Jacob grabbed the bumper of the Smart car and kept one arm pressed against his ribs as he pulled himself up. He hoped that going down like that hadn’t pushedcrackedinto broken.
“Fozzy,” he yelled and then tried to whistle between his teeth. “Fozzy, boy.”
It was lunchtime. There were people about, and they started to look.
A man walking by on the other side of the street stopped, pulled his headphones out, and looked over curiously. “Everything okay?”
Abby grimaced a smile. “It’s fine. Sorry. It’s all under control. Just a bit of a spill.”
The man looked dubious and cocked his head to the side as Jacob patted his hand against his thigh and whistled again.
“You sure?”
“Yeah,” Abby said. “I’m just going to get him inside. Get him a coffee and a chance to sit down.”
She caught Jacob’s elbow, pulled him up off her car, and tucked herself gingerly under his arm while she tried to avoid touching his grubby clothes.
“I can’t.” Jacob stalled halfheartedly. “I have to… ah… find my dog.”
“I’ll send a couple of our interns out to look for him,” she said and tugged him toward the office door. “They’ll find him. Don’t worry.”
“His name’s Fozzy,” he said. “Tell them he looks like a beige Westie.”
“Oh, a Cairn?” Abby said. “My friend has one. Lovely dogs. Very independent. He’ll be fine. Just take this step here.” She shoved the door open with her arm as she shooed him inside.
Cold air hit Jacob as he limped into PeaPod, which was a relief after lurking around in the heat outside. He swayed a bit, leaned on a convenient desk, and braced himself with the heel of his hand. The young receptionist pulled back from the desk, and his face curled with dismay as Jacob stumbled in, looking like a hobo.
“What on earth—”
Abby batted her hands at the air. “Rob, we had a bit of a spill outside. Mr…. umm… I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name?”
“Jim. Jim Bell,” Jacob lied. He leaned a little heavier and gave Abby a wonky, pained grin. “I hit your boss’s car with my bike.”
Rob pulled an “oh shit” face, hopped up from his chair, and loped around to grab Jacob’s arm and prop him up. “Are you hurt?” He looked over Jacob’s shoulder at Abby. “Should I call an ambulance?”
“No,” Abby snapped at him, but then softened her voice. “Not yet. Let’s just give Jim a chance to sit down and pull himself together.”
She and Rob helped Jacob limp to a low indigo couch next to the yogurt bar and lowered him down onto the cushions. “I’ll get you something to drink,” she said. “Do you want water? It’s got vitamins in it.”
Jacob gingerly peeled his gloves off and winced as the tight pleather peeled off his bad hand. The swelling had gone down since the first night, but it was still bruised and sore-looking—enough to make Abby hiss in dismay.
“Tea?” he said plaintively. “And do you have any ice?”
“I’ll get you some,” Abby promised. “Just sit here. Catch your breath. Okay? I’ll find Fozzy.”
She dragged Rob away and hissed to him in a tight, angry voice that carried more than she probably thought it would. “Ambulance? Right now, we donotneed any more publicity. Okay?”
“It’s hardly our fault, what happened to Harry.”
“Iknowthat,” she snapped. “It’s still hardly the corporate image we want, and now I’ve run down some man with his dog? Let’s just see if we can keep this quiet and off my insurance.”
She rubbed her hand over her forehead and glanced at Jacob. He tried to look like he wasn’t listening as he tilted his head back and poked with careful fingers at his ribs.
“Right. I’ll go get some ice from the store,” she said. “You keep an eye on Jim there and send a few of the interns out to find a terrier that answers to Fozzy. Hisdog, you….”
She crimped her lips and took a deep breath through her nose. “Look. Just look for his dog, get him some tea, and make sure he doesn’t die. Okay?”
Rob nodded. “I’ll round up a few interns to hunt around. Don’t worry.”
