“Right.” Cheyenne nodded firmly. “Never.”
Oscar walked us through Sadie’s chart, confirming she was up to date on shots, had a recent exam, needed a dental soon, and then sussed out which food she ate. They had it in the clinic, so I grabbed four cans. Oscar gave me Mrs. Robertson’s contact info, for whatever that was worth. The phone number was the same out-of-service one.
We coaxed Sadie back into the carrier with only one little grumble. When we reached the SUV, I paused to buckle the carrier in securely. Cheyenne stood back, eyeing me. “Those vet people know you.”
“I did rescue for a lot of years and now I run an animal shelter, so yeah.”
“A shelter? For homeless cats and dogs?” Her eyes lit up.
“Yes. When we get the chance, you can come by and I’ll show you around.”
“Cool.” We got in and she started driving back to Brooklyn’s, but she seemed to be thinking about something. Halfway there, she asked, “Are you and Brooklyn boyfriends?”
“Would it bother you if we were?”
“No. Although—” She smirked. “—you could do better than my brother.”
“No, I couldn’t. Believe me, I’ve been around the block a few times.” Mostly in my youth, but same difference. “Brooklyn’s the best guy I’ve met. Look at how he’s taking care of Sadie, and you. He was so kind when I was injured.”
“I guess. So are you boyfriends?”
I scratched my beard. “I’m not sure. We were heading that way when you arrived.”
“Okay. So if you wanted to stay? You and Eb and Twain and Chili and Xandra? I wouldn’t mind.”
“Stay at Brooklyn’s, you mean?”
“Yeah. There’s room. He even has two bathrooms. We only had one for all our family. And your dogs could make Sadie less scared, and there’d be more people around.”
More people in case her brother or father showed up. I couldn’t imagine how scared she must be down inside.
“And it would make Brooklyn happy.” She flicked a glance my way. “He was sad when you left.”
Part of me was thrilled, in a twisted way, to hear that. “Brooklyn and I should talk. People don’t usually move in together this early in a relationship.”
“But you were living there when I arrived.”
“Because I was hurt.”
“I still think it would be cool. And I could help walk the dogs till your leg gets better.”
“We’ll talk about it. With Brooklyn.”
When we got to Brooklyn’s and brought Sadie inside, happy barks greeted us from the back room. We headed there, and Cheyenne set down Sadie’s carrier. The little dog had her nose smooshed to the front and her tail wagged as she watched a pair of young vizslas chase each other around the room.
“They love everyone,” Brooklyn said. “Release the kraken.”
I opened Sadie’s crate and she romped out to meet the dogs, who paused for a moment to sniff butts, then resumed their play. She followed them, seeming happy just to watch.
Brooklyn came over to us. I’d texted him the info while we were in the car, so he said, “Hey, Arthur. I guess we’re keeping her, huh?”
“Yes!” Cheyenne said. “For sure.”
His lips curved but he didn’t take those gorgeous hazel eyes off mine.
I said, “Hey. Good to see you.”
“Yeah. Thanks for helping out.”
