Ever After (Love to the Rescue Book 3) (15 page)

He stepped into a two-minute shower, then shaved and dressed in his uniform, complete with Kevlar and belt. He’d brought it with him last night, planning to get ready for work at her place, then drop Timber off at home on his way to the sheriff’s office.

Olivia still lay in bed, watching. “You look sexy in uniform.”

“Thanks for watching Timber. Wish I didn’t, but I’ve got to run.”

“Go,” she said. “I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.” He kissed her and jogged down the stairs.

He’d been taken off the Halverson case, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t keep digging into other aspects of the goings on in town. It was pissing Pete off royally that he hadn’t figured out who was behind all the vandalism yet. There must be an angle he hadn’t explored.

It was time to ask some more questions, see if he couldn’t shake loose what was really going on in Dogwood.

Olivia watched him go, hoping he’d still be in uniform when he came back later. Because she had all kinds of naughty ideas about how to take it off him. The dogs were barking downstairs. She’d left Bailey in her crate overnight since the dogs didn’t know each other, so hopefully they weren’t getting into trouble, but with those two, who knew?

She went into the bathroom to freshen up, then pulled on her robe and walked downstairs. Timber sat at the gate, alert and maybe even a little bit unsure about being left here in a stranger’s house. He whined in that high-pitched shepherd squeak that hurt her ears.

“Your dad’s coming back,” she told him. “It will be more fun to spend the day with me than being home alone, right?”

She went through the gate and patted him. He spun and whined, following her as she went into the dining room to get Bailey out of her crate. Bailey barked and wiggled, but her crate was dry. Well how about that?

Not wanting to push her luck, she put them both out back, then sat on the deck with her arms hugging her knees. Merry had taught her enough to know that she couldn’t leave two dogs unsupervised together until they knew each other.

Another thing Merry had told her was that keeping Bailey in her crate would help with potty training. But Olivia had been gone so much of the time she’d felt bad keeping Bailey crated. Now she was second-guessing that decision. And also she’d be home more now, at least until she found a new job.

She’d put in a few applications yesterday, and today would be more of the same. She needed a new job. Like, yesterday. She had bills to pay, and while she was sure Merry would give her leeway on rent until she got back on her feet, that wasn’t Olivia’s style.

While she waited for the dogs, she typed “animal rescue” into the job search engine and opened the search area to the whole United States. Fifty-three jobs came up. Fifty-three paying jobs helping animals in the whole country. Wasn’t that sad? Maybe later, just for fun, she’d submit her résumé for a few of them.

Timber finished his business in the yard and came to press his face in her lap with a squeak. He looked up at her with those rich chocolate eyes. They were alive with personality, twinkling with mischief.

“You’re a whiny one, aren’t you?” She stroked his fur, and he licked her arm. “I like you though. There’s a lot of spirit in your eyes. You’ve got a story, I can tell. And hey, you got kicked out of K9 school. So we’re both rejects. Kindred spirits.”

He wagged his tail and shoved his head further into her lap. Bailey trotted up the steps and shoved in for her own share of the love.

“So I kind of get why people keep dogs,” she said. The wholehearted affection was pretty cool. The level of care, not so much. Then again, she was thinking about kids sometime in the future, so…

“How about breakfast?” She herded them inside.

She fed them and exercised them, then got ready for her day. She kept Bailey in the bathroom with her while she showered, Timber downstairs in the kitchen. Then she crated Bailey before she left on her job hunt.

She wasn’t terribly worried about remaining unemployed. There were plenty of job openings in Dogwood or nearby Raleigh at businesses who could care less that she’d been convicted of vandalism. But she wanted something at least semi-enjoyable. She was good with customers. She was smart. She had a bachelor’s degree for crying out loud. So what if it was in Political Science?

Dressed in a very practical blue dress covered in a white wrap-around sweater, she headed out. First on her list was the local thrift shop. They were hiring for a full-time salesperson, and while the pay was less than ideal, the work would be interesting. She knew a bit about fashion and loved finding beauty in repurposed ways.

The girl behind the counter took her application with a bored “thank you,” much more interested in whatever she was reading on her cell phone. No wonder they were hiring for a new daytime employee. Olivia lingered for a few minutes in the shop, admiring a vintage incense burner. No impulse shopping until she’d received a paycheck, but if she got the job here, she was
so
buying that.

In the meantime…

She applied for a waitress position at the diner, a hostess position at Finnegan’s Pub—which served way too much meat for her taste, but at least she wouldn’t be the one serving it—and a cashier job at the Walgreens where Pete had made his infamous late-night condom run. Not for nothing, but she didn’t want to stand behind a cash register all day.

Somewhat demoralized, she headed home to fix herself a salad. A veggie wrap from the café sounded better, but there’d be no more eating out until she got a job, and she doubted she would ever set foot in the café again anyway.

So home she went. The dogs were ecstatic to see her. She let them out while she ate, visited Hallie upstairs, then crated Bailey and hit the road again. Having exhausted her list of jobs to apply for, she headed first to MacArthur Park to meditate.

She imagined finding Pete here, taking a few minutes of relaxation on his lunch break, but of course he wasn’t. He was out busting bad guys, doing whatever it was he did all day. And hmmm, she actually knew very little about what he did all day. Or what he did in his off time, other than coaching the boys at the rec center on Tuesdays.

But his dog was at her house, so that was kind of a big deal. And maybe it was best if she didn’t know too much about him, since they were trying to keep this casual and all that.

Banishing him from her mind, she meditated for over an hour until her mind was cleansed and her energy buffered. When she got back into her car, it was just past two. Pete was off duty at three, that much she did know. But he often worked late. She knew that too.

She’d be home by three, just in case. Timber would be eager to see him, after all.

She drove back into town and cruised down Main Street, eyeing the various storefronts for any
Now Hiring
signs she hadn’t already applied for. Jimmy’s Wing Hut was hiring for a line cook, but ewww…no thanks. Not that she was qualified anyway.

She turned down Dogwood Road, headed for Peachtree Lane. There were other storefronts here, not as high profile as the businesses on Main Street, but there were some off-color places she adored like the thrift shop she’d applied at earlier, a paint-your-own pottery shop, and a vacant storefront with a
Now Hiring
sign.

Intrigued, she pulled over. The poster in the window read:
The Lavender Moon: holistic and alternative remedies. Now hiring for experienced sales staff. Inquire within.

And Olivia had the feeling she’d just had her first big break in the job hunt.

Pete finished his shift on time for once and drove to the office to drop off some paperwork before he headed to Olivia’s to get Timber. He was slightly uncomfortable with the fact he’d left his dog with her all day. Not that he didn’t trust her. More like…it felt way too cozy for a woman who was supposed to be nothing but a casual fling.

He needed to get his dog and head home for the evening, maybe take a step back and slow things down before they both got in over their heads.

His phone rang and, speak of the devil—Olivia’s name showed on the screen.

“Pete, oh my God—” Her words tumbled through the phone, shrill and panicked.

“What happened? Are you okay?” His heart pounded. If those assholes at Halverson Foods had so much as touched a hair on her body…

He was already striding toward the back door when she answered.

“It’s Timber.”

“Timber? What happened?” A new kind of fear twisted inside him.

“Someone threw chicken carcasses in my backyard, and the dogs ate them before I realized, and Timber choked on a bone.” Her voice broke.

“Choked? Is he—is he okay?”

“I gave him the best doggy version of the Heimlich maneuver I could, and it moved enough that he could breathe, but it’s still stuck in there. I’m at the vet now.”

Pete blew out a breath. “Where?”

“Dogwood Animal Hospital. Hurry.”

“I’ll be right there.” He disconnected the phone and strode toward his car. Timber was still breathing, and he was at the vet. Surely that meant he would be okay.

Five minutes later, he walked in the front door of the animal hospital.

Olivia sprang from the nearest chair, looking poised to fling her arms around him, but at the last moment, she stopped short and hugged herself instead.

Fuck.
He reached out and pulled her against his chest. “What’s going on?”

She looked up, her eyes suspiciously bright. “They were playing in the backyard. I was on the deck applying for jobs on my laptop. They were hanging out by the back fence, but I wasn’t paying attention because they were being quiet. Then Bailey threw up. That’s when I found the chicken carcasses. They were—” She put a hand over her mouth. “There were at least three birds, whole. Raw. The dogs had really done a number on them. Timber started gagging…that’s when I realized he couldn’t breathe.”

“Jesus.” His throat tightened.

“I just grabbed him around the chest, under his diaphragm, and heaved. He made a choking sound, and he started breathing, but it was raspy, and he was drooling and acting all weird still, so I rushed them both here—I’m so sorry, Pete.”

“What are you sorry for? You probably saved his life.”

“But if I’d been paying attention instead of working on my laptop—”

“Stop that. You had no way of knowing those chicken carcasses were there. And I want to talk more about that, but how is Timber now? Have you seen Dr. Johnson?”

“He’s been back there with him since we got here. I brought Bailey too, to be checked out.”

“I’ll go check for you,” the vet tech behind the counter said. “You guys can wait in exam room three, and I’ll send Dr. Johnson in.” He led them into the empty exam room and closed the door.

Pete sat next to Olivia in the two plastic chairs against the wall and clasped her hand between his. He’d only had Timber a few weeks, but already the thought of losing him hurt. He couldn’t imagine coming home without that damn whiny shepherd there to greet him.

Dr. Johnson came into the room a few minutes later. “Good to see you, Pete.”

Pete stood. “Dr. Johnson. How is he?”

“I was able to remove the bone from his esophagus using the endoscope, which was minimally invasive. I expect him to make a full recovery.”

Pete swallowed hard. “That’s great news.”

The vet nodded. “He’s a lucky dog. Olivia saved his life.”

She gripped his hand, looking as relieved as he felt.

“He’s still sedated,” Dr. Johnson said. “We’ll want to keep him for observation. His esophagus is quite abraded, so I’ve inserted a feeding tube for the time being, but I do expect him to recover relatively quickly.”

“Fantastic.”

Dr. Johnson turned to Olivia. “I’ve examined Bailey as well. She doesn’t appear to have any blockages, so she’s free to go home with you. Just keep a close eye on her for the next forty-eight hours. If she has any difficulty eating, drinking, or going to the bathroom, bring her straight in.”

She nodded. “I’ll do that. Thank you.”

“Okay. I’ll have the tech bring Bailey in, and you can see Timber for a few minutes before you go if you’d like.”

“I would. Thank you.”

“Right this way.” Dr. Johnson led him to the back room, lined with metal crates of various sizes. Timber lay in one of the largest crates, unconscious, an IV taped to his front leg. A thin plastic tube protruded from an incision on his right side.

“Oh,” Olivia said softly from behind him.

Pete felt a punch to the gut as he looked at his dog. He sat in front of the crate, opened the door, and stroked Timber’s fur. “It’s going to be okay, buddy. The doc says you’re going to be fine.”

“Oh, Timber.” Olivia crouched next to him. “I’m so sorry, honey.”

“Don’t listen to her,” Pete told his sedated dog. “She saved your life.”

She reached in to pet him. “You get well soon so that I can spoil you rotten to make up for this, okay?”

“Hang tight, Timberwolf. I’ll be back to see you tomorrow.” He stood and took Olivia’s hand, pulling her up beside him. She was shaking, her hand like ice in his. “I’ll drive you home. Let’s go have a look at those chickens they got into.”

“My car’s here,” she said, but she didn’t look in any shape to drive. Her normally vibrant eyes were glassy, her cheeks pale. Aftereffects of the crisis.

“We’ll get it tomorrow.” He led her to his squad car and motioned for her to get in the passenger seat. “You get to ride in front this time. Behave yourself.”

She glared at him. “Any other time, that
might
be funny.”

He shrugged. “It was funny.”

She loaded Bailey into the back of the car, then climbed in beside him, sitting with her eyes closed as he started the engine. Her phone rang, and she pulled it from her purse. “Hi, Merry.” She paused. “Bailey’s fine, and it looks like Timber will be too, although he has a bit of recuperating to do.”

Pete turned the car toward Peachtree Lane. Now it was time to figure out how those chickens had gotten into her backyard. This might have been intended as just another harmless prank, but Pete’s dog had almost died. And someone was going to pay for that.