“Look, I know it’s been days and you thought no one would come looking for him,” Mitch said, “but if this is truly his owner, then she must have been beside herself looking for him.”
“Why didn’t she come looking right away?”
“Not sure, not the point.”
“You’re right,” he said, resigned to the inevitable. “When is she coming?”
“She’ll be here in an hour. Can you come back with the dog?”
Give up Jamie? His new best friend, the puppy he’d rearranged his life for? The black ball of fluff that curled up against him in the middle of the night for comfort? “Uh…yeah, yes. I’ll come back.”
Now that he knew what Mitch wanted, he wished he’d told him that he had a few house calls tonight. Mitch would never know…would he? Well, he thought, it didn’t matter now. Not much mattered now; he was going to have to say good-bye to his new best friend.
He dragged his feet all the way back to his office and didn’t look up this time, even when he heard his name being called. Life wasn’t fair. Caitlin had lived through God knows what last night because of him, and now…now…they’d have to give up Jamie too.
He had to call Cait. She’d want to be there when he returned Jamie to his rightful owner, wouldn’t she?
Walking around the back of his office, he dialed her number, unsure of how to tell her the news. When she answered, he blurted it out. “Jamie’s owner wants him back.”
The silence hung in the air between them until he thought he’d go quietly insane. Finally he asked, “Cait, are you there?”
“Yes. Yes, I’m here. There’s no mistake?”
“Mitch just told me. She’ll be here in an hour.” He had to pause to clear his throat. “Will you go with me when I bring him to the sheriff’s office?”
“I’ll meet you at your house.”
“Thanks, Cait.”
Chapter 13
Caitlin pulled up into Jack’s driveway behind his Jeep and got out. She wouldn’t let herself think about losing Jamie…about Jack losing Jamie. Were they too old to claim finders-keepers and make his former owner go home?
And how come Jamie’s owner took a whole week to try to find him? She wasn’t giving up on the hope that Jack could keep the puppy.
She knocked on the back door and opened it when Jack called out to her. He was sitting in the middle of the floor with Jamie in his lap. Jamie was licking Jack’s face as if he hadn’t seen him in days, instead of just that morning.
Not knowing what to say to Jack, she called out to the dog, “Hey, Jamie!”
He lifted his head, yipped, and leaped off Jack, bounding to the back door to say hello. When she bent to scratch his head, she heard Jack getting up, but she couldn’t bear to look at him yet, knowing she’d see the aching sadness she felt reflected in his eyes.
“Thanks for coming…I didn’t know what to do.”
Taking her cue that she had to be the practical one and let Jack start the separation process—she could cry later—she offered, “How about if I pack up his bed, his toys, his food, and his treats?”
“What am I going to do?”
She finally looked up at him and wished she hadn’t. Stark devastation stared at her from lifeless blue eyes. “Take him outside and toss the ball. He’ll like that and get some of his energy out for the ride to town.”
“Cait,” he said, then hesitated. “I don’t know if I can—”
“You can do this,” she told him.
“But, Cait—”
“No buts, Gannon,” she ground out. “You gave him the temporary home he needed. He won’t forget you.”
Jack nodded and walked to the back door, Jamie hot on his heels.
She could hear the happy barking as the dog demanded Jack throw the ball. Drawing the ache inside of her, she got down to business, packing everything up. “You are one lucky dog, Jamie,” she whispered, emptying the pantry of dog food and treats. When she was finished, she looked at the clock and shrugged. They were going to be late…too bad, she thought. For once in her life, Cait didn’t care.
“OK, guys,” she called out, stepping onto the deck.
With a nod, Jack picked up the leash he’d brought outside and clipped it onto Jamie’s collar.
“Red is definitely his color,” Cait said. When he didn’t say anything, she decided she’d drive, so Jack and Jamie could sit together.
“OK,” she said, “here’s the deal. I’ll drive your Jeep and you and Jamie can ride shotgun.”
“Thanks.”