Okay, he needed to get a grip because he was of no use if he was going to freak out. Dogs had puppies all the time . . . just not in his damn yard.
From what he could see, the dog appeared to be a yellow Lab mix. She let out a whine, and Zach raked his hands through his hair. Damn it, what should he do?
He jerked his phone from his back pocket and quickly looked up “dogs in labor.” The image section was not an area he needed to go right now. He’d be seeing it up close and personal soon enough. Scrolling through the articles, he found a promising, helpful site.
After reading and learning way more than he felt necessary, he went into action. As tired and frustrated with life as he was, he couldn’t just go in and go to bed when there was a dog in need and innocent puppies about to be born.
Softly, Zach ran a hand over the dog’s head, letting her know she wasn’t alone, before heading inside to gather towels and a bowl of water. He was definitely out of his element here, but that dog had either him or nothing. What if the pups weren’t born for another day? Was he going to sit up all night?
Yes, he would. Because no matter what a jerk he could be, he wasn’t one to abandon anyone or anything when they were in need.
An image of Sophie lying in a hospital bed after the accident slammed into his mind. He’d not seen her because he’d been arrested, but he’d heard enough to know she’d been through hell . . . because of him. No, he wasn’t going there. He’d been no use to her then. He sure as hell wasn’t now, either.
Pushing Sophie and his emotions aside, Zach gathered all he needed and headed back outside. Dumping the towels on the ground, he pulled his phone back out and looked up the town vet.
Marcie had graduated with Sophie and Chelsea, but he’d never had a need to call her office before now. He waited for the answering machine to kick on and left a message, hoping they were checked often and she would call back soon.
Zach took a seat on the ground next to the bushes and kept searching through his phone for any information about what to do for this dog. As he looked closer, he realized she didn’t have a collar on. He didn’t recall seeing such a beautiful animal in the neighborhood before, either. Surely she belonged to someone. Maybe Marcie would be more help once she called back.
Every now and then the Lab would let out a whine or a howl. Zach hated that. Couldn’t she have lain down in someone else’s yard? Like maybe Ms. Barkley’s? No, that wouldn’t have been good. Zach couldn’t imagine his stiletto-wearing neighbor catering to the needs of an abandoned, pregnant dog.
It wasn’t lost on him that he was riding to the rescue of a canine and her unborn pups when he couldn’t even figure out how to save himself from this mess he’d gotten himself into with Sophie.
She was obviously on to him, and she wasn’t going to let him get away with lying to himself or lying to her. He had no clue how to approach her when he saw her again. All he could do, all he should do, was focus on finishing the renovations, focus on this asinine idea of opening a damn women’s resort, because all of that was more than enough to make his head spin without adding Sophie into the mix.
Zach swallowed as images of Chelsea flooded his mind. When he’d come to live with the Monroes, the last of the four stragglers they’d adopted, Chelsea had been so sweet even when he’d been anything but. She would talk to him, that bright smile across her face as if her entire world were unicorns and rainbows. He’d hated the smile at the time. Hated how she constantly threw in his face how his pity parties were robbing him of his happiness.
But each time she came into his room, often late at night because they’d been insomniac partners, she would curl up on that window seat and just talk. Half the time he never said a word, but every single thing she said penetrated his thick skull.
Oftentimes she’d fall asleep in that window and Zach would take the blanket from his bed and cover her
up. He almost felt as if she were staying with him, watching over him like some real-life guardian angel.
Chelsea had recognized a broken soul, having been one herself. But she’d turned that brokenness into freedom and had lived her life the way she wanted, through happiness, giving her darkened past the mental middle finger.
At first Zach had no idea how someone who had been basically abandoned could be so happy, so full of life. He’d endured nightmares he’d never wish on his worst enemy, and all he’d wanted to do was pick a fight or be alone. Chelsea hadn’t let him do either. She loved him instantly, and he soon came to find out she was impossible to ignore. She was impossible not to love.
When Zach felt the sting in his throat, he muttered a curse and raked a hand down his face. He was tired. That’s all. He wasn’t going to break down. What would be the point? Crying wouldn’t bring her back, crying wouldn’t get him out of this emotional roller coaster he was on, and crying wouldn’t help this current situation. Because if the way this Lab was shifting, as if trying to get comfortable, and the way she kept tightening her stomach, Zach had a feeling he wouldn’t need to speak to Marcie once she called. The delivery would be over at that point.
* * *
Water aerobics always relaxed Sophie. Unfortunately, like the pencil sketches, nothing was really helping lately.
She’d gone through the familiar motions in the class, chatted with her regulars, and caught up on the latest town gossip. Her mind was still on her late-night visitor and his stubborn pride.
As she steered her car toward her office, her cell rang. She tapped on her steering wheel to answer her hands-free device.
“Hello?”
“Soph, I’m on my way to a meeting, but I wanted to return your call.”
Pulling into her parking spot, Sophie sighed at Martin’s clipped, rushed tone. “I apologize for the last-minute cancelation, but this isn’t a good time for me to get away.”
Silence greeted her on the other end.
“Martin?”
“Is this because of that Sunset Lake property and the Monroes?”