4
Tess
Jack made it across the shop almost before I understood what was happening. By the time I got to them, he'd already gently lifted the unconscious dog into his arms.
"Are you hurt, ma'am?"
"No," she gasped, out of breath. "Just shaken. That poor dog. I love dogs. I would never—"
"Everything will be okay," I told her, waving Eleanor over. "Eleanor is going to get you a cup of tea and help you figure out your car situation. Jack and I will take the dog to the vet."
I didn't even have to ask Jack; I knew he'd be in total agreement with me on this. He nodded and strode for the door as Eleanor handed me my purse.
"We'll be back as soon as we can," I said, but Eleanor shook her head.
"You don't worry about that. I'll be here."
Jack put the dog in his backseat on an old blanket. I climbed in back with her, so I'd be there in case she woke up scared. Up close, I could see that the accident had broken her left front leg; it was bent at an unnatural angle that made my stomach roil around just looking at it. Luckily, it wasn't a compound fracture—no bone punctured the skin.
She was a beautiful dog. A golden retriever with silky fur—and that fur didn't look at all like that of a dog who'd been running around loose in the fields or woods.
"Jack. This dog clearly belongs to somebody who takes good care of her, and she can't have been loose all that long. She looks like she just came from a groomer."
"Somebody dumped her by the side of the road? Again?" His voice was grim, and he took the turn out of our parking lot too fast.
The dog whimpered, still out but obviously in pain.
"Sorry. I'll be more careful."
I reached over the seat and touched his shoulder. "I know. I hate this, too. And I don't know why it keeps happening. At least it's a sunny day. Those cats we found in the rain were so cold and miserable."
The dog was the fourth stray we'd found on the road near the shop in the past few weeks. A young German Shepherd, two cats, and now this pretty girl—all of them in good shape, not at all like the condition my cat Lou had been in when she'd showed up on my porch one rainy night. Lou had been painfully thin, with ragged fur and a mangled tail, and she and I had taken one look at each other and known we'd be together forever.
Lou, though, had looked like what you'd expect a stray animal to look like.
The three—four, now—animals dropped off on the road by my shop, though, hadn't shown any signs at all of having been stray or lost for very long, which is what I could not understand. We'd checked for microchips—none—and then put out notices trying to find their owners with no success. Eleanor had found friends in her cards club to foster and adopt them if nobody came forward, but this really needed to stop.
"I wish the security cameras you put on the shop could reach as far as the road," I said, gently stroking the dog's head.
Jack made a humming sound. "That's a great idea. I'll get the twins to put some hidden cameras by the road and we'll see what we can see."
The twins—Dallas and Austin Fox—were former Army Rangers who lived on the outskirts of Dead End and ran a computer consulting business from home. I didn't understand most of what they told me about their job, but basically, they were among the best hackers in the world when they wanted to be. And they loved all things gadgets. They'd put the security systems in place around my house and shop.
I sighed. "I'm going to have to pay them a monthly retainer, as much as they help me out."
Computer and security specialists were definitely not in my budget. Maybe I could learn to love eating ramen noodles.
Jack took the turn into town and glanced back at me. "No, you don't. I already have them on retainer."
"Jack. We've talked about this. You don't get to pay for random things for me," I said, trying to think of yet another way to explain to a very rich tiger shifter who cared nothing for money that he couldn't just spend it on me anytime he felt like I needed something.
He'd given me anin-ground poolfor my birthday, for Pete's sake. I'd rationalized keeping the gift, because:
1. It's awfully hard to return an in-ground pool that's already installed, and
2. I really, really loved it, and
3. I'd offend a cranky river nymph who'd helped design it if I did, and
