Page 28 of Situationship
He gagged and hacked, and a blob of sand-crusted jerky popped out. He might be a disaster of a dog, but he was her disaster dog. All those fierce mama bear feelings she reserved for her girls erupted. She wouldn’t rest until she knew he was going to be okay.
The article had suggested consulting a veterinarian if it was unclear how much sand had been consumed. Her local veterinarian lived five decks back and was going to be really irritated if she woke him this early again for no good reason. But she had to be sure.
“You’d better be really sick, because this is going to be humiliating,” she said, maintaining a tight hold on his collar and dragging him to Colin’s. They barely made it up the back deck when Garbage Disposal gagged and hacked and eventually yacked.
“Hang in there.” She didn’t bother to tap lightly, she rapped on Colin’s back door hard enough to rattle the window. She waited a whole count of ten and rapped again. On the third rap the door opened.
Colin appeared in what had become his uniform—boxers, bedhead, and bare, breathtaking abs. Not to mention some other key muscles, which were covered—but barely.
He rubbed his eyes. “Maybe I should leave a key under the mat.”
“Maybe you should sleep in something more than boxers.”
“You woke me, at”—he looked at his watch—“five a.m. You’re punctual. And boxersaremore.”
Oh my. The sexy vet next door slept in the nude. That was news to her. Then again, while they might have slept together, they’d never actuallyslepttogether. Had they been caught, his dad would have killed him, and that was only if Nonna Rose hadn’t gotten to him first.
“It’s GD. He snuck out and I found him eating sand.” She looked down at her yack-stained shirt. “And possibly a bologna sandwich. When I knew we were moving home, I read up on the dangers of dogs on the beach. And I distinctly remember that some dogs eat sand, and it can become lodged in their belly and become dangerous if not treated. I’m not sure if this ranks as dangerous—he was only out there for three minutes tops—but he’s been known to chew through a chair leg in less.”
Instead of reminding her that he already knew this because he’d gone to the top vet school in the world—he was that smart—he took Garbage Disposal by the collar and led him inside. He grabbed a pair of board shorts off the mudroom hanger and pulled them on.
Teagan had to force her attention on the ceiling. She could have sworn he chuckled but when she looked back, he was in serious animal doctor mode.
“How much sand did he eat?” Colin asked.
“I don’t know. He snuck out. Someone left the back door open.”
Someone being Hurricane Harley, whom Teagan had stupidly believed when she said she’d changed. Grown up. Maybe she had, but she still clearly had a long way to go.
“Is he going to be okay?”
“Not to toot my own horn, but you do know I’m the best vet in town. People come from five towns over and trust me with their pets.”
She believed him. Even as a teenager, Colin had a way with animals. He worked weekends at a local farm, doing everything from cleaning the stalls to helping deliver a baby calf. He knew what he wanted and where he wanted his life to take him. Which was a big reason she’d left without saying goodbye. They both had big dreams pulling them in opposite directions. Just look at what he’d accomplished with his life. Had she stayed home that last summer, she would have taken his future from him—and she’d loved him too much for that.
He’d been the first love of her life and she hadn’t been strong enough to walk away from one last kiss, so she’d applied for early enrollment and began college a semester early—a safe three thousand miles away.
“I thought it was because you were the sexy animal doctor.” She sobered. “Is he going to die?”
“No. Some fluids and he should be fine.”
She shivered. “Does that bag of saline include an IV needle?”
“He won’t feel even a pinch.”
She would. “I hate needles.”
“I remember.”
She wondered what else he remembered. Like maybe the way she loved it when he kissed the back of her neck.
“He’s going to be okay,” Colin added.
“You sure? Because I already broke my kids’ family apart. I can’t break their dog.” Her voice was strangled.
“Whoa, hey, I’ve got you.” That’s when she realized she was crying. “You didn’t break anything.”
He wiped her tears with the pad of his thumb and pulled her to him, yack and all, giving her a reassuring hug. She closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling of a man’s arms around her. Scratch that: the feeling of this man’s arms. It was as good as she remembered. With him still lacking upper body clothing, maybe even better.
