Chapter 5 #2
She chuckled lightly. “I don’t think you’ll change his feelings about that one bit.
He is very much a character all on his own, and he loves you.
He’ll look after you to the best of his ability, whether you like it or not,” she declared.
“He is just wired that way. His training won’t allow him to relax too much. ”
“But that’s the problem. I mean, I’m supposed to be retired, and so is he, but when does he get to really retire? He works so hard. When does he ever get a chance to just be a dog?”
She sat back, realizing that yesterday had shaken him up in more ways than expected. “Jackson, are you worried about what’ll happen to Sarge when you’re gone?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I am. Like, how can I not be? The whole time that I was stuck out there,” he began, “I was thinking that nobody was there to look after Sarge. The fact that he showed up here at the clinic in your hands was a lucky break, and you were able to coordinate with the war department people.”
She nodded. “Luckily they had that built into his microchip because I didn’t know him. However, he’s my patient now,” she declared with a big chuckle, as she scrubbed his belly.
“And you’re okay to look after him if he needs it?” he asked anxiously.
“Absolutely. I would be honored to look after this guy. He’s beautiful.”
“And what if something happens to me?”
She looked over at him and then patted his hands. “I will confirm that he’s fine.” The relief on his face made her heart twinge. “You’ve really been worried about it, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, after the last few days,” he noted, “it is a concern.”
“Of course,” she agreed.
“Now that he’s looked after me so well, it seems we just take from these guys,” he admitted, reaching out a hand to Sarge. “And he deserves so much more than that. He deserves a life where he’s looked after.”
“You’re not thinking about getting rid of him, are you?” She saw the hesitation in his face, and she shook her head. “That would devastate him right now,” she stated, “particularly since he’s just now got you back where he wants you.”
He looked at her hopefully, and she nodded.
“Look. I’m happy to look after him if anything happens to you.
More than happy to take him on and to add him to my dogs.
But I don’t want you worrying to the extent that you think he deserves to have a better dog life, especially not if you are thinking of giving him away. ”
“I was wondering about Wilden,” he suggested.
“I’m sure Wilden would be more than happy to come take him for walks and do things with him,” she shared.
“Obviously I haven’t talked to him about that, but we did note a need for people to walk the dogs just in this town.
I don’t think it’s a job or anything that he’s looking for,” she added, chuckling, “but he understands. Still, I don’t think in any way he wants you to give up Sarge in the mistaken thought that he can have a better life elsewhere. ”
“But what if it’s better for him?” he argued.
“It’s not better for him. Not now. He’s happy with you and content. He has you, and that’s important. You wouldn’t believe how upset he was when you went missing.”
“But I could leave him at any time.”
She sighed. “Yes, but that goes for all of us. Every one of us could go at any point in time, and we do have to make arrangements for someone to look after those that we care about,” she acknowledged, “and that includes our furry friends. At any rate, I am not at all against being the caregiver for this guy, but there’s no need to put the cart before the horse. ”
He looked at her with a beaming smile. “You’re sure? Like, if I put it in my will and stuff?”
“Absolutely,” she declared.
He literally slumped back, and she could see the relief as it marched across his face.
He almost gave a quick shudder, throwing off the stress that he’d apparently woken up with.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “I really don’t want anything to happen to him or anything worse than what’s already happened to him. ”
She studied him carefully and nodded. “You seem to be particularly worried. Did you wake up this morning thinking that time was marching on?”
“No. I woke up this morning thinking this world is full of assholes, and, although I already know that, and I know it isn’t something I can ever change, I just don’t want that to be something that impacts Sarge or results in his being out on the street again or anything else that’s not in his best interests,” he explained.
“That would break my heart, which is why I was hoping that I could be forward enough to ask you to look after him, should something happen to me.”
She hated the way the conversation was going, but she understood Jackson’s need for that little bit of security.
We all needed and wanted stability in our lives.
And his life had gotten a lot more complicated.
That much was a fact. “And I can give you that,” she declared.
“As long as I’m alive and well, I will confirm that Sarge here is also fine. ”
“Thank you,” he replied gratefully. “I really do appreciate that.” He looked down at Sarge and asked, “See that, buddy? You’ll be looked after too. I promise.” Sarge gave a gentle woof but didn’t appear to be bothered in any way about his future home.
“He just wants to love you,” she pointed out. “He wants to be with you. He wants to know that his needs are taken care of, but he’s also concerned that your needs be taken care of too,” she added. “So, you look after you, you look after him, and he’ll look after you too.”
He smiled. “I think that’s a really good way to look at it.”
“How did you get here?”
He shrugged. “I drive but not very often because it’s difficult to get in and out of my wheelchair sometimes,” he explained, “but nothing like the last few days to make me get my life in order a little bit more. I was at the lawyer’s first thing this morning.”
“I expected you to talk to the police first.”
“And I did. I already talked to the police—not that they will be a whole lot of help. Apparently both men were already wanted for questioning for something else, and they’ve been looking for them for the last couple days, but they’ve booked it, probably after they dumped me in the forest, hoping that, if the cold didn’t get me, something would come along and eat me,” he muttered, with a headshake.
“Anyway, the local authorities don’t really expect either of the two men to show up again. ”
“It’s quite possible that they disappeared when they realized their partner in crime had been gunned down in the street.”
He winced and nodded. “That’s likely too,” he agreed. “So, I still have to get to the bank and confirm that they didn’t access my money there.”
“So you haven’t been to the bank yet?”
“No, that’s my next stop. That would be godawful if they’d managed to take that too because I’ve got my pension, but I don’t have much more than that, which is why I get worried about looking after this guy,” he shared.
“Sometimes it’s a little hard to get the dog food I need, and yet I would rather starve myself for a few days than have him go without. ”
She frowned at him with a sharp expression, adding, “If it ever comes to that, you tell me, and I can get you some dog food. Don’t ever cut your own groceries so that this guy has food.
” As Jackson opened his mouth to protest, she raised a hand.
“I know exactly what you’re gonna say.” She smiled at him.
“I understand, but I do have access to dog food at cost, and I have access to a lot of other needs as well. So, now that I will officially be a guardian of this dog, you are obligated to let me know if he ever runs short on groceries.”
He blinked at her, then chuckled. “That was a smart thing you just did.”
“Thank you. I am pretty proud of it myself.”
He nodded. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“You’ll keep it in mind, or I’ll just start dropping off bags of dog food on your front porch,” she warned him.
He frowned at her, and she frowned right back, and, at that, his smile broke loose. “You really should get to know that boy a whole lot more. He’s good people.”
That was totally out of the blue and took her by surprise. She frowned and choked out, “And what boy would that be?” She gave him a hug as she helped him back out to the front door.
“You know all too well who I’m talking about.”
“Do you need a hand at the car?”
He shook his head. “No, I’ve got it. I’ve got to do things for myself to keep up my strength.”
She smiled yet shook her head. “Hopefully it’s okay if we come by and visit maybe later today or tomorrow.” He looked at her hopefully, and she chuckled. “I have no idea what the plan is, but there’s been talk about taking all the dogs out on longer walks to get them more exercise.”
He nodded and muttered, “I wish I could do it.”
She shrugged. “And because you can’t, other people can help. That’s how life works.”
“No,” he corrected, “that’s how life is supposed to work.”
“Maybe now it’s how it will work again,” she replied smoothly.
She watched him get into his vehicle, then headed back to her office to prepare for the next round of clients.
Just before the next one came in, she sent Wilden a text, asking if he was interested in taking the dogs out again this evening.
She added a footnote that Jackson had just come in, asking her to be responsible for Sarge in case Jackson passed on.
Then she put her phone on Silent and headed back to work.
Only as her workday ended, and she took a moment to sit down and relax, rubbing her face, did she realize her phone was still on Silent. She quickly took it off and saw she’d missed a ton of messages, one of them from Wilden.
She picked up the phone and called him. As soon as he answered, she apologized. “I’m so sorry. I put the phone on Silent after I texted you, then got busy working, so I didn’t see your response.”