Chapter 10 #2
She was swaying as she stood and concern filled him. That hadn’t been much of a nap and she was clearly still exhausted.
“Yeah, we can discuss this inside. Where are your keys?”
“Um.” She rubbed her forehead. “Girls first. Then . . . I . . . I need to explain.”
Explain?
She turned and moved to the chicken coop, clucking and talking to the chickens inside.
“Here you go, Hen Solo. I know you’re sick of being in there. Good girls. Princess Lay-er don’t get in the way of Jabba the Cluck. Come on, Chew Bok-Bok. Yes, you can come out. No, the door isn’t that way.”
Had she seriously named her chickens Hen Solo, Princess Lay-er, Jabba the Cluck, and Chew Bok-Bok?
Matthieu gaped as she got into the chicken coop, which actually looked in better condition than the house. And the door had a lock on it. Unlike her gate or garage door.
It was clear to see where her priorities lay.
She sighed in exasperation as she glared at the last chicken in the coop. “Chew Bok-Bok, you are seriously testing my patience right now.”
“Doesn’t look like she wants to come out,” he commented in amusement as the rest of the chickens moved around the small yard.
How safe was it out here?
Behind him, he heard a scratching noise. He turned and there was a high-pitched bark.
“Oh shoot, that’s Gummy. She likes being outside when the chickens are free so she can protect them. Gummy is very protective, but also kind of grumpy. So don’t try to pick her up, no matter how cute she seems.”
“You got it.” He held his hands up as she moved past him.
He caught her sneaking him suspicious looks, but she didn’t say anything as she unlocked the door.
He gazed down, expecting to see a small-to-medium-sized dog standing there.
But it turned out he didn’t look down far enough.
He lowered his gaze to where a tiny Chihuahua was snarling up at him.
Was she serious?
This was the dog who guarded the chickens? What the hell could this dog do?
She started barking at him and Maya made soothing noises.
“It’s all right, Gummy. He’s not here to hurt the girls. He’s our friend. This is Matthieu. Matthieu, this is Gummy.”
Why the hell would someone name a dog Gummy?
The dog seemed to study him, then she let out a huff and strode past him. Wow, that dog had some attitude.
Just like her owner.
There was another bark from in the house and as Maya stepped through the back door and into the kitchen another small dog barreled toward her.
This dog was bigger than Gummy. He looked like he had some bulldog in him. But he’d never seen a dog like it before. His eyeballs were bulging. How did he see properly?
But somehow, he managed to avoid banging into anything as he raced toward Maya.
Then smack!
The dog ran straight into her legs.
“Dougie!” she said as she reached down and picked him up.
He licked her face enthusiastically.
“Okay, we’ve talked about the licking,” she lightly scolded him as she scratched him behind the ears. “He can’t hold his licker.”
He couldn’t hold his licker? Matthieu fought another grin.
She set Dougie down as a white, fluffy cat strode into the room on three legs. She ignored them all as she walked over to a food bowl that was pale pink with ‘Princess’ written along the front of it.
“This is Princess Priss,” Maya said as she walked over and drew a bag of food out of a kitchen cabinet. She filled up the cat’s bowl.
“So you have a cat too?”
Maya sent him a small look, then away. “Are you allergic to cats?”
Did she sound hopeful?
“Nope.”
“Do you not like animals?”
He snorted. “I like animals. You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”
“Hmm. Come. I mean . . . um . . . please follow me.”
She walked down to a closed door and stopped, glancing up at him quickly. There was still a blush on her cheeks, but she also looked a bit worried.
“I have two more.”
“Cats? Dogs?”
“A dog and a pig.”
A pig? In the house?
“A pig?” he asked.
“Big Berry. She hangs out in my bedroom with Tank.”
“Tank?” Now that sounded like the dog who should be guarding the kitchen and barking when he heard people.
“Tank is . . . scared . . . shy . . . he’s been . . . hurt in the past.”
Anger flashed through him.
Only the worst sort of scum hurt those that were smaller than them, that were unable to defend themselves.
“Who?” he asked in a dark voice.
He tried to rein in his fury when he saw her jump. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her. But he needed to know who he needed to take care of.
“I don’t know them.” She shook her head, letting out a deep sigh.
“He’s a rescue. I have a friend at the local shelter.
Tank was brought in with welts. Malnourished.
So thin. He still is no matter how much I try to help him .
. . they couldn’t get him to eat.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “He was starving himself to death.”
There was a hitch in her breath and he couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He drew her against him, rocking her gently.
“Fuck, sweetheart.”
“Yeah. So Naomi called me and I went and got him . . . only thing is . . . I don’t think I’m helping.”
“Does he eat?”
“A bit. With Berry. He trusts Big B.”
Big Berry. What a name.
“Then he’s already doing better than in the shelter by the sounds of things. He’s eating. He has a friend. He has a warm, safe place to sleep and eat.”
She nodded, but she seemed so dejected that it was breaking his heart.
“He’s just . . . he’s so sad, Matthieu. I can’t stand it. I want to make it all better.”
It was too much for him. He held her even tighter and she melted into him.
Merde.
How was it possible for him to feel this much for her in such a short amount of time? Then again, he’d have to be a monster not to feel something for her when she was this upset over an abused dog.
God.
Whoever had hurt that dog deserved to rot in hell.
And maybe there was a way to track the owner. And make them pay.
“I just feel like I’m getting nowhere. I’m letting him down and I don’t know what to do.”
“And what would have happened if you hadn’t gotten him?” he asked.
She was more relaxed with him now that she was more worried about something else.
“I don’t know. I guess they would have put him down. That’s what Naomi was worried about happening.”
“Right. So he’s already better off. You can’t expect things to be better straight away.
Pain and hurt like he’s obviously gone through .
. . it will make it hard for him to trust again.
But if you show him that you’re there for him, that you won’t let him down or harm him, then you will eventually win his trust.”
She sucked in a deep breath and nodded but didn’t move her face away from his chest.
“Hey, listen to me,” he said to her firmly as he drew her back. Of course, she didn’t look up at him so he was speaking to the top of her head. “You are doing a good job. Hear me?”
She nodded.
“Say it back to me,” he demanded.
“Why do I have to say it back?” she asked.
“Because I said so.”
She glared up at him before remembering to be shy and glancing away. “I don’t have to do things just because you say so.”
Oh, his poor naive Bébé.
Of course she did.
“Actually, that’s exactly what you have to do. Because I’m now in charge. Repeat it back to me.”
“You know that you’re only in charge of my safety.”
“Actually, I’m in charge of everything.”