“Oh, I’m not done with you yet.”
Heat. Immediate heat in her nethers. What would it be like to have him say that to herfor real, in whatever voice he reserved for naked play with the women he actually saw as sexual objects? She’d combust on the spot. The images flashing through her mind left her incapable of anything more than bobbing along in his wake as he led her to his office. He opened the door and ushered her inside, where she was greeted by a whimper that turned into a series of yips.
“What…?” She squinted at the little brown lump ofsomethingplopped on a coat laid in the corner of Aiden’s office. Then the lump shifted and changed shape until its angles resolved itself into four legs and a snout. “Is that adog?”
“Surprise,” Aiden said sheepishly.
The dog quivered and wagged its tail, the action causing its whole body to shake. She immediately crossed the room and dropped to her knees, and the dog took a hesitant step in her direction. “Where’d he come from?”
“She, I think.”
“Hi, girl,” she crooned, holding out a hand to be sniffed.
The dog brushed the tips of Thea’s fingers with her cold black nose before she gave her knuckles a tentative, tickly lick.
“One of the guys found her on a job site in rural Cavelier County, and I immediately thought of you.”
“Me?” For a horrified moment, she thought he was comparing her appearance to the bedraggled, skittish creature in front of her, and she wanted to cry for both her and the dog.
“Yeah, a couple of weeks ago you mentioned you wanted a dog, and this one fell in my lap.” He plunged his hand in his hair, looking almost nervous. “If you weren’t serious though, I can find another home for her. I just thought…”
“I love her,” Thea breathed.
The dog’s eyes peered out at her from under a tangled clump of fur, two shiny little buttons looking warily out at a world she wasn’t quite sure she trusted. Thea knew the feeling.
“Do you think she has an owner somewhere?”
“She’s friendly enough.” Aiden moved to crouch next to her and scratched behind the dog’s floppy ear. “But she definitely looks like a stray.”
“We need to get you cleaned up, poor hungry lady.”
He gestured to a pair of bowls against the wall. “I picked up some food for her and left her in here with plenty of water, but yeah, she’s going to need a whole checkup.”
She snuck a glance at him, taking in the little smile on his face as he brushed his fingers over the dog’s knobby spine, and affection swelled in her chest as she watched how gentle he was with the frightened little thing.
Oh God, she needed to be careful. Those werefeelings, and she couldn’t afford to develop those for Aiden. Better to focus all her attention on the creature in the room who needed her most. She grabbed her phone and dialed a number.
“Hi, is Kylie working today? Yeah, thanks.” Aiden looked at her curiously, so she put her hand over the speaker to whisper, “Calling in a favor.”
Five minutes later, Aiden loaded her and the dog into his truck to drive them to the veterinary clinic where her friend worked as a tech. The dog huddled on her lap and burrowed her head under Thea’s elbow while she gently stroked the dog’s sides where her ribs were visible under the coarse fur.
“I’m going to take such good care of you,” she whispered to the dog.
Aiden glanced over. “She’s lucky she’s got you now.”
She blinked back tears at his words, unexpectedly moved by his faith in her to care for this small, vulnerable creature. “Thanks.” She curled protectively around the quivering dog until they arrived at the clinic on the north side of Beaucoeur, where she explained the situation to the woman at the front desk, who immediately whisked them into an exam room to await the arrival of her friend Kylie.
“You’re lucky it’s kind of a slow afternoon,” the tawny blonde said when she joined them. She moved efficiently through weighing the dog, looking into her ears, and listening to her heart. “Do you want me to see if she’s microchipped?”
“Yes, please,” Thea said.
Kylie waved the scanning wand over the dog. “Nothing. My guess is she was dumped by a crappy owner, or she’s been a stray her whole life.” She rested a gentle hand on the dog’s back. “Question is, what do you want to do with her?”
“Keep her!” The words burst from Thea’s throat, and she’d never felt more sure about anything in her life. “I want to keep her.”
A grin split Kylie’s freckled face. “Then we’d better get her cleaned up. Let me see what our groomer’s schedule looks like.” She breezed out of the room and was back moments later. “She’ll squeeze her in around her other appointments this afternoon. Nothing fancy, just a bath and a trim to get her ready to send home. Is that okay?”
At Thea’s nod, Kylie scooped the dog into her arms. “Great. Should take a couple of hours. We’ll call when she’s ready to go. In the meantime, we’ll give her vaccinations, worm her, and check for heartworms.”
