Flirting with Love(8)

“I approached from the side, but closer to her shoulder, and she let me pet her.”

“You have your aunt Cora to thank for that. She spent a lot of time with Dolly.” He reached for Elisabeth’s hand. “Here, you do this, and I’ll get the gate.”

“I don’t know. What if I send her running the wrong way?”

He smiled to ease her worry and guided her closer to Dolly. “You won’t, and if you do, then I’ll go get her.” He walked beside her until they were closer to the gate. “You’re doing great. See? It’s not too difficult when you know what to do.”

She took over as he opened the gate. “I think I need to study up on husbandry.”

“Maybe we need to take a trip over to the library at some point. Callie, the librarian, is my brother Wes’s girlfriend.” He liked it better when they were side by side, but he allowed himself another greedy glance at her smile, her eyes, her shoulders, her breasts…He turned back toward the paddock and drew in a deep breath. He needed to focus on the cow and fixing the broken wood, not the rising wood in his pants.

“I was there today. Does she have dark hair? Really pretty and sort of quiet?”

He noted that she wasn’t afraid to say another woman was pretty. Sometimes women were weird about those things. Chalk another one up to the What I Like About Elisabeth list. He wondered how many more surprises she had in that pretty head of hers.

“Yes. That’s Callie. She’s a sweetheart. You’re doing great, Elisabeth.” He closed the gate behind Dolly and assessed the broken fence. It was a center break. The railings formed a V-shaped opening. The rails needed to be replaced. It wouldn’t be difficult to fix, but Ross wondered what Elisabeth would have done if he hadn’t come by.

“I’ll walk Dolly up toward the barn. Why don’t you ride your bike up to the house; then I’ll run out and get wood to fix the fence.”

“You don’t have to do that, Ross. I’m sure you have better things to do than fix my fence. I appreciate all you’ve done already.”

“Elisabeth, what would you have done if I hadn’t come by?”

She shrugged.

“Would you have stayed with Dolly all night?”

She trapped her lower lip in her teeth and fiddled with the edge of her hoodie. “Maybe. I couldn’t very well leave her by herself. I would have worried all night that she’d wander off.”

He knew she’d have done just that. Ross’s phone rang and Jim Trowell’s name flashed on the screen. His chest tightened. Jim was Kelsey’s grandfather, and his dog was on its last days.

“I’ve got to take this call, but I’ll bring Dolly up to the barn in a few minutes.”

“Do you mind if I take Storm with me?” She trapped her lower lip in her teeth and widened her eyes, looking too damn cute for him to even think.

“Sure.” He watched her walk away to retrieve her bike with Storm on her heels, and he wondered how long it would take for her to steal Storm’s heart.

He turned his attention to the call and spoke to Jim Trowell. Sure enough, Jim’s dog, Gracie, wasn’t doing well, and Jim wanted Ross to come check her out.

He led Dolly up to the barn and found Elisabeth sitting on the front porch holding a hammer and a box of nails, looking adorable.

“What are you going to do with those?” Ross sat beside her.

“Try to jury-rig the fence so it’ll be safe until I can get it repaired.” She knitted her brow and looked at him like he had asked a ridiculous question.

“You can’t fix it with a hammer and nails. We have to buy new rails, but first I have to go see a client. Kelsey’s grandfather’s dog isn’t doing very well and I need to stop by.”

“Aw, poor thing. What’s wrong with it?”

“Old age. I’m afraid she doesn’t have much time left.” He pushed to his feet. “Why don’t I pick up the wood on the way back? Dolly’s fine in the barn for the night. I’ll come by before dawn and fix the fence.”

She rose to her feet and followed him to his truck. “I can call someone to fix the fence.”

He arched a brow.

“Okay, maybe they wouldn’t come out right away, but you can tell me who to call.”

“I’ll fix your fence,” he said too adamantly. If Ross didn’t fix her fence, the only other option was Chet Daily. Chet was Mr. Fix It around Trusty. He fixed fences and barns, and handled other farm and ranch repairs. Chet was known in high school as the virgin slayer—and in the years since, his reputation hadn’t changed. There was no way Ross was going to let a guy like Chet go anywhere near sweet, beautiful Elisabeth. “I’ve got it. Really.” He opened the truck door.

“Okay, well, then, can I go with you to see Gracie? I do massages for terminally ill pets.”

Massages for pets. He thought about that for a minute. His cousin Rex’s fiancée, Jade, did equine massage. Maybe it wasn’t too far-fetched of an idea. He dropped his gaze and leaned against the doorframe. “I may have to put her down. You don’t want to be there for that.”

She stepped closer. “Maybe not, but I can help her feel better. It’s only a five-minute massage, but it may really help.” She stepped closer. “Please? I promise I won’t interfere with what you have to do.”

It would be so easy to kiss her. Lean down, kiss her, done.

Done? Yeah, right. Lean down, kiss her, make love to her until dawn.

“Please, Ross?”

He shook his head to clear his head. “You sure you want to do this?”

“I have something to offer her, and I haven’t felt very useful lately. I can help ease her pain and help her relax and feel loved; that has to count for something.”

“You’re really something, Elisabeth. You’ve got your own issues here to deal with and you’re willing to drop it all and help a dog you don’t even know.”

“You’d do the same thing. Let me just get my house keys.”





THIRTY MINUTES LATER they stood in Jim Trowell’s sparsely furnished living room. Gracie was sprawled on the futon Jim bought for her. When his son first gave Gracie to him, he hadn’t had the heart to teach her that she wasn’t a lapdog. Gracie was a mutt. The only heritage they were sure of was that she was part chow. She had a partially blue tongue and until recently, she’d had thick chow fur. Now she was rail thin, her fur was falling out in tufts, and she wasn’t eating. She lay on her side with her spindly legs bent at the knee. Her big head was propped on a pillow that Jim must have placed there for her. After examining her, Ross concluded what he’d already known. Gracie was nearing the end of her natural life.

“Go ahead, Elisabeth,” he said quietly. Ross approached Jim, who was staring out the living room window into the darkness.

Jim’s wife had passed away a few months before Kelsey’s father had given him Gracie. Gracie was supposed to be a replacement for the void his wife had left in his life, and she’d filled the space nicely, giving Jim a sense of purpose and someone to love. Thanks to Gracie, Jim had found his way back into the life he let drift away in the weeks after his wife’s death. Ross wondered how the white-haired man in his midseventies was going to adapt to losing another loved one.

He placed a hand on Jim’s back, and as Jim turned, his eyes went directly to Gracie. Elisabeth was massaging Gracie’s leg, holding it between both hands as she squeezed gently, and massaged away the ache. Gracie closed her eyes and Elisabeth began humming a soft tune. Every few seconds, she’d slow her movements and stroke Gracie’s fur from between her brows to the base of her head.

“You’re okay, sweetie,” she said softly, then went back to massaging Gracie’s other front leg and then each of her back legs and her hips.

All the while Jim watched in silence, with damp eyes and a heart so heavy Ross wished he could help him carry it. Elisabeth smiled as she hummed and eased the dog’s pain. She looked happy, even though they all knew Gracie wouldn’t live much longer, and Ross could see by the way Jim’s lips had the slightest upward curve when he watched Elisabeth that seeing her treat Gracie with such respect probably helped Jim as much as it helped the dog.

Elisabeth massaged Gracie’s back and neck and rubbed her behind the ears before wrapping her arms gently around Gracie’s body and embracing her.

“Thank you for allowing me to pet you, Gracie. You’re a beautiful girl.” She kissed her on the snout and Gracie opened her eyes.

Ross was sure he saw the dog smile. Gracie had developed diabetes a few years earlier, and she’d gone nearly blind two years ago. As hard as it had been to see her struggle, she’d had a positive attitude, and Jim had chosen to keep her with him, when others might have put her down. About two weeks ago, Jim had called Ross because he’d noticed a difference in Gracie’s energy level. Ross had known then that the time was near.

“Jim?” Ross waited until he had Jim’s attention. “The blood you saw in her urine is likely from her kidneys going into failure. It’s your call.” This was the most difficult part of the end of an animal’s life, helping the owner make the final decision to continue living without their beloved pet.