25. Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Five
Simeon
“ T his is Constable Seth Jacobs. You’ve got a lost dog?”
“H-hi Seth. This is S-Simeon.” Breathe. “S-Simeon C-Cox.”
“Hey Simeon.” The RCMP officer’s voice softened. “How are you? You were out in this snow? I’m at the detachment. We’re only going out for dire emergency calls. Haven’t had any yet, thank God. Hopefully most folks are staying home.”
“R-right. T-that’s good.”
“You told our dispatcher that you found the dog on the road?”
“Y-yes. She’s n-not a stray. Too healthy for t-that.”
“Are you able to take a picture and email it to me?”
“S-sure.”
The dog had decided Ryan’s lap was the best place to settle. I think she might’ve preferred Nanny’s, but my grandmother was busy dishing out dinner. I’d considered putting off this call until after we’d eaten, but someone might be in distress—they needed to know their dog was okay. And well cared for. And maybe a little spoiled.
Somehow I managed to take a picture and to send it to the email Seth provided. Well, he emailed me and I hit reply and attached the photo.
“Got it.” A pause. “Oh, that’s Chia. She belongs to Helen Clemson. Oh, sorry, she did belong to Helen. Helen passed…I want to say a month ago. Her granddaughter’s been staying at the property and getting it ready to sell. I’ll get in touch with her. Although I might contact Dr. Zephyra with the photo just to be certain. But from where you said you found her—it fits. I’ll also see if I can confirm the name.”
I chuckled. “Yes. D-dog isn’t a great name. Wait.” I met the dog’s gaze. “Ch-Chia.”
Her ears perked.
“I t-think we might have a winner.”
He laughed. “Great. I’ll be in touch.” He disconnected the call.
Ryan hugged the dog tighter. “So she belongs to someone.”
I eyed him. “We knew she d-did.” I offered a small smile. “You c-can’t keep her.”
He stuck out his lower lip. “I don’t see why not. I can, you know, sneak her in and out of my apartment—”
“Your n-no-pets-allowed apartment.” Not to put too fine a point on it.
A wince. “Yeah, that part’s going to be a problem.”
Bops entered the room with two plates. He handed one to me and started to hand the other to Ryan.
Who held the dog almost as a shield.
My grandfather shrugged, headed to his recliner, and within moments had his feet elevated and was digging into the most aromatically pleasing dinner ever.
I loved Nanny’s rosemary chicken. “I’ll eat q-quickly and then take her.”
Ryan waved me off. “There’s no rush. I’m certain Nanny’s got some set aside for me.”
“She does.” Nanny entered the room, carrying her own plate. “Did you talk to someone?” She pointed to my phone.
“Seth J-Jacobs.”
“Oh, such a lovely young man.” Nanny sat. “Lives just down the road from your friend Maddox.”
I cocked my head. “I d-didn’t know that.”
She nodded. “Yes. She pointed to my plate. “Eat up before it gets cold.”
I smiled. That was my grandmother. I bit into the delicious chicken and moaned.
Ryan snickered. “Eat quickly. I want my turn.”
Nanny pointed to the dog. “We know who she is?”
I started to speak.
Ryan glared at me, then turned his attention to Nanny. “Chia Clemson.”
Nanny nodded slowly. “Helen’s dog. I heard she got a new one about a year ago. I sort of wondered, what with all her health problems, but she claimed dogs made her healthier.” Nanny winced. “We sent flowers to the memorial service. She was what…” She glanced at Bops. “I want to say twenty years younger than us…?”
“Closer to twenty-five.” He appeared to do some mental calculations. “Her ex-boyfriend left her high and dry—” He glanced between Ryan and me. “—pregnant.”
We nodded.
“Like, that was forty-some-odd years ago. Her daughter had a daughter, and that girl’s…” More calculations. “I want to say twenty-one? She grew up without a father either.” He met my gaze. “Nothing wrong with that. Helen and her daughter did a good job. Nice young woman. I think she works at a yoga studio…?”
“D-daughter or granddaughter?”
“Granddaughter. The daughter moved to Yellowknife last year. Got a good government job. I thought she shouldn’t leave her daughter behind, but the girl was twenty. Old enough to stand on her own. I heard she was helping Helen out.”
Ryan hugged Chia. “So how’d she get loose?”
No one answered.
My phone rang.
I swallowed, put the plate down on the coffee table, then swiped. “H-hello?”
“Simeon? It’s Seth.” He sighed. “So both Dr. Zephyra and Chloe Clemson confirmed she’s Chia. She’s a miniature poodle.”
Yeah, I might not know much about dogs, but those curls were unmistakable.
“O-okay. What next?”
He hesitated. “Chloe lives in a no-dog apartment. And her grandmother’s house just sold. In two weeks, she’s going to have to surrender Chia.”
Ryan gasped and clutched the dog tighter.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“We could take her.” Nanny gazed at the dog. “She doesn’t look like she would be much trouble.”
“Is that you, Mrs. Cox?”
“It is. Hello Seth. You always were one of the good ones.”
He chuckled. “I appreciate your kind words. I, uh…” He hesitated.
“Oh, the dog would be Simeon’s.” Nanny met my gaze. “He’s always wanted a dog. I think it’s high time he considers it. If he wants to rescue her.”
My mouth went dry. I blinked several times.
“He needs to think about it, Seth. But if you—”
“Yes.” Thank God I didn’t stutter. “I m-mean we n-need to talk, but…yes.”
“Okay.” Seth rustled some papers. “Why don’t we talk to Chloe about whether you could arrange a foster? You try keeping Chia for a week or two and see if it’s a good fit. If not, Zephyra can likely find another foster or even a permanent home.”
“That’s a good idea.” Nanny beamed. “You always had a good head about you.”
Seth chuckled. “I know you don’t have dog food. She’s got sensitivities, so Zephyra suggested rice and boiled vegetables. The dog will be okay without meat for a day or two. Maybe when the snow clears, you can head over to Chloe’s to get Chia’s things?”
“Y-yes.”
Seth hesitated. “Can you take me off speaker?”
Nanny’s brow knit.
I did as Seth asked.
“Y-yes?”
“Look…I love your grandmother. Adore her. But she’s putting a lot of pressure on you. You rescued the dog, and if you could just look after her until the storm mess is cleaned up, I’d be grateful. We all would.”
“O-okay.”
“But that doesn’t oblige you to keep the dog. Have you ever even discussed this with your grandparents?”
“N-no.”
“Okay…maybe try to have a dispassionate discussion. Dogs are a lot of responsibility. Both Zephyra and Chloe said Chia’s actually a good dog. Helen hired Torah Dixon to train her. Best of the best, right?”
I smiled. “Y-yes.”
“No pressure, okay?”
“O-okay. Thank you.”
“Chloe was loading her car, and she thinks Chia slipped out. The dog’s been looking around—probably searching for Helen.”
I blinked. “That’s s-sad.”
“It is. Chloe’s not neglectful. She was frantic. And also had enough sense not to go out herself looking for the dog in a blizzard.”
A memory of the story of Ravi chasing after Princess Sofia and them both getting lost flashed to my mind. “G-good. Seth. It’s all g-good.”
“Okay. I’m back on tomorrow night. Can I call and check in?”
“Y-yes. That would be great.”
“Fantastic. Thanks for this, Simeon. Truly.” He cut the connection.
Nanny pointed to my food. “You can nuke it.”
I didn’t care if the chicken was cool. I snagged the plate and dug in, careful to not shovel the food in. As soon as I was done, I headed to the kitchen.
Moments later, I had Ryan’s plate.
Then I realized I hadn’t heated it up. I went back to the kitchen to nuke it.
Ryan came up behind me.
I turned and cocked my head as he held two empty plates.
He grinned. “I swapped Chia for the plates. She’s on Nanny’s lap giving kisses.”
My heart leapt. Not just that my grandmother was getting on so well with Chia, but that Ryan was comfortable calling her Nanny .
I pulled the plate out of the microwave.
He gestured to the kitchen table.
Wow, he didn’t flinch at the microwave. That’s small, but that’s awesome. Figuring he had his reasons for pointing at the table, I sat as he did.
“W-what?”
And, of course, he’d just put food in his mouth.
I rolled my eyes.
He chewed, then swallowed. “I think she’d be good for your grandparents.” He nodded toward the family room. “They already adore her.”
“I w-work all day. They can’t t-take her out. She might, you know, p-pull them over.”
“Could you set up a little fenced area in the yard?”
I squinted. “Sure.”
He’d just put more food in his mouth.
I smiled.
He grinned back, chewed, and swallowed. “Maybe I’m wrong, but…” He cocked his head. “Maybe I’m biased. I don’t want her to end up in another place. Somewhere I won’t be certain she’s safe.”
“Zephyra w-wouldn’t let that happen.”
“Maybe.” He wrinkled his nose. “I seem to be saying that a lot.”
“You f-finish eating. I’ll c-clean up the kitchen. We can take Chia out for a pee and then h-head downstairs. The hockey game’s over. Nanny and Bops n-need to go to bed.”
“Look at you, ordering everyone around.”
I winced.
He bopped me on the biceps. “I like it.” Then he ate some baby carrots.
Taking that as a cue the discussion was over, I headed to the counter and started putting the leftovers into containers.
That Nanny didn’t come to supervise assured me how tired she was. I put on a pot of rice, and by the time I had everything cleared away, I had a couple cups. I pulled down a plate and gazed back and forth between the pot and the plate. How much is too much? Or not enough? I don’t want her to starve, but I also don’t want her to overeat and be sick…
“You could google it.” Ryan pointed to my ass and the phone in my back pocket.
I hesitated. He’d been okay with the games tonight, and when I’d been talking to Seth. But I’d also seen him reacting badly. This could’ve gone either way. He’s an adult — if he says it’s okay, then it’s okay. I yanked out my phone and… “How m-much does she weigh?”
Ryan blinked. “Not much. Like, maybe twelve pounds?”
She’d felt light to me as well, so I selected that option. The website spit out a number that sounded about right. I used the measuring cup to apportion the rice, added a few baby carrots, and then… “We should f-feed her in here.”
He nodded, rose, and headed toward the family room.
I was about to call to him that he couldn’t carry her. He’s an adult — he knows what he can and can’t do.
Sure enough, moments later he came back, Chia at his heels.
She spotted me at the counter and came straight to me.
“Chia, sit.”
At Ryan’s command, she plopped her butt.
And waited patiently until I put the food before her.
She didn’t eat.
Ryan and I exchanged a look.
Is she picky? What if she doesn’t eat? Will she starve?
“Chia, eat.”
She dove into her food at Ryan’s command.
Okay, good to know. The dog would, apparently, wait before doing things. That was great, right? Yeah, except when she escaped the house and went looking for her dead owner.
Ryan winked. He seemed to think we had this.
I wasn’t so sure.
Still, I smiled back.