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“Why didn’t you call someone?”
He clearly didn’t feel like dealing with this. I can’t exactly blame him, but I’m thankful he helped me anyway. I wrap his thick jacket tighter around myself, feeling like a frozen TV dinner in need of thawing.
Ryan pops out of the building, guiding two women in navy scrubs over to the truck. He opens the door and one of the women looks at me. “Hi, I’m Dr. Barnes and this is Jules, our vet tech. I’m going to take a quick look and make sure there are no obvious spinal or neck injuries before we risk moving her again. Thank you so much for bringing her here. Most people, unfortunately, would have left her on the road. Ryan told me the whole story.”
She expertly runs her hands over the dog’s back and feels gently around her neck. “Okay, good news, I don’t feel any spinal or neck injuries. It doesn’t mean she’s out of the woods yet, butthat’s a good sign. Ryan, I’m going to have you lift her and we’ll head inside.” She looks to the other woman in scrubs next to her, “Jules, can you help him keep the leg from catching on anything?”
We make it into an exam room without any trouble, but the bright lights overhead feel almost blinding after being in the dark for so long. The poor dog starts to tremble and pant even harder when she realizes where she is. Before doing anything else, they check her for an identification chip. Luckily, she has one and they’re able to find the owner's information.
Jules knocks on the door and enters the exam room. “So, her owner is on the way over now. Apparently, Coconut here doesn’t like storms and ran out the front door a few hours ago.” Jules places a hand on Coconut’s side. “She’s been looking for her ever since. Anyway, we’ll take good care of Coconut. You guys are free to go.”
I shift on my feet thinking about Coconut being here all by herself. “Can we wait with her until she gets here? She’s comfortable with me and I don’t want to leave her all alone.” Jules smiles at me and nods, administering what she says is pain medicine.
“I’ll leave you guys here for a bit. Dr. Barnes is prepping for surgery. We’ll have to x-ray first, but she’s pretty certain she’ll need to operate on the leg.” Jules exits the room and I lean on the large silver exam table, rubbing Coconut behind the ears. Luckily, that pain medicine seemed to work fast and she’s already relaxing, melting into a white fluffy heap on the table.
Ryan stands next to me and tentatively wraps an arm around my shoulders. The heat radiating off him makes me realize how cold I am. My teeth start to chatter, and I lean into him, just for the warmthobviously. He rubs his hand up and down my arm. After a beat he says, “Sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was just worried and it came out angry.”
I smile a little and look up at him. “It’s okay. I get it. Stopping and helping a random woman and dog probably wasn’t part of your plans for the night.”
“It’s not that at all. I’m glad I was the one who found you. Besides, you're anything but random. Not anymore. This experience bonds us for life,” he says teasingly, squeezing me into his side and then letting his arm drop from my shoulders. I immediately miss the reassuring weight of it. He scratches Coconut’s head and asks, “You’re really great with dogs. Why don’t you have one?”
“I love dogs, but Jared kind of hates them. I guess he had a bad experience with one as a kid. He vetoed any attempt I made to get one using Emma as an excuse. Horrible excuse, by the way. Emma loves dogs too.” I shrug. “Maybe I’ll get one eventually now that I don’t live with him anymore. Emma would be ecstatic.” I smile at the thought. She’s been asking for a dog since she learned how to talk. She would always point at every dog we passed on the street, gasp, and say, “Dog?!” She eventually became more eloquent and persuasive of course, but it’s tiny Emma that sticks in my brain like a treasured picture in a scrapbook.
“Who doesn’t like dogs?” Ryan asks incredulously. “I had a dog the whole time I was growing up. It was the best. I’m sure Emma would love it if you decided to get one.”
I’m about to reply when the door opens, and an older woman rushes into the exam room. She was obviously out in the rain, gray hair plastered to her face and head. “Coco! Oh, my sweet little lady. You poor thing!” Ryan and I move to the side to give her space in the small room. She bursts into tears while gently stroking Coconut’s body, her other hand hovering over the mangled leg. “M-my god. Look at you.” She sniffs and turns toward us. “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would do without her.” I hand her a tissue from the box off the counter with a small smile.
“Thank her,” Ryan says, squeezing me to his side again, “She’s the one who found her and stopped to help. I was just the muscle to carry her in.” I shake my head a little at how he downplays his own role.
The woman hugs me and whispers a tight “thank you” in my ear. I hug her back and say, “Of course. I couldn’t just leave her there.” Afterward, I pet Coconut again and say goodbye to her, getting another tail thump in farewell.
On the way home, I sit up front and Ryan blasts the heat. I pull down the visor, flip open the mirror, and groan at my appearance. I look like a ghost from a horror movie with the black mascara smeared around my eyes and trailing down my pale, freckled cheeks. My lips are bloodless with the cold. I try in vain to scrub the streaks from my face, but only end up smearing it worse. Ryan snorts a laugh and I glare at him. “You pull off the drowned-rat look well,” he teases.
“From pretty bank teller to drowned rat. Oh, how the mighty have fallen,” I quip, flipping the mirror and visor back up. Despite the heat, my teeth haven’t stopped chattering, and Ryan shoots me a concerned look. I finally feel like I understand what people mean when they say they’re chilled to the bone—I’ve never been this cold in my life. He reaches over and grips my icy hands in his warm one, lending me his heat again.
We pull up to my house and sit in his truck for a bit, processing the last hour. I finally feel at least partially dethawed, and my brain is powering back on. I suddenly don’t know how to feel about the hand holding and side hugs. Were they just a way to share warmth, or did they mean more? How am I even supposed to know without asking? God, I miss high school right now and how black and white things felt back then. Being an adult is weird and confusing, and no one tells you anything straight out. Maybe I’ll just be a hermit from now on.
Eventually, he turns off the ignition. “Let me walk you to your door,” he says. I’m too tired and too cold to argue, so I just unclip my seatbelt and take his offered hand when he rounds the truck to my side. We hurry to my door and after unlocking it, Ryan’s hand on mine stops me before I can open it. “That was really brave and selfless what you did tonight, Summer. Youprobably saved that dog’s life.” He brushes an errant strand of wet hair behind my ear.
“You helped a lot,” I say, looking him in the eyes, so he can see my sincerity.
“Maybe,” he concedes, “But you found her, stayed with her in the pouring rain in the middle of the street, protected her, and made her feel safe. Look at you, you’re freezing, soaking wet and you didn’t complain once. You just kept comforting Coconut. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you.” His words feel like a warm blanket and a hot cup of coffee. I want to sink into them and live there for a little bit.
I turn and hug him, wrapping my arms around his firm middle and pressing my cheek to his chest. “Thank you, Ryan,” I mumble into his chest. His arms encircle me, and I allow myself to indulge in the feeling of being comforted.
“You’re welcome, Summer.” His voice rumbles in his chest against my ear. “Now, go inside, take a hot shower to warm up, and go to sleep.” I can’t be sure, but I swear I feel his lips brush the top of my head before he pulls away.
“Your jacket,” I say, starting to take it off.
“Keep it. I can get it later.” He tugs it closed again and ushers me inside.
I turn to look at him and see a soft look in his eyes that I can’t interpret. “Thank you for stopping tonight, Ryan. I couldn’t have helped Coconut without you.” I gently shut the door before he can respond.
CHAPTER 11
Ryan
On Friday, a few days after the dog incident, I’m sitting on my couch with a beer trying to decide what to do with myself for the night. Before I can make up my mind, I get a text from Luke.
