The Loner's Thanksgiving Wish (Love Inspired)

by Rustand, Roxanne

  If it was a predator, she was in deep, deep trouble.

  Dropping her gaze briefly to the porch floor, she searched frantically for her car keys. Mei slowly reached down to grab them, then she warily backed all the way to the SUV she’d parked a few yards from the porch steps and threw herself inside, her heart hammering.

  It was only when she got the door shut that she dared take a longer look at the creature, and she realized that her shock and fear had multiplied its size. It wasn’t some massive mutant wolf or grizzly. Its tail was wagging weakly and that impressive armory of teeth was bared in a doggy grin, not a snarl. Underneath the grayish brown matted and shaggy coat, it was rail thin. Some sort of Newfoundland mix, maybe.

  But it was the expression in its eyes that drew her slowly out of her vehicle. Fading hope. Hunger. Heartbreaking acceptance of the fact that it would find no rescuer here or anywhere else.

  Standing in the lee of her open door for safety, she reached into her car for the plastic bag holding the half peanut butter sandwich she hadn’t finished yesterday. “You hungry?” she murmured as she took the sandwich out of the bag and tossed it onto the porch.

  The dog flinched and jumped backward, its tail between its legs and eyes filled with fear.

  “It’s okay, buddy,” she crooned. “Eat it.”

  The dog crouched low, still cowering, its body shaking. “Go ahead.”

  It watched her cautiously for several moments, then slunk forward and hesitated a few feet away from the food.

  “It’s all right, you poor thing. Eat it.”

  The dog moved closer, then wolfed it down. Then it backed up again and sat down to watch her, its tail waving back and forth against the porch floor.

  Did it belong to someone? If so, it had been badly neglected or had been lost for a long while. It seemed to have no collar or tags and had clearly been malnourished for some time.

  “I don’t have dog food, buddy, but I’ll pick some up. If you’re still here when I get back, you’ve got yourself a meal.”

  She should call the sheriff’s office. Check to see if there was still a dog pound somewhere in the county and have someone pick this stray up. But what then?

  Maybe he wasn’t actually grizzly size, but this was one massive dog and hardly a fluffy little house pet. She had no illusions about its fate unless there were no-kill shelters in the area.

  The dog regarded her with such a sorrowful expression that her heart melted. “I’m going to the grocery store,” she called out, hoping it at least would understand the welcoming tone in her voice. “You stay here and I will be right back.”

  “What on earth have you done?” Lisette demanded. “This creature is the size of a moose.”

  How her mom had picked up on the presence of Mei’s new best friend so quickly proved that a mother’s radar never waned. She’d marched down the lane just minutes after Mei arrived back home with a big bag of dog chow.

  “What a good name for him. I was just heading for school, and found him on my porch. Homeless. Hungry. Isn’t he sweet? Moose—I like that.”

  The dog finished off a bowl of kibble, then sat back on its haunches and stared longingly at the bag of dog food leaning against the porch rail.

  “Sorry, buddy,” Mei said softly. “We’d better take it slow for starters.”

  “You certainly cannot have a dog like that here.” Lisette stared at the dog with an expression of distaste. “It eats like a horse. It’s surely loaded with fleas and germs and who knows what else. You work full-time so you aren’t around. And my cottages are strictly posted as No Pets Allowed.”

  “I’m your daughter, Mom. And Moose isn’t inside.”

  Yet.

  “You have no idea whether he’s even safe. He could attack other people. He could bite you. He could destroy…all sorts of things. And he’s filthy.”

  “I’ll try to find out if he has an owner. If he doesn’t, I’ll take him to the vet for shots and a bath.”

  Lisette held her little dog closer to her chest. “He could attack Albert and kill him with a single bite.”

  Moose looked up at Albert and wagged his tail vigorously. In turn, Albert struggled vigorously to escape her arms.

  “I think they want to play, Mom.”

  “And I think that beast wants a second course. Hang on to him if you can. I’m taking Albert home.” Lisette pivoted and strode toward her house but stopped a few feet away. “I want that dangerous animal gone. I’m calling the sheriff’s office the minute I get back to my house. Surely they know of a dog pound that can deal with it.”

  Mei had no doubt that she was as good as her word.

  Mom had always said that their house cats had simply run away, but more than one had disappeared after a single unfortunate incident in the house involving draperies or houseplants.

  Moose looked up at Mei with sad eyes, his tail no longer wagging, as if he’d understood every word and had been down that road too many times before.

  “I’m not letting it happen, buddy,” she whispered. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and punched in 411 for information. “Let’s see if we can find you a safe place across the creek until I get home from school.”

  Chapter Ten

  Mei visibly sighed with relief when Jack appeared at the cottage fifteen minutes later. “I’m so thankful that you got my message. I have to leave for school in a few minutes, but I don’t dare leave Moose here.”

  He stepped out of his SUV and met her on the front porch of her cottage, where Moose was curled up with his head and front paws on a fluffy pink bathroom rug. Jack raised a brow when Moose moved to her side and emitted a low, warning bark at his approach.

  “Guard dog, is he?”

  “I have no idea.” She rested a hand on the dog’s head. “This is a friendly guy, buddy. Nice man.”

  Jack cracked a smile. “I’m glad you think so.”

  The dog regarded Jack with suspicion, then grudgingly flopped down to lay at Mei’s feet.

  “I think Moose has adopted me. My mother isn’t happy about it, though. Like I said on the phone, she’s already calling the authorities about picking him up, and I don’t want that to happen.” She gently rubbed Moose’s ears. “I’d rather try to find his owners myself, or find him a good home if need be. But I don’t think he’ll be safe here while I’m gone today.”

  “What is he? Half grizzly?”

  “I have no idea about that, either. I’ll see if I can get an appointment with the vet to check him out Saturday morning. Maybe she’ll know.”

  He went back to his vehicle. “I brought an old collar and cable tie in my backseat left over from Fred’s black lab. If he’ll let you collar him, I’ll keep him over at my place as long as you want.”

  “Thanks so much.” She gratefully accepted the collar and sweet-talked to the dog as she fastened it around his neck. “If you take the dog food to your car, I bet he’ll follow you right inside. I promise I’ll come and get him after school.”

  Until yesterday Mei had always seemed aloof, reserved. A lofty, fragile princess who had rarely deigned to speak back in their high school days. Hearing her talk of her anguish last night and seeing her concern for this ragged dog revealed a side of her that he had never expected. Soft and sweet. Tenderhearted.

  Once he had Moose stuffed in the backseat of his vehicle, he turned to her. “I can do some calling while you’re in school. There must be some animal shelters around, and I can ask Zach if he knows of anyone missing a dog.”

  “Thanks.” She rested a hand on his forearm. “I’ll work on flyers to post around town. This is a wonderful favor, and I owe you one.”

  “Have dinner with me sometime. Or even just coffee.”

  Her eyes widened and then she dropped her gaze and took a small step back. “Maybe coffee sometime. When things quiet down a little.”

  “Sometime” sounded like a tactful version of “don’t hold your breath.” He felt a flash of disappointment.

  “No
problem,” he said mildly as he slid behind the wheel and started the engine. “We’re just neighbors, after all.”

  In the confines of the SUV, with its heater on, the odor of unwashed dog rapidly filled the compartment. Moose awkwardly scrambled into a different position, and when Jack looked back he found the dog trying to sit up on the seat, head lowered, shoulders jammed against the roof and three of its four paws on the floor. Moose wore a decidedly apologetic expression on his soulful face.

  “You need a horse trailer, my friend.”

  “Aroooo—ooo.”

  He laughed at the dog’s attempt to yodel a response. “And you need a bath. And maybe some breath mints.”

  The lane twisted around Lisette Clayton’s home, and as he passed he glanced up at it, wondering what Mei’s young life had been like in that house.

  The curtains were open at one of the large plate-glass picture windows along the side. Like an angry sentinel, Lisette stood there glaring out at him, her arms folded across her chest, watching him leave.

  He was all of twenty-nine, and yet the woman still had the power to make him shudder. There was no doubt in his mind that she would be confronting Mei shortly, to address the kind of company her daughter was keeping.

  Come to think of it, it really didn’t take much thought to guess at what kind of childhood Mei had experienced in that house while growing up.

  Sadly, it took no imagination at all.

  After an afternoon of watching the clock at school, Mei drove straight to Jack’s place hoping Moose hadn’t long since worn out his welcome and ended up in dog jail, after all.

  When Jack didn’t answer her knock on the residence cabin door, she went over to the office and knocked, then tried the handle.

  Locked.

  Worry nipped at her heart as she shaded her eyes with her hand against the late-afternoon sun and surveyed the property. Neither the dog nor the man were anywhere to be seen. What if…

  At the sound of a motor, she turned and saw Jack’s SUV bouncing up the lane. He pulled to a stop on the other side of her vehicle and came around her front bumper.

  “Sorry I didn’t make it back before you got here,” he called out, his dimples bracketing his mouth as he grinned. “Errands.”

  She bit her lower lip and again scanned the property. “My mom didn’t send the dog catcher over here, did she?”

  “If she did, Moose and I weren’t here to greet him.”

  Relief flooded through her. “Whew. I was worried.”

  “I promised I’d babysit, and that’s what I did. Sort of. Though I ended up needing a little help.”

  Jack’s low laugh did funny things to her insides and suddenly she felt a flash of shyness. “Thanks, Jack.”

  “I…started a reclamation project but discovered I was way over my head.”

  He disappeared. A door opened and slammed shut. And then Jack strode toward her with a pony-size creature with a nimbus of white fur poofing out in all directions and a jaunty purple bow on its collar. “I found a dog groomer having a slow day.”

  She stared, her mouth dropping open in shock. “That’s not Moose.”

  “That’s what he’d like you to think. I believe he’s embarrassed because the groomer didn’t have any camo-green bows.”

  “I thought he was dark gray and tan.”

  “Dirt.”

  “I thought he was thin.”

  “He definitely is, under about sixty pounds of fluff.” A corner of Jack’s mouth lifted in a wry grin. “I was given specific orders never to bring him back in that condition again.”

  That Jack had even thought of doing this touched her heart. “I…I don’t know what to say.”

  “Well, whatever you do, don’t embarrass him. I made the mistake of laughing when I first saw him, and he still won’t look me in the eye.”

  Sure enough, Moose had his head canted away from Jack and now that they were closer, Mei could see that his tail was between his legs.

  “What a beautiful dog you are,” she said, filling her voice with enthusiasm as she gave Moose’s shaggy neck a hug. “You smell sooo good! And you are so, so handsome.”

  “How about me?” Jack teased.

  “You’re not nearly as fluffy as Moose here,” she murmured as she cradled the dog’s massive head in her hands and rubbed behind his ears.

  Jack laughed. “Thank goodness.”

  She straightened. “This was the nicest thing anyone could’ve done for me, Jack. You not only saved him from my mother, but you gave him a spa day. He won’t look nearly as scary to her now. What do I owe you?”

  His eyes twinkling, he handed her the leash. “Consider it my gift to Moose, in recognition of his new life. If you hadn’t taken him in, he might’ve gotten hit on the highway. Or if he’d had to start hunting for food, some farmer might’ve shot him.”

  “I can’t let you pay for this, though. Just the gift of your time was really special.” She impetuously hugged him, then awkwardly took a step back. “I’ll bring a check over—or give it to you at church.”

  “You don’t need to.”

  “Yes, I do. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done. You’re one special guy, no matter what—” Heat rushed to her cheeks as she faltered to a stop and resisted the urge to clap a hand over her mouth.

  His mouth twitched. “No matter what anyone says?”

  “What an awful thing to say,” she moaned. “You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and then I blurt out something like that. I really, really need to stay away from some of my more vocal relatives…or learn to shut myself up.”

  “It’s okay. Believe me, opinions run pretty strong on both sides. I can’t say I’m very proud of the things certain people have done, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  Moose sat at her side and bumped her hand with his head. She stroked his velvety ears. “So why did you come back here? You went to college out of state. You could have stayed there or could’ve gone anywhere in the world. Why return to a place where feelings run so high?”

  “Cade.”

  “Of course. I’m sure you must’ve missed him.”

  A muscle ticked at the side of Jack’s jaw. “He needed me. He needed a male role model and guidance because he sure wasn’t getting much of either. But I guess I didn’t quite succeed.”

  “He’s a fine kid. Responsible, smart. Kind. You can be proud of him.”

  “Proud of him, yes. Happy with what he’s doing, no. But Cade isn’t going to change his mind, so like everyone else, I guess I’ve just got to step back and let the wedding proceed. Even if I’ve failed to protect him from a big mistake.”

  “Well, whether it is or not, he’ll remember that you loved him enough to try to help him. And since he’s of legal age, you can’t do much more than that.”

  Curled up in front of the fire, Moose unfolded himself into a long stretch, groaned with pleasure, then fell back asleep, the picture of contentment. Mei paused over a stack of exams she was grading to watch him fondly and stared into the flickering embers in her fireplace.

  Life was so easy if one was a dog. Food, shelter, a nice warm fire, and life was good. Why was it so complicated for people? Everyone was so wrong about Jack. They continued their assumptions without ever pausing to really look at the man himself. A man with a kind heart who had moved back to a place where he wasn’t welcome to help his brother. A thoughtful man who had taken time out of his day to help a bedraggled dog. A man who had graduated from college and who had a good job, yet was still being tarred with the same brush as Samuel Clayton’s side of the family.

  And where was the justice in that?

  Life would be so much simpler if everyone just got along and quit reliving the past. Set aside old grievances. Maybe she couldn’t change anyone else, but she was done standing by in silence when people were just flat wrong about each other—especially when it came to Jack McCord.

  Mei tugged harder on the leash. Moose sat down, his tail limp and his so
rrowful eyes filled with regret.

  He was the most expressive dog she’d ever met and he’d charmed her completely, but the door to the vet clinic was still twenty feet away and the clock was ticking. “Please, Moose. Pretty please?”

  A pickup slowed, then pulled up at the curb behind her SUV. Vivienne climbed out and shaded her eyes against the late-afternoon sun. “Mei?”

  Mei pleaded and tugged to no avail. “Yep—it’s me.”

  “What do you have there, a wildebeest?”

  “A stray. He…um…moved in the other day, and I want the vet to check him out. I named him Moose.”

  Vivienne strode up the sidewalk, skirting the icy spots, and wrapped her coat tighter around her slim waist. “Nothing ever grew that big without an owner to feed it, honey. Maybe you shouldn’t invest too much money. Someone might want him back.”

  “Jack called the sheriff’s department and the humane shelters in this part of the county. No one has reported anything like him.”

  Vivienne laughed. “I’m sure there isn’t another one like him. Anywhere. Maybe he got loose just last night, and the owners haven’t reported him yet.” She paused. “You said Jack?”

  “Jack McCord.”

  Vivienne’s mouth fell open. “How on earth did Cade’s brother get involved in all this?”

  “As a favor. He was nice about it, too.”

  “Oh, my,” Vivienne said faintly. “What did your mother say about that?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Though it would, once Mei finally got home tonight. Lisette would undoubtedly be marching right over to the cottage and have a lot to say.

  Mei tried getting behind Moose and pushing. He immediately flopped down on the sidewalk as flat as a felled buffalo, a good 150 pounds of dead weight.

  “I’d be careful if I were you. Jack was a troublemaker back in high school—one of Vincent’s posse. I remember when…” Vivienne’s voice trailed off. “Do you need some help, here?”

  “I’d love it,” Mei said through clenched teeth as she gripped Moose’s collar and tried to haul him back to his feet. “If you’ll pull, I’ll push. I think he already knows this is a vet clinic and wants no part of it.”