Chapter 5 #3
“Hey, understood. You run a business, an important one at that.”
She heard the smile in his tone of voice.
“So you don’t ever have to explain that. The answer is a yes, if you’re still interested.”
“Yes, I still am,” she confirmed. “I’m tired, but I have the dogs here with me.”
“Good. … I was planning on going back up to where we found Jackson.”
She stared down at her phone. “Why?”
“I guess I’m just wondering if any evidence is there that we might need or should take another look at,” he shared. “I guess I can’t quite get out of my mind that another vet went missing, and he’s never been found, and his daughter keeps going to his house every day, but he’s never there.”
She felt a cold hand wrapping around her heart and squeezing, and it was all she could do to get her breath when she whispered, “Sure, let’s go do that.”
“Or I can do it another day.”
“You don’t want to take me there?”
“Nothing like that. I was planning on doing it today, but I got caught up in all kinds of legal stuff,” he explained.
“That took up my day. I had to take my grandmother into the law offices as well, so she’s tired out now, and I’ve just got her home and settled with some early dinner.
She’s just ready to sit and watch TV now. ”
She heard his smile coming through the phone as he went on.
“So, I haven’t eaten yet.”
“Neither have I,” she noted. “We could do a walk first if you like, or we can just park the whole idea.”
“Nope, we’re not parking the idea,” he stated. “I was making some really big sandwiches. So how about I bring a couple, and we can have a picnic out there?”
She chuckled. “That sounds lovely. Do you want me to come to your place?”
“Sure, come here with your dogs, and we’ll all get into my vehicle and head out. By the time you are here, I should have these guys ready.”
Wilden stopped by Nan’s bedroom, and she looked up and smirked at him.
“Did I hear you’re heading out with that pretty little vet again?”
A teasing element filled her tone, and he smiled. “Yep, we’re going for a walk with the dogs, so they can wear off some energy and get a bit more exercise than they normally do. We’ll pick up Sarge from Jackson on the way. That way we can also check on him.”
She smiled. “I’m glad to hear that, and you’ll take this guy with you, won’t you?” As she spoke, she reached down to pet Dagger, who had apparently become his grandmother’s sidekick in all things.
“If you’re okay to let him go.”
“Of course, of course. He’ll have a grand old time once he sees everybody else. He’ll be heartbroken if you don’t take him.”
“That’s what I figured,” he replied. “So, if you don’t mind letting go of your spoiled baby for a little bit, we’ll bring him back soon.”
“Good, and I do have to admit I have completely fallen in love with him. How could anybody not?” She rubbed his head. “He’s absolutely wonderful.”
“He’s also very high energy, and he’s a puppy that needs a lot of training,” he noted, with a wry smile. “So, it takes somebody who has the time and energy for him.”
“I have time. I just don’t have energy,” she admitted. “However, as long as you can help with the training and the exercise, I think it’s an absolute yes for keeping him.”
“Good,” he said. “I’m sure that will make Vivian happy as well.”
“And, of course, we want to keep her happy,” she teased, with a chuckle and a sly look in his direction.
He sighed. “Don’t you go matchmaking, Nan.”
“Too late,” she declared. “It’s already well underway.”
He smiled at that. She was having her fun, so maybe it was a good thing for her. “If it’s meant to be, we’ll get there,” he told her. “Yet both of us have had way-too-much going on with other things to worry about that.”
“When you find somebody,” Nan noted, “it’s got nothing to do with worry.
It has everything to do with the connection, so I’m not concerned about it at all.
I’m just happy for you because, if nothing else, you have found somebody you can connect with, somebody you can have walks with, coffee with, and just talk,” she pointed out.
“It’s a hard world sometimes, and everybody needs to know that they’re not alone. ”
Her words were almost prophetic, but, as he quickly packed up some muffins he had on hand, along with some fruit and a couple bottles of water, he put it all into his backpack.
He added the sandwiches, which he had to admit were his kind of sandwiches.
He had no idea what she was used to eating but figured that she probably wasn’t too picky.
She was too busy helping animals and trying to keep things moving at work to fuss over whether she even ate, much less what she ate.
He guessed she routinely missed some meals.
She hadn’t mentioned any allergies, so he wouldn’t worry about it.
By the time he heard a vehicle drive up, and Dagger raced to the door, barking like a crazy boy, Wilden had everything all packed up.
He put a leash on Dagger, called out to his grandmother that they were heading out, listened for her acknowledgment, then opened the door as Vivian got her dogs out of her vehicle.
He smiled as he saw how quickly the dogs blended into one happy pack, and he told her, “You’ll be happy to know that Dagger has completely won over Nan. She is in love, and it seems to be mutual, since he spends most of his time at her feet or in her bed. She is addicted to having him around now.”
Vivian turned to him and laughed. “That’s what happens. We fall in love with these guys, goofy and all, and figure out how to make our worlds work with them, even though sometimes we know that they’re more work than we have time for.”
“And that’s okay because I am here right now. So, I’m starting on Dagger’s training, which is definitely a work in progress.” Just then Dagger jumped all over her.
She laughed and nodded. “That’s okay.”
With all three dogs loaded up, she turned to Wilden. “We’re picking up Sarge too, aren’t we?” she asked. He looked at her and nodded.
“I assumed so, unless you’ve got a reason not to.”
“No, not at all, plus it gives us a chance to check up on him.” She detailed Jackson’s visit to the clinic.
Wilden nodded. “Unsettling awakenings remind us that, when we pass, there aren’t always solutions for those we love,” he shared.
“I imagine Jackson struggled with that and now realizes he needs something more formal. So, he really asked you to keep Sarge?” he asked, checking her facial expression for any indication of something else at the core of it. She didn’t show any other signs.
“Yes, and I’m happy to, just as I was happy to take Dagger on, but the more I take on now, the less I can help in the future.”
“Exactly,” he agreed. “I was going to point that out, but I figured you probably wouldn’t listen anyway.”
She smiled. “I have to do what I feel is right,” she said, “so helping animals will never be the wrong thing to do. I just might need help finding them new homes. In a vet clinic, people often dump animals. Some can’t afford surgery and opt for euthanasia instead.
I’ve done too much of that. I prefer helping animals survive, but, if families won’t support them post-surgery, not much I can do to convince them otherwise. ”
“So, what do you do with them?”
“Sometimes, depending on the age of the animal and the medical prognosis, I do as the client wishes. Sometimes I keep them. Sometimes I move them on. Yet sometimes it’s better for the animal to go under. … That’s the worst part of my job really.”
“I don’t know if I could do that,” he admitted. “I would be rescuing animals constantly.”
She smiled. “That’s how I get in trouble. I’ve already got recovering cats, plus two dogs, and then took in this guy,” she said, scrubbing Dagger’s head. “And I don’t have the time, the space, or the stamina to give them all what they need and run the clinic too.”
“Dagger has settled in nicely with us,” he noted, “and I’m happy we have him. You would laugh seeing him with Nan.”
“I can absolutely picture it. She’ll be cross, telling him off constantly, and yet she’ll be feeding him cookies.”
He burst out laughing. “That’s exactly how I found them earlier today,” he confirmed, still chuckling. “It’s almost like you understand.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, almost like I understand,” she quipped.
“Diet is a huge issue for dogs, but they don’t really care about that.
They just want to get the treats they want.
So, it’s up to us humans to find some semblance of common sense, but lots of times that doesn’t happen, and we end up with overweight dogs. ”
He nodded. They pulled up in front of Jackson’s house, and Wilden hopped out. “I’ll go get Sarge, unless you want to come up with me?”
“I’ll come with you,” she stated. “I think it would be good for him to see both of us.”
He didn’t say anything to that. As they walked up to the front door, he heard Sarge inside.
He let out a whistle, and Sarge fell silent, as if waiting.
As soon as they got there, they knocked on the door.
When they heard a shout from inside, he pushed open the door and was immediately greeted by Sarge.
Wilden called out, “Hey, Jackson. We’re here to pick up Sarge to go for a walk, if that’s okay. ”
Sarge, upon hearing the word walk, danced around in front of them. Jackson wheeled into the living room slowly, his face lighting up as he saw the dog making a fool of himself, being so silly.
“It’s absolutely okay,” Jackson replied, with a beaming grin. “How could I possibly say no to those antics?”
“Right? We won’t be too long. We’re just going for a walk.”
“And get out for a little bit,” Vivian added, at his side.
Jackson nodded. “If you ever head back up to where you found me, could you take a look around for my phone and my keys? I don’t know what happened to them.”