Good. Normal was what they needed.
Outside, the voices had faded. Most likely, the confrontation had ended, and everyone had gone back inside—including Lyndee.
Hadley pushed the thought aside.
Right now, her focus stayed here.
With Juno.
With what she could control.
She hoped the woman hadn’t left with Kenny.
The sharp crack of impact from Max’s punch to Kenny still echoed in her mind. The raised voices. The way everything had accelerated in a matter of seconds.
She’d seen enough to know Max hadn’t started the fight. But she also knew how quickly situations like that could turn. Kenny didn’t strike her as the kind of man who gracefully accepted losing.
Her throat tightened.
She adjusted the blanket beneath Juno. The other dogs here—there were six others right now—seemed to sense the tension. They occasionally barked and several sounded like they were pacing, their nails clicking on the concrete.
Juno let out a low whine.
Hadley turned back to the dog and stroked her neck. “I know. It’s a lot, but you’re not alone. I’m going to be here with you.”
The words caught in her chest.
For a moment, the present blurred at the edges. In her mind, she heard someone else murmuring those very words—murmuring them to Hadley as she lay in the hospital bed, sweat pouring down her face and contractions seizing her abdomen.
She pushed the memory away before it could take hold. Not now. Juno needed her full attention.
The dog tensed before settling again.
“That’s it,” Hadley murmured. “Just like that. Let nature do its thing. Your body was designed for this.”
A new sound rose above the other sounds in the kennel.
Hadley stilled.
The noise wasn’t loud—just a faint scrape, like a boot shifting against gravel.
She turned her head to listen.
Hadley’s mind immediately went to Kenny. She pictured the way he’d grabbed Lyndee’s wrist. She remembered the dark current running beneath his easy posture.
A man like that didn’t just drive away and let things go. He’d been possessive—and he’d seen Lyndee as his property. Hadley didn’t like the thought that he’d come back.
Her pulse ticked up a notch as she waited for the door to open, for Kenny to rush inside.
But nothing happened.
Maybe it was Max or Caleb or Naomi outside walking around.
She exhaled slowly and made herself look back at Juno.
Whatever—or whoever—was out there, she couldn’t do anything about it from in here. And Juno needed her. Because these puppies were coming at any moment.
But as she turned back to Juno, she heard the sound again.
