“Oh, nothing.” Rena brushed it off, not wanting any drama in her shop that didn’t involve lighthearted gossip or laughter. “He asked if I had a boyfriend, and I told him yes.”
“Woot woot!” Nicky yelled from the back room, only to hear Martin add, “So she’s off her no-men streak? Wow. Never thought I’d live to see that happen.”
“Martin, I can hear you.” Rena ignored the coughing that didn’t quite hide laughter from the back.
“She hears everything,” Nicky said. “And through that thick hair. It’s a mystery.”
“I heard that too!”
“See?”
The rest of the day passed without incident, but Rena couldn’t get Daryl’s warning out of her mind. She wanted to ask Nicky to stay to help her clean up, but she didn’t want to kowtow to some racist schlub. Why give him any power over her?
But she was angry as well as scared because he’d made her feel unsafe in her shop.
She finished closing up and double-checked that all the doors were locked. But as she made to leave through the back, she heard something outside. And froze.
Something was being dragged. Then some weird rustling.
She had her ear to the door but couldn’t see anything because there were no windows in the back. She didn’t want to be the stupid teenager in a horror movie who went outside by herself. Although the hour had grown late and the sky dark, the overhead streetlight illuminated the back parking lot. She quietly unlocked the door and opened it a crack.
She didn’t see movement, but she heard something. She opened the door wider, and the movement stopped. Her heart racing, she gripped her keys and her pepper spray and threatened, “My boyfriend is on his way, and I have a gun.”
Silence greeted her. She felt like she stood still forever, but maybe a minute had gone by. Then, feeling foolish, she stepped outside, the back door still open behind her.
She saw what had been dragged and blinked. It wasn’t a body, thank God. And yes, she’d really gone there. Too many Lifetime movies, unfortunately, combined with Daryl’s warning. No body, but a crumpled bag of caramel corn with pieces strewn around it. And a few pieces led into the bushes by the side. They were too small to hide a man. But not too small that a rabid raccoon couldn’t be waiting to jump out at her.
Rena slowly approached and heard a high-pitched growl. A dog, maybe?
“Hey, it’s okay. Come on out. I won’t hurt you,” she crooned and knelt. Looking around, she spied more popcorn and grabbed some, then tossed a few pieces at the bush. “Come on out.”
She shivered, and she had a jacket on. She could only imagine the poor creature hiding in the bushes.
A tiny muzzle peeked through, followed by what couldn’t be more than three pounds of skin and bones. It bared its teeth at her even as it trembled.
“Oh, sweetie. It’s okay.” Her heart melted, and she put a few pieces of caramel corn on the ground near it, not wanting to throw the treat and scare the dog away. The dog, likely a Chihuahua, had a Doberman’s coloring. She hadn’t known they could look like that. It had spots of fur missing and a cloudy left eye. Part of its left ear had been torn, and it had to be freezing its little butt off.
She just sat there, watching with compassion, and it crept slowly closer.
“You need a buddy, don’t you? You’re so tiny. I mean, geez. I could probably hold you with two fingers.” She kept her voice soft. “You haven’t had an easy time of it, have you?”
No way this dog had recently run away from its owner. It wore no collar and looked starved. She could count its little ribs. But she hadn’t seen the tiny guy?—gal?—before because she would have done something about it.
She smiled, realizing she and Axel had another thing in common. Stray pets hanging around their businesses.
As long as nothing else hung around. Daryl’s words churned in her thoughts.
The sudden silence, but for the wind and a phantom beep or screech of tires, felt oppressive. She wanted to get in her car and go home. But she couldn’t leave the dog.
“Can you come with me?” She moved closer.
The dog growled and showed sharp teeth.
A car drove by, slowly.
Rena wasn’t waiting. She lunged at the dog and held it in her arms as she hurried back into the shop to lock up, then through to her car, praying the dog wouldn’t bite her. It was shivering too hard to do much damage. And once inside her vehicle, its pitiful barking turned to whimpering.
So small and uncared-for. Her eyes teared. She felt bad for the stray.Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you.She locked her car door and sat there, breathing hard. The dog grew still.
