About a Dog

by Jenn McKinlay

  Mac yelped and leapt back as they rolled her way. Gavin was stronger but Lester weighed significantly more and he used it to his advantage, trying to trap Gavin beneath him. He got in a good punch to Gavin’s left eye, cutting the skin and causing it to bleed.

  Gavin used Lester’s own momentum against him, however, and managed to roll Lester off of him. Then he rained down a series of punches to Lester’s gut and chin that left him weeping and begging for mercy.

  Seeing the fight was over, Gavin shoved off of him and Lester rolled over onto his belly. Mac crouched closer to Gavin to check his eye but saw Lester reach for something in the tall grass. It was a tire iron. With a roar, Lester rose and charged Gavin, brandishing the tire iron over his head.

  Mac didn’t pause to think about it. In one swift move, she pulled her heavy purse off her shoulder, swung it once over her head for maximum velocity, and then walloped Lester in the side of the head, knocking him out cold and sending him face-first into his own lawn.

  Then she sank back to Gavin’s side to check his eye. The cut was on his cheekbone and it was bleeding profusely on the front of his shirt and tie. Other than that, he appeared unmarked.

  “I thought you two were supposed to call me if it seemed warranted.”

  Mac and Gavin glanced up to see Officer Polson walking toward them.

  “Sorry, time was of the essence,” Gavin said. “I had to get the puppy out of here and I didn’t think it could wait for backup.”

  “Why?” Polson asked. He looked concerned and he frowned at Lester, who was still sprawled in the grass.

  Gavin reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He ran his thumb over the display to activate the window and then chose the video option. He hit Play and turned the phone around so that Polson and Mac could see it.

  It was footage of Tulip’s area in the backyard. Lester was in the yard with her, bringing her some water. Tulip was straining at the end of her leash to get to the water and she bumped Lester, spilling the water down his pant leg.

  He shouted some profanity and then threw the bowl across the yard. Tulip started to slink off and then he grabbed her lead, forcing her back to him. Then Lester pulled his leg back and kicked her in the ribs, sending her rolling back into the dirt with a hurt yip.

  At that moment, Mac went a little crazy. She spun away from the two men and launched herself at Lester, who was beginning to rouse. Her fists were just about to connect with his face when an arm about her middle pulled her back.

  “Mac, no!” Gavin ordered. His voice was a buzzing in her ear she chose to ignore.

  She pushed against the arm that held her and tried to wriggle out of his hold. Visions of grabbing Lester by his ears and bringing his face down to her knee, repeatedly, until he was just a bloody rag doll, filled her mind and she couldn’t see anything else.

  “Mac, stop,” Gavin said. “Listen, even if Polson is on our side, if you assault Lester in front of him, he’ll have to arrest you and you’ll be spending Emma’s wedding in jail.”

  “Argh,” Mac growled, knowing he was right and feeling thwarted all the way down to her toes.

  “Come on, for Emma,” he said.

  “He’s right,” Polson said. “Send me that video and I’ll have more than enough to run Lester in. I don’t want to have to process you, too.”

  “Can I take my dog?” Mac asked. “I’d like to have Gavin look her over and make sure she hasn’t suffered any more than the one incident.”

  “Yes,” Polson said. “And as far as I’m concerned, she’s yours, papers or no papers.”

  Mac felt her heart lift. “Thanks, Officer.”

  “I will need you both to come into the station and give me a statement,” he said. “If I have my way, this guy won’t be going near another animal ever again.”

  With that he nudged Lester with the toe of his boot. Lester flopped in the grass a bit and then he began to whimper and whine.

  “You saw them, Officer, they attacked me,” he said. “I want them arrested for assault and battery. She hit me with that bag of hers. I think there are rocks in it. I want her busted for assault with a deadly weapon.”

  “Shut up,” Polson said. “I saw all of it. You attacked him first, therefore as far as I’m concerned you’re the only one under arrest.”

  “But he was stealing my dog,” Lester whined.

  “Yeah, about that, she’s not your dog anymore,” Polson said. He reached down and grabbed Lester’s arm, forcing him to his feet.

  “You can’t do that,” Lester said. “I have papers. I can prove she’s mine.”

  Mac thought about jumping in to clarify that point, but Gavin’s hand on her arm pulled her away before she entered the fray.

  “Come on, let’s go check on our girl,” he said.

  He was right. This could wait until tomorrow. Right now, she was more concerned about her dog.

  Together they hurried to the Jeep. Tulip barked at the sight of them and then started to wiggle and waggle from her head to her paws; she looked giddy to see them. Her people.

  They spent the next few minutes checking Tulip over. Her ribs were tender but the rest of her body seemed fine. Her spirits were certainly up as she tried to lick both of their faces at the same time. She was filthy dirty and her neck had a bare spot where the too-tight collar had rubbed her raw. Mac knew she was probably thirsty and hungry and she couldn’t wait to give her a meal and a bath in that order.

  “Where did you park?” Mac asked him while Tulip licked his face. She seemed particularly concerned about his cut, which Mac kept her from cleaning with her dog spit.

  “On the other side of the woods,” Gavin said. “I was just doing a quick check on my way to the rehearsal dinner, but then, well, you saw the video.”

  Mac felt a surge of hatred pump through her. If Lester were standing in front of her car, she’d have no problem gunning the engine and running him down, she was pretty sure.

  “Oh, man, the rehearsal,” Gavin said. “Emma is going to kill me.”

  “No,” Mac said. “I’m your partner. I can show you what needs doing. She’s just going to be relieved that you’re okay, as am I.”

  Gavin tipped his head to look at her and he smiled, even though it made him wince.

  “You can’t drive with your eye like that,” Mac said. “Come on, I’ll drive you home and we’ll get the two of you fixed up.”

  Gavin put his hand on Tulip’s head and rubbed her ears. “How did you know?”

  “Know what?”

  “That I was here,” he said.

  “I didn’t,” she said. “I just happened by and there you were.”

  “Just happened by, huh?”

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  Okay, now this was really her moment. Mac knew it. This was the grand opportunity she’d been waiting for to tell Gavin about Trevor, their former relationship, and what he’d done to her and Tulip by engineering this whole sad situation and how sorry she was for all of it—but she didn’t.

  As she looked at the man before her covered in blood with shredded knuckles and a puffy cheek—wounds he’d gotten while defending a dog from cruelty—she just couldn’t tell him that up until two weeks ago, she’d been dating the douche bag who had caused this to happen. She just couldn’t. Not right now.

  Tomorrow, or maybe the day after tomorrow, when they’d gotten through the wedding, and she knew Tulip was fine—then she would tell Gavin everything. From start to finish: what Emma had asked of her, her break and now breakup with Trevor, her fear that she might be his transition relationship, and, lastly and most importantly, how much she loved him, Gavin, and how much she hoped he loved her, too.

  “You okay, Mac?” he asked.

  She cupped his uninjured cheek and pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” s
he said. “Let’s get out of here.”

  When Mac pulled away from the curb, she slowed down to savor watching Officer Polson push Lester’s head down as he helped him into the back of the squad car.

  “I’m going to text Emma and let her know that we’re okay but that Tulip here needs some attention,” he said. “Then I’m sending Polson the video. I want him to throw the book at that guy.”

  “Oh, I hope so,” Mac said. “He should do jail time for what he did to baby girl.”

  As if she knew they were talking about her, Tulip popped her head in between their seats and braced herself with her feet on the console. Mac rubbed her face and kissed her head. She didn’t care who tried to take this dog away from her, she was never going to let her go again.

  Mac parked in front of the clinic. Gavin led Tulip into one of the exam rooms and gave her a thorough once-over. When it was finished, and she checked out as just fine, he grabbed some dog supplies and led both Mac and Tulip upstairs to his apartment.

  “I’ll feed her,” Mac said. “You go ahead and clean up.”

  Gavin looked down at the blood caked on his shirt. “This is a bit off-putting isn’t it?”

  He disappeared into his bedroom while Mac sat on the kitchen floor with Tulip. As soon as she put Tulip’s food down, the puppy slammed her face into the bowl. Slurps and snuffles were the only sounds Mac heard until the bowl was empty and Tulip was pushing it around the tile floor with her nose as if she could make more food appear just by willing it to be so.

  Gavin appeared in the doorway. He had stripped off his bloody shirt and tie and changed into a charcoal gray T-shirt. The cut on his face was still oozing and he had clearly done a half-assed job of cleaning his face.

  “How is she?” he asked.

  “She’s a better patient than you,” Mac said. She opened the freezer and grabbed a bag of frozen peas, then she took his hand and led him into the bathroom where she put the lid down on the toilet and pushed him toward it. “Sit.”

  She opened up the cupboard under the sink and took stock of his medical supplies. There wasn’t much.

  “I washed it out,” he protested.

  “Not very well,” she said. “You need to clean it and put some antibiotic stuff on it.”

  She found a washcloth and made it warm and soapy. Then she gently cleaned his cheek, turning his face so she could see the cut and make sure there was no dirt in it. Then she applied direct pressure to stop the bleeding.

  He shifted his legs so that she was standing in between them and then he ran his hands absently up and down the outside of her thighs.

  “You can’t distract me from my purpose,” she said as she dabbed ointment onto his cheek. “So stop trying.”

  “You sure about that?” he asked as his hands started to roam beneath the hem of her dress, seeking skin.

  “Yes,” Mac said. But it sounded like a lie since it came out on a hiss of air as she had stopped breathing.

  He chuckled and then winced as she plopped the bag of frozen peas onto his face.

  Tulip sat in the doorway, looking adorably worried, and Mac said to her, “He’s fine. You should worry about you. You’re next.”

  Mac sent Gavin out to the living room to sit with the peas on his cheek. She knew Emma would appreciate any effort Mac put in to make her brother camera ready for tomorrow’s big day.

  Emma had texted back that she was thrilled that they had rescued Tulip from her bad place and not to worry about missing the rehearsal dinner. So long as they were at tomorrow’s brunch, all was forgiven.

  “All right, you, it’s your turn to wash that horrible place off of you,” Mac said. Tulip tipped her head to the side as if she wasn’t sure she liked what Mac was saying. Smart dog.

  Mac led Tulip into the bathroom and started the water in the tub. She kept it warm, not hot, and grabbed a bar of soap that she found under Gavin’s sink. Tulip did not like the sound of the running water and wedged herself behind the toilet in an effort to hide.

  “Sorry, sweetie, this is not optional,” Mac said. “You stink.”

  She shut off the water and Tulip seemed reassured by the lack of sound. Mac began talking to her just like she had on the day she found her. Soft, reassuring nonsense words, and soon Tulip belly crawled out of her safe spot.

  Mac scanned the contents of the bathroom cabinet and found a small plastic cup. As if she was encouraging Tulip to play fetch, she showed her the cup and then threw it in the water. This made Tulip bark and jump at the side of the tub. Mac retrieved the cup and did it a couple of more times until in her excitement, Tulip jumped into the water.

  Mac had expected her to bolt back out of the tub, which only had a few inches of water in the bottom, but Tulip was so fixated on the cup that she paid no attention to the water at all. In fact, as she tried to capture the cup in her mouth, she set the water to churning and waves crashed out of the tub all over Mac.

  Mac sputtered and glanced down at her floral dress. Then she laughed. She hugged Tulip close and kissed her nose. Tulip returned the kisses on the mouth—blerg—which only made Mac laugh harder.

  She scrubbed Tulip down, feeling both alarmed and pleased when the water in the tub turned dark brown from all of the dirt. Then she drained the tub and rinsed the dog, relieved when the water finally ran clear.

  “Oh, now who’s my pretty girl? Who is my sweet-smelling princess?” Mac asked Tulip as she got her out of the tub and onto the bathmat.

  Mac knelt down and dropped a towel on her, rubbing her all over, which made Tulip wriggle from head to tail, giddy from all of the love and affection.

  When Mac lifted the towel, Tulip bolted for the door. It was then that Mac saw Gavin standing in the doorway, watching them. He was smiling and he laughed when Tulip raced past him into the apartment, where she ran laps around the living room before collapsing onto the dog bed he had set up for her.

  “That is one happy dog,” he said. He turned back to Mac as she rose to her feet and his eyes went wide and he swallowed hard. “You . . . uh . . . your dress.”

  Mac glanced down. She was soaked and her dress was clinging to every curve and crevice her body possessed, leaving nothing to the imagination. She might as well have been naked. Suddenly, that seemed like an excellent idea.

  Chapter 32

  She glanced up to see Gavin staring at her with a heat in his gaze that she was surprised didn’t leave burn marks on her skin. She took two steps toward him until she was well within his personal space, and then she turned around.

  “Unzip me, please,” she said. She noticed her voice was a gruff, gritty growl and wondered if he heard it, too.

  “Sure,” he said.

  She expected to feel his fingers at the nape of her neck, instead it was his lips. He pushed aside her hair and pressed his mouth just above the fabric of her dress. It was a gentle, innocent touch that made Mac see stars as a wicked heat began to lick her insides.

  Then he pulled her zipper down and the cool evening air brushed her back and made her shiver. He pushed the fabric forward and it slid down her arms to pool at her waist. His fingers insistently pushed the fabric over the curve of her hips until it landed in a puddle on the floor at her feet and she was standing in just a fancy lace pushup bra and matching bottoms.

  Mac turned her head and looked at him over her shoulder. His baby blues had gone dark with desire and he leaned down and kissed her while his hands on her hips pulled her back against his erection. The contact made Mac dizzy as the rough touch of his dress pants rubbed against the backs of her legs and she grabbed onto his arm to steady herself.

  Gavin broke the kiss and leaned back, studying her. One of his hands left her hip and pushed her hair away from her face.

  “I think we’re in that place again,” he said.

  “What place is that?”

  “The one where you need to
decide if you want to stay or go,” he said. “Because the only way I am going to be able to stop this is if you go.”

  Mac put her hand on his chest. She could see the definition in his physique even through his T-shirt. She had the sudden crazy thought that the aunts would most definitely approve of his pecs. She also knew that they’d tell her that if she wanted this, if she wanted him, then she should go for it. What was it they’d said about living life so that they had no regrets? She didn’t want to be seventy-two and look back on this night, regretting that she didn’t stay.

  She peeked over his shoulder to see that Tulip had passed out in the dog bed with her feet up in the air. Her chest was moving up and down. Mac listened closely. Yep, baby girl was snoring.

  “If it’s all the same to you,” Mac said. She paused to press her lips to the base of his throat where his pulse seemed somewhat erratic. “I think I’ll stay.”

  “Thank fuck,” Gavin said. He grabbed her by the hips and hoisted her up against him.

  Mac laughed as she wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms about his shoulders and held on while he strode down the hall toward the bedroom. Not even slowing down for the closed door, he kicked it open, walked across the room, and dropped Mac onto the bed.

  She bounced and he pounced, trapping her beneath him in the most erotic way Mac had ever imagined, with his mouth on hers, his hands holding hers down over her head while his trouser clad thighs kept her legs pinned in place.

  His mouth on hers was insistent, demanding she meet him halfway. Mac arched her back, pressing her softness against him. He groaned and let one hand slide down her side to her hip. Mac buried her free hand in his hair, pulling him closer as she kissed him fiercely.

  It was as if they couldn’t get close enough, be near enough, touch enough, taste enough. Mac had never felt the longing that she felt with Gavin. She didn’t know if it was because she knew she was in love with him or if it was just the potent chemical mix that was unique to them.