But it was all a test.
A test to see if I’d beat her like her last owner did. A test to see if I’d pull her tail or raise my hand to her. A test to see if I’d give up on her like others did.
I didn’t.
The truth was I spent such a long time grieving the loss of Gran that I felt just as riled up and on edge as the dog that probably wanted to tear me to pieces. But there was something we both shared; a common loneliness when. I was parentless and so was she. After realizing our unlikely bond, I knew that I couldn’t give up on her. I had to fight for Sadie the way Gran fought for me.
Sadie pushed my buttons and would attack my shoes the second I tried to put a leash on her. She’d pull so hard that she would choke herself. She even had to be sedated when it was time to get her nails clipped. It was miserable trying to train her and one day, completely fed up, I went into her stall and sat my ass right down on her dog bed. She looked at me like I was out of my mind, growling and baring her teeth- which was absolutely terrifying- and slamming her paws down against the edge of the bed.
“I’m not giving up on you!” I’d practically yelled with tears in my eyes, frustrated.
Sadie, who spent months ruling Arden with her bad behavior, looked at me, blinked twice and then completely surprised me.
She’d edged forward, slid her paws out so she was laying down and then rested her chin on my knee. That was the first time I ever pet her and it was the first time I felt the bump of a raised scar on her head. She’d growled when I ran my fingers over it but she didn’t bare her teeth or try to bite me.
I knew that night that Sadie was going to come home with me. It would take lots of training before I could bring her home and I knew that she needed to completely trust me before either one of us were ready for a big commitment. But no one else was going to adopt her.
I looked at her now and it was as though I was looking at a different dog. She was healthy, cuddled with me, and was friendly to most people. Tennis balls were her favorite thing in the world and during the summer she would spend hours laying on the dock in front of the house.
“I just figured...” Logan said now, bringing me back to the present. His scrubbed a hand over his face and I couldn’t help but notice that his fingers looked swollen. I wouldn’t have seen it if I hadn’t spent hours looking at his hands last night. Long fingers, some scars on his knuckles. I wondered how he got the scars. Fighting? Broken window?
“You just figured…”
“After you left last night I couldn’t stop thinking about Conlon. I don’t like the fact that he showed up at the farm looking for Mac. Or the fact that you were alone with him. None of this has anything to do with you and I don’t want you in the middle of it. So, for my own piece of mind, could you please just let me drive you to work?”
“Logan, that’s really sweet of you. But I wouldn’t have a way of getting home and-”
“We’ll pick you up.”
“We?” I responded. I had to admit that the offer was sweet and my belly warmed at the fact that he was feeling a little protective. But it wasn’t specifically toward me or anything, that was how he was with everyone.
I wasn’t getting special treatment.
Relax, Plain Jane, I thought to myself and hooked Sadie’s leash to her collar.
“Me and Mac,” he said proudly and gestured to the puppy who was on his back and kicking his paws up at my dog’s face. “He loves the car. I brought him to my sister’s place yesterday and he spent the entire drive with his paws on the steering wheel. And he likes the radio. Don’t you? You’re such a good boy.” he bent down and cooed proudly, scratching Mac’s belly.
I stared at him like he had ten heads and when he straightened his cheeks were tinted a light shade of pink. “He’s, you know, a pretty okay dog. I guess. Other than the fact that he shit on the kitchen floor.”
I found myself laughing a real belly laugh as I hooked my bag over one shoulder. “I get out of work at six. But this is a one time deal. Deal?”
He gave a wide grin and showcased some seriously cute dimples before nodding. “Whatever you say, J.”
“I ALWAYS RECOMMEND Diamond Naturals or Blue Buffalo as a dry dog food,” I said to Erin and Roger Andrews, Wyatt the pug’s new forever family. “Wyatt specifically had a hard time switching foods and getting on a healthy diet. So, be sure to bring him back here regularly to have him checked by Dr. Kells.”
Erin leaned down and scratched the top of his head and Wyatt looked up at her with his pinched face, tongue still lolling out of the side of his mouth. “It’s okay, buddy. We’ll diet together.”
There had been fifteen applications for Wyatt and many of them were hard to choose from. I finally decided on Erin and Roger after doing a house visit and seeing their yard. They lived in a quiet, suburban neighborhood with a fenced in yard that looked like it was about half the size of a high school football field. They had two young children who had been on their best behavior when I visited, one of them even drawing a picture of the whole family with Wyatt. I knew before I left that they would be the perfect family for him and I said as much. The look on their faces was priceless and reassured me that I was making the right decision.
Violet and Rose were only slightly amused by the fact that I was so serious about the adoption process. They loved the dogs as much as I did and appreciated the fact that I took my job so seriously. Some of the dogs were so traumatized from whatever they went through in the past that I knew I needed to make sure they would be put into a safe space with owners who would love them.
I leaned down and gave Wyatt a gentle thump on the side of his round belly. “I’m gonna miss you, buddy.”
Later on in the day I was eating lunch at my desk when Violet walked in. She had the same black hair as her sister, but where Rose had a creamy complexion like their mother, Violet had inherited the dark, Cherokee look that she shared with her father. Always made up with perfectly winged eyeliner and hair that was cut into a styled bob, Vi looked like she belonged in a fashion magazine rather than working on the farm.
“More salmon?” she asked as she plopped unceremoniously into one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“Spicy salmon,” I corrected her with a laugh.
She made a face. “Jesus, I don’t know how you do the whole pescatarian thing.”
I shrugged. It had been years since I touched chicken or red meat. I hadn’t really meant to stop eating it, but red meat upset my stomach and I read way too much about the antibiotics and chemicals that they put in chicken. It just sort of happened, but fish was filled with Omega III’s and Gran always raised me to be conscious about what I put into my body.
“Wyatt’s gone?” Violet asked. When I nodded my head she frowned. “I’m really gonna miss that fat little bastard.”
I laughed and took a sip of water. “He’ll be back in two weeks for an appointment with Dr. Kells. Don’t be dramatic.”
Violet kicked her legs up on my desk and leaned back, folding her arms over her ample chest. Seriously, the girl had amazing breasts. “So, I actually have an alternative reason for being here.”
“You mean to tell me that you aren’t just here to make fun of my eating habits and get dirt on my desk? I’m shocked.”
“I love when you get all fiery redhead on me,” she wiggled her perfectly arched and penciled eyebrows. “Who was that hot blonde that dropped you off? Mr. Leather-Jacket-That-Probably-Smells-Like-Sex was making eyes at you when you were walking towards the house.”
My back straightened and I shook my head. Logan wasn’t making eyes at me, that I knew to be a fact. He was making sure I got to the house okay. Apparently, the whole Conlon thing spooked him enough to the point where he refused to pull out of the lot until I was safely inside. He’d spent the whole ride assuring me that he would be there a little early in case I was finished earlier than six, and Mac spent the entire time switching between our laps, wagging his little tail and looking out the window. The truth was
if Logan hadn’t kept Mac I would have. There was something about the hyper, floppy eared dog that just sucked me in.
“It’s nothing. He’s my neighbor and offered to drive me to work. I was having car trouble.”
I don’t know why I lied. I shouldn’t have. But I just couldn’t bring myself to tell Violet about what happened in the parking lot last night. Maybe because I knew she’d tell Rose and they’d call the police or maybe because they’d tell me to stay away from Logan. There was just no sense in worrying them when the chances of Conlon coming back to the farm were slim to none. I had a handle on the situation and so did Logan.
There was no valid explanation as to why I already trusted him. I barely knew him and dismissed him as a drug dealer, yet I was letting him take the lead on the whole thing and deal with it his way. I didn’t know a thing about Logan other than his underground profession, his beer preference- it was Guiness- and the fact that his car smelled like sandalwood.
Honestly, it was intoxicating.
“He’s just a friend,” I assured Vi.
“I know, honey. They always start off as just a friend.”
Chapter 5
One month later
O ver the course of the next thirty days, Mac grew so exponentially that no one could have possibly known he’d been malnourished. At eleven weeks he weighed in at just under fourteen pounds. He had a voracious appetite and was very playful and loving. Logan dropped him off twice a week for training sessions with me and, so far, they were paying off. Mac knew how to sit and lay down, but he really couldn’t grasp the concept of waiting to eat before all of his food was poured into his bowl. I couldn’t count the number of times both Logan and myself poured food directly on Mac’s head because he was so eager.
As predicted, I hadn’t seen Greg Conlon since the night he showed up at Arden and, as far as I knew, Logan hadn’t heard from him either.
Though, I had to admit that Logan’s behavior was sometimes erratic. There were days where he would disappear completely. He’d be radio silent and I wouldn’t hear from him for a while. It was slightly odd and made me wonder if I was missing something. Was I bothering him? Did he have a girlfriend that he didn’t want me to know about?
Not that it would matter if he did. We were strictly friends, as I told both Rose and Violet on more than one occasion. Sometimes I didn’t even consider us that. We were more of acquaintances. I helped him learn how to care for a dog and I taught his dog new tricks. We didn’t hang out and watch movies or get into deep discussions about life and love. Which was fine, I wasn’t looking for that and I doubted he was either.
“A big blizzard’s coming, baby,” I said to Sadie on one overcast Sunday as I grabbed my keys and jacket. The weather reported that come Monday the south shore would be buried under eighteen inches of snow, which meant that I needed to go to the grocery store and stock up on, well, everything. With how much I worked I never really had a ton of food in the house. I was always on the go, and with Sunday being my only day off, it usually turned into my errand day.
Of course, I should have been smarter than to go into a grocery store the day before a blizzard. Everyone in the north east part of the country turned into bread and milk fiends whenever a storm was about to hit. I never understood it because, hey, what if we lost power? Milk spoils. Easily. Bread gets moldy within a week. I thought it was smarter to stock up on water and cookies. Lots and lots of cookies.
I wheeled my carriage down the cookie and cracker aisle, dropping two boxes of pecan sandies in before going back and grabbing a box double stuffs, too. It was a zoo, though. The lines at the register were a mile long and people were running around with overflowing carts and carriages. It was complete insanity.
“Excuse me?” asked a soft voice from behind me.
I turned around to see a curvy blonde wringing her hands together. “Yes?”
The dark haired man behind her rolled his eyes as he grabbed his own box of oreos. “I told you to leave her alone. He does this all the time, Abbs.”
She huffed and turned to him, slapping the bag of cookies into the carriage. “Knox, I haven’t heard from him in three days, okay? I’m tired of this.” she turned to look at me again, her blue eyes bright. “Hi, I’m Abby Ashford. I think you know my brother, right? You train his dog.”
Ah, I knew she looked familiar. Abby Ashford. I’d read some article over the summer about how she moved home because of a stalker and then ended up turning into a total badass after she realized it was her doctor all along. Seriously, it was like something straight out of a movie.
Rose was right, Port James was a weird town.
I nodded my head after realizing I was still just staring at her. “Yeah, that’s right. I’m Juliette.”
She shook my hand and flashed a smile. “Getting ready for the snow? My boyfriend, the oreo addict, decided Sunday was a great day to grocery shop. Insane, right?”
She was bubbly and talking a mile a minute, using hand gestures and smiling. I had to admit that she was gorgeous just like her brother. Same blonde hair and skin tone. Same nose. The only difference that I could see was the eye color and, of course, that she was a female.
Her boyfriend, I thought I heard her call him Knox, shook his head before stretching an arm over her head to shake my hand. “I’m sorry. She drank way too much coffee and I would like you to know that it was her idea to come here.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. There was an obvious annoyance with each other but they were both still smiling and had their fingers linked together behind Abby’s back. Logan talked about them once or twice and said that his sister was one of his best friends. As far as I knew, he used to hate Knox but they were okay now. Some sort of family drama that I didn’t feel right asking about because, well…
Because you’re not friends. You don’t tell each other personal things.
“So, uh, I’m not trying to be pushy here, but I have a feeling you didn’t want to just introduce yourself.”
Abby’s eyes widened and she tucked her bottom lip between her teeth. “Okay, you’re a straight shooter. I like that. So is he.” she jabbed her boyfriend in the ribs. “Have you, um, have you seen Logan? I haven’t talked to him in a few days and when we went by his house earlier there was no answer. His car was in the driveway but…” she trailed off.
So it wasn’t just me who noticed when he disappeared. Logan said his family didn’t know about his job and I didn’t want to be the one to drop that bomb, though I really couldn’t say whether or not his sister would be supportive of it.
I shrugged my shoulders and then shook my head. “No, I haven’t seen him since my last session with Mac on Thursday. Maybe he went out of town for a few days?”
Abby looked worried as she glanced up at Knox. “See? Even she hasn’t seen him and she’s his neighbor!”
Knox scratched the back of his neck and looked like he was struggling to find something appropriate to say. “We’ll blow up his phone until he answers, okay? Abbs, he’s fine. If something was really wrong with him we’d know about it.”
I was feeling sufficiently uncomfortable and felt as though I’d been social enough to hold me over for the next few weeks, minimum. Obviously, I didn’t give her the answer that she wanted and I had nothing else to say that would help, so I said the next best thing. “I’m gonna… go.” I jerked my thumb behind me.
“You scared her.”
“I didn’t mean to scare her,” she said and then turned towards me. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I-”
“She worries too much. Always has. I’m sorry,” Knox shook his head and flashed a megawatt grin. He really was quite handsome. If I hadn’t felt so awkward, I probably would have taken a moment to check him out.
“It’s ok-”
“I don’t need you to apologize for me. This is exactly what your mother was talking about.”
I put up a hand and shook my head, laughing partly because I was uncomfortable and partly becau
se the bickering was actually hilarious. I thought things like that only ever happened in romance novels or movies, but these two seemed like they were made for each other. It was almost scary. “Are you guys married?”
Knox’s face went paler than he already was and his eyes widened just a fraction. Abby on the other hand, laughed and shook her head. “No, but we probably should be with the way we argue. Listen,” she stepped a little closer and reached out, squeezing my hand lightly. “I really am sorry if I scared you. I just… worry. Maybe too much, but still. Do you have siblings?”
I shook my head.
“If you see him could you please ask him to call me? I’d really appreciate it.”
I nodded my head. “Yeah, of course. I’ll let him know as soon as I see him.”
She smiled her thanks and the two of them said goodbye before turning and walking away. I watched as he gripped the back of her neck and leaned down to kiss her temple, whispering something in her ear before she laughed.
All at once I was angry. Angry at Logan for taking advantage of the fact that he had a family who cared about him tremendously. Angry at the fact that I didn’t have my own siblings to look out for me and check in on me when I didn’t respond to a phone call. But mostly I was angry at myself for developing some minor, juvenile crush on someone I barely knew. Okay, maybe he had phenomenal bone structure and maybe he was compassionate, but those two qualities didn’t make up for inconsistent behavior. I could understand Logan not speaking to me because we really didn’t have any kind of personal relationship. But to hit the mute button on his own sister was wrong. Especially considering she cared enough to come up to a random stranger in the supermarket asking for favors.
Reckless and Wild: A Small Town Romantic Suspense (Port James Series Book 1) Page 3
