Chapter 17
ZINA
I rolled over in bed and opened my eyes.
For a moment I tried to figure out where I was.
Then it all came back to me. The pups, Alex’s lips on mine, Alex’s lips on my .
. . oh shit. I pulled the covers away to reveal my bare legs, bare thighs, and bare booty.
My cheeks heated. Even though I was alone in the room, his room, I reminded myself, embarrassment crawled over my skin.
I flung myself to the edge of the bed. The puppies probably needed to eat.
But the laundry basket was gone. I located my jeans and my bra on the floor and struggled to get dressed.
There was no time for rest. I had to figure out what to do with the puppies and how to get my dogs out of the warehouse if Alex really thought he was going to be able to make the new timeline the wedding planner demanded.
As I rounded the bend in the staircase and headed toward the kitchen, I caught a glimpse of Alex’s legs through the crack in the doorway. He was barefoot, the hem of his jeans barely touching the top of his foot as he sat in one of the chairs at the kitchen table.
“So what’s she going to do with all of them?” his grandfather asked.
I should clear my throat or knock on the door to let them know I was there. But a part of me wondered what he was going to say . . . if the night we’d shared would have any kind of impact on his response.
“I don’t know.” His voice lodged in my chest, warming me from the inside out.
“It’s a shame how people treat these dogs,” his gramps said. “Keep ’em around while they have value, then toss them aside like yesterday’s news when they’re done with them.”
“Is that what you think Char and I have done to you?” A hint of hurt laced through Alex’s words.
I didn’t want to eavesdrop, but my feet stood rooted in place.
“May as well be. I think me and Herbie got something in common, right, buddy?”
Herbie wagged his tail and licked the old man’s hand. I noticed the tidbit he passed under the table. I’d always had a no-food-from-the-table rule when it came to my dogs. Looked like Alex’s grandfather didn’t seem to think the rules applied to him.
“Good morning.” I pushed through the door and tried to paste a smile on my face. Maybe Alex hadn’t shared that I’d spent the night. Maybe I still had a shred of pride intact.
“Well aren’t you looking like a peach this morning?” Alex smiled from across the table. He held a puppy in his arms. “Gramps made coffee. Help yourself.”
I moved to the counter to grab a mug, hoping coffee might flush away the awkwardness of a morning after. It would have been uncomfortable enough between the two of us without Alex’s grandfather joining in the mix.
Just smelling the pungent brew cleared my mind a bit. I opened a cabinet in search of a mug.
“Let me give you a hand.” Morty pushed back from the table and moved toward the coffeepot.
I stepped back to get out of his way. Herbie followed him from the table, probably hoping for another nibble.
“Here you go.” He handed me a mug. “Cream’s in the fridge if you want it. Sugar’s on the counter.”
“Thanks so much.” I fixed my coffee, then took a seat at the table. “How are the puppies this morning?”
“Good. They all made it through the night.” Alex gave me a grin, one that settled my concern for the pups and also created an uncomfortable warmth inside my stomach.
“Thanks for taking care of them. I need to get them over to the vet today. Maybe we can find a surrogate mama dog to nurse them.”
“They can do that for dogs?” Morty asked. “The pups will take to a new mom, just like that?”
“If she’s willing, yes.” I caught an undercurrent of tension pass between Alex and his grandfather.
“Too bad it didn’t work that way for you, son.”
“That’s not fair.” Alex bristled. His muscles tensed and for a moment I thought he might launch himself across the table.
“His ma wasn’t exactly the nurturing type.” Morty lifted his mug toward me. “Too bad we all can’t pick our kin, huh? Did Alex tell you he was in school to become a vet?”
“He mentioned it.” I took a sip of my coffee.
Alex got up from his chair, set the pup down in the basket, and stalked out of the room. Morty shook his head. “He’s a good man but he doesn’t know how to grow roots.”
I didn’t know how to respond. Was he directing his comment at me? Did he expect me to say something in return? “Oh, I um—”
“He’s got a good heart. As soon as he finds something worth sticking around for, he’ll make a good father and husband someday.” The older man gazed into his mug.
I gulped down a giant swig of coffee and set the mug down. “I’m going to get the pups out to the warehouse. Have a good day.”
I didn’t wait for him to reply. Armed with the laundry basket of puppies, I covered the distance from the house to the warehouse in record time.
I didn’t need to know Alex’s whole backstory.
Didn’t need to know he came from what sounded like a broken home or that he had mama issues.
I balanced the basket on one hip while I wrestled the door open.
One of my volunteers saw me struggling and rushed over to lend a hand.
I filled my helper in on how to care for the pups, then left to run home for a quick shower and a change of clothes. I still had that adoption event scheduled for tomorrow and needed to get ready. Whether I liked it or not the penguins were coming and I had to make room.
As I pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road, my cell rang with a call from Lacey. “How’s the mama to be this morning?”
“Not good. Not good at all,” Lacey answered. “Where are you?”
“On my way home to grab a shower. We found some puppies in the woods by the warehouse, and I spent all night feeding them.” And doing unmentionable things to your penguin handler. I decided to keep that part to myself.
“Bodie’s at your place.”
“My house?”
“Yeah. A call came in last night. Someone saw something strange going on over there. I couldn’t reach you, so he went over to check it out.”
“What happened?” My heart jumped into my throat. I tried to swallow my fears back down, but the knot of worry wouldn’t budge.
“I don’t think the roof collapsing was as much of an accident as we thought. There may have been some foul play involved as well.”
“What do you mean?” I pressed on the gas, eager to get home and figure out what Lacey was talking about.
“Someone doesn’t like the fact that you’re helping all these pit bulls. I think they’re trying to warn you to stay away.”
“That’s crazy. I’ve been working at the rescue for a few years now. No one’s bothered us before.”
“Yeah, but Bodie’s getting close to figuring out who’s behind the dog-fighting ring. Maybe the two are related.”
My mind spun with possibilities. I’d originally thought Bodie’s dad and grandfather might be behind the dog-fighting ring.
But when they were arrested last year for smuggling huge amounts of Cuban cigars into the country, I gave up on that idea.
Since I’d teamed up with Bodie to take on the cast-off pitties he came across, we’d received some publicity about the shelter and the dogs.
Maybe the people behind the dog-fighting ring were feeling threatened.
“Tell me what happened.” I needed to know what would be waiting for me when I got home.
“They redecorated your house, hon.” Lacey’s voice went all quiet. “It’s not safe for you to stay there anymore. I want you to move in with us for a bit.”
My heart kicked up its pace and began to beat so hard and so fast I thought I might pass out. “I can’t stay with you, you’re on the other side of town. It would take me forever to get to the warehouse. And even longer to get to the shelter once we get that fixed up.”
“Well you can’t go home. You’ll stay at the Phillips House.” Her voice held a finality I’d heard before. But it had rarely been directed at me. It was her mayor voice, the one she used when she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.
“I can’t stay there, you’ve only got two bedrooms and they’re both in use,” I ground out. Not to mention that’s where Alex was. And based on what went down between us the night before, trying to maintain my distance with him so temptingly nearby might prove to be too much for me to handle.
“The men can share a room. We’ll bring in an air mattress if we have to. But you’re not going home and that’s final.” Lacey’s voice bordered on shrieking.
“Settle down, mama. No need to burst an eardrum. Let me check in with Bodie and we’ll make a plan from there, okay?” It didn’t fail to register that I was the one who should be freaking out right now, not Lacey. Maybe this pregnancy was changing my friend in more ways than met the eye.
“All right. He’s waiting for you there. Call me after?”
“I will. And Lacey?”
“Hmm?”
“Thanks for worrying about me. You know you’re a giant pain in my ass, but I do love you.” That was an understatement. The pain-in-the-ass part. Lacey wasn’t so much a giant pain in my ass, she was more like a boil that was about to burst.
“I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“It won’t. I know how to take care of myself.” And I did. I’d been in the military, stationed overseas. Where I’d had to always be on alert, sleep with one eye open, and all that.
“But you don’t have to take care of yourself all by yourself now. That’s what friends are for.”
The sentiment hit me harder than it should have. I’d blame it on the lack of sleep and the stress I’d been under for the past several days. Wiping a tear away before it fell, I took in a breath. “Gotta go, I’m almost there. I’ll call you later.”
As I pulled into my own drive, Bodie’s sheriff’s truck loomed before me.