“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m walking you to your car.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Evie. You’re a beautiful, independent woman, I get that. But what would you say if you knew that it made people happy to help you?”
Her head jerked back. She was surprised by my comment. “I don’t need help.”
“I know.” I reached for her hand and rubbed the back of it with my thumb. “You don’t need help, but it makes me happy to help you.”
She stood in silence for a moment, Rocky looking back and forth between us. “Well, if it makes you happy…I guess it makes me happy too.” The dog’s tail started wagging again. “And Rocky would probably like to go for a walk too.”
I put the headlamp on over my wool hat. “You’ve got to stop calling him Rocky. You can’t get attached to him.”
Evie looked at me as she rested her hand on the dog’s head. “Too late,” she whispered.
After walkingEvie to her car, Rocky and I returned to the cabin. “Well, pal. Let’s see if we can find your family.” He yawned, turned in a circle, and fell asleep on the rug in front of the fire.
I laughed. “All right. I’ll do my chores here and then we’re going into town.”
All day I thought about Evie. I also thought about my own life. Hockey had been everything. When I hadn’t had a family, I’d had the game. Was I chasing the camaraderie and family that the team gave me and not the hockey itself? When I was with Evie it felt just as good, if not better than the game. Was it possible that I wanted to make it to the NHL to feel like I belonged to something?
After the alpacas’ stalls were cleaned, I pulled out some carrots and laughed at their ridiculous lips as they chewed. Muriel made me another casserole and sent me back to the cabin with two tubs of Tupperware. One for me and one for Rocky. The Lumbers had never seen Rocky before but guessed from his skinny condition that he was likely an abandoned hunting dog.
That hurt my heart.
Hours later, I was spent. Farm work was no joke. If I did this full time I’d be ripped, and probably too tired to play hockey.
Still, I followed through with the search for Rocky’s owner. The dog sat in the passenger seat of Berta, his ear hairflowing in the breeze from the truck’s vents. The heat was on full blast, but frost still crept across the windshield.
My phone buzzed as I headed back to the ranch. Rocky tilted his head as the duck quacking sound came from the phone’s speakers. I gulped when I saw the name on the display.
“Hi, Logan.”
“I heard that you’ve got a dog.” He laughed.
“What the hell? How do you know that?”
“You posted on the Chance Rapids community page this morning. Everybody in town knows.”
I sighed. “Yet, no one has claimed him.”
“Yeah. It happens every year. These hunting dogs show up and they rarely ever get claimed. I blame the fuckers that come here from the city. If the dogs run off, they don’t look for them, they just leave and go back to the city.”
Rocky curled up on the passenger seat. I gave him a pat on his side. “I still can’t believe people would do that. I’ll give someone a few days before I take him to the shelter. He isn’t microchipped.”
There was a pause on the line. Evie would be devastated, but I couldn’t keep the dog—neither could she. “It’s a good thing to have a dog in your life, Nick. Especially if you’re going to live here. They’re good company.”
I was glad that Logan wasn’t in the truck with me and Rocky. I knew that our days together were numbered, and I was doing my best not to get attached to him. “What can I do for you, Logan?” I cleared my throat, changing the subject.
“I need a hand tomorrow. I coach the Triple-A team and we need a goalie for practice. I thought that you might like the extra practice on the outdoor rink.”
Before I could reply, Logan added, “I’ll pay you.”
He didn’t have to pay me, but I’d take it. “Sure, boss. I’d be happy to help out.”
“Thanks, Nick. I’ll send you a text with the details. Oh,and leave a little extra time to get to the Windswan game tonight. That storm last night has left the roads a mess.”
