Head Over Paws

by Debbie Burns

  He nodded slowly. “I’ve seen a few volunteers fast-tracked over the years because they were brought in by staff or other volunteers and don’t need to wait for the interview process.”

  Olivia pressed her lips together. Was he hinting that she could be fast-tracked or just telling her the facts? She wasn’t sure.

  His near-scowl deepened. “You volunteer with Deedee?”

  “Sort of. My first drive for her was last weekend, only it didn’t quite go as planned. I ended up not transporting the animals that I was supposed to transport because of car trouble, but it worked out for the best. I and, ah…a friend of mine ended up being involved in this guy’s rescue. He nearly died in rising floodwaters.”

  “You were involved with Dr. Wentworth’s rescue of him?” Patrick’s face brightened abruptly. “I couldn’t place how I recognized you. Your hair looks different. For a few seconds, you’re in the video we were tagged in yesterday when we agreed to take him.” Patrick pointed to the dog.

  Olivia tried to shake off her confusion. “Dr. Wentworth?” Suddenly her pulse burst into a sprint. “Oh! You mean Gabe. Yes, I was there with him. I didn’t realize you knew him. Or that I was in a video. I’ve not actually seen it. I’m winding up a month-long social media hiatus with some of my students.”

  Patrick gave her that look again as if she were speaking a foreign language but didn’t pursue it. “He’s taking over Dr. Washington’s practice.”

  Olivia nodded, not sure of the significance of that to any of this. Suddenly it clicked. “Is he your vet?”

  Gabe had said he worked with two different shelters. From her rural, hometown population mind-set, St. Louis was a big city full of countless people she’d never meet, and she knew for a fact there were dozens of shelters in the city and county limits. She’d never considered she might be bringing the pointer to one Gabe was associated with.

  “He’s the shelter’s primary vet. He’s taking over for Dr. Washington, who’s retiring. We work with two other vets too. If he were to introduce you to our volunteer coordinator, you could be fast-tracked into the program.”

  Olivia could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks, and suddenly it felt as if she were standing on stilts.

  “Then you could start walking him,” Patrick added, nodding toward the dog as if she hadn’t understood.

  She cleared her throat to keep it from locking. “That would be…incredible. Do you know when Ga…Dr. Wentworth will be here next?”

  “He typically comes in the late afternoon on Wednesdays. Last week he got here at two fourteen. The week before it was at five to three.”

  Olivia did her best not to blink over the bit about the time of arrival. “Would it… Could I leave a note for him?”

  Patrick nodded and looked around the small room. “I can take you back up front. There are paper, pens, and counter space to write.”

  Olivia froze as he opened the door. The pointer was staring right at her and whining. She knelt in front of his kennel and pressed the palm of her hand against it. “This isn’t goodbye. I’m going to be back before you know it. Promise.”

  His answer was a whine and a wag of his short tail. Sucking in a breath, Olivia stood up and followed Patrick out of the room, surprisingly able to keep her tears at bay. Suddenly, this didn’t feel like a goodbye at all.

  It was more like a thrilling and unexpected hello.

  Chapter 15

  By the time he made it back to the truck after dropping off Olivia’s flowers, Gabe had well over an hour until he needed to be at the vet office and decided to swing by the shelter first. If he had a light caseload there today, perhaps he could block out some time later for the much-overdue conversation with the business consultant he’d hired to review the draft documents for the purchase of the practice.

  Things had pretty much gone as expected at Olivia’s school, aside from the fact the front-office secretary had let it slip that a substitute was filling in for her this morning due to a personal matter, and the flowers would be waiting in her classroom upon her return. She’d followed it up with a “But I’m not supposed to tell you that.” Although he hadn’t wanted to press, he’d overheard a woman at another desk comment that Olivia was expected to be back around third hour.

  At least that confirmed Olivia had made it safely back from New Madrid, a worry that had crossed his mind once or twice when she’d not returned his three calls.

  Those few minutes in the truck were starting to feel like a dream, like the best dream he’d ever had. It wasn’t just her kiss or the brush of her body moving against his. Sure, he’d not experienced that in a long time, and he was overdue. Way overdue. His body was stirring to life like a long-slumbering volcano. But something bigger, more meaningful had awoken in him as a result of their conversation, her honesty, and their laughter.

  If she’d had a change of heart, he’d accept it. But in those few hours together, he’d felt a connection stronger than anything he’d imagined could’ve happened in that short time span. And he was almost certain she’d been just as moved as him.

  He pulled into the High Grove Animal Shelter parking lot and pressed down a wave of doubt that maybe he’d been wrong. Assumed things she’d not felt. Deep in thought as he was, he didn’t spot the Cruze backing out from behind a minivan until it was nearly too late.

  Gabe slammed the brake pedal and tapped the horn as the Cruze continued moving toward the front rim of his bumper. The Tacoma jerked to a stop hard enough that everything on his passenger seat—his phone, a few receipts, and his sunglasses—went sailing to the floor. Thankfully, the driver heard the horn and hit the brakes fast enough to avoid a collision, coming to an abrupt stop with just a fraction of an inch of space between them.

  He released a big breath—he could imagine few things he wanted to do less this morning than exchange paperwork and wait for the police to fill out an accident report. Through the tinted back windows, he saw the driver, a woman, wave a hand in an apologetic plea. Offering an easy wave in return, he drove in an arc around the stopped car and parked in an open spot a couple spaces down.

  He unbuckled and stretched across the bucket seats to fish for his phone and glasses and realized something else had been shot forward with that hard stop. He blinked in surprise. It was an older-model iPhone in a purple two-toned case, and Gabe had seen it before. Cradled in a pair of delicate hands that he’d wanted to draw against him and fingers he’d wanted to entwine in his own.

  A laugh bubbled up from deep in his gut, and a rush of relief swept over him. Olivia wasn’t returning his call because she’d lost her phone in his truck. It must have fallen underneath the seat. And she’d not even had his number to tell him so.

  At least he knew how to get the phone to her.

  He snatched his own phone off the floorboard as well and sat straight again. While reaching for the door handle, he did a double take. Maybe too much blood had been draining to his head while he was bent over. The woman who’d almost collided with him was standing beside her car door, her long, fiery hair glowing in the sunlight. She was biting her lip, and an awkward grin was spreading across her face. He gave a light shake of his head as if any second the mirage might vanish. There was no explanation for it, but the very person who’d been occupying his thoughts the last three-and-a-half days no longer seemed so impossibly out of reach.

  He practically tumbled out of the truck, fisting her phone in one hand and slipping his into his pocket. He headed over, leaving his keys dangling from the ignition and his truck door open. His pulse was racing a thousand miles a minute. The only thing stopping him from greeting her with a kiss as passionate as the ones they’d exchanged on Saturday was the day-care-class-sized group of preschool kids hopping out of a van directly behind her, all squirmy and wriggling in anticipation of their visit.

  “A part of me wants to ask what you’re doing here, but anything that brought you
here is good enough for me.”

  She still had that irresistibly shy grin on her face. “I just finished writing you a note. And I can’t believe I almost smashed into your truck! I’m so sorry. I was steering clear of the kids and not paying attention to what was behind me.”

  “It happens. And trust me, this truck has its share of dings and dents.” He shook his head lightly, still trying to step out of his disbelief. Was it possible that he’d nearly memorized the pattern of faded freckles over the bridge of her nose? He held up her phone. “I’m guessing your note may have been about this?”

  Her eyes went wide. “Are you serious? I could’ve sworn I’d dropped it into my purse as I was grabbing my stuff. I thought I’d lost it in the parking lot at Rhonda and Karen’s or later when Ava and I stopped for food.”

  “The funny thing is, until I slammed the brakes just now, I had no idea I had it.” He gave her a wink. “Kind of makes you not calling me back a lot easier to swallow.”

  The kids had all jumped out of the van and were being herded inside like goats by two women. The van door was making a grinding sound as it automatically slid shut. Olivia looked from him to the van and back. She dug her top teeth into her lower lip again, drawing his attention straight to her mouth. “If it helps, it makes my day to know you called.”

  “Then I’m hoping you’ll think it was romantic and not at all stalkerish that I left you some flowers at your school this morning.”

  She laughed, closing her hand over her chest. “You did that?” She let out a breath and shook her head. “I, uh… Romantic. Definitely romantic. No one’s ever done anything like that for me before.”

  He wanted to kiss her. But the next time he kissed her, it was going to be hard to stop, and with a split-second glance through the shelter windows, he could see they had a bit of an audience. Megan, the director, was by the door, addressing the kids. Patrick and Tess, one of the newer employees, were behind the main counter. It wouldn’t be the most professional thing he could do as the new vet who was still proving himself here.

  “You, uh, you made an impression, Olivia.” He stopped and shook his head. “More like carved out a canyon. I’d like to get to know you.”

  As if wondering about the audience they were drawing as well, she looked over her shoulder and into the building. “I’d like that.” She held up her phone. “Now that I’ve got this, I’ll be answering your calls. Once I charge it, that is. The battery sucks,” she added with that brilliant grin of hers.

  “So, what are you doing here, anyway?”

  “Stalking you,” she said with a laugh. “Kidding. It’s the dog, the pointer. Ava took me to get my car yesterday afternoon, and we picked him up. Turns out it’s a small world up here too. This is the shelter she was talking about bringing him to. Can you believe it?”

  “I’m pretty sure that’s what you call serendipity. So, the pointer’s here? How’s he doing? I’ve been thinking about him.”

  “He’s good. I can already tell he’s picking up weight. But I feel about two inches tall leaving him here. I had him overnight, and I have to say I haven’t felt this way about a dog in a long time.”

  “He’s a good-natured dog, that’s for sure.”

  “And this seems like a great place, but considering what he’s been through, I hope he doesn’t have to wait too long before he’s adopted. I asked if I could take him for walks, and Patrick, the employee who showed me around, told me about their volunteer program. I ended up filling out an application. I hope you don’t mind, but when Patrick found out I knew you, he said you could kind of sponsor me. Then I wouldn’t have to wait until the next round of training.”

  “Oh man,” Gabe said, feeling the grin spread across his face even though he was going for mock serious. “Sorry, but the only way I could vouch for you would be if you let me go for a couple of those walks with you. You know—that way I could get a clearer idea of your character.”

  A laugh bubbled out of her, and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Is that how it is?” She gave him a glower that mutated into another laugh. “I think I’d be okay with that. But in the fine print of the volunteer application, I’m pretty sure there was a line about needing to take your sponsor to dinner as a thank-you.”

  Gabe reached out for a handshake but ended up holding her hand in his and not letting go. “It’s a deal, Olivia Graham. So long as you let me take you to dinner later as a thank-you for taking me to dinner.”

  She laughed again, her remarkable hazel eyes shining with flecks of gold. “Deal.” She made no move to pull her hand away, which was fine with Gabe because he was pretty certain he was never going to want to let go.

  Chapter 16

  Locked in the kennel, the dog sniffed the air, testing it for the fresh scent of the woman who’d brought him here, but he couldn’t detect it. Countless new smells assaulted him with each sniff, some enticing, others fear-inducing. This new place was bustling with the unfamiliar. As far back as the dog could remember, he’d lived out his days in solitude, watching the birds and squirrels in the trees, the hawks in the sky, the deer that crossed the back field at dusk, and the rabbits, mice, and snakes that moved through the grass.

  In this new place, everything was different. Fresh scents didn’t blow in on the wind but were circulated through the holes in the walls. The smells of so many dogs blended together, overwhelming him. There were other creatures here too—rabbits, though they seemed quite different from the ones who’d hopped in front of his pen from time to time, and cats.

  Before coming here, the dog had only encountered a few cats on his evening runs near the river. He’d loved to give them chase, even if it was a different sort of chase than when he turned up a rabbit or squirrel. Cats were hunters and had sharp claws, and after a short run, the dog had left them alone. Here, the cats were caged like him, but they weren’t taken outside to relieve themselves like the dogs or the few cats the dog had previously known.

  The dog curled into the side of his kennel, thinking again of the woman who’d slept near him for one night. Sleepless as he’d been, he’d listened to the sounds she made in sleep and watched the rise and fall of her breath through the bars of his kennel. Separated by such a short space, he’d longed to experience the sweep of her hand over his back and down his ears again.

  In the morning, when she’d woken and taken him from his kennel, a rush of pleasure had swept over him at the chance to go outdoors walking with her again. When something he did pleased her, his heart had beat faster at the change in pitch in her voice, making him want to please her again.

  She was different from the master he’d known all his life. Her eyes lingered on him, and her tone was gentle enough for the dog to never worry she’d treat him with the same rough hand as his master’s if his actions were to displease her.

  The dog longed for her to return. Hoped she’d take him away again. There were other humans here, many others. Perhaps because he’d done nothing to displease them, they’d only shown him kindness. Still, he tucked his tail tight against his haunches when he was being directed into his kennel, bracing for a kick he might not feel coming.

  For the most part, the men and women here hurried about, always busy with something, delivering food and water, taking dogs out to relieve themselves, and scouring the kennels, refreshing the sharp scent that clung to them and burned his nose.

  And while he longed to be elsewhere again, here he was no longer hungry or thirsty. There was water to drink whenever he wished, and a bowlful of food was delivered each morning and evening. The bustle of activity occupied his day, and in the quiet that fell over the place as evening came on, the dog’s attention was held by the carryings-on in neighboring kennels for longer than it took the sun to sink in the sky.

  Finally, he curled deeper into his blanket and gave in to sleep. The dog’s thoughts drifted back to the woman, and when he began to dream, he dreamed o
f her coming to take him away with her again.

  Chapter 17

  Two days later, Olivia found herself just as excited to leave school as she had been earlier in the week when she’d headed to New Madrid. Only today, instead of embarking on a long drive, she would soon be headed to the High Grove Animal Shelter and her first shift as a newbie volunteer. And she couldn’t wait.

  To make things even better, after a couple hours there, she’d be meeting Gabe for dinner. Dinner with Gabe! The thought had kept a smile on her face and a happy warmth radiating inside her all day. She couldn’t remember experiencing a bubbling-over-with-excitement feeling this intense since a few days before Christmas when she was little.

  All day, her students had been picking up on her unusually good mood and had done their best to wheedle out the reason behind it. After finishing a lecture on solving simultaneous linear equations in her last-hour class, the one in which the kids were notoriously more rambunctious than any other class of the day, she finally gave up trying to keep their attention on algebra and pulled up the shelter’s website on the oversize digital screen on the front wall of the classroom. Under the available-for-adoption-soon page were a few pictures of the remarkable pointer.

  Olivia had forced herself not to randomly pull up the shelter’s web page over the last two days. Not only did the pictures of the pointer warm her heart, but there was also a link to the video of Gabe’s daring rescue. The adorable photos of the pointer reassured her he was doing just fine. Someone had taken a couple pictures when he was outside in a play yard. One was a close-up of his handsome face and his incredibly warm-brown eyes. In the other, he’d clearly spotted a bird because his short tail stuck straight out, one front paw was tucked up, and he was doing that stalky thing he did.

  She’d had to fight off the temptation not to watch his touching and tense rescue video on replay too. As she pulled it up for the class, and the video filled the five-foot digital screen, Olivia was tempted to allow her gaze to linger on the definition visible in Gabe’s broad shoulders and the toned muscles underneath his soaked shirt. Instead, she savored the determined intensity in his face—which moved her but didn’t get her blood to boiling—and appreciated his surefooted steps as he headed through the rushing water.