Great. It was only water. It would dry. She hit the handle again and more ice poured in.
What about food? Had Dog eaten? Did Whisper literally just pick him up off the side of the road and come straight to Last Chance, or had she fed him something on the way? He didn’t eat the rat, but that could mean he simply had good taste.
Opening the fridge, she scanned the contents. Her gaze caught on the plastic container of leftover meatloaf. She took it out and set it on the counter. What if he didn’t like it? Opening the drawers at the bottom, she found ham and turkey slices for sandwiches, along with lettuce, tomatoes and mushrooms.
Dr. Jenna had said that Butterball ate good dog food that contained protein and vegetables. There was no dog food in the house, but this was definitely protein and vegetables. Opening the cabinet where Annette kept her paper plates, Riley grabbed one and covered it with some of everything she found.
She took a few bites of cold meatloaf while she worked. When she’d filled the plate, she took a few more slices of ham and turkey and stuck them in a sandwich bag. If the dog was really hungry, she’d give him more. If not, she’d eat them. After putting everything away, she picked up the plate in one hand and the water in another. That wasn’t going to work. Setting the plate down, she grabbed the sandwich bag and stuck it in her back pocket. Then picking up the plate again, she slowly walked back toward the front door.
Dog sat on the other side of the screen, his tongue still lolling out. She hoped this helped. She didn’t want to be responsible for him dying. She couldn’t handle anyone else dying under her watch.
She pushed the screen door open with her hip and set the bowl of water down on the porch.
Dog didn’t move.
“Don’t you want some water?” She crouched down next to it and swirled her finger in the icy liquid. She held it out to Dog. “It’s cold.”
He sniffed her finger and licked.
“Go ahead. Have some.”
Dog’s one eyebrow rose as he looked at her, then he moved his gaze to the water.
Whisper said to think of him as a little horse. She softened her voice. “Go ahead, little horse. It’s all for you.”
The dog moved forward and started lapping.
Triumph shot through her, and she barely kept in her shout. Instead, she slowly rose, but didn’t dare move, afraid he’d stop drinking. This taking care of little animals wasn’t easy. She’d take Cyclone over them any day.
At the thought of the Clydesdale, she swiveled her head to make sure he was behaving himself. Logan had used him to drag the lumber back to Cole’s house just the day before, so Cyclone should be good until Sunday.
Dog licked her hand, bringing her attention back to him as he sat on his haunches in front of her.
She still held the dish of food in her other hand. Duh. “Are you hungry?” Crouching once more, she set the plate down. “I hope you like it. It was all I could find. Everything else is frozen.” She’d need to thaw something for herself for tonight, or she could just eat potato chips and a melted provolone and mayo sandwich. “Go ahead, try it.”
Dog sniffed at the plate before swallowing the meatloaf whole.
Crap, was that normal? He must be seriously hungry.
He sort of chewed the ham, but didn’t eat all of it before turning to the turkey.
She moved to the closest porch chair and sat on the arm while she waited for him to finish. He hadn’t touched the vegetables when he turned back to his water dish and drank some more. Two ice cubes got licked over the edge and onto the porch. When he finished, he walked to her and sat.
“Are you done?” She pointed to the plate.
His head swiveled to look where she pointed, but he didn’t move. Instead, he faced her again and put his paw on her leg.
What the heck did that mean? “You still have more.” She looked over him at the plate before meeting his dark brown eyes, that one eyebrow higher than the other again. Was it stuck there or…She didn’t take her gaze from his as they stared at each other. She’d bet he wished she could read his mind. “Good boy?”
His tail waved slightly.
Was he really that desperate for praise? He’d never make it in the Army. “Good boy.” She gave it more enthusiasm and the paw came down, the butt came up, and the tail wagged like the American flag in a sandstorm. She rose. “You know you could hurt someone with that thing?” She pointed to the still wagging tail.
Dog’s mouth opened as if he smiled at her. She shook away the thought. Dogs didn’t smile. Did they? She headed for the steps, and he bounded down them ahead of her. Pausing, she looked back at the half empty paper plate. Maybe he’d eat some later.
He ran across the packed earth of the parking area then back to her.
“Do you want to go for a run?”
