by Dale Mayer
“Yes,” Zane said in no uncertain terms. “So far, it’s worse.” And he hung up.
He didn’t want to let Badger off the hook. He hadn’t forced Zane to come, but Badger had certainly nudged Zane. Of course Badger didn’t know what Zane was up against, but Zane did, and he didn’t really want to come. But then, if that was true, why had he allowed Badger to push him? It was good to see Butch and to see he was fine. To see Sandra and he were good together. Of course their father hadn’t changed a bit, except to become more of a drunk than he was before.
It was bound to be depressing to be around Holly. He had enjoyed breakfast with her, enjoyed being around her. He had been quieter than usual because he was still dealing with his reaction to being close to her. His feelings were still there, and that bothered him. One should be able to walk away from those feelings, like one walked away from the person who caused those feelings. Only it wasn’t that simple.
Apparently she had a greater tug on his heart than he had thought. Their conversation this morning had been … interesting. He was glad for his brother’s sake that she hadn’t gone into a marriage still caring about one man while pretending to love another. His brother deserved more than that.
At the same time, it was hard for him to realize Holly and his brother had had a good marriage. Zane admitted a part of him wanted her to have been very unhappy, desperately waiting for Zane to come back. But they’d broken off because of a lot of problems. And she’d moved on.
He had too, in some ways, but hadn’t found anybody else to love, like she had. He wasn’t jealous; he was grateful she had a good life. Losing his brother had been hard on everybody. And it was such a stupid death. Not that there was any good death. But a staph infection brought on from a simple wound? Not fair.
He studied the folder in front of him but barely saw the pages. From the picture, the single shitty black-and-white photo he had, it looked like the male he had found. All black, and it was a shepherd–Belgian Malinois cross. Another common breed used in War Dogs.
He closed the folder, tucked it back into his briefcase and left it in his truck.
Back inside Reggie’s clinic, Zane poured himself a coffee and stood in front of the window.
Finally the receptionist called to him, “The doctor will see you now.”
He turned to look at her. “Where?”
“He said you can go back to the surgery room.” She pointed at the door he’d been through before.
In the surgery room he saw the shepherd being moved to a large cage and winced. “He’s not going to like that.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Reggie said. “When he comes to, he won’t be friendly. I’ve got an IV drip in him, so, if I need to, I can knock him out again.”
“How bad is he?”
“A couple cracked ribs, a nasty slice on one. He needed eighty stitches,” Reggie admitted. “The back hip was dislocated, and he’d lost a lot of blood. Looks like he might have been beaten, according to some of his wounds. His body was pretty badly bruised.”
“Did you happen to find a tattoo and a chip?”
Reggie nodded. “Give me a second. I’ll grab his file. We wrote it down.” He walked away, leaving Zane to crouch beside the dog.
Zane reached out a hand within the open cage and gently stroked the dog’s forehead. He was waiting for the tattoo number to confirm it, but, in his heart, he knew this was Katch. How sad he didn’t appear to be having the time of his life playing catch.
When Reggie came back, he read off a number, and Zane sighed. “Yep, this is him.”
“Now what?” Reggie said.
“Do you know if anybody owns him?”
Reggie shook his head. “No. I’m not sure what to do with him once we get him fixed up.”
“You don’t do anything,” Zane said, standing up. “Now he’s my responsibility. And send me his bill.” He gently closed the cage. “Let me know when he wakes up and how he’s doing. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to spend some time with him. When you think he’s free to go, I’ll take him back with me.”
“Back to New Mexico?” Reggie asked in fascination. “Won’t be ready to fly for a bit. I’m not even sure the airlines will take him when he’s as injured as he is.”
Zane laughed. “No, not back there. I’m not sure where we’re going yet. I’ll let you know.” He shook Reggie’s hand and in a sincere voice said, “Thank you very much for looking after him.” And he walked out.
Chapter 4
Holly wondered if she would see Zane again. No matter how she agonized each time he left—leaving her, in her mind—and no matter how resolute her determination to not let him into her heart again, here she was doing it again. She finished a heavy day’s work and sat in her office for a few minutes after the last patient had left. Normally she was in no rush to leave, taking time to make sure everything was done, but today she wanted to get out to see where Zane had ended up—hopefully make plans for dinner with him and have him back at her place. She felt compelled to get every minute of his visit that she could. She knew he would just fly away again and leave her empty and cold like he had every other time before.
She’d had a hard time when he went into the military. She understood it was his choice, but, at the same time, it seemed like he didn’t care how she felt about it. Maybe that was the way of the world. She considered now, had he been against her going to vet school, if she would have still gone. Of course she would have. As an older adult, she could understand why he’d felt the need to go to into the military but back then? … No.
She stood from her desk, grabbed the last of her files and carried them to the reception area, dropping them on Mittle’s desk. “Hell, that was one long-ass afternoon.”
“Busy,” Mittle agreed. “The days are getting like that more and more often.”
“They are,” Holly said, rotating her neck, then rubbing her temples. “Has everybody been picked up?”
“We’re waiting on one woman who’s coming in from work to get her kitty.”
“So none being left overnight? That’s good then. I don’t have to come back or stay here.”
“No, it looks like you should be free to go. Of course it wasn’t a surgery day, so that makes it easier too.”
“True enough,” Holly said. She walked back through the surgical room, her keen eye checking to make sure everything was in order. Stock had arrived today, so that should have been dealt with. But Mittle was right. When it wasn’t a surgery day, Holly had time for dealing with other elements of her job. Two other vets were in her office, but one was on vacation, and the other one was doing house calls. He dealt with large animals and was off looking at horses and some llamas today. All in all, it worked. They shared the surgical days, and often they would book a separate day each, depending on what they had to deal with.
Realizing everything was done, Holly grabbed her favorite sweater and her purse, waited with Mittle for Bettina, one of her techs, to finish up, and the three women walked out together. With the doors locked securely behind them, Holly walked over to her small SUV and hopped in. She sat there for a long moment before she started up the engine. The other two girls got in their vehicles and took off.
She looked at her phone. No messages from Zane. She backed up with the intent of heading home when his truck pulled in.
He pulled up beside her, rolled down his window so they were face-to-face and said, “Just got back from Reggie’s. We found the shepherd, and he’s been treated this afternoon. I’m going back tomorrow morning.”
“Good,” she said, her heart light. “Want to come to my place for dinner?”
He hesitated.
She shook her head. “You don’t have anywhere else to go. You’re well on your way to completing your mission. Surely you can have dinner with a friend.”
“Do you need any groceries?” he asked.
She considered the issue. “It wouldn’t hurt to pick up a couple steaks. I’ve got vegetables, but I don’t know that
I have enough meat.”
“Let’s go there first then.”
She nodded. “Follow me.” She waited until he turned around to come up behind her, then she took a right onto the main road and headed down to the small mall. A large supermarket was in town, but she preferred the butcher shop. It stocked more organic foods. She was lucky she made decent money and could afford it, although it wasn’t something she did all the time. For whatever reason, tonight she wanted to make a nice dinner, and that meant some of the better pieces of meat.
She pulled into the mall parking lot, waited until he pulled up beside her, and the two of them walked into the butcher’s together. There she picked up two nice cuts of marbled beef that were every bit of an inch and a half thick. She paid for them, even though he tried.
“Let’s walk over to the other side.” A bakery was part of the small exclusive store, and she chose a loaf of French bread.
When she walked to get veggies, she realized he was no longer with her. Frowning, she picked up salad greens, knowing she already had potatoes. She also had broccoli and cauliflower, if he wanted more veggies.
With all her purchases paid for and bagged, she walked back to the SUV, seeing him walking out of the nearby liquor store with several bottles of wine in his arms.
She smiled. “Did you get a nice red?”
“Got a couple,” he said. “If you won’t let me help with groceries, the least I can do is pick up a bottle or two.”
She laughed. “You know the way back to my place?” She told him the address.
He turned around, considered their location, then nodded. “Yes, I do. I’ll see you there.”
She hopped into her vehicle and drove home. She wasn’t surprised to see him behind her most of the way. After parking in her driveway, she unloaded the groceries and headed into the kitchen.
“Need some help?” he asked.
“I’d love to see these barbecued, and I’m not a great hand at that. How are you with a grill?”
“Excellent,” he said, walking out to the deck. He checked the propane, while she watched, then opened the lid and asked, “Medium rare still?”
It warmed her heart that he remembered. “Perfect. I’ll put on some potatoes, so how about I give you the word when they are almost done, and then you can start the steaks?”
The grill looked a bit dirty, so he scrubbed it down as he waited. When she gave him the word, he tossed on the steaks, while she made the salad. In companionable silence, they worked together until he called out to say the steaks were done. She already had the table set and the wine for him to open.
When they sat down, she sniffed the air and smiled. “I do love a barbecued steak.”
“I do too,” he said. He smiled at the dinner as a whole. “This brings back a lot of good memories.”
“Good,” she said quietly. “I’m glad to hear that. I’d hate to think you only had bad memories.”
“I don’t have too many negative memories,” he said. “It was quite a few years ago now.”
“Four or five at least,” she admitted. “I was married to Brody for two years, and he’s been gone for two years now.” “How are you handling his loss?”
“I think I’m there,” she said quietly. “Some people might find that fast, but I’m not so sure.”
He was about finished with his steak when his phone rang. He pulled it out and said, “Hey, Reggie. How is the shepherd doing?”
Holly could hear Reggie’s frazzled voice coming through the phone.
“I’m not so sure how the dog’s doing,” he said. “My clinic was broken into and somebody tried to get at him.”
Zane stood and put his phone on Speaker. “You’re saying somebody broke into the clinic to get Katch?”
“Yes,” Reggie said. “Anytime animals are here overnight, somebody stays, and that was me tonight. Honestly, I was grateful because I was so damn tired. It’s been a long day. But, about ten minutes ago, somebody snuck through the front, set off the alarms, and, with the sirens blaring, bolted into the back, searching for the dog. I don’t think he expected anyone to be here. When I came out, he fired at me, the little bastard.” Reggie’s voice strengthened with the power of shock. “Then he took off.”
“But you think he was after the shepherd?”
“Absolutely. He was drawing a bead on him, even as the dog was in the cage, sleeping. Although he’s not sleeping now, not with the alarm going off.”
“Did you call the cops?” Zane asked, pacing the kitchen.
“Yes,” he said. “I did.”
“Are they coming out there now?” Zane said, “Do you want me to come too?”
Reggie hesitated. “I don’t know what to say to that. Part of me says, I want you to come because you look like you could handle yourself in this situation. I handle wounds and sutures. I don’t deal with guns. The cops are on their way, but I doubt they’ll stay all night. The security is once again set, so that much is done. But honestly, I don’t know if I’ll sleep a wink. As far as the shepherd, I had to give him a sedative to calm him down.”
“Wow,” Zane said, running his hand through his hair. “I expected this, planned to sit in your parking lot later tonight, but I didn’t think the hunter would come this soon.”
Reggie said, “I surely didn’t. Not sure exactly what the hell is going on with this dog, but the bottom line is, it’s still an injured animal, and this is probably the guy who shot him in the first place. I don’t know why he can’t leave well enough alone, but I suspect he’ll be back, and I doubt he’ll take no for an answer next time. He didn’t shoot me, and he didn’t shoot you, but …” He let his voice trail off.
“I know,” Zane said, pacing about the dining table now. “I definitely got the impression that, in any other circumstance, he would have shot me but not out in that field today.”
“Yeah,” Reggie said with feeling. “I’ve got to tell you. I feel the same way.”
“I’m coming over,” Zane said. “I’m with Holly right now, but I’m only twenty minutes away.”
“It wouldn’t hurt to have you give me a hand checking over the shepherd. At the moment he’s fine, but I’m having trouble keeping him calm.”
“Okay. I’m coming now,” Zane said. “Hold on.” He pocketed his phone and looked at Holly. “I’m sorry but I’ve got to go.”
She’d already cleaned up the table and had her sweater on. “I’m coming with you,” she said. “Reggie sounds pretty frazzled. He might need an extra hand with Katch.” He frowned, and she just walked to the door. “Don’t argue.”
Once in his truck she asked, “Why would somebody continue to hunt down the dog?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “No good reason comes to mind.”
A moment later she spoke hesitantly. “I hate to even ask, but what kind of bad reasons come to mind?”
“Revenge, a game, hunting a trophy. I don’t know,” he said. “In normal circumstances, the dog could have attacked somebody, and they’ve come to make sure it’s gone and won’t hurt another person. But the hunter’s already shot Katch twice, or at least somebody has shot him twice—whether it’s this guy or not, I don’t know. For all we know, three men are involved, and two didn’t manage to get their kill, and this guy’s determined to beat the other two.”
“That’s horrible,” she cried out.
“Sometimes people are horrible, remember?”
“Not the men in my life,” she said firmly.
He laughed at that. “My father is hardly a nice, warm, welcoming man.”
“True, but he won’t torture an animal.”
“No,” Zane said quietly. “He’d shoot him between the eyes before it got to that point.”
Chapter 5
“Do you hate your father?” Holly asked.
“No. I have no feelings for him whatsoever,” Zane said. “I had a shitty childhood. Lost my mother early. Never really knew my father but lost all chance at that when he just withdrew after her death.
As brothers, we were on our own at that point. The three of us grew up hating each other—maybe my brothers were vying for Dad’s attention? I have no clue. But it’s very unfortunate because, even as adults, there is no connection between us. Obviously Brody and Butch had a relationship of some kind with my father. I didn’t, and maybe I missed out on that earlier version of Dad. I do know nothing’s there now for me and Dad,” he said honestly.
“But that could change when you break down some of the walls between you,” she said. “It doesn’t have to stay this way.”
“Maybe not,” he said. “But what’s the incentive to change it? Dad doesn’t care. It’s Brody he lost, who he cared about. He always made that clear to both Butch and me.”
“Do you think it affected Butch the same way?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible. But, at the same time, I think it’s more a case of Butch being older. He already had time with Dad and Mom. Or maybe he’s more like Dad and handles it differently than I do. But I was the middle child, the troubled child. According to my father, I wouldn’t listen, and I had a mind of my own. Since I was close to my mother, I never really connected with my father. After she died, things between my dad and me just got worse.
“He really didn’t want me to go into the military, which never made any sense to me. It’s not like I joined a cult or something. Although he was against pretty much everything I did. I think he was just being contrary to make my life as miserable as his was. He might even have hated me just because I moved on after Mom died.
“When I enlisted in the navy, my father washed his hands of me. I guess he saw that as his final dominion over me. The line between a dependent child and an independent adult. Whatever. I have no idea how his addled mind thinks. I’ve just been searching for answers to stop those questions from rambling around endlessly in my own mind. Regardless, to him, it seemed as if me going into the navy was the final straw, and he wanted nothing more to do with me after that.”