Max remained crouched there a moment longer, watching the small cluster of new life. Then his radio crackled.
Caleb’s voice came through, low and even. “Max, you got a second?”
He straightened and stepped back from the pen. “Go ahead.”
“Naomi and I are still with Lyndee. She’s talking, which is good. But something just showed up on the gate camera. It looks like someone might be here. Can you go take a look?”
Max knew Caleb was being purposefully vague—probably so he wouldn’t scare anyone who might overhear their communications. He most likely didn’t want to take any chances.
“I’m on my way,” he told him.
Hadley glanced up at him, her eyes wide. “Is everything okay?”
“Probably. We just need to be certain.”
Max wished he could stay longer to reassure her. But he didn’t have the time, nor did he want to lie.
Instead, he slipped outside into the cold.
As soon as he stepped onto the driveway, he saw the headlights staring at him from the far end of the drive, just beyond the gate. The vehicle appeared to be idling.
Watching.
Sending a message.
Max’s jaw tightened as he strode toward the gate.
By the time he reached it, the headlights flicked off. Gravel crunched.
An engine revved.
Then the vehicle was gone.
The darkness concealed its make and model.
But Max would bet it had belonged to Kenny, that the man had returned to send a message, to let them know that this wasn’t over.
Hadley sat back on her heels and watched the puppies nurse.
Six of them. Six little lives that had been introduced to the world just an hour earlier.
The quiet wonder of the moment washed over her.
At one time, she’d been so sure that she’d know this feeling from the other side. That she’d be the one in the hospital bed, exhausted and overwhelmed, with new life in her arms.
But life didn’t always work out the way people planned.
Hadley stroked Juno’s fur, grounding herself in the warmth beneath her palm. As she did, the door opened behind her.
She glanced back as Max stepped inside, bringing a brief rush of cold air with him. He pulled the door shut and looked at her.
She couldn’t read his expression.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“It’s fine.”
“Listen, were you outside earlier? Walking around the kennel?”
