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“I’m Major, by the way,” he called out. He was so dumb. He should only be thinking about getting his ass out of this situation. She was a pretty tourist, and he didn’t do brief affairs.
Also, she probably wouldn’t want an encounter with a dude she had to pull from the earth.
“Well, I didn’t think you were minor.”
She came around the corner of the truck, hauling the big piece of what used to be Remy’s awful siding. Major recognized it from the apartment located over Guidry’s.
Her little bit of a dog was standing in the cab, his paws on the dashboard. He looked out as though checking on her, his head swinging between where Major and Dolly stood and her.
It was not the first time someone had pointed out how weird his name was. He’d had to get through years in the Army with the name Major.
“Major Blanchard,” he corrected. “It’s an actual name.”
“Interesting.” She tentatively came to the edge of the mud and started to ease the siding down. “I’ve never met a Major before.”
Almost no one had. “And you’re?”
She flashed him a smile. “I’m Brynn Pearson. I’ll be your rescuer today. My partner is Duke. He’s the beauty and I’m obviously the brawn of this operation. Okay. I think this will hold her weight if you want to ease her down. Is that your SUV back there?”
“Yes. I bring Dolly down here a couple of times a week. There’s a trail that’s usually a nice jog.” The siding was the tiniest bit short, but it would have to do. He twisted slightly, leaning over so Dolly could ease down onto the board and then make her way to dry land.
Except she wouldn’t. She dug in, whimpering and trying to wrap herself harder around his neck.
“Dolly, come on, sweetie.” He couldn’t dump her. She would slide off and they would be right back where they started.
“Hold on.” Brynn moved to the truck and pulled out a backpack, her hand disappearing briefly before she came back, kneeling at the other end of the siding and offering the one thing that might make Dolly overcome her fear. “Want a treat, baby?”
Dolly practically jumped onto the board, trading her fear of death for what looked like dehydrated beef. Before Major could take another breath, she was over the siding and on dry land, that treat halfway down her throat.
So at least the dog was all right.
He tried to move and managed roughly half an inch before he felt the mud try to suck him in deeper. Damn it.
He caught something moving out of the corner of his eye and barely managed to not scream like he was the prettiest girl at prom and there was a serial killer coming. That had definitely been a snake.
He was going to die here, and beyond being a cautionary tale for all future Papillon Sherriff’s Department recruits, no one would really care. It was depressing. Dolly would find someone new to love her and give her treats. The house he’d worked so hard on would be sold, any profits given straight to the assisted living facility, and his father would probably forget he’d ever been born.
He was not in a good mood.
“You’re a sweet baby, aren’t you? Such a good girl.” Brynn ran a hand over Dolly, offering the dog comfort.
He was the one who needed comfort because he was the one who was about to die. “Hey, uhm, I don’t know if you’ve ever been caught in a coastal bog, but it’s pretty gross, so if we could get this rescue going, I would appreciate it.”
She looked up, her eyes widening. “I’m so sorry. Of course. Should I leash her so she can’t get back in the mud?”
He sighed because he didn’t think that would be a problem. “She’s no longer interested in me.”
He nodded toward her truck. Dolly had already inhaled the treat and now had her big paws on the driver’s side door. She was staring in at the corgi like he was something magical. Naturally, the corgi was barking.
Chaos. He seemed to be surrounded by chaos lately.
Brynn worked the winch, drawing the chain down to where the siding still sat. She started to gingerly walk toward him.
His breath nearly caught because one wrong step and she could end up in here with him. “If you fall, try to get your body as flat as possible. Keep your feet up.”
She stopped and one hand went to her hip. “You are not a very positive person, Deputy Major. You can’t get through life with a frown on your face.”
He got through life just fine, and he frowned a lot. He was a cop. They did not teach smiling in cop school. “I don’t see much to be positive about in this exact moment.”
“This exact moment is about to be over and then things will get better. And you could have been out here alone for way more moments,” she pointed out as she moved closer to him. She spread her slight weight out over the board, competently moving toward him. She reached out and offered him the end of the chain. “I could have chosen to stick close to the B and B. Harry could have sent me to another place to sketch. You’re actually lucky.”
