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Thankfully, because the flash of beige was Bear, and the trail that led me to him were twigs and mud from the bird’s nest that’s currently hanging from his muzzle.
“Bear!” I drag my hand through my hair.Shit. “Bear, drop!”
He stops, getting low with his feet planted, readying to bolt. I take a hesitant step toward him. “Bear—”
He takes off.
With the swelling in my leg only now easing, I’m not about to chase the shitting dog around the back garden. “Bear, damn it, you better drop it.”
The nest starts to fall apart in his jaw as he pounces through the overgrown grass.
“Here. Now.” I whistle, at a loss. “Bear!” I thunder.
He stops in his tracks, turning to me, and coming to my feet. I bend down and force his mouth open, pulling out the mangled nest.
Although it’s not a nest anymore.
I close my eyes, sighing when I find it empty.
The feel of a wet snout nuzzling my hand draws my attention down. I open my eyes to look at him. “What did you do, mate?”
His mouth parts, a great big tongue hanging free as he pants.
I spend the next hour and a half scouring the grass for the baby bird, knowing Waverley will be devastated if he’s gone.
With no luck, no sign of Scarlet, and my leg feeling like it has its own heartbeat, I head inside the house to find my phone.
I call the one person I know would do anything for my child, no matter how much he hates me.
“A fucking bird?” Charlie questions, looking in his mirrors as he pulls out from the narrow lane and onto the main road. “Where did she find it?”
“It was in the nest.”
“The nest that Bear ate,” he confirms. “Do you think he ate the bird?”
“No.” I frown. “I don’t think so.”
“But it was gone.”
“I couldn’t find it,” I tell him, running my hand over my face. “There’s a rescue centre out by the old mill. I’ll see if they have any we can buy.”
“That’s your plan? Replace it with another?”
“What else do I do? She left me in charge of it.”
He looks at me and then back at the road. “They’re not just going to give you a bird, Sullivan. It’s a rescue centre not a pet shop.”
“I’ll talk to them.”
“And say what? We found a bird, killed it, and now need another one for my dog to eat?”
I close my eyes, sighing.
“Yeah. I’m not coming inside. You’re on your own.”
“I called you because I thought you cared about Waverley enough to help me.”
“And I’m here, aren’t I?” he counters. “And Ave is smart. She’d think this is the stupidest idea in the world.”
