CHAPTERSEVEN
The next morning, Mark headed for the Pearcy County Animal Shelter before work. It was time to decide once and for all what to do with the dog. She walked obediently inside with him. No collar. No leash.
“Any word?” he asked the young guy, Logan, behind the desk. He’d been in at least five times already, asking if they’d found her family yet.
Logan shook his head. “We’ve been in contact with every shelter and vet within fifty miles of here, and no one’s missing a dog like that.”
The dog in question sat beside Mark and stared at Logan, her ears pricked to attention.
“How’s that possible?” Mark asked, frustrated.
Logan glanced down at her and shrugged. “It wouldn’t be the first time someone drove a dog out into the middle of nowhere to dump them when they didn’t want them anymore.”
Mark’s scalp prickled. “People do that?”
“All too often, I’m afraid. At least this one doesn’t look like she got thrown out of a moving vehicle.”
Mark looked down at the dog, imagining her sitting by the side of the road waiting for her family to come back and get her. The abandoned six-year-old boy inside him roared with anger. A dog was a responsibility. A life. You didn’t just dump them on the side of the road when you got tired of looking after them.
“So are you going to keep her?” Logan asked.
“What?” Mark’s head snapped up. “She’s not mine.”
“She’s not anybody’s,” Logan said. “We’re pretty full right now. I hate to say it, but a nice dog like this one sometimes gets overlooked here at the shelter. She’s too quiet. People notice the loud ones, the ones who bark and jump and beg for attention. A dog like this one sits in the back of her cage, gets depressed. No one notices her.”
Goddammit.“She’s staying with me,” Mark said before he’d even consciously made the decision.
“Glad to hear it. We’re having a vaccination clinic in a couple of weeks. Bring her in, and we’ll get her all taken care of.” Logan passed him a yellow flyer.
“Thanks.” Mark turned and headed for the door with the dog at his heels. He’d never bring her back to this building full of abandoned animals. Her family might have driven her out here and left her, but she wasn’t homeless anymore.
She looked up at him with those big brown eyes as if to say thank you.
He had no idea how much she understood about her situation, but in his estimation, animals were pretty perceptive, sometimes more so than their human counterparts.
He loaded her into his SUV and headed for town. Not until Jess’s house came into view did he realize he’d turned onto Riverbend Road, taking the roundabout way back toward Off-the-Grid. He still had that paperwork for her after all, and her black Kia Sportage was in the driveway. He pulled in behind it and parked.
After cracking the windows for the dog, he grabbed the envelope Ryan had given him and headed for her front door. He knocked and then stood back and waited. And waited. He was about to leave when she pulled the door open, wearing black jogging pants and a green hoodie, her hair swept back into a loose ponytail.
“Hi,” she said with a small smile, giving him a “what are you doing here?” look.
“Got some paperwork for you,” he said, holding up the envelope. “Zoning request came through.”
She took it from him. “That’s a relief. Should be clear sailing from here then, huh?”
He nodded. They stared at each other for a few beats of silence. He cleared his throat. “Ah, there’s one page in there that you need to sign. If you want to sign it now, I can drop it off later today with ours, make everything official.”
“Okay.” She stepped back, inviting him in. “I was about to have a cup of tea. Would you like some?”
He hated tea, but he wouldn’t mind spending a little more time with Jess. “Sure.”
Her eyes focused on something behind him. “Oh, your dog’s with you? Well, you can’t leave her in the car.”
“You mind if she comes inside?”
Jess shook her head, holding the door open as he went and fetched the dog from the car. “So have you named her yet?”
He remembered his conversation with Ryan and Emma yesterday. “Calling her Bear,” he said as the dog followed him through Jess’s front door.
