She nodded again.
“Hold on, and I’ll come around to help you down,” he said.
He walked around and opened her door.Jaxx jumped down but stayed close.
Thomas helped unbuckle her seat belt when he saw her hands shaking.He lifted her down and kept his hands on her shoulders to steady her before releasing her.
“Would it be okay if one of my men took care of Jaxx?He’ll give him a bath and food and then let him get used to the other two ranch dogs we have.”
“Will I be able to have him with me inside?”she asked.
“No, Sweetheart.I’m sorry.Daisy is allergic to them, but you’ll be able to see him anytime you want.He won’t be lonely because he’ll have a bed with the others in one of the guys’ places.His name is David, and he is a dog lover.If I let him, he’d have a dozen here.”
“Oh, well.I think that’s fine.”
“Let me introduce you to him, and you can determine if he’d be okay,” Thomas said and whistled to get the man’s attention.
“Yes, Sir,” David said as he ran up to them.
“David, I’d like you to meet Angel and her dog Jaxx.”
David grinned.“It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.”He crouched.“It’s nice to meet you, too, Jaxx.I think you’re going to love the other dogs, Macey and Buddy.”
Thomas watched the expression on Angel’s face relax when Jaxx went right to David and let him pet him.
David chuckled.“Whew, boy, you need a good bath.”
Angel nodded.“Yes, he does.I couldn’t figure out how to do it where we were.”
“That’s no problem,” David said.“I have a big bathtub at my place.The next time you see him, he’ll be clean.”
“Thank you.”
Thomas squeezed her shoulder.“Why don’t you say goodbye to Jaxx for now?”
Angel nodded, knelt, and hugged the dog.“You be good for David.”
Jaxx licked the girl’s face, making her giggle.
Angel and he watched the dog follow David, and Thomas could tell Jaxx already trusted him.
He wanted to get the sad look off her face.“Would you like to see Ranger before we get you settled?”he asked, and loved the way her eyes lit up.
“Yes, please.”
He took her hand, which startled her, but she didn’t pull away.
“Hey, shouldn’t we grab my stuff?”she asked.
That made his teeth snap together.The garbage bag containing everything she owned made him angry, and he vowed to ensure she had everything she could ever want.
“No, we’ll get it on our way into the house.”
She did try to pull away then.“Wait.I can’t stay in the house.I thought I was just going to help the lady.”
He stopped and turned to her.“Why not?”
She shrugged.“Oh, well ...because I don’t belong.I’m better when I sleep in the barn.”
