by Susan Stoker
With one last caress of her nape, Gumby stepped away, hating the loss of her body heat against his. He grabbed hold of her hand and led her down the two stairs to his truck.
Sidney tried to compose herself on the way to the vet. She wasn’t sure what had just happened. Nora had been…well…Nora. But now that Decker had pointed it out, she saw how protective the other woman had been. It was a good feeling. Nora wasn’t exactly what someone would call a normal friend, but Sidney was closer to her than anyone else she’d met in California since she’d arrived.
They didn’t hang out together. Didn’t go out for drinks. But Nora was still a true friend.
And then there was Decker.
She hadn’t planned that kiss, and she certainly hadn’t meant to blurt out to Nora that he was hers, but both had felt right. Sidney didn’t like the jealousy that had arisen in her when Nora propositioned Decker, or when she’d eye-fucked him.
And the comment about his beard was just out of line—but after kissing him and feeling the soft hair against her mouth and cheeks, she couldn’t get what Nora had said out of her head. If it felt as good as it did while kissing him, having him between her legs would be fan-fucking-tastic.
Shifting in her seat and feeling her damp panties, Sidney knew she had to think of something else or she’d really embarrass herself. The last thing she needed was a wet spot on her jeans to announce to the world how badly she wanted the man sitting next to her.
Looking over at Decker, she saw the way he was white-knuckling the steering wheel and how tense his shoulders looked. There wasn’t any traffic, so she assumed he wasn’t nervous about driving.
“Relax, Decker.”
He took a deep breath and let it out. “What if she doesn’t remember me?”
“You’ve been visiting her this past week, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve been here a couple of times,” he agreed.
“Then what are you worried about?”
He sighed again. “The vet told me that Hannah’s been a bit aggressive in the last day or so. That she normally wouldn’t recommend she go home this soon, but since she’s ‘not thriving’ at the clinic—her words, not mine—that she thought it would be better for her to recuperate the rest of the time at home.” He glanced over at her. “What if she can’t get over what those assholes did to her?”
Sidney put her hand on Decker’s thigh. He immediately reached for her hand and held on tight. “I honestly think dogs experience PTSD just like humans do. I think with lots of time and love, Hannah’ll be fine.”
He harrumphed, as if he didn’t believe her.
“Decker, that dog worships the ground you walk on. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. That’s why I didn’t protest you adopting her without going through the background check. From the second you came up on me and that asshole fighting, she couldn’t take her eyes from you. She was hurting and scared out of her mind, but she let you pick her up. That doesn’t happen very often. The dogs we rescue are typically very wary.
“Don’t borrow trouble. If she has aggression issues, you can work with her. Show her that she can trust you. No dog’s perfect. Maybe it’s the cage at the vet’s she doesn’t like. Maybe it’s the smell of the place. Maybe it’s the other dogs. I just don’t know. You’ll have to learn her quirks as she learns yours.”
Decker looked a bit more relaxed. “You’re right.”
“But, Deck, some dogs just can’t be rehabilitated. You know that…right? They’ve been through too much. They’ve been treated horribly their entire lives and they can’t trust.”
He sighed. “Yeah. That’s why I’m so worried.”
Sidney squeezed his leg. “We’ll just play it by ear.”
She hadn’t given much thought to what she was saying, but when he looked over at her and asked, “We’ll just play it by ear?” she blushed.
“Figure of speech,” she mumbled, trying to take her hand back.
He held on tighter. “I’m gonna hold you to that,” Decker told her. “I have no idea what I’m doing. Obviously, if your reaction to all the shit I bought is any indication.”
Sidney had to smile at that. She looked into the bed of the truck and shook her head at all the stuff he’d picked up at the store. It looked like he’d nearly bought out the place. Along with food and treats, he’d bought a bag full of toys, two fluffy dog beds, a bunch of leashes and collars, in addition to a ton of fleece blankets. There was a crate as well, although he’d told her he wasn’t sure Hannah would like that, but he wanted to be prepared just in case.
“Hannah’s one of the luckiest dogs I’ve ever met,” Sidney said quietly. “She hit the doggy jackpot when you stopped to help us.”
Decker nodded, but she could see that he was still nervous.
They pulled into the parking lot and Sidney hopped out, not waiting for Decker to come around and help her out. She grabbed his hand and he looked at her in silent thanks for a second before holding the door to the clinic open for her.
Within seconds, they were shown to an empty exam room to wait for the vet and Hannah.
Five minutes later, they heard a commotion behind the door that led to the back of the clinic. The door burst open and a vet tech backed into the room, practically dragging poor Hannah behind her.
The second the door shut, Decker went to his knees and reached for Hannah. The wound on her back looked much better than the last time Sidney had seen it. All four paws were wrapped in gauze, and the poor thing was trembling and growling low in her throat.
But the second she saw Decker, her entire demeanor changed. Her tail started wagging low and she got on her belly and crawled over to where he was kneeling on the floor.
“Come ’ere, girl.”
Instead of just laying her head on his knees, Hannah literally crawled into his lap. Decker shifted and sat with his legs crossed, holding the fifty-pound pit bull close.
The vet tech stood above him, looking down in surprise.
Sidney put a hand on Decker’s shoulder in support. Tears formed in her eyes at seeing Hannah so excited to see him. It looked like there was no place she’d rather be than right there in his lap.
The doctor came into the room—and stopped in her tracks when she saw her patient in Decker’s lap.
“Wow,” she exclaimed. “I knew Hannah liked you, but that’s the most comfortable I’ve seen her since you brought her in.”
“Has she been a lot of trouble?”
The vet tech laughed.
Even the doctor smiled. “Let’s just say she’s not that fond of being poked and prodded.”
Sidney figured she was downplaying things. A lot.
The vet shook her head. “Seriously, that’s amazing. I think we’ll just leave her there with you while I show you her progress since the last time you were here.”
And that’s what they did. While Hannah stayed curled into a ball in Decker’s lap, the doctor showed him how to clean the wound on her back, telling him not to worry if it still oozed a little blood and pus now and then, that it would help clean it out. Then she gently took one of Hannah’s paws and unwrapped the bandage. The pad was actually regenerating already, and while the toenails had been worn down to nubs, the doctor said they would eventually grow back too.
Through it all, Hannah didn’t growl or tense. Decker kept up a steady stream of praise and calming words while petting her head and sides.
“Did you get her microchipped?” he asked when the vet had rebandaged Hannah’s foot.
“Yes. You’ll have to register it with the company. We’ll give you the details when you check out. We also updated all her shots, as you requested. As you know, she was covered in fleas, and that’s now cleared up. She does have heartworms, and we started her on the treatment for those.”
“Will she die from that?” Decker asked, seeming to hold Hannah even closer, as if his arms alone could keep any chance of death from finding her.
“No. Dogs can die if the worms
get bad enough, but it looks like we caught Hannah’s case relatively early. She’s got the deworming medicine, and we’ll have to keep giving that to her, but eventually they should die out and she’ll be okay. Just keep her calm, no strenuous activity for at least six weeks…not that she’ll want to do much with those paws, anyway.”
“I live on the beach,” Decker said. “What about the sand, will that hurt her?”
“Keep her on the grass as much as possible for at least two weeks or so. After that, you can play it by ear. She’ll let you know what she’s ready for. If she does get sand on her paws, be sure to wash it off thoroughly. And no sand in that wound on her back. I don’t know if she’s a roller or not, but if so, you don’t want the grains of sand being ground into her back.”
Decker looked horrified. “No, I’ll keep her out front in the grass,” he said.
Sidney listened in amusement as Decker asked a hundred and one questions of the doctor. Throughout it all, he stayed on the floor, his legs crossed, not moving an inch. She figured he had to be somewhat uncomfortable with Hannah’s weight on him like it was, but he didn’t even shift.
Finally, Decker seemed to run out of questions.
“You can always call if something comes up,” the vet said gently. “I’m happy to answer any other questions you might have.”
“I appreciate it,” Decker said. “Sorry I took up so much of your time.”
The doctor shook her head immediately. “I only wish everyone was as attentive to their pets as you are.”
Hannah chose that moment to snore quite loudly, and they all chuckled. She’d rested her head on Decker’s shoulder while he’d talked with the doctor and had obviously felt safe enough to fall asleep.
“Guess she’s comfortable,” Decker said sheepishly.
The doctor kneeled down in front of Decker once more and ran a hand over Hannah’s head. “She hasn’t gotten a lot of sleep while she’s been here, but honestly, I haven’t seen anything like this before.”
“What?” Decker asked.
“She’d calm down when you came to visit, but each time you left, she was agitated and wary. She snapped at everyone, and we had to sedate her to clean her paws and her back. But with you here, she’s as docile as a lamb. It’s amazing.”
“She probably just doesn’t like the cage,” Decker said.
The vet shook her head. “No. I don’t think that’s it. I mean, yeah, she’s never going to be a fan of a crate, but I’ve seen this happen only a handful of times. And that’s saying something, considering my line of work. You two are meant for each other. I don’t know how to explain it really. Sometimes two souls just click…connect.”
Decker turned his head and looked up at Sidney, and she swallowed hard. He couldn’t be thinking that’s what happened between them…could he?
Because that’s what she was thinking. What were the odds that he’d be driving by at the exact moment she needed him?
She’d never really been overly interested in guys…until him. Now she already lived for his texts and phone calls, and when she’d opened her door to him today, everything inside her seemed to settle. She was always hyperaware of her surroundings and had a hard time settling down. But with him, she relaxed. Instinctively knew she didn’t have to constantly scan the area, because he was there and would keep her safe.
Shrugging off the feeling, she smiled down at Decker. “She loves her doggy dad,” she told him.
He smiled back, and the pride and love in his eyes for the dog in his lap was easy to see. God, Sidney knew she’d dream about that look tonight. About seeing it in his eyes when he was thinking about her.
“Help me up?” he asked.
Sidney nodded, not sure exactly how much help she’d be, but as it turned out, she mostly just needed to steady him as he unfolded himself from the floor and stood with Hannah still in his arms.
“She can walk,” the vet said with a twinkle in her eye.
“I know. But she’s tired. I’ll carry her this time.”
Decker strode out of the room with the pit bull in his arms.
Sidney started to follow him, but the doctor said softly, “Don’t let him baby her too much. She needs to use those feet. I think it’s harder for us to watch her try to walk than it is for her to actually do it.”
“I won’t.”
“That’s one lucky dog,” she said, then nodded at Sidney and disappeared into the back of the office once more.
Sidney couldn’t agree more.
Decker asked her to grab his wallet out of his back pocket, and she happily agreed, making sure to cop a feel as she removed it. He smirked, knowing she’d groped him a bit more than was necessary but not calling her on it.
It was fun to tease Decker, which was surprising. After learning he was a SEAL, she’d thought that maybe he’d be gruff and straight-laced, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. If she hadn’t seen him in “warrior” mode the day he’d chased off the asshole beating on her, she might not have even believed that he was a special forces operative.
Decker didn’t blink at the bill, and Sidney was even more glad that it had been him who’d stopped to help. She knew Faith and the rescue group would’ve found the funds to help Hannah, but through Decker’s generosity, they could now help another animal who needed it.
Before she knew it, Sidney was holding open the front door of his truck for Decker.
“You’re sure you don’t mind sitting in the back?” he asked for the third time.
“No, Deck. It’s fine. Hannah would be crushed if she couldn’t sit next to you.”
He smiled sheepishly. The second he had Hannah settled in the seat, he pulled Sidney close. He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her neck. His beard brushed against her skin, and she shivered.
“Thank you again for coming with me.”
“You’re welcome.”
He stood like that for a long moment, and just when Sidney was wondering what in the world he was doing, she felt one of his hands moving behind her. She turned her head and saw he was petting Hannah with one hand while his other was still holding her.
“Decker?”
“Yeah?”
“Are we gonna go?”
“In a second. I want her to know that you’re with me. That you’re important to me. That just because she’s in the front seat doesn’t mean she’ll always get her way.”
Sidney didn’t know if she wanted to melt into a puddle at Decker’s feet or snort and roll her eyes. She knew it wasn’t that simple, especially with abused animals.
So she was shocked when Hannah lifted her nose and nuzzled at her back.
Decker turned her in his arms and stood behind her. Sidney reached out and ran a hand over Hannah’s head. Decker twined his fingers with hers and ran them over the dog’s side. Then he held their hands out for Hannah to sniff.
“See, girl? Sidney’s with me. That means you can’t growl at her or be mean. Besides, she’s the one who saved you, not me. You should be loving on her, not me.”
As if she understood, Hannah’s tongue came out and licked at Sidney’s fingers.
Delighted, and somehow not surprised, she laughed.
“You’re gonna spoil her rotten,” Sidney said, secretly thrilled that Hannah seemed to like her. Maybe it was because she smelled like Decker. Maybe it was just because Decker was standing right there with her. But it didn’t matter. Hannah was meant to be Decker’s, just like he was meant to be her owner.
There were a lot of things Sidney was skeptical of. But fate was right there at the top of the list. She didn’t believe that things were meant to be. Never had. Even with a brother who was evil down to his core, she still didn’t think that his future had been set from the moment he was born. He’d been a happy kid. She could remember playing and laughing with Brian when they were little. She didn’t know when he’d begun to change, but one day he was her happy-go-lucky little brother, and the next he was the scary little boy who ga
ve her the creeps.
And even with all that had happened, she didn’t believe life was predestined.
But standing there with Decker, being licked by a dog who by all rights should be a vicious, broken mess, she couldn’t help thinking that Decker and Hannah were meant to find each other.
Turning in his arms, Sidney rested her head on his chest and hugged him to her.
“Not that I’m complaining, but what’s this about?” he asked.
It was too hard to explain, so Sidney simply said, “I’m happy for you both.”
“Me too,” he said softly.
She felt him kiss the top of her head and she sighed in contentment. Then a second later, she let out a little screech when a cold, wet nose touched the skin at the back of her arm. Hannah had pushed up the sleeve of her shirt and was nudging her with her nose.
Laughing, Sidney pushed Decker back. “All right, all right. We’re going.” She looked up at the man she still had her arms around. “The princess wants to go home and see her new castle.”
The smile on Decker’s face was huge, and it made Sidney’s breath stop. She’d seen him happy before, but right at that moment, he was happy. His white teeth gleamed in the afternoon sunlight and there were laugh lines alongside his eyes.
“Then by all means, let’s get the princess home.”
Sidney wanted to read more into his words, but she forced herself to let go of him and duck under his arm to open the back door of his pickup truck.
Home.
It had been a long time since she’d really felt like any place was home.
The house where she’d grown up had ceased to be a home the second Brian had made her dread opening the door. The trailer she lived in had never been a home, it was just a place for her to crash.
But thinking about Decker’s house? Yeah, it was definitely a home…and it was more than dangerous for her to go down that line of thinking.
She strapped the seat belt on and sat back as Decker crooned nonsense to Hannah and drove them toward his beach house. Closing her eyes, Sidney lost herself in the sound of his voice.