by Rachel Lacey
I cleared away the afterbirth and set the puppy against her with the other two to nurse while Phoebe brought Violet’s water bowl into the bedroom to offer her a drink.
“She’s such a trooper,” Phoebe said as she held the bowl out to Violet. “It’s amazing how animals just know what to do.”
“It really is,” I agreed. “Instincts are fascinating to me.”
“One more to go,” Phoebe said as she rejoined me on the bed.
“Or maybe two if Violet decides to keep us on our toes.”
“Right.” Phoebe twirled one of her curls around her index finger, and I had to look away to keep from remembering how I used to do that. I loved playing with her hair. “I have to admit, this is less stressful than I was anticipating,” she said. “I was pretty freaked out about the whole thing, but now I feel like I can relax and enjoy watching the last puppy be born.”
“I’m glad,” I told her. “Hopefully, the next few weeks will be less stressful than you’re anticipating too.”
“What will I need to do with them?” she asked.
“Not too much, as long as Violet’s taking care of them, and things are off to a good start on that front. You’ll need to weigh each puppy every day to make sure they’re gaining weight. That’s generally more of a concern in a bigger litter, in case someone is getting pushed aside and not getting enough milk. But the first sign of a lot of health problems in puppies is a failure to gain weight.”
“Oh geez,” Phoebe said. “I wasn’t worried about health problems, but now I am.”
I laughed. “You probably don’t have anything to worry about, and if you have any concerns at all, just call me. I’ll have you bring them in for a couple of vet checks and their first vaccinations, and we’ll talk about weaning later. For the first week or so, all you really have to do is weigh them and make sure they look healthy.”
“All right, but you should probably still be prepared for me to call with a million questions,” she said, watching Violet and the puppies.
“Any time.”
“What do you think the fourth puppy will be?” she asked, turning those warm brown eyes on me. “Boy or girl? And what color?”
“Are we taking bets or what?”
“Sure. Loser buys dinner next Friday before my set at V and V.” She paused, frowning. “Wait. Can I leave her like that?”
“I can ask Holly or Peyton to come and check on her for you if you like,” I told her, “so you can still perform at V and V.”
“And dinner?” she asked.
I hesitated. That felt a bit like a date, and I didn’t want to go there, but Phoebe was trying really hard to be friendly, and she’d done an awfully big favor for me. “Sure.”
“Cool. So, the winner picks the restaurant, and the loser pays. I’m betting she’ll even things out with another girl, mostly white with some brown spots.”
“I’ll say boy, then. Solid black.”
“Black?” Phoebe’s eyebrows raised. “But Violet’s not black, and neither are any of the other puppies.”
I shrugged. “I have a thing for black dogs, but if it’s brown, I guess we’ll have to decide whether it’s closer to my guess or yours.”
“A judgment call,” Phoebe agreed. “All right, Violet. Now it’s on you. One more puppy—hopefully—and you’ll be done.”
I took a swig of cider, watching Violet. The puppies had tired themselves out and gone to sleep, and she was panting and starting to look restless, like another one was on the way. Sure enough, not five minutes later, she started to push. A white nose began to emerge, and Phoebe let out a little squeal beside me.
“I think you’re going to be buying me dinner next Friday,” she whispered.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I said, but the truth was, I wouldn’t mind buying her dinner. Maybe we deserved a nice night out to put away any residual hurt from the past and move on. It really wasn’t fair of me to hold the things she’d done in high school against her. She’d been young and scared, and teenagers had never been known for their excellent decision-making skills, after all.
Still, she was only in town for a few weeks, which meant I needed to keep her in the friend zone. I wasn’t going to get my heart broken by the same woman twice.
“Here it comes,” Phoebe whispered as Violet gave another big push.
The puppy slid out, landing on the clean pad I’d put there. This one was a dark color with a white face, although it was hard to tell yet whether it was brown or black. It also appeared to be smaller than the other three. Violet immediately got busy removing the sack and cleaning it up. She seemed to be an old pro by now.
“It might come down to the gender to decide the winner,” Phoebe said in a hushed voice.
“Mm,” I agreed, but there was an unsettled feeling in my gut. The puppy hadn’t cried yet, and I couldn’t tell if it was moving. As I watched, Violet pushed it away with her nose, turning back to her other puppies.
I shoved my cider into Phoebe’s hand and slid off the bed, grabbing a towel as I hurried to the whelping box. I took the small, limp puppy in one hand, rubbing its chest vigorously with the towel.
“Is something wrong?” Phoebe asked.
I looked down at the motionless puppy in my hands. “It’s not breathing.”
15
Phoebe
“Oh no,” I gasped, watching as Taylor rubbed the puppy’s chest while it lay motionless in her hands. I’d been so caught up in betting over its gender and appearance, I’d gotten cocky. I’d assumed we were out of the woods, and now the puppy might die.
“Come on, little one,” Taylor said. She cleared the puppy’s airway and blew gently into its mouth before returning to rubbing its chest with the towel. Her movements were brisk, almost rough, and the puppy’s little body flopped limply from side to side.
There was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, and my heart was beating too fast. I desperately wanted to look away because I didn’t want to see this, but I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off that tiny lifeless puppy.
“Please, please, please…” I chanted. I put our ciders on the nightstand and clasped my hands in front of me. It felt like it had been ages since the puppy was born, but probably only a minute or two had passed. Still, I’d taken countless breaths in the meantime while the puppy hadn’t taken a single one. As much as I wanted Taylor to keep going, as much as I wanted a miracle to happen, it seemed like it had been too long.
The puppy was dead.
I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut. What an awful end to what had been such a wonderful experience. A tiny, high-pitched squeak startled me, and my eyes popped open to see the puppy twitch in Taylor’s hands. It squeaked again as its paws began to flail.
“Holy shit,” I breathed. “You really did it. You brought that puppy back to life.”
“I did,” Taylor said, sounding awestruck.
Violet began to sniff the new puppy, perhaps drawn by its cries. Taylor gave it another rub and then set it against Violet’s belly to nurse. I slid off the bed to sit beside Taylor, watching as the new puppy latched on for its first drink of milk.
“It’s a girl,” Taylor said.
“And she’s almost solid black.” I took Taylor’s hand as tears glazed my vision.
“Guess we might need a tie breaker for our bet.”
“I can’t believe you saved her.” I swiped at my eyes with my free hand, and Taylor turned toward me.
“Sometimes, they just need a little kickstart,” she said.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do that for her. You saved her life.” I wrapped my arms around her in an impulsive hug.
Taylor’s arms came around me, hugging me back. Her heart thumped against my right breast, as fast and frantic as my own. She’d been scared too. My cheek was pressed against hers, and when I started to pull away, her arms tightened, drawing me back in, but this time, my mouth met hers. I sucked in a startled breath. Taylor did too.
Her eyes widened, honeye
d brown swimming with flecks of green and gold. I used to tell her that she had the whole universe in her eyes. They were so beautiful, maybe the most beautiful thing about her, but it was a toss-up, because I had loved every inch of her.
I hadn’t meant to kiss her, but now that I had, I wanted more. My tongue traced the seam of her lips, and she moaned, parting them for me. I deepened the kiss, tasting apple cider in the hot depths of her mouth. Her fingers grasped the fabric of my top, yanking me closer. Our breasts collided, and a warm tingle spread through my belly.
I cupped her face in my hands, and the familiar contour of her cheekbones beneath my fingertips felt like a homecoming. And then, just as quickly as it had started, she pushed me away. I sat back on my heels, staring at her in surprise. Taylor’s cheeks were rosy, and she pressed one hand against her mouth.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
“No,” I said, breathing hard. “It’s okay. That was… We shouldn’t…”
“No, we shouldn’t,” she repeated firmly. “And not just because we should be watching Violet and her puppies right now.”
“You’re right.” I swallowed, disappointment squelching the fire in my belly.
“I can’t do this with you.” A muscle in her jaw flexed. She turned away, facing Violet and the puppies. “It’s a terrible idea for a lot of reasons.”
“I know.”
“You aren’t staying,” she said quietly.
“Right.” Which meant if we did start anything, I’d have to leave her all over again. She was right. That was a terrible idea.
“The puppy’s nursing well,” she said, refocusing the conversation as if our kiss had never happened.
“Do you think she’ll be okay?”
“Probably,” she said. “The cord might have gotten compressed while she was being born, in which case, she’s out of danger, but we’ll keep an eye on her just in case it’s something more serious. She’s smaller than the others.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, chilled by the absence of Taylor’s embrace. “How will I know? I’m going to worry about her all night.”
“I’ll stay until everyone’s settled,” Taylor said, but the look she gave me was wary. She hadn’t forgotten about our kiss any more than I had.
We moved to sit on the bed again, giving Violet some room now that the newest puppy was out of immediate danger. The dynamic between us was different now, though. Taylor left several feet of space between us, and she wasn’t looking at me. An awkward silence enveloped the bedroom.
I hugged my knees against my chest, watching as Violet licked and nuzzled her puppies. Hopefully, she was finished, and there were only four. The littlest one’s dramatic arrival hadn’t made me any more confident about fostering them. In fact, I was terrified, but I wasn’t about to cause any extra tension between me and Taylor by voicing my concerns out loud.
The newest puppy seemed to be nursing well, but every time I looked at her, I just saw her limp body in Taylor’s hand. It sent a shiver over my skin. I reached for my cider and polished it off. After a few minutes, the puppies had all fallen asleep, and Violet looked pretty relaxed too, head down and eyes closed.
Taylor stood. “I think she’s finished, so I’m going to get her cleaned up.”
“Okay.”
Taylor created a little nest out of clean towels on the floor and carefully placed the sleeping puppies inside it. They mewled and squirmed, crawling against each other for warmth. Violet stood, walking over to check them. “They’re fine, sweet girl,” Taylor told her. “Let me just get you and your bed cleaned up, and you can have them right back. Phoebe, can you wet this towel for me? I need it warm, but not hot.” She held a towel in my direction.
I slid off the bed and took the towel from her. I went into the master bathroom and ran my fingers under the water until it was comfortably warm. Then I wet the towel and brought it back to Taylor. She’d already stripped all the bedding out of the playpen. The absorbent pads she’d refreshed throughout Violet’s labor had caught most of the mess, but even so, the bedding needed a wash.
I handed the towel to Taylor and picked up the blanket and towels, carrying them down the hall to the washing machine. Hopefully, Violet wouldn’t mind if her new bedding didn’t smell like her former owner. When I returned to the bedroom, Taylor had finished cleaning Violet and was putting fresh bedding in the playpen.
“Violet, do you want to go outside?” I asked. “Outside?” I repeated, since that seemed to be the word she recognized.
She gave me a quick tail wag before following me down the hall. I clipped on her leash and brought her out back. She whined as she peed, and I winced in sympathy. She had to be sore, but she seemed to be doing well, all things considered. Animals were so resilient.
“Want supper?” I asked when we were back inside, picking up her food bowl for emphasis.
She wagged her tail, watching expectantly.
“Only give her a small meal,” Taylor called from the bedroom. “You can give her another small meal in a few hours or when you wake up in the morning.”
“Got it.” I mixed together her dry kibble with some canned puppy food and then put a few pieces of roasted chicken on top. When I set the bowl on the floor, Violet dug in enthusiastically.
She ate her dinner and had a big drink of water before going down the hall to check on her babies. Taylor got her settled in the playpen with them, and Violet licked them while they squirmed and squealed as they crawled over each other to find a spot to nurse.
“You’ll need to bring them all in to see the vet tomorrow,” Taylor told me. “They just need a quick checkup to make sure everyone’s doing well.”
“At the shelter?” I asked.
“We don’t have a full-time vet, but we have one we work with. She should be able to fit you in if you give her a call first thing.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“Just tell her you’re fostering for us. She’s got our payment information on file, so it won’t cost you anything. I’ll text you her info.”
“Are you leaving?” I squeezed my hands together, glancing at the clock. It was almost midnight. Wow. The whole evening had gone by without me realizing it.
“I don’t think there’s anything else I can do here tonight,” she told me. “You just need to watch Violet for any sign of complications.” Taylor rattled off a long list of things that would require an emergency call to the vet, each one sounding more alarming than the last. “And you should keep taking her temperature daily. If she spikes a fever, it could indicate that she has an infection.”
“Do you have a checklist you can send me?” I asked, because this felt overwhelming, and my brain was whirling trying to keep track. I liked numbers and lists, items I could check off once I’d completed them.
Taylor nodded. “I’ve got several resources and links I can send you.”
“Thank you.”
“And feel free to call me anytime with questions.” She stood and headed toward the living room.
I followed, my stomach squirming with discomfort. I wasn’t ready to be left alone with the puppies. What if something went wrong? What if the little one stopped breathing again? What if a surprise fifth puppy arrived? And I really felt like we should address that kiss before she left, but I had no idea what to say, and clearly Taylor didn’t want to talk about it.
With a wave, she grabbed her bag and went out the front door.
I walked down the hall to check on Violet. She was stretched out flat on her side, fast asleep with the puppies snuggled against her belly. Well, at least they were relaxed. I only wished I could say the same. I changed into my pajamas and went into the bathroom to wash up for bed. I should at least try to get some sleep, although I was sure I was going to be up all night watching and worrying over the puppies.
I had just climbed into bed when I heard tires crunching over gravel and saw the sweep of headlights through the window. Who was at my house at this time of night? If this were anywhere b
ut Vermont, I might have been worried. The car door opened, and a woman got out. A shaft of light from my bedroom window washed over her face.
It was Taylor.
16
Taylor
The front door opened to reveal Phoebe silhouetted in the doorway, giving me a puzzled look. She wore striped sleep shorts and a thin tank top, her hair loose over her shoulders, and my brain short-circuited at the sight.
“Taylor? What are you doing back here?” she asked as she beckoned me inside.
“I, um, I forgot my phone.” I stepped past her, trying not to notice the way her nipples poked against the fabric of her tank top or the damp glow on her face, suggesting she’d just washed it.
“Oh, okay.”
“Sorry to barge in on you while you were getting ready for bed.” I glanced around the kitchen and living room, trying to remember where I’d left my phone.
“Totally fine,” she said. “I’m honestly a little freaked out to be alone tonight anyway.”
“What?” I turned to look at her.
Phoebe’s bottom lip was pinched between her teeth. “I keep staring at the little one, trying to make sure she’s still breathing. What if I fall asleep, and when I wake up, she’s dead?”
“Then she probably would have died anyway, whether you were asleep or not,” I told her. “But I think she’s fine. I really do.”
“I hope so. Your phone’s probably in the bedroom.”
“Right.” I walked down the hall. Violet looked up at me from her spot in the whelping box, and her tail thumped against the bedding. She was curled around the puppies, looking like a proud mama. She seemed to have settled into motherhood like a champ. And there was my phone, lying facedown on the floor beside her.
I stooped to pick it up, and then I reached for the smallest puppy, moving slowly and making sure I had Violet’s permission to touch her. But the dog remained relaxed, watching as I lifted her baby. “I’ll just give her another check before I leave, okay?” I said to Phoebe, hoping that would ease her mind, because there was no way I was staying the night, not after that kiss.