He held out a hand. “Name’s Davidson. I left you a message about an hour ago?”
I glanced back at the office, silently chastising myself for not checking the messages. “Um, sorry. I guessed I missed it.”
“Oh. Well, I’m a journalist for The Spokesman-Review. I was in the area before the storm hit, writing an article about the new rock-climbing facility in Coeur d’Alene. I was supposed to head back yesterday, but then the storm rolled in, and well… anyway, I heard about your miraculous save yesterday! With that dog, I mean. I was told you were the one who called for help?”
I was still trying to process that avalanche of information, so I simply nodded.
“Would you mind if I asked you a few questions? I think it’s amazing what you did to help that woman, and I’d love to share the story.”
I hesitated, not sure how I felt about being the center of a big news story when all I did was respond to a dog’s plea for help.
Still, not wanting to be rude, I opened the door for him to enter. “Um, yeah. Okay. Come in.”
The man entered behind me and stomped his feet on the mat, flashing me a grin. I could practically see him taking notes as he looked around, and I stood a little taller than I would have a couple of months ago. If he had come by before I met Alex, I would have felt a little insecure about the building, but not anymore. Not after Alex had completely turned it around. Still, though. There was something in the man’s eyes that made me a little uncomfortable. The way he seemed to scrutinize every detail.
“Nice little clinic you have here,” he commented.
I grated at the wordlittle.“Yeah, thanks. I’ve worked hard for it.”
“How many employees do you have?” he asked.
I wasn’t sure what that had to do with the accident, but I still didn’t want to be rude, so I answered honestly. “Two part-time vet technicians, one full-time office manager slash vet technician, and another part-time office assistant.”
He nodded. “That’s nice.”
I didn’t like his condescending tone and suddenly felt the need to put the counter between us. “So, what did you want to know about the accident?”
He gave a happy sigh and held up a gloved finger, then quickly dug into one of the many pockets on his coat. After withdrawing a small notepad, he said, “So, I already talked with the tow truck driver. He’s the one who told me about this story.”
I inwardly cringed. Was that all Kristin and Diego were to him? Astory?
“Also talked with the woman. Uh, Kristin….”—he glanced down at his notes—"Alloway.”
I nodded, having no idea if that was her last name or not. I’d only known her as Kristin.
“She said the dog broke through the cracked window to try to help?”
I hadn’t known that piece of information for sure. I’d just assumed as much, since the window was shattered in the snow, but I hadn’t actually asked. Mostly because it felt rude. The poor woman was dealing with a broken leg and an injured dog. The last thing she needed was to be reminded ofhowher dog became injured.
“As far as I know, that’s true. I can only tell you what happened after the dog flagged me down.”
The guy’s brows shot up. “Flagged you down?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Yes. You heard me right. I was coming back from a trip with my sister when Kristin’s dog, Diego, bolted out in front of us. I could tell by his behavior he was trying to show us something. So I pulled over and went to investigate.”
“What do you mean by show you something?”
“Well, he’s a pointer, so he was signaling in the way pointers do when they are hunting.”
The man’s eyes went wide. “Wow.”
“The car was trapped in the snow down a ravine, and because of the angle and the dense trees, I couldn’t get down to her.”
He nodded and made some notes. “So you called for help?”
“My sister did. I stayed with Kristin and Diego. I wanted to make sure his paw was okay. He’d cut it pretty bad, so there was blood everywhere.”
He made another note. “Lucky a vet happened to be there,” he said with a grin. In another situation, I might have thought the man’s smile beautiful, but there was just something about Davidson that had me on edge. “Is the dog here with you?”
