here this morning when they’d constructed the makeshift shelter.
But Naomi was pretty sure she knew exactly who had brought the blanket over.
Donovan might not have agreed with her about taking Brinkley home with them today, but clearly he had been concerned about the dog too. He’d taken care of her on-site, cleaning and bandaging her wound as well as making sure she had a proper harness, plenty of room to move, and a shelter, but he’d also come back with a blanket and a toy.
Yeah, she was in love with him. She was really going to have to hope that he would get okay with her not thinking he got things right every second of the day.
“Yeah, I’ll bring her something cuddly tonight,” Naomi said, her voice a little rough with emotion.
“Good. Can we stay a little longer and finish reading to her?” Katie said.
Naomi nodded. “I think it’s fine. Of course, if Denny comes home, you guys get out of here, okay?”
