She made herself a sandwich and added some chips to the plate. Grabbing a bottle of water she sat down on the couch.
The black dog had finished its food and walked over to her and sat at her feet.
“I’ve already fed you. Now you sit there and be good. Any nonsense out of you and you will go back outside.”
Carolina took a bite of her sandwich while the dog watched her closely, eyeing her sandwich.
She made it halfway through her meal when she shook her head. “Fine. Take the rest.” She held out the half-eaten sandwich.
The dog gently took it out of her hand.
After he finished off the sandwich, he slowly edged toward her and sniffed her fingers.
“See I’m not going to hurt you,” she said softly.
The dog seemed to understand her words and tucked his head close to her leg.
She slowly reached down and rubbed his head. When she stopped he put his paw up on her arm.
“More huh?” She laughed and gently petted him.
She stood up and looked at him. “You have to belong to someone around here.” She looked but he didn’t have a collar. “Has someone abandoned you?” She shook her head in sympathy. “I know the feeling.”
The dog’s ears perked up.
“I’m going to take a bath and go to bed. So stay right there until I get my towels out of the bag.”
She pulled her new towels out of the bag and headed into the bathroom. She hadn’t thought about picking up any bubble bath or bath salts when she was shopping. It didn’t matter. She would be more than satisfied relaxing in a hot bath of any kind after all the work she’d done on the house. She ran the water in the tub and waited for it to fill.
She grabbed her pajamas from the pile of freshly laundered clothes and laid them on the counter. Slipping off her clothes she sunk into the hot water and closed her eyes.
Her body ached. But it was her heart that hurt more.
Chris and Kylie were in Paris having a luxurious time while she was at her leaky lake house with no bed to sleep in and a stray dog.
“Figures.” She muttered to herself. Somehow she always thought in the back of her mind that she didn’t deserve the life she was living.
She suspected it wouldn’t last.
She had been right.
She felt something cold on her hand. She opened her eyes to find the dog resting his cold nose on her hand in a gesture of compassion.
“Thanks boy.” She patted his head. “You want a bath too? It would make you feel better. Looks like you haven’t had a bath in a long time.”
The dog sat obediently as she got out of the tub.
She toweled off and slipped on her pajamas.
She bent to let the water out, but the dog jumped in before she could pull the plug.
Sitting in the water he looked at her, waiting for her to bathe him.
She laughed. “I was going to use the shower head but apparently you prefer baths.”
She grabbed an older towel from under the cabinet and put it down on the floor by the tub.
She knelt and slowly cupped water in her hands to get the dog wet. She took the shampoo and poured out a liberal amount and began massaging the liquid into his fur.
