She gave him a wobbly smile. “I’m coming back to camp next year. Will you be here?”
Unlike Brittany he’d never planned his life further than the next few days. “Maybe.”
“I hope you are.” She hesitated and then let go of Travis’s hand, stepped forward and hugged Zach, her skinny arms squeezing tightly. “You’re the best.”
Zach froze. He could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he’d been hugged in his life. He stood for a moment, his hand hovering in the air, and then lowered it to her skinny shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
Grace released him, muttered more jumbled thanks and then ran off to join the rest of the group who were gathering near the barn.
Travis followed more slowly and Zach pulled out his phone and sent Philip a quick text.
Then he felt someone touch his arm and turned to find Brittany standing next to him.
“Well, another heroic rescue on Puffin Island. You’re making a habit of it and Grace’s dad is one of the town’s selectmen so I’m guessing you might even find yourself on the agenda of the next town meeting. Who knows, you might even reach hero status.”
Feeling as uncomfortable as if he’d just fallen in a thorn bush, Zach slid the phone back into his pocket. “For taking a wire off a dog? I happened to get to him first, that’s all.”
“And we’re all relieved about that.” Her mouth tilted into a smile of self-mockery. “That animal was crazy with pain and he had all my sympathy, but I wouldn’t have risked giving him my fingers as well. You are now officially known as the dog whisperer.” She glanced towards Zach’s car. “We need to get him to the vet. I can’t drive, so you’ll have to do that part and I’ll sit with Jaws.”
Zach raised an eyebrow. “Jaws?”
“I call it the way I see it. And from what I’ve seen so far, it’s a reasonable name. Those teeth were horribly close to sinking into your arm, Flynn.”
“Knowing that, you’re still happy to sit with him?”
“Yes, but don’t ever rescue a tarantula because I’m not sitting next to one of those, even for you.” She stepped away to tell Rachel her plans and then walked towards his car.
Zach stared after her, his feelings mixed up.
He’d been doing everything he could to put distance between them, trying to protect her from himself.
Thanks to the dog, that plan had gone out the window.
THE DOG LAY with his head on his paws, watching her warily.
“I only have one good hand,” Brittany told him, “so if you bite that, I’m in trouble and frankly so are you. And if you bite the other one you’ll break your teeth on the cast. I’ve never seen you before. Do you recognize him, Zach?”
“No.” Zach turned the car and drove away from the camp. A steady line of cars was building in the opposite direction as parents arrived to pick up their children. “Someone probably brought him over on the ferry and abandoned him.”
And the story could have had an ugly ending had Zach not intervened.
She knew it would take her a while to forget the sight of him putting himself between the little girl and the dog.
There was a smudge of dirt on his cheek and his hands were dusty.
She thought of those hands, sure and gentle as he’d handled the dog. “I don’t know why anyone would abandon him. He’s pretty cute.”
Zach caught her eye in the mirror. “We both know this dog is as ugly as sin. He has nine chins.”
“Maybe, but he’s still cute. And I don’t notice his chins because I’m looking at his eyes. He has nice eyes.”
“You have a thing for damaged creatures.”
“This from a man who almost got himself bitten taking the wire off the dog’s neck.” And he hadn’t hesitated. He’d put the dog’s comfort in front of his own safety. “And everything you said to Travis—that was nice work.”
“We were talking about the dog.”
“We both know neither of you were talking about the dog. I hope he opens up to Philip. You texted him?”