Gavin shuts the door and walks around the vehicle. “Of course, he is. He’s a police dog.”
Before I can say anything else, Gavin steps close and lifts me out of the passenger seat again. My hands automatically catch the front of his vest.
“It’s a good thing I happen to own a pair of crutches. Otherwise, I’d have to hire you to carry me around.”
He smiles. “I’m happy to do it for free.”
Is that so?
He carries me up the porch steps like it is nothing. Raider waits at the bottom, watching.
I fumble for the door handle and push it open. There’s no need to lock your doors in Mercury Ridge, so I seldom do.
The warm smell of dried herbs and tomato sauce greets us as we step inside. My kitchen is small but cozy. Wooden table. Shelves lined with jars. A basket of onions sits on the counter beside a bowl of eggs.
Gavin pauses in the doorway and looks around. “So, this is where the magic happens?”
I chuckle. “Mother Nature handles the real magic on the farm.”
Raider walks in behind us and immediately begins inspecting everything with great seriousness. His nails click across the floor as he sniffs the table leg, then the door, then the basket of onions.
Gavin carries me to one of the kitchen chairs and sets me down carefully.
“There you go.”
I exhale slowly. “Thank you.”
Raider comes over and rests his chin on my knee.
“You are a very good dog,” I tell him, rubbing behind his ears. His tail thumps once against the floor.
Gavin watches the two of us for a moment.
“I’ll get you some ice?”
He opens the freezer and pulls out a bag of frozen peas.
“Classic,” I say.
“Frozen peas work better than anything else, trust me.”
“Have a lot of experience with sprained ankles?”
“Oh, yeah. I was the QB for a Division I school. Had a chance to go pro, but then I blew out my knee.”
“That must have been hard.”
“Things have a way of working out. I like my job, and Mercury Ridge is exactly where I want to be.” He wraps the peas in a dish towel and crouches beside my chair. “Let’s get your boot off.”
I slide my boot off carefully and wince as I peel my sock down. The swelling is worse now. “Yeah,” I say quietly. “That’s ugly.”
Gavin props my leg onto a chair and sets the frozen peas against my ankle. The cold bites instantly. I grip the edge of the chair.
“That helps,” I admit.
“Keep it there a few minutes.”
Raider sits beside us, watching like this entire procedure is his responsibility.
