Paws for Love

by Mara Wells

  Sure. Everything ok?

  There was a long pause while the dots bounced and bounced some more.

  Flurry’s having puppies! Like, right now! A full line of smiling faces filled the screen.

  His disappointment faded like it had never existed, and a grin broke over Knox’s face. Sarge is having puppies?

  Yes!

  We’ll be right there!

  Dots bounced, then another whole row of happy faces appeared.

  It was the most she’d texted him in weeks. Knox strode into the living room where Sarge already waited for him. “Ready to go see your girlfriend?”

  Sarge thumped his tail against Knox’s leg in agreement. Knox wished he could say the same, that he was rushing to be with his girlfriend. Danielle had made it clear that while she welcomed his friendship, anything else was off the table. Their encounters at the dog park were nice, filled with talk about safe topics like their respective work lives and the weather. If he sometimes wanted to kiss her, he stared out over the ocean until he could think about something other than the feeling of her lips against his. In a way, it was like they were getting to know each other for the first time again. Friends, he reminded himself as he clipped on Sarge’s leash. But that was an awful lot of happy faces. He couldn’t help if it gave a guy hope.

  * * *

  Danielle kept Flurry’s head in her lap, whispering words of encouragement while Flurry pushed out her fourth puppy. On the other end, her dad caught the puppy, helping to clean it and giving it a quick health check before settling it with its littermates in a cozy box set up with a heating pad. Behind Danielle, Luna stood, chin propped on Danielle’s shoulder, whining anxiously whenever Flurry appeared in distress. Which was often because the puppies were coming hard and fast.

  “Number five is on the way!” Dr. Morrow pushed his reading glasses up his nose and smiled at Danielle. “So far, all fat and healthy as can be.”

  “Of course they are. Flurry is an excellent mother.” Danielle stroked the greyhound’s long nose before checking her phone one more time.

  Here.

  Knox never wasted many words.

  Let yourself in. We’re a little busy. Living room.

  Danielle set the phone aside and returned her attention to comforting Flurry and keeping Luna from getting in the way.

  “Here it comes!” Dr. Morrow announced, and the little body emerged, covered in goo that he quickly wiped away.

  “That’s, uh, more graphic than I’d realized.” Knox stood in the archway between the dining room and the kitchen.

  “The miracle of birth is pretty gross.” Danielle smiled up at him from her seat on the floor. She waved him in, promising, “It’s less gooey on this end.”

  Most people might have a couch and TV, and maybe some comfy chairs in their living room, but Danielle used the space as her dog room. Right now, it was set up for Flurry, whelping box and all. Knox’s eyes roamed the wall of dog accessories—collars, leads, harnesses, and toys in all sizes and shapes. She’d repurposed an old china cabinet to hold stacks of canned food, and several large airtight barrels lined the wall and housed the dry food she bought in bulk.

  In her excitement about the puppies, Danielle’d forgotten that this would be Knox’s first visit to her home. What must he think of her? Well, it wasn’t like he didn’t know her life was dedicated to the dogs. It couldn’t be that surprising that her living space was, too.

  “Can I do anything to help?” Knox stayed in the archway, Sarge held to his side by his firm grip on the lead. Sarge strained, tail thumping away, clearly intent on getting to Flurry.

  Luna handled the situation by padding over to the visitors and giving them both a thorough sniff. She leaned against Knox’s leg, looking up at him like she thought he might have a treat handy.

  “Dad’s got the delivery part under control.” Danielle raised her voice above the murmur she’d been using with Flurry. “I’m really just moral support. Maybe you could bring some water from the kitchen? She might be thirsty.”

  “On it.”

  Danielle knew it wasn’t conscious on his part, but Knox snapped to attention before heading to her kitchen. In a guest cottage comprised entirely of kitchen, living room, bedroom, and bathroom, he shouldn’t get lost.

  Sure enough, he returned in a moment with a bowl of water filled halfway to the rim. He knelt beside Danielle, the powerful muscles in his thighs pushing against the khaki of his cargo shorts. His good leg took the brunt of his weight while he held the braced leg in an uncomfortable-looking position. Danielle fought the urge to reach for him, to pull him off balance and against her. She could take his weight, hold him in her lap like she held Flurry’s head. Run her fingers over the sun creases in his face, trace those eyebrows that gave away more of his thoughts than he realized. She could even picture herself leaning over him, her hair falling forward to brush his skin as she leaned in for a kiss.

  The fantasy flashed through her mind in a second, but it was long enough that Knox noticed. His eyes caught hers, and she lowered her lids, worried he’d somehow see her wayward thoughts with his too perceptive eyes. She was the one who insisted on friendship. She couldn’t waver. At least not around him. What she thought about as she fell asleep at night was her own business.

  “Thanks.” She finally got her voice to work and held out a hand for the bowl.

  Knox didn’t give it to her. Instead, he angled the bowl so Flurry could reach it if she wanted. She craned her neck at an awkward angle and took a few licks before flopping back into Danielle’s lap.

  “What a good girl.” Knox’s voice took on a tone she’d never heard before. So soft she almost missed it, the encouragement and fear all mixed together. “Isn’t she a good girl, Sarge?”

  Sarge, still held tight against Knox’s side, wagged his tail and stretched his neck in Flurry’s direction. Flurry raised her head enough, and they bumped noses.

  Danielle’s heart contracted painfully in her chest. She swallowed hard, lifting her gaze to find Knox staring at her.

  “That was about the sweetest thing I’ve seen in a long, long time.” Knox’s voice was still soft, reverent even.

  The repeated blare of old-fashioned car horns made all the dogs’ ears twitch.

  “Yes?” Dr. Morrow stood and stepped back from the whelping box, his eyebrows scrunched together in concern. “I’ll be in as soon as I can.” He slid the phone back into its holster on his belt and squirted some disinfectant onto his hands.

  “Emergency?” Danielle recognized the signs. As a sole proprietor, Dr. Morrow was always on call.

  “Unfortunately. Someone’s brought in a stray that was hit by a car. Bridget says it’s real touch and go.” Dr. Morrow fumbled keys out of his pocket and shrugged into his tan lightweight jacket. “Flurry’s in good shape, and I know you can handle anything that comes up, pumpkin.” He kissed the top of Danielle’s head and disappeared out her front door.

  “You’re doing great, Flurry.” Danielle soothed a hand over the dog’s head and down her neck. “Knox, do you think you can switch places with me? It shouldn’t be too long before another puppy pops out.”

  “I’d definitely rather be at this end.” Knox held out his hand, and Danielle grasped it. He hauled her to her feet, and Danielle didn’t fight the flash of longing that coursed through her. She loved the feel of his big hand around her smaller one, the way he maneuvered her to standing as if she weighed nothing. Although she knew her dad was right, that she and Flurry had this birthing covered, Danielle was still glad for Knox’s steady presence in the room.

  Danielle should let go of Knox’s hand. She was standing, and Flurry was already whining as another set of contractions started up. But she didn’t want to let go. She took an extra few moments to squeeze his hand. To her surprise, he squeezed back.

  “You’ve got this,” Knox said like he though
t she hesitated out of uncertainty. She swallowed and nodded, not correcting him, because it was one thing to admit in her own head how much she loved being near him and an entirely different thing for him to know it.

  Danielle let her fingers slide out of his, one at a time, until only the pads of their fingers touched. In a moment, even that contact was gone, and Danielle settled into place outside the lip of the whelping box. Flurry’s body shuddered, and Danielle turned her mind from imagining where else Knox’s hands could touch her to the business at hand.

  “Number six is on its way.” Her hand disappeared into the dog. Danielle laughed when Knox winced. “The miracle of birth isn’t so much miracle as it is work.”

  “And bodily fluids,” Knox observed wryly from his position crouched near Flurry’s head.

  “That, too.”

  Flurry’s sides heaved, and a puppy slid out, as white as its mother.

  Danielle stroked Flurry’s trembling side. “You’re doing beautifully, girl. I think you’re almost done.”

  “How do you know?” Knox asked.

  “We did an ultrasound a few days ago. The sonogram showed eight in the litter.” Danielle took the puppy from Flurry and placed it with the other six on the heating pad. “There’s always room for error in any kind of imaging, but eight is a good-sized litter.”

  Flurry’s heaving turned into panting, and she turned distressed eyes to Danielle.

  “You can do it, Flurry.” Knox held the dog’s muzzle in his palms. “Two more. Then you can rest.”

  Knox slid onto his butt, braced leg stretched out long and his good leg curled in at the knee. Sarge spread out over his lap, a move that would leave a smaller dog in the triangle created by Knox’s legs but that left Sarge draped over Knox in what could only be described as a possessive pin.

  Danielle smiled at the sight. She loved to see a happy adoption story play out so well. Knox still had plenty of room to keep his hand on Flurry, who watched him with half-lidded eyes. Luna let out a long sigh and lay down behind Knox, her back to his butt, like she was tired of Flurry getting all the attention. They settled in for the wait. The next puppy might come in half an hour or two hours. Should she warn Knox that it might be a long time? Probably. She didn’t.

  “It’s coming!” Danielle declared only twenty minutes later from her vantage point as the puppy receiver. “Thank goodness. Six hours is a long time to be in labor, isn’t it, girl?”

  “Six hours?” Knox echoed, one hand on Sarge and the other stroking the top of Flurry’s head. “You’re a champion, Flurry.”

  Flurry panted, sides jumping up and down, and let out a long, low whine.

  “Here he is,” Danielle showered praise on Flurry, offering the puppy to her to lick the sac off like her dad had done for the other puppies. Flurry licked it a few times but stopped with a high-pitched whine. “Another one so soon? That’s…unusual.”

  Danielle finished cleaning the newborn and placed it with its littermates on the heating pad. She checked the temperature—just right—and returned to Flurry. Sure enough, number eight was coming out fast as the others. Without more time between puppies, Flurry could become too exhausted, endangering her and the unborn puppy. Flurry panted, and Danielle watched closely for more signs of distress.

  Danielle checked Flurry’s heartbeat—accelerated—and sank back on her heels. She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth and listened to Knox whispering words of encouragement to Flurry while he rubbed her neck. She imagined the “good girls” and the “you can do this” were for both her and the dog. Flurry let out a low whine and licked Knox’s wrist.

  Danielle tried not to let her worry show, not to Flurry or Knox, but Knox picked up on her concern.

  “What can I do?”

  Danielle raised a helpless shoulder. “Nothing to do but wait and see what happens.” Flurry entered another, shortened round of contractions, then flopped her head onto the whelping pen lip, clearly exhausted.

  “Almost, almost,” Danielle chanted, watching as a dark nose fought its way out of the birth canal. Flurry whimpered and pushed one more time.

  Danielle caught the gray puppy, still wrapped in its amniotic sac, and offered it to Flurry for its first tongue bath.

  Flurry nosed the tiny puppy half-heartedly, then rolled her head away from it.

  “What’s wrong?” Knox tensed, like he was ready to spring into action at any moment.

  “Oh no.” Danielle rubbed at the sac with a washcloth, gentle and steady. “Oh no, oh no. He started breathing before he was out of the sac. His lungs are filled with fluid.”

  “Should I call your dad?” Knox already had his phone out, but Danielle shook her head.

  “I got this.” Quick and efficient, she cleaned off the puppy and checked its tongue. Blue. Not good, very not good. She cleared his nostrils, then held him in her hand so that his head rested on her fingers.

  She raised her puppy-laden hand to shoulder height, then swung him down at full speed.

  “What’re you doing?” Knox leapt to his feet.

  “Using centrifugal force to clear his lungs.” She checked his tongue. Still blue. She gave the little guy another swing, and bits of mucus flew out of his tiny nostrils. “Better, that’s better. Come on. Let’s get the rest.” Another swing while Knox looked on like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  Danielle pried open the teeny mouth with her thumb and forefinger. “Good, the tongue is pink, and he’s breathing on his own.” She kissed his head. “You did it, squirt. Good job.”

  “He’s so little. Will he be okay?” Knox’s concern made Danielle ache in that same place that seeing Flurry and Sarge touch noses had activated. He reached out a hand like he wanted to touch the runt, but Danielle tucked the puppy next to his siblings.

  “Now that he’s breathing, yeah.” Danielle let out some deep breaths of her own. She’d known what to do, had done it plenty of times helping her dad, but there was always the slight chance that it wouldn’t work. She could’ve lost one of Flurry’s puppies. But she hadn’t. She beamed at the row of eight perfect puppies on the heating pad.

  “He looks exactly like Sarge. Only smaller.”

  It was true. Although many of the puppies shared some aspects of Sarge’s coloring, the runt was a gray brindle exactly like his father.

  “Shall we call him Private then?” Danielle’s teasing comment made Knox smile.

  “Seems awkward. What kind of nickname comes from Private? Privvy. People will think you named him after a toilet.” Knox sat back on the floor near Flurry’s head, brushing his palm down her neck in long strokes. Sarge immediately planted himself across Knox’s lap again, and Luna reclaimed her position at his back.

  The sight of Knox surrounded by dogs, her dogs, caused Danielle’s heart to thump hard in her chest. She concentrated to remember the thread of their conversation. “I’m sure you Marines have plenty of things you call Privates.”

  Knox cracked a grin. “And none of them appropriate for a baby.”

  “Puppy,” Danielle corrected, distracting herself with a check of all the puppies. Warm but not too warm? Check. Everyone breathing? Check. “What do you suggest, then, for a name?”

  Knox scooted down toward the puppies, not an easy task with seventy pounds of dog weighing him down. His mouth counted off the puppies, one at a time, like he couldn’t believe how many of them there were. He turned a smile on her, a smile Danielle knew from experience was a direct result of interacting with puppies. There was no smile in the world like a puppy-induced smile.

  “How about Junior?”

  “Perfect.” Danielle stretched out her legs, preparing to stand. Now that they were sure more puppies weren’t on the way, it was time to get Mama and the pups squared away. Knox’s hand was there before she could even think of standing on her own.

  “Thanks.” She used his grip
to help herself up, surprised to find that one of her legs was fast asleep. Needles and pins pricked at her as it came to life.

  “You okay?”

  So observant, her Knox. Not my Knox, she corrected herself, no matter how much she enjoyed his attention, the way his eyes tracked her movements, the feel of him. For his own good, she had to stay strong.

  She let go of his fingers. “I’m fine. If you want to help, you can refill that water dish and bring it back.”

  “You got it.” When Knox didn’t immediately pull on Sarge’s leash, Sarge took the opportunity for a quick sniff of Flurry. Luna watched with patient eyes while the two greeted each other before joining in.

  “He misses them,” Knox observed, brow furrowed.

  “They were roommates for several months.”

  “You’ll bring them over? To visit?” Knox pulled up a calendar like he was ready to schedule playdates this very minute.

  She arched a brow and pointed at the puppy box with her chin. “Flurry’s not going anywhere for a while.”

  Knox hung his head. “Of course.”

  “But you two are welcome anytime.”

  Knox’s head snapped up, and his eyes caught hers. In high school, Danielle’d thought they didn’t need a lot of words between them, that she could read his emotions as they marched across his face. The years in the military had hardened Knox in a lot of ways, and his emotions were no longer so apparent. But she knew that look in his eye, knew all the way to her bones. He wanted her.

  And God help her, she still wanted him, too.

  Chapter 17

  Knox couldn’t look away from Danielle’s deep, brown eyes. They’d always reminded him of melted caramel, those eyes of hers, and he remembered how they darkened with desire. Darkened like they did just now while she held his stare.

  Around them, the dogs stilled, too, as if sensing something in the air. The smell of puppy lingered, and there was plenty of cleanup to do. Changing out the newspapers that lined Flurry’s box seemed the most urgent before the smell got any more rank. There were probably a hundred things to do for the puppies.