Sunset Bay Sanctuary

by Roxanne Snopek

  A car roared and screamed, fire coming from its exhaust pipe, racing toward him, ready to run him over. Ready to run Garret over. He had to hurry, hurry, hurry. But he couldn’t get through the fire. Then Garret was in the car and the car was flying and Aiden knew, he just knew, that the car would crash into the fire and the red-eyed wolf was there, rotten mouth open, ready to snatch the child, to tear his limbs and eat his flesh and—

  Aiden sat up, gasping, sweat pouring off him. He flung off the covers and fell onto the floor on all fours, still feeling the heat and terror and desperate need to get to Garret before it was too late, even as the memory of Garret’s face and voice faded away, leaving him once more with the raw, slicing pain of fresh loss.

  He gripped his hair with his fingers, rocking, barely managing not to bang his head against the floor.

  Then a pair of eyes shone in the moonlight and beneath them a flash of teeth.

  Aiden’s heart stopped. His feet shot out from beneath him and he scrambled backward, crablike, from the apparition in the corner.

  Then the monster whined.

  “Holy damn,” Aiden whispered on a shuddering breath. The room tilted, then righted itself and came into focus. The room wasn’t burning. Garret wasn’t here. The thing in the corner wasn’t a monster.

  It was Buddy.

  Aiden sat down hard against the wall, hugged a knee loosely with one arm, and let his head fall forward. The poor dog sat pinned into the corner, his tail tucked beneath him, his eyes rolling white.

  “Sorry, Buddy.” His voice was hoarse. Poor thing. No animal deserved this.

  As soon as he was reasonably certain he wouldn’t pass out, he crept closer to the dog. Buddy flinched away from him.

  “Yeah,” said Aiden. “I don’t blame you. You probably weren’t expecting this from the job description, were you? You thought this would be about chasing pretty tails on the beach, not babysitting some guy who turns into a flailing idiot when the sun goes down.”

  He extended his hand, slowly and carefully. Buddy relaxed enough to reach out and sniff, then lick the proffered hand.

  “You’re a very good boy, aren’t you?”

  Aiden was beyond exhausted now. The rush of adrenaline left him shaking with cold. He got to his feet, pulled off the damp bedding, and replaced it with a quilt from the closet. He didn’t bother with sheets.

  He thought of the first night he’d spent with Haylee, on her couch. Her weight warming his chest, pinning him down, keeping him grounded in reality, even in sleep.

  Dogs and people were both pack animals. Safety in numbers, watching each other’s backs. He sighed and patted the foot of the bed. “Hey, Buddy, you want to join me? It couldn’t be much worse, could it? I could use a warm body and you’re the best I’ve got at the moment. What do you say?”

  With one graceful movement, the dog leaped to the bed, circled twice, and flopped down next to Aiden’s legs. Aiden pulled the quilt over himself, feeling the animal’s soft, solid weight shift against his icy flesh. Comforted, he finally drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “If you are looking for paradise, you have found it. The scenery here is absolutely amazing, peaceful and relaxing. The cabins are cozy, clean, and inviting. Daphne’s food is out of this world, but Olivia, Haylee and Gideon will make sure you work it off.”

  —Lauralyn Abernathy

  Haylee was teaching a beginner obedience class at the Sunset Bay community center when her phone buzzed with a text from Jamie.

  CALL ME. URGENT.

  “Excuse me,” she said, gesturing to the group. “Keep practicing your down-stay.”

  She went to the doorway and keyed in Jamie’s number. She picked up on the first ring.

  “I’m so, so sorry,” said Jamie.

  “Not a great way to start a conversation.” Haylee stepped outside where the sounds of joyful pups with short attention spans wouldn’t prevent her from hearing.

  “It’s about the Border collie. The one you sent home with Aiden. Buddy.” Jamie’s voice was trembling. “He’s got owners. And his name is Dash.”

  “What?”

  Haylee was very careful not to accept dogs that may have been separated from loving owners, for whatever reason. Neglected or abused dogs, absolutely, provided they passed her rigorous tests. But lost dogs got found, fines got paid, stolen dogs, recovered. She’d even gotten Sage to understand that they had to continue the search for Karma’s family, until they’d exhausted all avenues.

  They had exhausted all avenues with Buddy.

  “I know, I know,” said Jamie. “I just found out. Apparently, the guy’s neighbor has it out for him. He removed Dash’s collar, drove him outside the city limits, and dumped him on a farm. The farmer’s son fell in love with him and they kept him. He’s a great dog, right? Who wouldn’t love him?”

  “Then what? He’s been with us over a month, and he was at the shelter before that. This is beyond awful.”

  The thought of this poor dog being separated from his home for so long, and the poor owner, searching all this time, made Haylee feel sick.

  “They said he was chasing their cattle, so they couldn’t keep him, took him to their local shelter.”

  “He’s a Border collie. He was herding them. They could have trained him.”

  “Lucky for Dash they didn’t think of that. No one at the shelter realized he was also the lost dog from several months ago. Anyway, the original owner was doing another sweep of all the shelters, with photos of Dash, and someone finally connected the dots.”

  No wonder the collie had been depressed. He was heartbroken.

  “Did you tell them where we are?”

  “Yes, he’ll be there at three this afternoon.”

  Haylee finished her class with a lead ball in her stomach. Dash, so that was his name. She called Aiden immediately.

  “I need to talk to you about Buddy.”

  * * *

  Aiden wasn’t sure how to respond to Haylee’s information. He’d awakened with Buddy still curled in a tight ball against the back of his legs. Normally, he spent the hours after a nightmare staring at the ceiling, afraid to close his eyes again, but he’d slept the rest of the night without so much as a flicker.

  “At least now we know why Buddy’s been less than enthusiastic with us,” she said. “How’d the night go? You get any sleep?”

  “Yes and no,” he said. “I’ll bring him by as soon as possible.”

  He hung up the phone and looked at the dog. “Hey, Buddy, I’ve got good news. I guess I should call you Dash, huh?”

  The dog’s ears flew upward, his eyes wide. He jumped to his feet, made a circle with his lips and gave a low woof, his tail wagging wildly the whole time.

  Aiden’s heart melted. “I’m happy for you, Dash.” It was hard not to be. The simple fact of hearing his name had given the dog hope. You could see it in his eyes.

  But what did it mean for him? He tried to imagine Hannibal stretched out at the end of his double bed. Not happening. And Cleo still gave him the stink eye. Buddy had been the most promising prospect so what was he supposed to do now? Start over with a new dog?

  And then what? Get better, get back to normal . . . go home?

  Only, what was normal? And where was home?

  He liked Sunset Bay and had already caught himself hoping that the doctor he was replacing decided not to return. He’d grown to like the closer contact he got with patients here. He enjoyed the continuity of being able to see a case through to the conclusion, rather than sending the patient off to the next department or the next specialist or the next city.

  And he’d grown to enjoy his time at Sanctuary Ranch.

  What would Haylee think if he stayed in Sunset Bay?

  When Aiden pulled up to the kennel, Haylee took the dog’s leash from him and led them both to the grooming area.

  “I’m so sorry about this, Aiden.” She began brushing Dash’s luxurious coat, preparing him for the r
eunion. “I can’t believe this happened. I’m so embarrassed.”

  Olivia was in the corner, her hip perched against the desk, talking on her cell phone. Her expression was grim.

  “At least we know why he looked so sad all the time.” He stroked the dog’s head. It hadn’t been his fault that they weren’t connecting. The dog’s heart was already taken.

  Olivia put down the phone. “I just talked to the owner, Ben Miller. He’s two minutes away. Poor guy. What he must have gone through.”

  Haylee eased the comb through some tangles in Dash’s tail. “I’m glad I gave him a bath before he went to Aiden’s place.”

  Suddenly Dash lifted his head. His ears perked forward. A moment later, a strange truck bounced onto the yard. Dash barked once and leaped off the grooming table. He ran to the gate, jumping against it, whining, his tail wiggling so hard he was practically levitating.

  A man slid out of the truck and ran toward them without closing his door.

  “Dash, my boy,” he cried, his arms outstretched.

  Haylee opened the gate and the dog flew through it like a bullet, leaping on the man and nearly bowling him over. He whined and whined, wriggling and licking and twisting.

  Watching Haylee, Aiden’s heart turned over. This is what she’d been waiting to see from the dog. This is what she’d wanted for Aiden.

  Once the greeting was over, everyone introduced themselves. Haylee and Olivia confirmed the details of his home and work, ensuring that he was indeed the person he said he was. Aiden knew Haylee would follow up on Dash after his return home, but there was no question that this was the person the dog belonged with.

  Aiden should not feel disappointed. He was happy for the dog and it was pure joy to see Ben Miller’s face.

  “Bye, Buddy,” he whispered. The loss cut deeper than he’d expected. It was just a dog, after all. They hadn’t even been together that long. But he could still feel the solid warmth of the dog’s body against the back of his legs, the surprising comfort the weight brought. The dog hadn’t adored him the way he adored this man. But Aiden wondered now if the animal had somehow understood him, as if his broken doggy heart had recognized the man’s parallel journey. Neither of them was able to be or give what the other needed, but they’d still found small comfort in the presence of another’s grief. As if sharing the night had made it a little less dark.

  What, Aiden wondered, would the next night bring?

  “Thank you,” said Dash’s owner, gripping first Haylee’s hand, then Olivia’s, then Aiden’s. “Thank you for looking after my boy.”

  “He’s a wonderful dog,” said Haylee. “I’m so sorry for what you had to go through to get him back.”

  “But I found him in the end.” Ben Miller cleared his throat. “That’s the main thing.”

  Dash jumped into the open door of the truck and settled into the passenger seat. He was not about to be left behind.

  The truck pulled out of the yard with Dash watching through the window, his pink tongue lolling out of his mouth, looking happier than Aiden had ever seen him.

  He should have known better than to get attached.

  “I’m going to check on Daphne,” said Olivia. “She’s giving Sage a cooking lesson. I want to make sure they’re both still alive.”

  “Now what?” Aiden looked at Haylee. “Do I start over with another dog?”

  She took his hand. “I’ve been thinking. I feel I owe you an explanation. I’ve kind of been . . . well . . . ducking you lately.”

  He thought of the calls she hadn’t picked up, the days she’d been too busy to see him. “Yeah, I was wondering what was going on.”

  “I’m so sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay.” It wasn’t really, but he didn’t want to push her.

  “It’s just that . . .” She looked up at him. “I’ve been missing you.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “If you want, you could stay here with me for the next few nights and see how it goes. If you want. See if Jewel helps. Or Cleo or Hannibal even. That way, when you go to work in the morning, you don’t have to worry about what to do with the dog.”

  His chest grew warm. “Stay here? With you?”

  “Yeah. If you want.”

  “I thought I’d made that clear already.” He drew her close and bent his head until their lips were nearly touching. “I want.”

  * * *

  To Haylee’s surprise, Aiden slipped seamlessly and unapologetically into her life and their days quickly took on a pattern. He came to the ranch after work, bringing Daphne something she didn’t grow or make herself, to contribute to the evening meal. Cheese or plums or cherries from the farmer’s market, fresh seafood off the fishing boats on the pier, or ice cream from Huck’s friend Fredo’s cart.

  Sometimes he and Haylee ate supper in the main house, with everyone else. Sometimes they ate in Haylee’s cabin. In the evenings, she taught him dog obedience and agility, letting him work with all the dogs in turn. Cleo had given up her slur campaign, Hannibal stopped trying to hump his leg every chance he got, Jewel was her usual loving self, and they even got Karma, Sage’s stray, got into the act, to give her a break from the puppies.

  After training, he helped Haylee look after the boarders, clean up the training yard, and close up for the night.

  Then they went to her cabin and made slow, sweet love long into the night. They didn’t talk about it, but as far as she knew, he hadn’t had a nightmare since he’d arrived.

  Haylee was sure Daphne and Olivia knew they were sleeping together, but they never said a word, not even an “I told you so,” for which she was grateful. She didn’t want to think too hard about what that meant. And she certainly didn’t want to discuss it with anyone. Discussing it meant answering questions about what it meant, where it was going, if they had a future together.

  Haylee had no answers, so she sidestepped the questions, even to herself. She and Aiden were both dealing with issues from their respective pasts; no need to add an uncertain future to the mix. For the present, Aiden was here and they enjoyed each other’s company. That was enough.

  Haylee turned her thoughts to Sage, who had settled into a full but workable schedule, her temporary lapse in judgment and disappearance now in the rear view mirror. She insisted on caring for Karma and the puppies herself even though Haylee feared it was too much for her. She was still up several times each night with the baby, and Daphne kept her busy in the kitchen during the day. This allowed Jamie more time in the stables with Gideon, which suited Jamie and Daphne perfectly, but Haylee worried that Sage was starting to fray at the edges.

  Haylee had just let the dogs out for their evening playtime in the yard when Daphne appeared, the baby in her arms, Tyler in her wake.

  Both the baby and Tyler seemed to think the sun rose and set with Daphne’s smiling face and Haylee was glad the cook was there to fulfill their emotional needs.

  She tried not to berate herself for not being that person. She was doing what she could.

  “Perfect timing.” Haylee pointed the boy toward the kennels. “You can get their food ready while I do the meds. Thanks for bringing him, Daphne. Was there something else?”

  “Yeah. Sal.” She plunked the bundle into Haylee’s arms. “She’s fed and changed but she’s fussy and I’ve got my hands cleaning up after supper.”

  “Where’s Sage?” The child whimpered and squirmed as if trying to get away.

  “In bed. She nearly fell asleep at the table. She needs a break.”

  “What about Olivia?” She tried not to panic. The kid flailed, her head thunking against Haylee’s shoulder like a bowling ball.

  “Taking Tyler and Duke down to the beach, on horseback, with Gideon. They’re having a campfire. I need to start the bread for tomorrow.”

  “What about Quinn or Abby? Or, or . . . Huck?” She bobbed the baby up and down but the whimpers turned to wails.

  “They’ve got their own work to do, Haylee. Quit trying to pawn Sal off on someo
ne else. You’ll be fine. Is Aiden joining us for supper?”

  Haylee felt her face flush. “I don’t know. Maybe. He’s supposed to be coming over for a training session.”

  Daphne grinned. “Training. Is that what we’re calling it these days?”

  Haylee shot a glance at Tyler, who was playing tug with Cleo.

  “Don’t worry, he can’t hear me over this racket,” said Daphne. “Besides, if you think he hasn’t figured out about you and Aiden, you’re fooling yourself.”

  She took off at a surprisingly rapid pace for someone with such short legs.

  Haylee left Tyler to close up the kennel and took the baby inside her cabin. “What am I going to do with you?” she said. She walked back and forth in front of the window, her hand on the back of Sal’s head, bouncing her up and down with each step. She felt like an idiot.

  Relief washed over her like a wave when she saw Aiden’s car pull up outside. She waved him over to the cabin.

  “What have we here?” he said, reaching for the baby. “You don’t sound happy at all, little lady. What can we do about that?”

  “Don’t ask me,” Haylee responded. “I’ve been trying to calm her down for a half hour. It’s like she knows I don’t know what I’m doing. The second I pick her up, she starts howling. Sage is sleeping and apparently there’s no one else to babysit. Daphne said she’s been fed and changed. She should be fine. There’s no reason—”

  Suddenly Sal belched, a robust, liquid sound. Aiden grabbed a spit-up cloth—and where did he find that so quickly?—and caught the dribble of milk before it landed on his dress shirt.

  “There,” he said. “I bet that felt good. That’s all she needed.”

  Little Sal’s head bobbled as she tried to focus on Aiden’s face. A milky smile flitted over her pudgy features.

  It wasn’t fair.

  “I worked that bubble out,” said Haylee. “I should get some credit. But no, she thinks you cured her. You’ve got the magic touch, don’t you?”

  “It’s my curse,” said Aiden, rubbing his nose against the baby’s nose.