He took a step toward her, staggering slightly. He was really drunk. “Who cares?” He charged. She screamed and tried to turn to run when a large shadow rounded the corner of her house and slammed into Reuben, knocking him to the ground.
A dog.
She raced for the house and slammed the front door behind her, locking it. With trembling fingers she dialed 911.
The dog’s vicious snarls and Reuben’s panicked screams for help drifted into the living room, but in less than five minutes she heard a siren and peeked out the front window. When the deputy arrived, the dog leapt off Reuben and trotted to her front porch, sitting there, staring at her through the window, its tail wagging.
It looked like a huge, jet-black Lab.
She cautiously opened the front door, and the dog wagged its tail harder, his whole butt wiggling, almost seeming to smile at her. Then it trotted over, turned, and sat facing the front walk.
Reuben was still screaming as the deputy handcuffed him, so he couldn’t be hurt too badly. After another deputy arrived and they locked Reuben in the backseat of one of the cruisers, the deputies took her statement. Lucky for Reuben, he didn’t have a mark on him, but apparently he’d wet his pants as the dog had grabbed his throat and held on without breaking the skin.
Tess idly stroked the dog’s head after it nosed her hand. “Is that your dog, ma’am?” the deputy asked.
She shook her head. “No, I’ve never seen him before. But I’m damn sure glad he showed up.” She had a horrifying thought. “You won’t take him, will you?”
“Not if you don’t want us to. He didn’t bite him.” The deputy looked at the dog. “He’s a good-looking dog, doesn’t look like a stray. I suggest getting him to the vet tomorrow if you can’t find his owner, get him his shots. That way, no one can say anything.”
She nodded. When the deputies finally left, she stopped at the open door.
“Want to come in, boy?” She assumed he was a boy, but she hadn’t examined him.
He padded through her front door, his huge club-like tail happily wagging. God, he had to be well over a hundred pounds! She’d never seen a Lab as big as him.
She poured him a bowl of water, and he eagerly lapped it up. Kneeling next to him, she ran her fingers through his fur, checking him. Yep, a boy, and he didn’t have a collar. He also didn’t appear to have any fleas or ticks, thank God, and he seemed pretty clean.
Cupping his large head in her hands, she looked into his huge, golden-brown eyes. Something about him calmed her, made her feel protected, beyond what he’d done for her. Surely he belonged to someone to be in such good shape.
“Thank you, boy.”
He nuzzled her cheek and licked her face.
After that scare, she let him curl up on her bed. Putting her arm around him felt right. He smelled good, too, almost…familiar?
She fell asleep and dreamed of her dinner with Scudder, wishing she could be curled around him.
Around five o’clock, before false dawn even touched the sky, she was gently nosed awake by the Lab. He stared at her, licking her cheek, softly whining.
The events of the night flooded back, and she looked at her overnight guest. “Hey, boy.” She stroked his head and laughed when he rolled onto his back so she could scratch his belly. “I hope you’re homeless, because I’ll adopt you if you are. If not, I owe your owners a huge thank-you.”
He sat up and whined again, looking toward the bedroom door.
“You gotta go out?”
He jumped off the bed and paced halfway to the door and stopped.
“Okay, hold on.”
He patiently waited for her at the front door. She opened the door, and before he went outside, he turned. She knelt down and he licked her, nuzzling her neck. His breath brushed her cheek. When she met his eyes, she realized he was leaving. She didn’t know how, but she sensed it.
Great. Now I’m talking to dogs. I need a life.
The dog panted, almost smiling, and licked her one last time before bounding out the door and around the corner of her house.
Tess tried to go back to sleep, but it eluded her. She took a long shower, thinking about the feel of Scudder’s arms and lips—
Why didn’t I call him?
She thought about it. Why hadn’t she? He should have been her first call after the deputies got there, but…
That dog had saved her.
She hoped the Lab was okay, and if he was homeless, she hoped he’d come back.
Scudder dropped his keys on the table by his front door and scrubbed his face with his hands. At least he’d gotten a little sleep. It wasn’t worth trying to go to bed now. He needed to take a shower and get to work.
He left early enough to stop through the golden arches and pick up coffee and breakfast for both of them. She arrived at work ten minutes after he did, and they ate on the hood of his car.
“You aren’t going to believe what happened last night after you left,” she said.
“What?” He hoped she wasn’t totally attuned to him yet, couldn’t tell how badly he was lying.
She told the story, and he nodded and looked shocked in the appropriate places.
“I should have stuck around, Tess. I’m really sorry.”
Tessa shook her head. “No, it’s okay. You had no way of knowing.”
“I wish you’d called me.”
She looked down. “I’m sorry I didn’t, it’s just…” She met his eyes. “This is going to sound really weird, and I don’t want it to come out sounding the wrong way, but that dog was just so comforting, I didn’t even think about calling you.”
He smiled, amused. “So you’re saying I need to run around on all fours and get a flea collar?”
Tessa laughed, but knew his feelings weren’t hurt. “I think what’s weirder is you do understand what I mean.”
He caressed her cheek. “Buy him some beef jerky as a reward in case he comes back. The real stuff, not the crap for dogs.”
“Maybe I’ll do that.”
Working was hard for her, because every time she looked up she caught Scudder’s eye and smiled. She wanted to lock their door and crawl into his lap and kiss him. By the time lunch rolled around she was more than ready to go. They lucked out in the elevator, having it all to themselves and stealing a quick kiss on the ride down.
“So I’ll pick you up tonight at seven, and we’ll go somewhere your ex won’t be, right?”
She laughed. “Right.”
He almost seemed to catch a whiff of her thinking that she wanted to say something else and gently encouraged her. “What is it, Tess?”
“Thank you for last night, for standing up to him for me.” Her eyes finally found his. “No one’s ever stood up for me like that in my whole life, and now in one night, two guys protect me.”
“Two?”
“You and my mystery dog.”
He loved her smile, craved making her laugh. She was more relaxed today than he’d ever seen her despite the previous evening’s events. After lunch was over, he reluctantly returned to the office. He wanted to sit there in the park with her all day.
A little after two, Ron Osborne stuck his head in their doorway. “What are you guys dressing up as for the bash?”
“I’m going, but Scudder’s ducking out.”
Scudder didn’t like the way Ron’s eye gleamed at that news. “Really? Why not?”
Scudder fought to control his voice and keep the growl out of it. If he was in his canine form, his lips would be curled and his hackles up. Even Ron’s scent had changed. “I have a prior family obligation.”
Ron’s gaze focused on Tess. Scudder knew Ron was attracted to her, but the few times he’d tried to connect with her, Scudder had successfully interceded so she never knew about it. The guy was a slimy asshole.