AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It all happened so quickly, I barely had time to move.
Ogun was coming out of the exam room with Zaka by his side, and Sasha was barreling down on him. My heart constricted when Zaka’s ears folded and his body tensed.
To my extreme horror, Sasha grabbed onto Zaka’s ear and bit it right as I grabbed for her. Blood started going everywhere. Everyone was all hands on deck, worried there would be a dog fight.
“Whoa! Hold up there, little fella,” Ogun said as he grabbed her collar. There was no way he could put enough distance between the two dogs if needed.
I grabbed her collar, and my hand brushed his as I pulled her away. “Sasha! Release!”
Lo and behold, she listened.
“Bad girl!” I scolded her after she sat. “I called your name, young lady. Mr. Dupré, I’m so sorry! If you’ll take him back in the exam room, I’ll check his ear.”
Sasha jumped up and was twisting in my hand, trying to get free to get back toward what she saw as her new friend. “Veronica!” I called. She’d promised to hold on to her if she was at the desk with her.
I heard running coming from the back, and Veronica arrived, breathless. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I had to run Mrs. Turnbow’s chihuahua to the back because she got out of the kennel somehow. I thought I’d be back before he came out.”
“Take Sasha for me.” Though she was fighting to get loose, she was wagging her tail and whining to get back to Zaka.
Ogun had returned to the room with his dog, and the rest of us tried to clean up the mess before another customer came in and it looked like we’d slaughtered an animal in the small lobby.
“You go take care of Zaka, I’ll get this,” Veronica offered. Thankful for her return from putting my now howling dog in her crate, I pushed the loose tendrils of hair out of my face.
Ugh, I must look a mess.
Hurrying into the room, I closed the door firmly. “Mr. Dupré, I’m really very sorry.”
“Did you get hurt?” he asked as he stared at me. Looking down, I realized I’d gotten blood all over my arm.
“Oh! No, that was from Zaka. Let me wash up, and I’ll take a look at him.” Mortification swallowed me alive as I scrubbed my hands and arm.
“I think it was just a lucky bite. Is she yours?” he asked as he held a paper towel to Zaka’s ear. Zaka was being remarkably good through all this.
Then it hit me. He could sue me over this.Shit.
“She is,” I reluctantly agreed as I checked his dog’s ear. The bleeding had stopped, but there was a small puncture wound. “I think it will heal closed, but I can suture it if you want.”
He laughed, and I looked at him in surprise. “It will be fine. I’m sure it will grow shut, and it will match his porcupine piercings.” It was the opposite ear of the porcupine quill holes. They had grown shut nicely, but a few spots left some tiny scars.
“Sasha is up to date on all of her shots,” I assured him. “I can get you a copy of her shot records.”
“No need. How old is she?” he asked as he crouched down next to me and scratched his dog’s neck.
“She’s six months old,” I replied as I finished cleaning the small wound. His proximity was doing really crazy things to me. I desperately wanted to ask him to back up, but then I’d be giving away that he affected me.
“She’s beautiful. I didn’t know you had a German shepherd. Did you get her because of Zaka?” That disarming grin came out to play again, and I had to look away.
“Of course not,” I said a little emphatically. I’d wanted one my whole life, but my father hated dogs. However, Ogun’s dog had been my driving force to finally get one.
“Mmm-hmm. Whatever you say.” His tone was teasing, and he’d seemed unconcerned about the incident, but I needed to know.
“Are you going to sue me?” My teeth tugged on my lower lip, and I pushed my hair that had escaped my ponytail behind my ears.
“What? Don’t be ridiculous. It was a simple accident. I don’t think she’s mean, nor did she intend to hurt him.” At his words, I relaxed.
My relaxation was short-lived.
“But you could ensure there are no hard feelings by going out with me tonight,” he said with a smug smile. My mouth fell open at his audacity.
